PSC golf from The Golf Club
Monday, Sept. 17, Green Valley (White tees) – Stableford
1st Jeff Cordeiro (9) 39pts
2nd Mick Beresford (16) 36pts
3rd Phil Smedley (13) 34pts
Remember the skies last week? It was dark and drizzly this Monday morning and there were many phone calls to cancel, in spite of our insistence that rain should never make you stay at home here in Pattaya. Still, we had four groups that hung in there and four groups that had their reward.
J.J. Wright with coach Nim.
While raining in town, Green Valley was dry and a perfect day of golf was on the cards with cool weather and overcast skies. It did not rain on Jeff Cordeiros’ parade as he marched to victory with a three stroke win over second place Micky Beresford who was also the best-dressed golfer on the day.
Golf Captain Phil Smedley finished with a dry 34 for third place to finish off this week’s leaderboard.
Back to the rain, September is the month for the heaviest rainfall in Pattaya, but that said, we rarely get rained out. Most courses around here are sandy based and are designed for spurts of heavy rain, and when it rains it pours!
Fortunately we have drinks stands that double as rain shelters for protection every 3 holes, so you can usually hide out in comfort (proximity to beer = comfort). And if you do get wet, at least it’s warm and not the bone chilling freeze out we have back in the U.K. It would be a shame not to use that 900 baht graphite shafted Titleist brolly, wouldn’t it?
Wednesday 19th – Lam Luk Ka – Stableford,
White tees.
1st J.J. Wright (13) 36pts
2nd Phil Page (10) 35pts
3rd John Baxter (15) 33pts
The semi-regular road trip took us to 2 fabulous Bangkok golf courses; first Lam Luk Ka then Alpine CC. Today was squishy underfoot, so a low-impact round of golf was on the cards. We were treated to the Championship A & B nines at Lam Luk Ka, and were sent out right on time.
What a great track this is, and the sports day rate of 1,500 is tremendous value, so take advantage of this special summer offer while you still can. Roger Packard designed this course, and his company also did the redesign of Medinah, this week’s Ryder Cup venue. He and his father Larry have 260 golf course projects worldwide under their belts!
Twenty-one brave souls took to the links and all finished high and dry with not a drop of rain. J.J. Wright was the best on the day, beating several other Siam C.C. members and many single digit handicappers on this beautiful course. Phil Page just missed out by a point to take 2nd slot and John Baxter shot a 33 for his first round on this tremendous track for 3rd place honours.
Also, Jeff (antihistamine) Calrow got cozy with the 12th hole flag for his near pin win. I hear the shot was made between sneezes, poor dear.
Thursday, Sept. 20, Alpine G.C. – Stableford
White Tees
1st Phil Page (10) 38pts
2nd Jim Dundon (13) 34pts
Blue Tees
1st Martin Rock (11) 35pts
2nd Jon Lay (8) 34pts
Alpine Golf Club is one of those few iconic golf courses in Thailand that are the stuff of legend. It is a must-play course for the visitor or resident (if you can get on!). Host to the Johnny Walker and many more, the course also gained notoriety by being the brainchild of controversial former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. It is a lovely golf course with half of the holes being “signature” quality and a delight to photograph with its undulations in the fairway and a great deal of earth moving for elevation changes.
Ron Garl from Florida designed this course, and was given the task of creating a hilly terrain from rice paddy fields out near the old airport. This was his first project in Asia, and the results of his efforts are truly superb. It is a very unique golf experience and most certainly a first-class venue. Alpine G.C. will always be rated in the Top 5 courses in the Kingdom.
Beautiful Alpine Golf Club.
Today’s golf was divided up with a Blue Tee group and a White Tee group, just for a bit of fun. We were all playing under the same conditions, that is, recovering from a night in Bangkok! That visit to the local night market and temples certainly took its’ toll.
On the first tee, it was a bit on the muggy side, but no rain touched the course so we were all semi-ready for a great round of golf. Our hosts at Alpine were fantastic to us for this special day out from Pattaya.
IPGC-ers Martin Rock and Jon Lay stole the show from the blue tees but still just missed out on shooting their handicap. Well played lads, and thanks for joining in with us. Jim Dundon had a great round shooting 34 at Alpine, but it was Phil Page who had the best score of the day with 38 points to top the leaderboard. That is a great score on this golf course, so congratulations to you Phil. Actually, with his first here and a second on the day before, Phil also took the honours as Road King for this trip!
Literally everyone commented on how well-run this trip was, and we can thank Capt. Phil Smedley for organizing and running a silky smooth road show once again. Co-pilot Oddvar Rykke must also receive our thanks for being the human GPS to weave our way through the Big Mango and get everyone back safely. Thanks to all who joined in for another great golf trip!
Note: The Golf Club is located on Soi LK Metro. We usually play on Monday, Wednesday and Friday so come join us for a seriously fun day out. Just call 085 434 3377 or see our website www.golfclubpattaya.com and for more information mail us: pattaya4golf@ gmail.com and see updates at www.facebook.com/golfclubpattaya.
