IPGC golf from The Haven
Sunday, Sept. 4, Green Valley – Stableford
CSS 72
1st Peter Masters (10) 37pts
2nd Frank Dunstan (26) 32pts
3rd Sean Connolly (10) 32pts
4th Alec Hoare (17) 32pts
After a short break Sundays are back on the IPGC schedule but as from October they will run exclusively from the Links venue in Soi Bukao and organised as usual by Russell, although transport will still be available from The Haven if required. Weekend vouchers are also still available which makes the Saturday and Sunday competitions the same price as the weekday ones.
Peter Masters continued with his run of form to secure another win which also took his handicap into the nine point something’s, much to his added satisfaction, after a five point margin win on a fairly wet course.
Paul Hartley.
Frank Dunstan led in the chasing group taking second spot with a better count back of 16 as Sean Connolly in third could muster only 14 and Alec Hoare in fourth just 13, which underlined the difficulty of the day’s event.
The 2’s were shared between Peter Masters and Alec Hoare
Monday, Sept. 19, Bangpra – Stableford
CSS 75 NC
1st Alan Pilkington (8) 31pts
2nd Trevor Schirmer (15) 31pts
3rd Frank Dunstan (26) 26pts
4th Al Rolnik (17) 25pts
5th Shuichi Kodaka (18) 25pts
Alan Pilkington.
Continuing after the weekend wet weather the course was in pretty sodden shape with very little run on the fairways and wet rough that was rather heavy due to the inability of the green keeping staff to get onto the course recently. But apart from the wetness the greens were, as usual, extremely difficult to read and manage with three putts being more prevalent than twos, ensuring that when the player eventually reached the green his troubles were not quite over for the hole.
This all resulted in the scores being off the chart with the CSS moving out to 75 and the day becoming non-counting for handicap purposes.
Alan Pilkington finally took the day’s top placing but had to win a count back over Trevor Schirmer, which he did, winning the back six 11 to 10 after they had tied the nine at 15 apiece.
Frank Dunstan took his second placing in two days a further five behind and one ahead of Al Rolnik and Shuichi Kodaka, with Al getting the nod for fourth with a better 12 to 10 in a count back over the inward half.
With single putts just a pipe dream it was no surprise to find that there were no 2’s in either division.
Before presenting the prizes Stephen Beard welcomed new member Bob Hopwood and also welcomed back Frank Dunstan and Roar Berger.
Wednesday, Sept. 21, The Emerald – Stableford
CSS 72
1st Paul Hartley (19) 36pts
2nd Brian Libbey (9) 35pts
3rd Yoshitaka Iketani (19) 32pts
4th Shuichi Kodaka (18) 32pts
5th Rod Howett (23) 32pts
6th Russell Exley (6) 32pts
Another extremely wet course meant that added emphasis was again place on the length of the tee shots as they travelled only as far as they went through the air and then stopped, and even with the ‘lift and place’ competition rule for the day scores were once more generally well above handicap range.
Peter Masters.
Paul Hartley returned the best of the day’s cards at even par and 36 points as he battled with the other returnee Brian Libbey for top honours for the day and just squeezing in by the narrowest of margins.
Yoshitaka Iketani slipped into third after winning a four-way count back with a better 20 points on the back. He was no doubt assisted in this after he had gone out in the previous outing in level handicap and was leading the day after 12 holes, only to collapse over the last six holes accumulating just one point, a feat which was referred to heavily during the prize giving along with the admonishment to hold a bit back for the inward half, for any possible count backs.
Shuichi Kodaka was the next best with 17 as Rod Howett took fifth with 15 and Russell Exley after looking like a winner after nine slipped to just 13 coming home.
Once again there were no 2’s in the first division but Paul Hartley rounded off a good day with the only one in the second division.
Back at The Haven there were welcome backs for Paul Hartley and Brian Libbey.
Friday, Sept. 23, Pleasant Valley – Stableford
Due to heavy rains in Pattaya and reports that the course was also suffering from the same situation, the day’s competition was abandoned in favour of shopping with the wife and other various activities around the town.
Note: The Haven group now departs Soi 13 at the earlier time of 9 am until further notice. If you would like to play with the group you can contact mobile 082 219 0965 or call in to the hotel at 185 Soi 13 between Beach Road and 2nd Road. All transportation to the course is arranged and you do not need to sign up prior to the day, but you should be there by 8.30 on Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays and 9.00am on Sundays on the days you wish to play. A schedule of courses to be played can be found on our web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com.
