IPGC Golf from The Haven
Monday, August 24, Greenwood – Stableford
CSS 72
1st Shuichi Kodaka (17) 38pts
2nd Phil Cass (16) 34pts
3rd Hal Hart (20) 28pts
4th Don Everett (19) 28pts
5th Markku Tynell (19) 28pts
6th Mike Armstrong (18) 27pts
Shuichi Kodaka & Walter Panichi.
In the group’s last few visits to Greenwood the course has definitely been the winner, with the CSS regularly rising sometimes to the maximum of 75, but on this day it would seem to have been an equal contest with the standard scratch remaining at level par. For most of the contestants however that was but a pipe dream, with eight over being the more average score. None of that could be attributed to the condition of the course which was in very good shape, with the greens noticeably improved in contrast to previous visits.
Shuichi Kodaka started off a remarkable week of golfing results with a very good round that included seven 3-pointers, six 2-pointers, five singles and no zeros, which well deserved the top step for the day.
Phil Cass also had a good week, scoring three podium placings with this outing being the best of the three and giving him second place, just two behind the leader but a whopping six ahead of his nearest rival to the rear.
Hal Hart won a marathon count back for third place over Don Everett by scoring 10 points from the last six holes on the front nine to Don’s 9, which left Markku Tynell in fifth after he could manage just 13 from the back nine with the same score for the total.
Mike Armstrong rounded out the podium another point behind the logjam.
There were no 2’s in either of the divisions.
Wednesday, August 26, Phoenix (Mountain & Ocean) – Stableford
CSS 73
1st Shuichi Kodaka (17) 35pts
2nd Mike Armstrong (18) 33pts
3rd Terry Hodgkiss (23) 33pts
4th Phil Cass (16) 33pts
5th Barry Winton (7) 33pts
6th Stephen Beard (24) 32
Wednesday was another return trip to Phoenix, this time for Ladies Day where the cost of a day’s golf had been advertised as 1,000 baht for green fee and cart plus 350 for the caddy, but had omitted to mention that the price was for ladies only. So in the event those players who were not ladies and taking a cart found the cost to actually be 650 baht higher at 2,000 baht and some 750 baht more than the groups playing the day previous had paid.
So it was not actually good value at all when set against other courses of the same quality in the area where the total for green fee, caddy and cart can be found for between 1,050 and 1,600 baht for all players. But even though the course was in a fairly scruffy condition, with noticeably no green staff working on the course maintenance at all throughout the course of the round, it will stay on the schedule for the time being as its proximity to base is still one of the best available.
Shuichi Kodaka took his second win of the week, although on this occasion without scoring better than his handicap, by a margin of two points. This time he slipped in three zero-pointers, two of which were included in a back nine of 18 points.
The second place was contested by four players in another long count back, which taxed the scorer’s patience while waiting for his first beverage of the evening, and which saw Mike Armstrong take the position after he had scored a better 4 points to 3 on the back three to leave Terry Hodgkiss in third.
Phil Cass, having had just 8 on the back six took fourth and Barry Winton fifth as he scored only 15 on the back nine, which left Stephen Beard in sixth another shot back and out of the count back.
Don Everett cleaned out the rollover pot in the second division 2’s whilst Walter Panichi and Barry Winton shared the first division pool.
Friday, August 28, The Emerald – Monthly Medals
CSS 75 NC
Division 1 (0-15)
1st Walter Panichi (2) net 78
2nd Ray Daws (14) net 82
Division 2 (16+)
1st Shuichi Kodaka (17) net 74
2nd Mike Armstrong (18) net 75
3rd Phil Cass (16) net 78
One of the local courses that has benefitted greatly from a heavy program of renovation is The Emerald where the condition of the fairways has been immeasurably improved and as usual the greens and approaches are excellent, making for a good test of golf but on this day the wind and stroke format played havoc with most of the hopefuls’ cards.
The Monthly Medals are always a hotly contested event but on this occasion there were strangely few contenders, especially in the first division with just two finishers, another indicator of the very slow low season currently being endured in the area.
In the first division Walter Panichi won his first medal after a very out of character round which saw him out in five over and back in three over but still without a six on the card.
He will be joined in the Gold and Silver Medals in December by Ray Daws who took second place, as the first two in both divisions in the Monthly Medals now qualify.
Shuichi Kodaka took his first Medal of the year’s series to book his place in the finals, together with Mike Armstrong in second place being just one back and with Phil Cass taking third another two behind.
The win gave Shuichi a share of a rare record of three wins in a week, with just two other players managing the same result in just over twenty years of contests organized by the group. A truly memorable achievement!
Unsurprisingly there were no 2’s in either division.
Note: If you would like to play with The Haven group, you can contact 038 710 988 or call in to The Haven Hotel, 185 Soi 13, situated between Beach Road and 2nd Road. All transportation to the course is arranged and you do not need to sign up prior to the day, but you should be there by 8.15 on a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on the days that you wish to play. If you would like to leave your golf clubs at The Haven, there are usually lockers available at a nominal charge. A schedule of courses to be played can be found on our web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com.
