IPGC golf from The Haven
Monday, July 15, The Emerald – Stableford
CSS 72
1st Markku Tynell (22) 37pts
2nd Allen Raaen (9) 37pts
3rd Hal Hart (20) 35pts
4th Peter Buckley (19) 34pts
5th Alwyne Burley (15) 33pts
6th Danny Greer (25) 33pts
7th Shuichi Kodaka (17) 33pts
After the short and extremely wet previous week it was good to get back to something like normal golf, although the competitions at The Emerald are still held under the special tournament rule of ‘lift and place’ in the fairways due to the infiltration of the fairways by crab grass and even though the course was still suffering from the effects of the rainy weather, the scores attested that the conditions were good.
Markku Tynell.
Markku Tynell started off what was to be a very good week with a win but needed to take the count back, which he did with an outstanding back-nine of four under handicap after starting slowly and thus consigning Allen Raaen to second place after scoring 17 to 22 from Markku. Markku finished off the round with a gross birdie four on the last hole that netted four of those points to seal the win which matched Allen’s birdie on the same hole but three dropped shots on the 17th for a zero return cost the latter the win.
Hal Hart continued with his recent steady play, taking third spot two behind the leaders but he also dropped points on the last three holes, taking just two points from them and waving goodbye to his chances of another win.
Peter Buckley had eight points after four holes with a blob on the third but kept at it to finish with seventeen points on both nines and take fourth place ahead of a three-way count back for fifth. This was won by Alwyne Burley whose 20 pushed Danny Greer down to sixth after he ended the inward half with 17 points, and Shuichi Kodaka seventh with 14, after he had looked a possible winner after nine.
Once again there were no 2’s in either division.
Wednesday, July 17, Bangpra – Stableford
CSS 73
Division 1 (0-15)
1st Graham Davis (8) 38pts
2nd Tom Britt (9) 34pts
3rd Mike Dabanovich (12) 31pts
Division 2 (16+)
1st Tom McCarthy (21) 33pts
2nd Don Everett (20) 31pts
3rd Markku Tynell (22) 29pts
Allen Raaen.
A big turnout meant the formation of two divisions again with the cut coming at 15 and below for the first division as many of the old faces took the opportunity to play one of the best liked courses and the oldest in the area. It is never easy to score well here though and on this day the tees had been set well back with the shortest hole on the day measuring 184 yards on the card but playing even longer. A proper measurement of the length would have perhaps shown a course of around 6700 plus yards and therefore it was unsurprising that the CSS for the day moved out to 73.
This underlined the fine effort of Graham Davis whose 38 points took the first division top spot, and equated to three under handicap, to head a field that contained many single figure players.
Tom Britt one of those single handicap men took second place after staring slowly, scoring just one point on the first two holes, then settled down and finished strongly which left returnee Mike Dabanovich, who hadn’t seen a golf course for the last six weeks amongst the sand dunes, in third.
The second division found the course a much tougher proposition, with Tom McCarthy running out the winner after turning in a three over handicap return which was good enough by two. This was after he had started explosively with a par for four points on the first but then sadly took a zero on the par three second, as did many others on the day as they found the hole teed up at almost two hundred yards and a little too difficult to handle, in fact there was only one par recorded on it from the whole field.
Graham Davis.
Don Everett took second place ahead of Markku Tynell’s second podium finish for the week.
Both the ‘2’s pools grew in size as once more the very long par threes defeated everyone, refusing to give up any birdies.
Prior to the prize giving there were welcomes for new members Tom Britt, Russell Spratt from the USA, and also for Michael Marchant and Richard Dudley Smith from OZ holidaying in Thailand and playing golf trying to forget all other sports for the time being but were very pleased to have the opportunity to at least view the urn once again.
Friday, July 19, Plutaluang N & W – Stableford
CSS 72
Division 1 (0-15)
1st Allen Raaen (9) 38pts
2nd Russell Spratt (8) 37pts
3rd Tom Britt (9) 37pts
Division 2 (16+)
1st Hal Hart (20) 34pts
2nd Mick Bogunovich (32) 32pts
3rd Markku Tynell (22) 31pts
The first division was led in today by Allen Raaen with his second round under handicap for the week but he needed to finish strongly, which he did, scoring 20 points over the inward half to deny Russell Spratt his first win out of Soi 13 by a single point.
Russell took second after a count back over playing partner Tom Britt, which he won with a better 19 to 16 after Tom had scored freely on the opening nine but waned badly on the last four holes, claiming just three points from them. Also in contention was Graham Davis who had a very creditable two over round that showed no zeros, but unfortunately not enough threes.
Hal Hart bettered his previous podium placing by two as he won the second division with a steady two over handicap round which left Mike Bogunovich in second and Markku Tynell, placing for the third time in the week, in third.
At last both the ‘2’s pools were taken as Allen Raaen and Tom Britt shared the first and Shuichi Kodaka took the second division, negating the chances of the treasurer doing a bunk with a sack full of loot. Shuichi was quoted as saying he would now be able to stay a further four weeks this trip but Tom and Allen were too inebriated to give any interviews to the reporting staff who arrived late on the scene.
Back at The Haven, without the usual Emcee who was on his annual holidays for two days in Koh Chang, and possibly the reason that the numbers of players competing reached the highest level of the low season, Trevor Schirmer did the honours and announced the winners.
Having claimed the longest drive prize but then found he needed to share it with Al Rolnik and Terry Hodgkiss, he welcomed back Al Rolnik from an extended holiday in the USA together with Vincent Gras and Ron Kerslake from the Northern Territories, Mick Bogunovich from PI here for a short rest and Johnny Clements, taking time off from his singing tour of Thailand.
There were also farewells for John Carling, Peter Buckley, Tom Britt and Russell Spratt after which Trevor was looking distinctly parched but was well appreciated by the throng as opposed to the usual old stuff they were used to hearing.
Note: If you would like to play with The Haven group, you can contact mobile 082 219 0965 or call in to The Haven 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 8.15 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on the days that you wish to play. A schedule of courses to be played can be found on our web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com.
