PSC Golf from The Growling Swan
Monday, March 4, Bangpakong – Stableford
A couple of late withdrawals brought our numbers down to 24 and on an overcast but fine Monday morning we assembled at The Growling Swan in readiness for the longish journey to one of our favourites, Bangpakong Riverside Golf Club. An early tee time meant an earlier than normal departure of 8.00 a.m. and we managed to depart just five minutes later than that as Stu had slept in but of course we waited for him.
We welcomed back Paul Quinn and Kevin Waycott and gave a special welcome to three charming Thai ladies who had driven down from Bangkok to play with us – Miss Wanta, Miss Anna & Miss Ploy.
Peter Bye, Russell Calcutt & Ed Stewart.
It was a bit of a slow trip which resulted in us arriving at the course 70 minutes later but surprisingly the venue was very quiet so we were able to take our time in preparation. Weather conditions were very unusual for this time of year as it was quite cool with a bit of breeze and our first four ball teed off twenty minutes behind schedule at 9.50 a.m. with no-one ahead of us.
As expected, the golf course was in pristine condition with the lush fairways and beautifully prepared greens which were at times quite slick but firm and true. Continuing to be overcast it did try to rain a couple of times and one of my playing partners, veteran Don Richardson, spotted a swallow flying very close to the ground on one occasion which prompted him to remark that it was a sign of rain. He was sort of correct as we did get a few drops but not at any stage did it look like spoiling our day.
We played at a steady pace, enjoying the golf course and the company and completed the round in the reasonable time of four hours & fifteen minutes.
We were able to have 2 grades with five podium spots in each. A Grade was for handicaps 0 to 17 and B Grade for 18 and over. We had nearest the pins on all the par threes and longest first putts on the 9th & 18th greens.
Gary Monley, Shane Young & Mike Gosden.
As the scores started to come in afterwards it was apparent that someone would have a very good score and that indeed was the case with Peter Bye winning the A Grade with a super 47 points and fellow Aussie Kevin Waycott was snapping at his heels in second place with a fine 45 points. With two golfers on 41 points a count back was required and Don Richardson (23 point back nine) took third spot from Alain “Inspector Clousseau” Taddei (20 point back nine) in fourth place and Miss Anna finished fifth with 39 points.
It was a close contest at the top of B Grade with Ed “Willie Nelson” Stewart coming first with 42 points, just one point ahead of the “in form” Duangjai “Kae” Tusagad who finished second. The popular Sandy “Leiperfrog” Leiper took third spot with 39 points and in a three-way count back on 38 points it was Graham “Grunter” Buckingham (21 point back nine) who finished fourth with Max “Corsets” Bracegirdle (19 point back nine) in fifth spot. Geri Crilly (18 point back nine) was the unlucky one who missed out on a podium spot.
A Flight (0-17)
1st Peter Bye (16) 47pts
2nd Kevin Waycott (11) 45pts
3rd Don Richardson (12) 41pts
4th Alain Taddei (17) 41pts
5th Miss Anna (12) 39pts
B Flight (18+)
1st Ed Stewart (19) 42pts
2nd Duangjai Tusagad (26) 41pts
3rd Sandy Leiper (34) 39pts
4th Graham Buckingham (25) 38pts
5th Max Bracegirdle (28) 38pts
Near Pins: 4th – Miss Anna, 7th – Graham Buckingham, 13th – Alain Taddei, 16th – Miss Wanta
Long Putts: 9th – Don Richardson, 18th – Miss Anna
The Growling Swan NAGA Award, (awarded to the golfer who has the worst score on the day and discreetly their score is not made public) was won by Russell Calcutt who accepted the cap in fine spirit. Martin Todd took Deefa for the usual walk and collected many donations for the needy in Pattaya from our ever generous Growling Swan golfers.
It was then back to the Growling Swan for the usual post mortems, although the stand out was the beaming Peter Bye who after his previous game stated that he was seriously thinking of giving the game up. Today he improved by 22 shots, which just goes to show, you should stick with it and never give up at this great game of ours! It was yet another terrific day with good company & plenty of fun.
Thursday, March 7, Treasure Hill – Stableford
It was once again time for the Growling Swan Delinquents to join us, which boosted our field to 27 for the day’s outing to the tough Treasure Hill Golf Course and we assembled at the Bar in readiness for the trip.
