PSC Golf from The Growling Swan
Monday, Nov. 16, Pattana – Stableford
Some were searching for the Holy Grail and some thought they had found it the night before, but a fantastic roll-up of 32 Growling Swan golfers headed to Pattana Sport Club on Monday.
Pattana service was exemplary and the course was presented in fantastic condition, especially the lush greens which were a treat to putt on. We played C & A nines (off the yellow tees) and at 6,200 yards it seemed a little short in length, however, with the recent heavy rains, most drives plugged on and off the fairways and some even rebounded backwards.
(L to R) JC Lhoste, Allan Smith & Stuart Rifkin.
Wayco did his block in the first group after being held up by some bombastic Koreans. He wanted to put a car horn of ‘shotgun sounds’ onto his golf cart to move them on. San Mig Stu held himself together really well after learning about a woman’s mood just by looking at her hands. When his wife is holding a gun, she is very cross.
The wet track specialists Alan Smith and JC Lhoste were the only two to better their handicaps. Bill McGarvie continued on with his good form whilst John Anderson, Mike Gosden, Roger Ellis and Alex Field were delighted with their podium finishes.
A Flight (0-15)
1st Alan Smith (15) 37pts
2nd Bill McGarvie (8) 35pts
3rd Kevin Waycott (8) 35pts
B Flight (16-24)
1st Stu Rifkin (16) 34pts
2nd Alex Field (20) 32pts
3rd Mike Gosden (16) 30pts
C Flight (25+)
1st JC Lhoste (29) 37pts
2nd Roger Ellis (28) 32pts
3rd John Anderson (27) 30pts
Near Pins: C3 Allan Trevaskis, C7 Stu Rifkin, A3 Bill McGarvie, A8 Piere Cere
Long Putts: C9 Pat Kavanagh, A9 JJ Harney
Thursday, Nov. 19, Pattavia – Stableford
Twenty-one was the enthusiastic number in the field for today’s game at the great course of Pattavia. It is a 45+ min journey but one has to say well worth the trip.
Welcomes were handed out to returnees Don Richardson, Colm Mullen, Geoff Bracegirdle and Denise Steele. A special welcome was given to our regular “Ricey” who has been absent due to fighting the dengue fever virus.
(L to R) Graham Rice & Sal Brizzi.
The weather was hot however a light breeze prevailed which kept playing conditions quite pleasant.
The course was in great nick and all commented on how well it was presented…. there were however murmurs of discontent with the difficulty of the greens but the general consensus was that we should learn to be better putters! We all should be aware of the greens on this wonderful course.
There a bit of hoo-ha back at camp when one of the happy hackers complained that he was hard done by when he teed off outside the white marker areas and was forced to hit another ball off the tee. Freddy Cuypers reckoned his caddy should have told him of his error, but when the caddy indicated that one of Freddy’s playing group had given the caddie the universal finger to the lip, Freddy lost it as he reckoned he had a good score going at that point of his game. (Note: It always pays to ensure that you tee off behind and within the tee markers.)
Geri Crilly gave Stu Rifkin a rules reminder that when your ball clears a water hazard (yellow stakes) and then rolls back into the water, the player cannot drop his ball where it landed before rolling backward into the hazard. Instead he must replay his last shot or take a drop in a line with where his ball first crossed the hazard back to the tee…Thanks Geri!
Many of the returnees to The Growling Swan were winners today with Dennis Steel taking out first place, regular star golfer Sal Brizzi one shot behind came second and many count backs for third, fourth and fifth were needed to sort out the remainder, resulting in Sandy Leiper taking third, Graham “Ricey” Rice fourth and our gentleman golfer Ebrahim rounding off the podium in fifth.
1st Dennis Steele (13) 37pts
2nd Sal Brizzi (5) 36pts
3rd Sandy Leiper (31) 32pts
4th Graham Rice (13) 32pts
5th Ebrahim (17) 31pts
Near Pins: 4th – JJ Harney, 7th – Geri Crilly, 13th – Roy Dayton, 17th – Sal Brizzi
Long Putts: 9th – Don Richardson, 18th – Geoff Bracegirdle
Note: For some serious golf with a dash of fun, the Growling Swan welcomes golfers of all persuasions. We generally play on Mondays and Thursdays at any one of the fine courses around Pattaya. Please contact Peter Grey for bookings or any information on 0861 503086.
The Growling Swan also caters to the bowls enthusiasts. Bus transport departs the GS on Sundays at 10.00 the same time for open grass bowling at The Retreat. Please contact Paul Rennison on 0843 454005 if you wish to partake. The cost including return bus transport, bowling fees and a hot lunch is less than 400 baht so great value for a day out.
