PSC golf from the Bunker Boys @ The Ranch
Monday, Sept. 30, Green Valley – KPK Medal
There was heavy rain overnight and the morning was grey and threatening, which deterred a few fair weather golfers, so only three groups headed off to Green Valley. We drove through heavy rain travelling down route 36, but when we arrived at the course it appeared to have stopped – only commencing again as the first group teed off!
This was our third medal competition of the month, once again sponsored by KPK Foods, and we elected to play winter rules as the fairways were saturated. The first four holes were played in steady drizzle but then the clouds moved away and the rest of the round was completed in bright sunshine, with the course drying out rapidly as the round progressed.
Tony Robbins (left), winner of the KPK voucher at Green Valley, with Mashi and Colin.
The conditions meant that scoring was going to be difficult and no one suffered more than the pre-tournament favourite Peter Habgood (5 wins from the previous 7 medal competitions) who eventually returned to the clubhouse to claim the wooden spoon.
It was a day for the wily old veterans as Tony Robbins was the declared the winner on a count back ahead of Reg Smart, with the much younger Mark West a shot behind in third place. It was Reg Smart’s best performance in a medal competition for quite some time, and he also picked up a near pin prize which he generously used to provide chips for his mates back at The Ranch.
1st Tony Robbins (14) net 75
2nd Reg Smart (26) net 75
3rd Mark West (15) net 76
Near Pins: Alan Freeman, John Graham, Mark West, and Reg Smart.
Wednesday, Oct. 2, Treasure Hill – Stableford
Another grey morning and the rain started falling just as we prepared to leave The Ranch, so for the second game in succession we were down to three groups of hardy golfers. The rain became torrential as we headed towards the 7 motorway, but halfway to the course it suddenly stopped and the skies cleared.
We arrived at the clubhouse to find we were virtually the only people there, and we teed off at our leisure in bright sunshine with the fairways dry. The extensive work being carried out around the greens is still ongoing and seems to have been going on for an eternity, but one has to assume that sometime (hopefully in the near future) the course will be back in tip top condition.
We had a brief ten minute shower of rain halfway through the round but other than that the conditions were good although the greens were exceptionally slow, and most golfers struggled to get the ball to the hole.
Geoff Parker produced the best score of the day (a very rare event for him at Treasure Hill) to take first place ahead of Neil Hurst who was playing his first game following his recent return to Pattaya.
The only controversy of the day was on the par three 17th hole when a badly cut fringe area around the green sparked a discussion as to whether Alan Freeman’s tee shot was on or off the green for the near pin prize, but eventually it was deemed to be off.
1st Geoff Parker (14) 35pts
2nd Neil Hurst (12) 33pts
3rd Peter Habgood (18) 32pts
Near Pins: Alan Freeman, Geoff Hart, Geoff Parker, and Peter Habgood.
Friday, Oct. 4, Green Valley – Medal
This must have been one of the wettest weeks in recent memory, and we received a call from our scheduled venue, Crystal Bay, to inform us that no buggies would be allowed on the course due to the heavily saturated ground. In order to accommodate our senior members a change of venue was required, and we were able to squeeze our three groups onto Green Valley, for our second visit of the week.
Once again the trip down route 36 was undertaken in heavy drizzle and it was still persisting as we arrived at the course. After some deliberation, we decided to take the plunge and teed off in light drizzle. All went well for the outward nine, and although the fairways were soggy, the greens were fine, and the drizzle was intermittent and hardly worthy of raising an umbrella.
We were beginning to think that the golfing gods were smiling on us again, but as the leading group reached the 13th hole, the heavy rain arrived and the fairways and greens quickly flooded. Despite waiting over an hour for the deluge to subside, there was no sign of the skies clearing, and we were forced to cancel the competition and make the long (and extremely wet) trek back to the clubhouse.
The Green Valley management generously provided us with a rain check for nine holes (something which fewer and fewer courses are doing nowadays) so we will be heading back in a couple weeks to complete the task, on what is one of our favourite courses.
Note: The Bunker Boys play out of The Ranch bar on Pattaya 3rd Road (in front of the fire station, and almost opposite the Buffalo Bar). We play three times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. New players are always welcome. Contact “Buff” on 086 046 5091 or 080 605 5663 for all enquiries.
