PSC golf from the Bunker Boys @ The Ranch
Monday, August 19, Treasure Hill – Stableford
We arrived at Treasure Hill to find the car park almost empty, and we were able to tee off without delay, in bright and breezy conditions. The course was generally in good shape and has recovered well from the recent renovations, although some work is still ongoing on the back nine.
An interesting new feature of the course at present is that the short par four 15th hole has now become an island green, the apron areas having been completely dug up so that the green is now surrounded by a sea of sand! Any ball rolling off the green has a six inch drop into the sand, and two rubber drop mats have been installed, which provide the unlucky golfer with a truly testing chip from either side of the green.
Barry Murnin.
Colin Greig managed to card a birdie on this aforementioned hole, whilst most other players struggled, and this was instrumental in giving Colin the points he needed to take first place on a count back ahead of John Graham. Terry Hamilton followed up his win on Friday, finishing a single point behind the leaders, to claim third place.
1st Colin Greig (9) 35pts
2nd John Graham (9) 35pts
3rd Terry Hamilton (20) 34pts
Near Pins: Barry Murnin, Geoff Parker and Colin Greig.
Wednesday, August 21, Bangpakong Riverside – Stableford
Only ten golfers turned out today for the longer trip to Bangprakong, and two of those almost got lost on the way (they shall remain nameless but a “young” man was navigating), eventually teeing off almost an hour after the rest of us.
The course was in much improved condition from our previous visit six weeks ago, but it will still be quite some time before the damaged areas are fully recovered. The greens today were in good condition but running much slower than normal, and everyone seemed to be struggling to get the ball to the hole, even on downhill putts.
Several thunder storms skirted around the course during the round but we remained dry throughout, and the temperature was pleasant.
Takeshi Hakozaki produced the best score of the day to take first place, two points ahead of Geoff Parker, with Tony Robbins a further two points behind in third place.
1st Takeshi Hakozaki (12) 39pts
2nd Geoff Parker (14) 37pts
3rd Tony Robbins (14) 35pts
Near Pins: Barry Murnin, Takeshi, and Tony Robbins.
Friday, August 23, Mt. Shadow – Stableford
Another bright, sunny day as we arrived at Mountain Shadow to find the course almost deserted, and the first group teed off ahead of schedule with an empty course ahead of them.
The outward nine was completed in well under two hours, but then groups of Thai golfers started appearing ahead of us on the 13th and 15th tees!, why the management allows them to do this when the course is quiet is anybody’s guess, but it’s a sure recipe to upset farangs. However, our four groups still managed to complete the round in four hours, so the day wasn’t spoilt too much.
Many of the tees were in forward positions today, so perhaps it wasn’t surprising that the scores were somewhat better than normal, on what is always a demanding course. Barry Murnin was playing his final game before returning to the States for a few months, and he thought he’d done enough when he returned to the clubhouse with 38 points. However, you can never write off the in-form Mashi Kaneta who was playing in the final group, and he came in with a great score of 40 points to secure first place. Mike Johns also came home with 38 points but lost out on the count back to Barry.
Following the presentation back at The Ranch we said our goodbyes to Barry as the beer flowed freely into the evening.
1st Mashi Kaneta (14) 40pts
2nd Barry Murnin (15) 38pts
3rd Mike Johns (19) 38pts
Near Pins: Barry Murnin, Gerry Cooney, Raleigh Gosney and John Graham.
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 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 Ranch at 9 a.m. for breakfast and transportation, and 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.