We welcomed Ken Hole, who hadn’t played with us for a while, and also the returning Dick Braimbridge after nearly 3 months back in Queensland, Australia. It was time to say farewell to Harry (HTH) Wszola who is off back to Queensland with his family for 8 weeks.
Departing the GS in 3 minivans right on time at 8.30 a.m. we headed off and after encountering the usual heavy traffic on 331 we arrived at the course 50 minutes later where it appeared to be almost deserted. There was no-one waiting on the first tee so our first group, a three-ball got away 10 minutes ahead of schedule at 9.50 a.m., teeing off into a fairly stiff breeze on the tough par five first hole.
The skies were clear and it was shaping up to be a hot one but the course was in very good condition although the sanded greens posed a few problems for many and as the scores indicated afterwards the course was to be the winner on the day. The three-ball bolted away from the rest of the field and completed their round in the very quick time of three hours & forty five minutes.
We were able to have 2 grades with five podium spots in each. A Grade was for handicaps 0 to 23 and B Grade for 24 and over. We had nearest the pins on all the par threes and longest first putts on the 9th & 18th greens.
We had just one golfer who was able to play to their handicap and it was Mike “Hunter” Gosden who won the A Grade section with a steady 36 points, with Martin Todd in second place on 33 points. With 2 golfers on 31 points we had a count back situation which saw Ebrahim (17 point back nine) taking third spot from your writer, Peter Blackburn (16 point back nine) in fourth place.
Then came 5 golfers on 30 points vying for the final spot on the podium and it was Mike Allidi (18 point back nine & 13 points on the last 6 holes) winning the count back from Roy “Plums” Dayton (18 point back nine & 10 points on the last 6 holes), Stu Rifkin (16 point back nine), Paul Hack (16 point back nine) & J C Lhoste (14 point back nine).
The winner of B Grade was Shane “Jockey” Young breaking through for his very first top place finish with 34 points, 1 point ahead of Frank “Toy Story” Donnelly in second spot with the returning Dick “Reverend” Braimbridge in third place on 32 points. Wendy Bernek finished fourth with 31 points and Duangjai “Kae” Tusagad was fifth with 30 points.
A Flight (0-23)
1st Mike Gosden (12) 36pts
2nd Martin Todd (8) 33pts
3rd Ebrahim (17) 31pts
4th Peter Blackburn (10) 31pts
5th Mike Allidi (2) 30pts
B Flight (24+)
1st Shane Young (29) 34pts
2nd Frank Donnelly (24) 33pts
3rd Dick Braimbridge (36) 32pts
4th Wendy Bernek (30) 31pts
5th Duangjai Tusagad (26) 30pts
Near Pins: 2nd – Mike Gosden, 6th – Frank Donnelly, 13th – Martin Todd, 17th – Peter Bye
Long Putts: 9th – Mike Gosden, 18th – Paul Hack
It was also time to announce the Growling Swan Golfer of The Month award for the month of February. This award is based on the total of the golfers’ best 4 stableford scores during the month and the results were as follows:
1st Duangjai “Kae” Tusagad 153pts
2nd Martin Todd 145pts
3rd Ebrahim 144pts
The Growling Swan NAGA Award was narrowly won by Gary Monley who accepted the cap in fine spirit and wore the cap for quite some time in the Bar afterwards. Martin Todd took Deefa for the usual walk and collected many donations for the needy in Pattaya from our ever generous Growling Swan golfers.
I took this opportunity to give an update on our “Deefa the Dog” collections and informed everyone that with a figure in excess of 26,000 baht we were now ready to fund yet another project to assist the Pattaya underprivileged. William Macey, Charity Chairman of Pattaya Sports Club has been informed and we are awaiting advice from him regarding a new project.
Back at the Growling Swan afterwards it was busy and noisy of course while discussions regarding the day’s golf and “what could have been” permeated throughout the bar. Yet another great day out on a very good golf course with terrific company.
Note: Growling Swan Golf, the home of friendly golf in Pattaya welcomes golfers of any persuasion – low & high handicappers alike, female golfers and beginners. We generally play Mondays & Thursdays, meeting at The Growling Swan (formerly The Bunker Bar) in Soi Chaiyapoon at 8.00 a.m. with transport departing at 8.30 a.m. For bookings or more information please contact Peter on 0806 351 386 or email to petermalcolmblackburn @gmail.com.
