PSC Golf from The Growling Swan
Monday, April 22, Eastern Star – Stableford
With Songkran now over but with many people still away we had our smallest field for quite some time as there were only 12 signed up to take on the tough Eastern Star layout. Assembling at The Growling Swan we welcomed back Bob Akapita from his work in Gove in the Northern Territory of Australia plus veteran Kevin Dinan from several weeks in Ireland.
We had just the one mini-van plus cars and we departed the GS five minutes ahead of our scheduled 8.30 am departure time and after heading south through the Monday morning traffic we arrived at the course 43 minutes later. The course was very quiet and we were pleasantly surprised when checking in to find the current special which is 900 baht including Green Fee & Caddy plus 500 baht if a cart is required.
ANZAC Day winners – Fred Dineley, Peter Grey, Samorn Tanamsri, Mick Fleetwood & Paul Hack.
We were invited to tee off at our leisure and after a quick practice putt or two we sent our first four-ball away 25 minutes ahead of schedule at 9.35 am. The weather was hot & humid with practically no breeze so the sight of the drinks hut was always a relief to say the least. The course was in great shape with the greens in particular of a high standard and the work that has been put into the maintenance of this golf course recently is now paying off big time.
The day just got hotter & hotter as we struggled to post decent scores and after a couple of short drink breaks we managed to complete the full round in four hours & twenty five minutes. Despite the oppressive heat we all had a great day out with terrific company on an excellent but challenging golf course.
Ebrahim & Max Bracegirdle.
As a result of the small field we had just the one grade with five podium places and 2 nearest the pins and 1 longest first putt on the last hole.
The winner on the day was the popular Ebrahim with 34 points and in a two-way count back with a couple of golfers on 32 points it was Mike Allidi (16 point back nine) who finished second from Peter Bye (14 point back nine) in third place. Your writer, Peter Blackburn came fourth with 31 points and Bob Akapita rounded off the podium with 29 points.
1st Ebrahim (15) 34pts
2nd Mike Allidi (2) 32pts
3rd Peter Bye (12) 32pts
4th Peter Blackburn (11) 31pts
5th Bob Akapita (14) 29pts
Near Pins: 3rd – Peter Bye, 17th – Mike Allidi
Long Putts: 18th – Ebrahim
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 narrowly won on a count back by Max “Corsets” Bracegirdle who of course accepted the cap in good spirit.
Yours truly took Deefa for the usual walk and collected many donations for the needy in Pattaya from our ever generous Growling Swan golfers.
Thursday, April 25 – Bangpra – Stableford
ANZAC Day – 25th April – is probably Australia’s most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.
Last year at The Growling Swan we held the inaugural Anzac Day Tournament so naturally the tradition must continue. Most of the 28 starters assembled at The Growling Swan at 0630 hrs for a short Memorial Service where “The Ode” was delivered, the Last Post was played and we all observed a minute’s silence to pay tribute to those brave men and women. It was then time to partake of the traditional rum & milk (just in shot glasses) and then prepare for the early departure time of 0730 hrs for a 0900 hrs tee off at Bangpra.
We were very happy to welcome Americans Mick Fleetwood (no not that one), in Pattaya for a break from his work in Korea and his father Pat from Washington State, USA, who is celebrating his 70th birthday – Happy Birthday Pat. Also Aussies Kevin Waycott, Mark Stapleton & Eddie Kost who are back with us again along with our good friend Takeshi Hakozaki from Japan.
It was sadly time to say farewell to Gordon Clegg who is returning to his work in Saudi Arabia and also regular R & R visitor Bob Akapita who is off back to his work at Gove in the Northern Territory of Australia. Also Bon Voyage to yours truly who is going to Perth for a couple of weeks to have a bit of medical work done.
Two of our 3 mini vans departed right on time and the other one had to wait a few minutes for Paul Hack who just couldn’t get his makeup right and was therefore was running a few minutes late. We arrived at the course 45 minutes later to find things fairly quiet and after a few practice putts & chips we were able to send our first of seven four-balls away right on schedule at 0900 hrs.
It was hot and sticky but fine and the golf course as ever was in great shape. Some said they thought the greens were quite a bit slower than normal but if they found themselves above the hole a few times, like I did, they may have needed to revise that comment. The white tees appeared to be well back which made the course tough, particularly the first four holes so it was apparent that points scoring would be low on the day and that is indeed the way it turned out.
After stopping a couple of times for much needed drink breaks in the heat we managed to complete the full round in four hours & twenty minutes. It had been a very enjoyable round of golf despite the heat and the toughness of the course and of course the company was first class.
There were two trophies up for grabs the same as last year with one Anzac Day Trophy for golfers with handicaps of 0 to 27 and the other one for handicaps of 28 and over. In addition we had 2 grades with a Grade for handicaps 0 to 17 and B Grade for 18 and over with five podium spots for each. There were also of course rewards for nearest the pins on all the par threes and longest first putts on the 9th & 18th greens.
The winner of the 0 to 27 Anzac Day Trophy with 34 points was Samorn Tanamsri and the 28 and over Anzac Day Trophy was won by Fred Dinely with the best score of the day, 35 points.
A Grade was won on a count back by Paul Hack (17 point back nine) from Alain “Inspector Clouseau” Taddei (16 point back nine) with both on 33 points. In third place came Suparp “Anna” Korboon with 32 points, Mike “Hunter” Gosden fourth on 31 points & Bill Hewitt rounding off the podium on 27 points.
The winner of the B Grade was American Mick Fleetwood with 31 points and Russell Calcutt finished second on 29 points. In third place came Andrew “Turtle” Allen with 25 points, Max “Corsets” Bracegirdle was fourth with 23 points and Gary Monley fifth with 22 points.
Anzac Trophy (0-27)
1st Samorn Tanamsri 34pts
Anzac Trophy (28+)
1st Fred Dineley 35pts
A Flight (0-17)
1st Paul Hack (14) 33pts
2nd Alain Taddei (17) 33pts
3rd Suparp Korboon (9) 32pts
4th Mike Gosden (12) 31pts
5th Bill Hewitt (17) 27pts
B Flight (18+)
1st Mick Fleetwood (18) 31pts
2nd Russell Calcutt (36) 29pts
3rd Andrew Allen (36) 25pts
4th Max Bracegirdle (27) 23pts
5th Gary Monley (36) 22pts
Near Pins: 2nd – Peter Bye, 8th – Kevin Waycott, 12th – Wanta Dacha, 17th – Wanta Dacha
Long Putts: 9th – Max Bracegirdle, 18th – Andrew Allen
Despite a request from someone (Peter Grey) that the NAGA Award be suspended for this special occasion, the plea fell on deaf ears and the cap was awarded to – yes, you’ve guessed it – Growling Swan Mine Host Peter Grey (the cap is still red in colour but is in danger of being changed to a different colour in the near future!)
Peter then kindly took Deefa the Dog for a walk and collected many donations for the needy in Pattaya. It was back to The Growling Swan where presentations were conducted and there was a large crowd there enjoying the excellent facilities and celebrating this important day in the Australian Calendar.
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 am with transport departing at 8.30 am. For bookings or more information please contact Peter on 0806 351 386 or email to [email protected].
