Bunker Boys @ The Bowling Green
Monday, March 26, The Emerald – Rainbow Stableford
Twenty-one players turned out for our first Rainbow competition for several months (6 off the red tees, 6 off the whites and 6 off the blues with players making their own choice of tee on each hole). The Emerald course is always a good choice for this competition, because of the large variety of difficult holes (long and short), not many people would choose to go off the blue tees on the 16th for example.
The additional brain work required in choosing the tees was no problem for Keith Smithson, who set off birdie, birdie, par, birdie and kept up that form to eventually finish with a score of 39 points. Even with the challenging format the round was completed in 4 hours and 15 minutes, so hopefully a good sign that the low season is now kicking in.
P.J. – a model of patience.
A Flight
1st Keith Smithson (2) 39pts
2nd Mike Lloyd (14) 36pts
3rd Tony Robbins (13) 35pts
B Flight
1st Rab McDonald (15) 37pts
2nd Paul Edgar (19) 36pts
3rd John Hughes (16) 35pts
Near Pins: Colin Greig, Keith Norman, John Graham, and J.J. Harney
Wednesday, March 28, Bangprakong – Stableford
We were scheduled to play at Greenwood today, but after receiving a number of reports that the condition of the greens there weren’t good, we made a late change to Bangprakong. The trip up the Chonburi by-pass was no problem for most drivers, only Lee Butler deciding to take the scenic route via Bangkok, and hence ended up playing in the last group.
This course is always in good shape, and today the greens were excellent. Keith Smithson carried on from where he left off on Monday, shooting a level par round of 72 gross, without a birdie on the card – 18 straight pars! Even that great score wasn’t enough to take the honours on the day though – his good mate Mike Lloyd beat him by a point to win the A Flight with 37 points.
P.J. Redmond finally found some good form to win the B Flight with 35 points, ahead of “Drunken” Duncan, playing his first game since returning from U.K.
A Flight
1st Mike Lloyd (14) 37pts
2nd Keith Smithson (0) 36pts
3rd J.J. Harney (12) 34pts
B Flight
1st P.J. Redmond (23) 35pts
2nd Duncan Lee (16) 33pts
3rd John Hughes (16) 32pts
Near Pins: Mike Lloyd, Colin Greig, John Graham and Geoff Cox
Friday, March 30, Bangpra – Stableford
A smaller group of golfers today for our visit to Bangpra, but unfortunately we were behind two other golf societies, and the round was painfully slow. At one stage there were 5 groups waiting at the par 3 second hole, and this occurred depressingly often during the round.
As always with a slow round, it’s difficult to keep concentration, and the scores on the day reflected that. In the end, most of the players completed the round in five and half hours, only P.J. (normally renowned for being such a calm and patient golfer!) lost his cool, and walked off at the 14th hole.
Colin Greig had a good day on the par threes, taking two near pin prizes, and recording 3 birdies. Rab McDonald had the best score of the day, with hard earned 32 points to win the marathon contest.
1st Rab McDonald (3) 32pts
2nd Mark Stanley (13) 31pts
3rd Dave Ashman (15) 31pts
4th Gordon Melia (17) 31pts
Near Pins: Mark Stanley and Colin Greig (2).
Despite a brave attempt by John Hughes, and the late charge by Rab McDonald, there was no catching Colin Greig as he won the race to the Golfer of the Month title. That’s two in a row for Colin now, so it’s high time he went on his spring break to the wilds of Scotland, and gave somebody else a chance! In fairness Colin has knocked 5 shots of his handicap over the last 3 months (now playing off 7.6), which is great golf by anyone’s standards.
Note: The Bunker Boys are a PSC affiliated golf society who now play out of the Bowling Green on Soi X-Zyte between Pattaya 3rd Road and Soi Buakhaow. We play three times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so if you enjoy a fun day out, and a friendly but competitive golf competition why not come and join us. We meet at the Bowling Green at 9 a.m. for breakfast and transportation, and new players with valid handicaps are always welcome. For more information call Dave on 087 1469978, email dave. [email protected].
