Day 1
Monday, April 17
Ayutthaya Golf Club
1st Kob Glover (14) 39 points
2nd Michael Brett (17) 38 points
3rd Niall Glover (14) 28 points
Near pins, Mike Smith & Kob Glover X 2.
The first game of our Ayutthaya trip was played at The Ayutthaya Golf Club, a very nice course indeed, in very good condition, although quite difficult. Only fifteen minutes from the city it is very conveniently located. There wasn’t one hole where water didn’t come into play and the fairways and greens were well bunkered. This is a course where the sprinkler system works almost too well, there were a number of areas where the ground was a bit soggy from overwatering. Something we haven’t seen for a long time, a few mud balls
Only two players were able to tame the course today, Kob Glover in a rich vein of form took first place with an excellent score of thirty-nine points, a stroke ahead of Michael Brett in second place. It was a full ten strokes back to find Niall Glover in third place. Kob also managed to take two near pins with Mike Smith the other with one unclaimed.
It seems like Ayutthaya is not immune to the ubiquitous Thai five-ball, today we encountered one. For a while, we thought Patrick Cantalay may have been amongst them as they were so painfully slow, fortunately, we only had to deal with them for a few holes before they finished.
Day 2
Tuesday, April 18
Bangsai Country Club
1st Niall Glover (14) 36 points
2nd Michael Brett (17) 35 points
3rd Kob Glover (14) 34 points
Near pins Steve Kilner, Kob Glover, & Niall Glover
The second game of our tour of Ayutthaya was played at the Bangsai Country Club. Another hot day with only a slight breeze blowing. Not quite as much water to contend with today but still enough to focus the mind. One particular hole had a water carry of over two hundred and twenty yards with absolutely no bailout so a few found the water and wiped the hole. Overall the course felt more difficult than yesterday’s course and this was reflected in the scores which were a bit shy of the high standard set yesterday.
Niall Glover took first place with thirty-six points, one ahead of Michael Brett in second with Kob Glover a further stroke back in third. All the par threes were long except from the red tees. Niall and Kob Glover took one each with Steve Kilner taking a third with one unclaimed.
Day 3
Thursday, April 20
Rachakram Golf Club
1st Niall Glover (14) 40 points
2nd Michael Brett (17) 33 points
3rd Bil Richardson (16) 33 points
Near pins Michael Brett, & Kob Glover X 2.
Having had in yachting parlance a lay day on Wednesday the final game of our sojourn to Ayutthaya was played at the Rachakram course, the most distant of the three courses played and also the most expensive with an all-in fee of fifteen hundred and fifty baht. Looking at the online graphic the course seemed very intimidating indeed, in reality, it turned out to be not so wicked after all, difficult enough to focus the mind but not impossible. Opinions varied but it was generally seen as the best of the three courses played.
Niall Glover continued from where he left off on Tuesday with another sparkling display to take first place with forty points. A horror day with the putter saw Michael Brett confined to second place again beating Bil Richardson on countback, Bil started on fire with twenty-one on the front nine only to fade badly on the back. Once again Kob Glover was in for two near pins with Michael Brett taking one and one unclaimed.
So is Ayutthaya a viable golfing destination for away trips? It is easily accessible from Pattaya being only two and a half-hour mostly motorway drive. Accommodation is readily available with several hotels at reasonable rates. Golf courses are certainly up to scratch, all well-presented and in very good shape and challenging. A course we didn’t play but on reflection probably should have was the Royal Bang Pa-In, this course is on another level, simply stunning, a bit more pricey than the others but definitely worth the extra. Restaurants in Ayutthaya were a bit of a struggle to find and after-dark entertainment though limited does exist if one knows where to look, best to BYO. If a group is looking to visit somewhere new for an away trip then Ayutthaya is definitely worth consideration.
Day 4
Friday, April 21
Subhapruek Golf Club
1st Kob Glover (14) 31 points
2nd Michael Brett (17) 28 points
3rd Niall Glover (14) 27 points
Near pins Niall Glover.
On the return trip to Pattaya, we chose to play Subhapruek out of a myriad of options available to us given we haven’t played there for over three years. After today’s shocker by everyone, it could be a while before we return again. It’s fair to say everybody found it really tough going all day. Some of the par threes were amongst the hardest of any course anywhere, driver required on one, hence only one was taken going to Niall Glover on the last one.
Not sure if it was the conditions or golf fatigue, being the fourth game in five days but just about everyone had a game to forget. Kob Glover was the only one to breach thirty with a winning score of thirty-one. “Always the bridesmaid, never the bride” was the case again for the fourth time this week, Michael Brett was confined to second place again after fading badly on the closing holes when a score looked possible. Niall Glover completed the winners list a stroke back on what was a miserable leaderboard.
For what it’s worth the leading scores of the week were Michael Brett with 134 points followed by Kob Glover with 132 and Niall Glover with 131.
