PSC golf from the Café Kronborg
Tuesday, Jan. 3, Pleasant Valley – Stableford
This was our first outing of 2012 and we had 39 golfers signed up to take on the popular Pleasant Valley. Unfortunately there were 2 “no shows” which cut the field down to 37 but it was still a very good start to the year and there was a buzz in Café Kronborg as we prepared for the day’s competition.
We were happy to welcome Urs Zwicky from Switzerland, Peter Hall from Canada/Japan and Rune Aasheim & Per Brandsrod from Norway.
Tuesday’s flight winners Dave Richardson & Stu Rifkin.
Departing the Kronny right on time at 0815 hrs it was just a 42 minute trip and we were there. Being another Thai Public Holiday the course was very busy as expected but we managed to get our first group away 15 minutes ahead of schedule at 0945 hrs.
We had encountered some light rain during our trip to the course and indeed it was that way for brief periods of the day but never at any stage heavy enough to get the brolly up. The course was looking in fine shape and the greens were excellent although a touch slower than the ones we have been playing on for the last couple of weeks. If there was one negative it was the bunkers which need to have some work done on them and hopefully this will be done before the PSC Monthly Medal next month.
It was an enjoyable and leisurely round of golf which was completed in four hours and twenty five minutes, a good time considering there were 216 golfers on the course on the day.
There were 2 flights with A Flight for handicaps 0 to 18 and B Flight for 19 and over. There were rewards for nearest the pin on all four par threes and longest first putts on the ninth & eighteenth greens.
When we played here last month there were 2 golfers with 45 points and a host of others with 40 plus but this time for some the course was even less difficult.
Thursday’s flight winners Don Richardson and Scott Lobenwein with ‘The Admiral’.
Getting back into the swing of things after not much golf over the past month or so and sporting a brand new number two haircut, my old mate San Miguel Stu Rifkin won the A Flight with a massive 48 points! 6 points further back but still with a great score was Niels Hansen in second place and Alain Taddei with 41 points finished third. Jean Morel’s 39 points earned him fourth place and Richard Kubicki finished fifth on 38 points. A five-way count back for sixth spot saw Walter Baechli (20 point back nine, 14 points last 6 holes) finish sixth ahead of Mike Gosden (20 point back nine, 11 points last 6 holes) with both players on 37 points. Also on the same score were Ted Morris, Rob Brown & Kris Helgason.
The Admiral himself had a day out and won the B Flight with 41 points, just 1 point in front of Graham Buckingham in second place. A count back saw Bjarne Kjaer (22 point back nine) finish third from Urs Zwicky (18 point back nine) in fourth place, both having 39 points. Wendy Bernek finished fifth on 38 points and Per Brandsrod was sixth with 37 points.
A Flight (0-18)
1st Stu Rifkin (15) 48pts
2nd Niels Hansen (15) 42pts
3rd Alain Taddei (17) 41pts
4th Jean Morel (18) 39pts
5th Richard Kubicki (15) 38pts
6th Walter Baechli (17) 37pts
B Flight (19+)
1st Dave Richardson (25) 41pts
2nd Graham Buckingham (23) 40pts
3rd Bjarne Kjaer (21) 39pts
4th Urs Zwicky (23) 39pts
5th Wendy Bernek (32) 38pts
6th Per Brandsrod (25) 37pts
Near Pins: 5th Peter Hammond; 8th Rita Zoebeli; 13th Frank Sharratt; 17th Mike Winfield
Long Putts: 9th Leif Kirkgaard, 18th Stu Rifkin
The Compass Cap (worst score on the day) was won in a count back by Rita Zoebeli from Andre Van Dyk, and Deefa the Dog collected many donations for charity.
Thursday, Jan. 5, Mountain Shadow – Stableford
Once more we had a terrific field with 38 golfers signed up for the day and this time there were no annoying “no shows” as we assembled at Café Kronborg in readiness for the trip to the challenging Mountain Shadow Golf Course.
Welcomes were handed out to Gordon Uvanile from Canada, Alan Dornan from New Zealand and Eddie Glinsek from the U.S.A. We also wished Bon Voyage to Scott (Chun) Lobenwein who was returning to Australia in the next few days.
Departing the Kronny right on time at 0815 hrs in 4 minivans we headed off to the course but unfortunately one of the vans had a new driver who somehow got lost on the way, so what should have been a 45 minute trip turned into a 60 minute one. We arrived with plenty of time to spare however and as the course was not busy the first of our 10 groups got away 20 minutes ahead of schedule at 0940 hrs in fabulous golfing weather conditions. The sun was shining but not too hot and a gentle breeze made things very pleasant throughout the round.
Unfortunately after four holes one of our group was taken ill and he returned to the clubhouse from where he was eventually taken to hospital by ambulance. We wish Elias a speedy recovery and hope to see him back playing with us very soon and thanks to Dr Paul Cardwell for his expert assistance. Our now a threesome continued in very brisk fashion and after a couple of drink stops we completed our round in the very good time of three hours and fifty minutes. The course was in great condition with the greens as well maintained & slick as ever.
There were 2 flights with A Flight for handicaps 0 to 19 and B Flight for 20 and over. There were rewards for nearest the pin on all four par threes and longest first putts on the ninth & eighteenth greens.
In sharp contrast to Tuesday’s game at Pleasant Valley there were no runaway scores, which accentuates the difference in degree of difficulty of the two courses. A Flight was won in a count back by Don Richardson (19 point back nine) ahead of Richard Kubicki (17 point back nine) in second place, both having 37 points. In third place came Aussie Paul Avery on 36 points with Scot Rob Brown fourth on 34 points. Another count back was necessary to decide fifth & sixth places and Dr Paul Cardwell (17 point back nine) edged out Niels Hansen (15 point back nine), both with 33 points.
Celebrating his last game in style, Scott (Chun) Lobenwein (21 point back nine) won B Flight with 38 points in a three-way count back from Daryl Evans (19 point back nine, 15 points last 6 holes) and Hugh O’Donnell (19 point back nine, 14 points last 6 holes). In fourth spot was The Admiral with 37 points and yet another count back was necessary to decide fifth & sixth places. In a very tight one Mike Winfield (13 point back nine, 8 points last 6 holes, 6 points last 3 holes and 8 for 1 on the 14th hole) just scraped home from Urs Zwicky (same last 9 hole stats but with no score on hole no. 14). Both golfers had 34 points for the round.
A Flight (0-19)
1st Don Richardson (12) 37pts
2nd Richard Kubicki (15) 37pts
3rd Paul Avery (10) 36pts
4th Rob Brown (8) 34pts
5th Paul Cardwell (16) 33pts
6th Niels Hansen (13) 33pts
B Flight (20+)
1st Scott Lobenwein (32) 38pts
2nd Daryl Evans (20) 38pts
3rd Hugh O’Donnell (25) 38pts
4th Dave Richardson (24) 37pts
5th Mike Winfield (21) 34pts
6th Urs Zwicky (23) 34pts
Near Pins: 5th Mashi Kaneta, 8th Graham Buckingham, 15th Alan Dornan, 17th Dave Richardson
Long Putts: 9th Rob Brown, 18th Scott Lobenwein
The Compass Cap (worst score on the day) was easily won by Eddie Glinsek with a record low score (not for publication) and Deefa the Dog was paraded by his master, Hunter, and collected many donations to charity from our generous Café Kronborg group.
