IPGC Golf from The Haven
Monday, August 29, Greenwood A & B – Stableford
CSS 75 NC
1st Mike Hill (20) 32pts
2nd Pat Quinlivan (17) 32pts
3rd John Carlin (17) 31pts
4th Rod Crosswell (15) 31pts
5th Daryl Burkett (12) 31pts
6th Rodney Nabbe (13) 30pts
Following heavy rain over the weekend, carts were rightly being kept off the fairways and the ‘lift and place in the fairway’ local rule was in force but that did little to help with the scoring for the day, as with almost zero run from the tees and heavy going in the rough, playing conditions were as tough as they could be. The CSS for the day spoke volumes as it moved out three and became non-counting for upward review.
Mike Hill made the best effort to win the day after edging a count back over Pat Quinlivan, finishing the back nine in a better 17 to 16 and without a zero on the card for either of them. So Pat took his first podium placement with the group and could be very satisfied after taking everything into consideration.
John Carlin, having seen his handicap reduced by two through the previous week’s efforts, won another count back for third, carding a best 15 points as Rod Crosswell took fourth after he had a better 10 to 9 over the last six holes to leave Daryl Burkett, in his last outing of this visit, in fifth after they had tied the nine on 14 each. Rodney Nabbe, another good player affected by the conditions, took sixth place another point behind them.
Rodney also knocked in the sole 2 in the first division as did Shuichi Kodaka in the second division, both sweeping the rollover pools clean at last.
Wednesday, August 31, Khao Kheow A & C (yellow tees) – Stableford
CSS 73
1st Neil Skilton (4) 39pts
2nd Mike Dabanovich (11) 35pts
3rd Shuichi Kodaka (18) 34pts
4th Jon Batty (8) 34pts
5th Rod Crosswell (15) 32pts
6th Larry Gibb (20) 32pts
After the trials of the previous outing many were expecting a very torrid time at the always difficult but fair Pete Dye designed course, where the A and B nines were the test of the day. In the event the course was found to be in quite good shape although it was the long hitters that ruled the top of the podium as the higher handicappers found the length required from the tee, just a little too much to score well.
The longest hitters were in fact the top two, with “sneaky long’ close behind in fourth.
On the top step was to be found Neil Skilton once again, as he continued his outstanding run of results at this venue having previously won seven times with one second and a third in nine events during which time his handicap has reduced from 6.6 to 3.5. His card for the day, while not his best, was an excellent one over gross 73 and had the rare result of not having a score over five on any hole.
In second place, having kept pace with the winner for the front nine, was Mike Dabanovich who just let it slip a little over the closing holes as Neil applied the pressure.
Shuichi Kodaka then won a count back for third over Jon Batty, who had also been in contention for the front nine, but a much weaker back nine left him losing out for third place with a worse 15 to 18 return.
Rod Crosswell was also involved in another count back with Larry Gibb, winning it with a 18 to 15 results and consigning Larry down to sixth place.
There were no 2s in the second division but Jon Batty and Neil Skilton shared the first division pot.
Friday, Sept. 2, Phoenix Gold – Stableford
CSS 75
1st Markku Tynell (22) 39pts
2nd Peter Skinner (10) 33pts
3rd Mike Hill (20) 31pts
4th Shuichi Kodaka (18) 31pts
5th Rod Crosswell (15) 29pts
6th Rodney Nabbe (13) 28pts
Phoenix Gold showed its teeth and sent many of the better players into deep depression as they found the greens just not up to the standard that they expect, with still many areas of some greens still marked as GUR and in reality it was difficult to tell which was the ‘in’ part and which was the ‘out’ in many cases.
But the conditions did not trouble the winner, Markku Tynell, who returned his best score in over a year and that was at the same venue, as he took 20 points from the opening half and then 19 from the closing half, even slipping in a zero-pointer on the now difficult ninth on Ocean nine. But in the end analysis it was an excellent win by six clear from a good field of players, and but for the new CONGU system that allows for category four players to count in the production of the CSS, the event would have been non-counting for upward review. In the event the CSS moved out to 75 and remained counting and reduced Markku’s handicap by two shots for the coming week.
Peter Skinner, who can usually be relied on to return a solid card, did so again at three over handicap to take second place two ahead of a count back for third and fourth places. That count back was won by Mike Hill with a better 17 to 16 to leave Shuichi Kodaka in fourth spot.
Rod Crosswell took his third podium placement for the week in fifth, with Rodney Nabbe, in his last outing for his current tour, in sixth place.
There were no 2s in both divisions and interestingly less than one three per player on all the par 3s which underlined the difficulty level at which they were playing.
Note: If you would like to play with The Haven group, you can contact 094 465 5002 or call in to The Haven, 315/13 Soi Lengkee, situated between Third Road and Soi Buakhao. 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. A schedule of courses to be played throughout the year can be found on the web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com.
