PSC golf Bunker Boys @ The Ranch
Monday, Feb. 17, The Emerald – Medal
A large field of thirty two golfers dragged themselves out of bed to be tested by this Nick Faldo designed course. Unfortunately one of the group was taken ill before leaving the Ranch which was cruelly put down to Buff’s breakfast and not a skinful the night before.
Arriving at the course nobody was to be seen on the first tee so we got away on time and after the first couple of holes settled down to a good pace. Temperatures were hot and humid under an overcast sky but a very welcome breeze was blowing throughout the round.
John Hughes smiles at the thought of his winnings.
The course was generally in good condition with fairways and greens soft, although tee boxes were showing signs of very heavy usage. This is one of the shorter tracks in the area of just over 6000 yards but it is certainly not one of the easiest but still tends to be popular, with a good selection of differing holes.
A Flight saw Tony Scambler hit a fine net 70 aided by 10 pars in his last 11 holes, followed a shot behind by Colin (Michael Portillo) Greig on net 71
In B Flight, Geoff Hart ran away with it with a one under par net 71 followed 4 shots behind by Skinny Newton, playing his last game before returning to a wet and windy UK.
Best performance of the day though was by Gordon Melia who managed to 4-putt the 17th from 3ft, and in the process ruin his card with a 9.
A Flight
1st Tony Scambler (10) net 70
2nd Colin Greig (7) net 71
3rd Mark West (14) net 75
4th Geoff Parker (14) net 75
B Flight
1st Geoff Hart (24) net 71
2nd Blair Newton (26) net 75
3rd Jack Robertson (25) net 76
4th Ken Young (27) net 76
Near Pins: Paul Smith, Mike Gabe, Colin Greig and Mike Corner
Wednesday, Feb. 17, Treasure Hills – Rainbow Stableford
For those of you not familiar with a rainbow format it can make for some good tactical golfing, although a knowledge of the course and tee position on the day is required. All golfers need to take 6 tee shots from each of the reds, whites and blues (black in this case), in whatever order they wish. Normally this should produce some good scoring but today seemed to be an exception on this very long and difficult track, with some very weird hole indexing not helping.
A smaller field than normal of fifteen golfers were up for the challenge, which meant only one flight and the higher handicappers up against the normal single figure bandits. Not a soul was seen on the first tee and we got away early, with the first group finishing in 4 hours and lots of daylight left.
Fairways were in excellent condition, being liberally watered and manicured, with the greens harder and drier. Tee boxes similarly were in great knick and the only minor complaint would be swathes of very dry grass off the fairways, water obviously concentrated where needed the most.
Every time we come to this course there is maintenance of some sort happening resulting in continual improvements. Fluffy grass around the greens stopped a lot of inbound shots short, and hitting the greens frequently resulted in not stopping on the dance-floor.
Best score of the day belonged to Bunkerboys champion Paul Smith, the long course suiting his game, with a very good 37 points. Nobody else came close to hitting par with Mark Stanley closest on 32 points and Colin Greig and Peter Kelly separated by a count back for the minor placings.
1st Paul Smith (4) 37pts
2nd Mark Stanley (8) 32pts
3rd Colin Greig (7) 31pts
4th Peter Kelly (12) 31pts
Near Pins: Jack Robertson, Paul Smith and Mark Stanley (2)
Friday, Feb. 21, Mt. Shadow – Stableford
We had 22 players today and the course was in good condition and quiet – the quickest round for several weeks in fact and the first 3-ball was back in clubhouse in under 4 hours.
There was a very light sprinkling of rain as the final two groups completed the last 2 holes.
Work is in evidence repairing bunkers with the course currently offering probably the best value for money in terms of price and condition in the area.
This is never an easy track but Mark Stanley in A fight bettered par with 37 points, only to be eclipsed by John Hughes in B Flight who amassed 39. The rest of the field trailed in but it was good to see Ian Milne returning to playing after his recent hospitalization, just losing on a count back to Bruce Gladden.
Only three 20+ handicappers present today so Geoff Parker squeezed into B flight and third place behind the recently consistent Mike Corner.
A Flight
1st Mark Stanley (8) 37pts
2nd Bruce Gladden (13) 34pts
3rd Ian Milne (13) 34pts
B Flight
1st John Hughes (18) 39pts
2nd Mike Corner (19) 34pts
3rd Geoff Parker (14) 33pts
Near Pins: Mark Stanley, Bruce Gladden, Peter Kelly and Colin Greig
Note: The Bunker Boys is a PSC affiliated golf society which now plays 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, and meet at The Ranch at 9 a.m. New players are always welcome. Contact “Buff” on 086 046 5091 or 080 605 5663 for all enquiries. You can find all the news, schedules and results on our website at www.bunkersociety.com.
