PSC golf Bunker Boys @ The Ranch
Monday, Feb. 10, Bangpakong Riverside – Stableford
Only 19 players turned up for the visit to Bangpakong, which was just enough to make two divisions. The numbers were a little disappointing as this is the best conditioned of all the courses we play; the new facilities are first class and at THB 900 green fee, excellent value for money. It is the longest distance we travel but it’s an easy run straight up 7 and then the motorway taking an hour door to door.
The weather was excellent but temperatures were the highest we’ve encountered this year with very little breeze to cool the combatants. Lush fairways and very true medium paced greens saw a lot of very good scores. The big hitting guys really found it to their liking playing off the, just short of 6700 yard, white tees.
Neil Griffin (right) celebrates a rare win with Skinny Newton on the 1st tee at Greenwood.
Paul Smith shot the lights out with a 3-under par gross 69 for 43points, including 2 eagles, an OB and hitting the water, and only just beating Mark Stanley’s 42pts. Perennial winner Colin Greig had to settle for third with 40pts.
In B section Mike Corner had back to back wins with a fine 41pts, closely followed by a resurgent Raleigh Gosney with 37, and Neil Griffin sliding into third with 35.
Altogether a third of the field bettered 36 points. The par 3’s here are tough and all four near pins went to the A division.
A Flight
1st Paul Smith (4) 43pts
2nd Mark Stanley (9) 42pts
3rd Colin Greig (8) 40pts
B Flight
1st Mike Corner (21) 41pts
2nd Raleigh Gosney (18) 37pts
3rd Neil Griffin (26) 35pts
Near Pins: Paul Smith, Phil Moore, Colin Greig and Clive Bruce.
Wednesday, Feb. 12, Greenwood – Stableford
Twenty-two golfers assembled for the 55 minute journey to the furthest course up the 331. Temperatures were on the high side with some cloud cover for respite and a strong wind at times aiding the body cooling process.
We were allocated B and C courses playing off the 3599 yard white tees. Another society was ahead of us and play was slow for the first nine holes, taking 2½ hours, before speeding up on the back nine and a very good paced 2 hours.
The course is in some serious need of rain with a lot of very dry patches on the fairways giving an enormous amount of run. Unfortunately this advantage was negated by the very tight lies and with greens hard and fast, players struggled to stop the ball on the dance floor.
Players from B flight adapted better to the conditions with Neil Griffin scoring a creditable 38 points to record his first win since mid November. Jack Robertson was close on his heels with 37 points and Mike Corner, after a 2 shot handicap cut, a point further back.
In A flight there were only two players to shoot to handicap with Geoff Parker pipping Colin Greig on count back, both with 36 points. Back in the distance a 4-way count back on 31 points saw Dave Ashman take third spot.
Same old faces for nearest the pins with the exception of PJ Redmond, who topped his ball off the tee and headed right. On reaching the green he had somehow trickled on and as every other golfer missed, a bemused PJ gratefully accepted the prize.
A Flight
1st Geoff Parker (14) 36pts
2nd Colin Greig (7) 36pts
3rd Dave Ashman (14) 31pts
B Flight
1st Neil Griffin (26) 38pts
2nd Jack Robertson (26) 37pts
3rd Mike Corner (19) 36pts
Near Pins: Colin Greig, Geoff Parker, Paul Smith and PJ Redmond
Friday, Feb. 14, Crystal Bay C & A – Stableford
So ended a confusing week for our fixtures organiser; we were double booked Monday, not booked Wednesday and had Friday’s booking cancelled on Thursday afternoon. Despite that he organised a round on each day.
We arrived at Crystal Bay being warned it was heavily booked and would be slow but despite several 5-balls being in front of us we got round in 4 hours 15 minutes, considerably better than most rounds of late.
The weather was overcast and it finally produced our first rain of the year with some light showers late on the back nine. The course remained the same, bumpy greens because of the different grasses and no maintenance on the bunkers, a pity as this is a good layout with excellent staff and caddies.
Keith Norman won comfortably with 38pts from Bruce Gladden on 35 who edged out Tony Robbins for second place.
1st Keith Norman (13) 38pts
2nd Bruce Gladden (12) 35pts
Near Pins: Barry Murnin, Mike Corner, Tony Robbins and Colin Greig.
Note: The Bunker Boys are a PSC affiliated golf society who now play out of The Ranch bar on Pattaya 3rd Road (in front of the fire station, and almost opposite the Buffalo Bar). We play on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and meet at The Ranch at 9 a.m. for breakfast and transportation. 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.
