IPGC Golf from The Haven
Monday, March 28, Crystal Bay B & C – Stableford
CSS 75 NC
1st Wilf Wellman (31) 35pts
2nd Terry Hodgkiss (24) 35pts
3rd Markku Tynell (23) 35pts
4th Yukio Kikuchi (17) 33pts
5th Bruce Kusyk (13) 30pts
A smaller than usual group set off for the wide open spaces of Crystal Bay with high expectations, but in the event things did not go even closely to plan and with none of the counting entries managing to play to within two of their handicaps. The CSS went out to 75 and the day became non-counting for upward review.
Peter Skinner.
The course was in good condition but all of the pin positions seemed to be a little too difficult to get at following problems with the well positioned bunkering from the tees. It did not appear to affect the higher handicappers as much, as they were generally well short of the hazards with their drives.
The result was a three-way count back for the top step of the podium, with Wilf Wellman coming out the winner after returning a stunning three under for 21 points to take his first win during his extended trip this season. All in all a remarkable feat as he returned three zeros and six three-pointers for the day.
Terry Hodgkiss laid claim to the second spot when he won a count back over the back six with a better 15 to 14 to leave Markku Tynell in third after they had tied the back nine on 20 apiece.
The three top finishers will all have their handicaps adjusted down by at least a stroke due to the increase in the difficulty for the day.
Yukio Kikuchi almost saved the day but an unlucky slip on the usually easy 127-yard B6, when he saw his tee shot disappear into the bushes never to be seen again, cost him dear and he had to settle for fourth place.
Gary Johnston.
Bruce Kusyk, who calls the course home as he resides just around the corner and is known locally as the handyman, was unable to use his local knowledge to its best effect as he managed to find almost all of the bunkers that he could reach, finishing in fifth place well back from the leaders but far ahead of some others.
With the course playing so hard it was not surprising that there were no 2s in either of the divisions.
Wednesday, March 30, Khao Kheow C & A – Stableford
CSS 72
Division 1 (0-18)
1st Gary Johnston (7) 35pts
2nd Mike Dabanovich (11) 35pts
3rd Chris Smith (0) 33pts
4th Gary Brown (9) 33pts
5th Yukio Kikuchi (17) 29pts
Division 2 (19+)
1st Larry Gibb (20) 37pts
2nd Markku Tynell (23) 31pts
3rd John Tallett (24) 28pts
4th Stephen Beard (22) 28pts
5th Mark Armstrong (25) 27pts
Larry Gibb.
A better turnout required two divisions with the cut coming at 18 and below for another tough test, but with the first division playing closer to form on this occasion the CSS for the day remained at 72.
The winner was decided once again by count back with newcomer Gary Johnston getting the edge with a great start over the C course, which as the back nine on the card was the counting nine as usual, before a surfeit of SanMigs caught up with him through the closing nine. He scored a better 21 to 18 over Mike Dabanovich, who was in unusually good form for his first game following his return from six weeks away in the sand and took second place.
Chris Smith had the best gross of the day on 75 but was unable to catch the two front runners following, what was for him, a disappointing back nine to follow a level par outward half, but which won a count back over Gary Brown with a 18 to 16 return. That left Yukio Kikuchi in fifth some four shots back.
The second division was headed by Larry Gibb by a wide margin, as generally they struggled with the severity of the course, taking the win on his first visit to the group with an outstanding round that owed much to an opening half at two below handicap and even a slight stumble through the back nine did not affect the result.
Markku Tynell took another podium placing for the week in second place as John Tallett and Stephen Beard had to be separated by a count back, which John won with a better 12 to 9, both having had an extremely slow start to the day. Mark Armstrong took the last podium step, just one behind them.
The first division 2s pool was split between Gary Johnston and Mike Dabanovich whilst the multi rollover pot was finally cleaned out when Markku Tynell slipped in a very short putt on the 165-yard C8 which was playing even harder than usual into a stiff breeze. Following the completion of the presentations the rest of the crowd were very appreciative when he blew the horn to make up for some of their disappointments.
Friday, April 1, hoenix Gold (Mountain & Lake) – Stableford
CSS 74
1st Peter Skinner (12) 42pts
2nd John Tallett (24) 33pts
3rd Markku Tynell (23) 32pts
4th Terry Hodgkiss (24) 31pts
5th Shuichi Kodaka (18) 30pts
6th Mark Cooper (13) 30pts
A happy return to Phoenix, where the group have arranged to play fortnightly on a Friday until the end of the year, was eagerly anticipated with the new redesign of the Lake course again in play following the first sight two weeks earlier.
Wilf Wellman.
There have been many comments concerning the new layout, many not too flattering, but the real truth is that the new bunkering and enlargement of many others, both wider and deeper, has made the course to a large degree much more difficult, and shots that were once acceptable are now heavily punished, putting course management right to the fore if one is to get results. The new layout of holes five and six also need to be thought through and experience will surely show that these are not as bad as at first thought. Generally on this day the players were still thinking of the old design of the holes, which counted against them for scoring well.
No such problems existed for Peter Skinner, the day’s winner and best of the week result, as he strolled round the Mountain nine in one under and marched through the Lake course without missing a step, at four under, and returning a card that did not include worse than a five on any hole. He also had the dubious record, for them at least, of having a better score than both his playing partners combined on either nine.
John Tallett took second place three further back after a good front half, but then having slipped badly through the closing nine still managed to stay ahead of Markku Tynell who again showed well in third place.
Terry Hodgkiss was one of the few to do better on the back nine than the front but he had started too slowly to make any impact and had to settle for fourth place.
Shuichi Kodaka took fifth ahead of a strangely subdued Mark Cooper who returned eight worse on the Lake nine compared to the Mountain course, and finished in sixth place.
There were no 2s in the second division but Peter Skinner added to his cash haul for the day with a real cracker on the 160-yard eighth hole on the Lake course, when after a seven iron to two feet, he then sank a very quick and tricky downhill right to left putt.
Note: If you would like to play with The Haven group, you can contact 038 710 989 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 throughout the year can be found on the web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com.
