PSC golf from The Outback Golf Bar
Monday, August 13, Burapha – Stableford
Twenty-nine players at Burapha today on the A and B nines and for a change we didn’t have the course to ourselves as it was a holiday (day in lieu of the Queen’s Birthday) and many were certainly taking advantage of the day off. It was a little slow and unfortunately we had two three-balls at the front who caught the rest of the field at the turn and had a slow back nine but still just over four hours, so not too bad for a busy day.
A and B usually means playing from the blue tees but as an experiment, players were allowed to pick their own tee for the day and surprisingly only seven chose the white tees, which just goes to show that most players like to test themselves against the course. The course was in good condition and the greens were great to putt on.
We ended up with three divisions, one for the white tee players and two for the blue tee players plus the ‘2’s.
Dennis Pelly made a canny choice of the white tees and won at canter with 42pts from playing partners Jarod and Dave, both of whom scored 33pts.
With the remainder of the field electing for the blue tee, the best score came from Kev Waycott with 38pts from three tied on 32; namely Russell Hall, Andy Butts and Barnsey. In Div B, the win went to Bobby Driggs on 36 from John Player (35) and Steve Milne on 34.
There were no ‘2’s from the white and two ‘2’s from the blues from Kev Waycott & Rosco.
White Tee
1st Dennis Pelly (11) 42pts
2nd Jarod Braithwaite (20) 33pts
3rd Dave Dobson (8) 33pts
Blue Tee Div A (0-12)
1st Kev Waycott (11) 38pts
2nd Russell Hall (10) 32pts
3rd Andy Butterworth (12) 32pts
Blue Tee Div B (13+)
1st Bobby Driggs (14) 36pts
2nd John Player (20) 35pts
3rd Steve Milne (15) 34pts
Monday, August 13, Khao Kheow – Stableford
For some reason, Khao Kheow still remains out of favour with many golfers, as only six took on the challenge of the A & B nines. The weather was perfect, sunny with a gentle breeze, and the starter was good to us as he sent us off early, ahead of a five-ball that were due to go out in front.
The scoring wasn’t great but generally it never is here but Sugar won the day with 32pts from the tosser, John, with 31, and Bob St. Aubin got the only ‘2’.
1st Sugar Ray Handford (16) 32pts
2nd John Lawton (21) 31pts
3rd Paul Cohen (10) 29pts
Tuesday, August 14, Pattaya C.C. – Stableford
A couple of three-balls and a four-ball enjoyed the delights of Pattaya Country Club, which must be said was in good condition and the greens were the best they’ve been for some time – very flat and smooth and looking excellent.
The scoring was fairly ordinary, apart from ‘Nifty Nev’, who scored an excellent 37 to win by four from the ‘Turnip’.
It’s the back nine, well not really the back nine, but the second time round playing from the back tees, that ruins most player’s cards, as some of the holes; particularly the first and second are quite a bit longer and the two par threes are right up there as well, necessitating a wood from the tee for many.
There were no ‘2’s today.
1st Nev Steward (22) 37pts
2nd Dennis Persson (17) 33pts
3rd Terry Hamilton (20) 31pts
Tuesday, August 14, Laem Chabang – Stableford
14 players turned up for Laem Chabang to play the A (Mountain) and B (Lake) courses with a late tee off of 11.15. The day was bright and sunny but surprisingly not hot and humid and just made for a great day of golf. The course was in superb condition and the greens were very hard and fast. Plenty of rain in Pattaya but Laem Chabang had dry fairways and dry, fluffy bunkers.
The pace off play was a little slow but most players finished in under four and a half hours. The course was the winner as the best score for the day was only 34 points and John O’Keefe won in a three-way count back from Captain Stephen and John Player.
Finally, out of 14 players that started, disappointingly only eight cards were returned.
John O’Keefe was also the only player to get a ‘2’ for the day and that was on A7.
1st John O’Keefe (16) 34pts
2nd Stephen Mann (9) 34pts
3rd John Player (20) 34pts
Wednesday, August 15, Siam Plantation – Stableford
19 players at Siam Plantation to play the Sugar Cane and Tapioca courses on another bright and sunny day with a lovely breeze to keep everybody cool. We teed-off on time but the course was heavily booked and the pace of play was a little slow, especially for the three-ball that went off first.
As always, the course was in great condition but you can see they have had plenty of rain and the fairways were a little wet, which meant that there was not too much run. The greens were again good and I think the scores are starting to reflect how much the players enjoy playing this great course as all the place-getters shot par or better for the day.
One division plus the ‘2’s and the winner for the day with a great back nine of 24 points was Billy Gray with 38 points who beat Jim Bryan on a count back. Chris Davisson had 37 points for third place and Mark McDonald and Bernie Stafford had 36 points each to fill the other places.
Mark McDonald picked up the only ‘2’ for the day on Sugar Cane No.3.
1st Billy Gray (27) 38pts
2nd Jim Bryan (16) 38pts
3rd Chris Davisson (11) 37pts
4th Mark McDonald (3) 36pts
5th Bernie Stafford (13) 36pts
Friday, August 17, Green Valley – Stableford
Thirty-two players for Green Valley on a great Thailand sunny day with a light breeze just to keep all a little cool. The starter got us off on time and thankfully all in four-balls so pace of play was consistent for all the Outbackers but there were other groups in front that slowed everything down towards the end of the round.
Green Valley has again sliced and sanded the greens and they must do this more than any other club we play at, in saying that the greens were reasonable to putt on and stayed on line even if a little slow.
Scores were good, especially in Division 1, where a number of players shot 35 or 36 but were out of the placings. Paul Greenaway (9) showed the way with an excellent 40 points from Mark McDonald with an equally excellent 38 points off his 3 handicap (73 gross).
Division 2 was won by Dennis Pelly with a fine round of 39 points but the round of the day was from Division 3 winner, Barry McIntosh with 41 points. Barry certainly appreciated the warmth of Thailand after the bitter cold of Australia.
There was only one ‘2’ from Paul Bourke on the 9th hole.
Note: Friday August 24 will be the monthly medal, as the following week many players are away in Hua Hin.
Div A (0–9)
1st Paul Greenaway (9) 40pts
2nd Mark McDonald (3) 38pts
3rd Stephen Mann (9) 37pts
Div B (10-16)
1st Dennis Pelly (10) 39pts
2nd Rosco Langoulant (13) 34pts
3rd John O’Keefe (16) 32pts
Div C (17+)
1st Barry McIntosh (21) 41pts
2nd Bob Lindborg (19) 35pts
3rd Terry Phur (18) 33pts
The Outback Golf Bar is situated about 6km from Sukhumvit Road along Soi Siam Country. All are welcome to come and join us for a beer and a hit. Just call in and put your name down on the list or call Jack on 087 941 2474.
