PSC golf Bunker Boys @ The Ranch
Monday, August 11, Mt. Shadow – Stableford
Yet another holiday today, and our group of 17 golfers arrived at the Mountain Shadow course to find the car park almost completely full. The management’s policy here of charging normal weekday prices on public holidays is certainly paying off for them, and it can only be hoped that other courses see the light and follow their lead.
We were able to tee off only a few minutes later than our scheduled time in bright sunny conditions, but the lack of rain recently is beginning to show it’s effects, with the lakes down at a very low level and the fairways dry and hard.
Raleigh Gosney enjoys a successful start to his annual leave.
The pace of play was slow due to the crowded course, and a far cry from recent competitions when we’ve played on courses which were virtually empty. One annoying thing here is that the starter regularly allows groups to squeeze in on the 10th tee, between groups which have already completed nine holes, and this happened again today and is guaranteed to further slow down the pace of play on the inward nine.
Tony Robbins continued his run of steady form to take first place on a count back ahead of newcomer Arne Jorgenson, with Mashi Kaneta taking third place. Ken Young completed the podium positions, beating the unlucky Gerry Cooney also on a count back.
We welcomed back Raleigh Gosney at the start of his annual leave, and he duly made his presence felt by taking a near pin prize (and missing a four foot putt for birdie) but then making amends on the next par three by sinking an enormous putt for the ‘2’.
1st Tony Robbins (13) 35pts
2nd Arne Jorgenson (10) 35pts
3rd Mashi Kaneta (13) 32pts
4th Ken Young (26) 30pts
Near Pins: Colin Greig, Mashi Kaneta, Raleigh Gosney and Steve Durey.
Wednesday, August 13, Green Valley – Stableford
Our scheduled tee time today was 30 minutes later than normal at 11.30 a.m., but when we arrived on the tee at 10.45 a.m. there was no one in sight, and we were able to get away immediately.
The weather was bright and sunny with a light breeze keeping the temperature reasonable, and the course was once again in good shape, so everything was in place for another great day’s golf.
Our three groups teed off on the difficult opening hole (surely the rearranged course layout is a step backwards) and the round progressed smoothly without any holdups, getting everyone back in the clubhouse in around four hours.
Surprisingly given the conditions, the scores were moderate with the majority of the scores between 30 and 32 points, and only Raleigh Gosney came close to playing to his handicap with 35 points to take first place. Tony Robbins and Steve Durey both came home with 32 points, with Tony taking second place on the count back.
Geoff Parker and Peter Habgood were playing in the same group and Geoff hit a near perfect tee shot on the par three 13th hole which bounced twice on the green before clipping the pin and coming to rest four feet from the hole. Peter then followed up by skimming his tee shot all along the fairway and up onto the green coming to rest six inches inside Geoff’s ball to take the near pin prize!
1st Raleigh Gosney (17) 35pts
2nd Tony Robbins (13) 32pts
3rd Steve Durey (20) 32pts
Near Pins: Peter Habgood and Arne Jorgenson (2).
Friday, August 15, Pattavia – Stableford
Just three groups of golfers set off for the journey to Pattavia under threatening skies, and the rain duly arrived as we reached the 7 motorway. However, when we arrived at the course there’d been no rain and conditions were once again almost perfect, if a little humid.
Registration was completed efficiently and it must be said that the combined price of 850 baht for green fee and caddy represents probably the best value for money golf in the Pattaya area at the moment.
The course continues to improve with each visit, although the greens as always were grainy and tricky to read. We did experience a ten minute shower of rain as the final group reached the ninth hole, but it moved away quickly and barely affected the course or the greens.
Mashi Kaneta produced the best performance of the day to comfortably take the top place, three points clear of Les Burns who made a very rare (but very welcome) visit to the podium in second place. Raleigh Gosney continued his good form to take third place despite a near disastrous blob on the eighteenth hole.
After the game we enjoyed a snack in the new clubhouse restaurant where the owners are providing Chang Export beer at 55 baht (small) and 80 baht (large) which is almost half the price charged at some of the courses in the area – certainly a good value for money day all round.
1st Mashi Kaneta (13) 38pts
2nd Les Burns (32) 35pts
3rd Raleigh Gosney (17) 33pts
Near Pins: Ken Young, Lee Butler and Mashi Kaneta.
Note: The Bunker Boys are a PSC affiliated golf society, who now play out of The Ranch bar on Pattaya 3rd Road (in front of the fire station, and almost opposite the Buffalo Bar). We play on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so if you enjoy a fun day out, and a friendly but competitive golf competition why not come and join us. We meet at The Ranch at 9 a.m. for breakfast and transportation, and new players are always welcome.
Contact “Buff” on 086 046 5091 or 080 605 5663 for all enquiries or got to website: www.bunkersociety.com.
