IPGC golf from The Haven
Sunday, November 6, Green Valley – Stableford
CSS 71
1st Mark Armstrong (22) 40pts
2nd Peter Skinner (9) 40pts
3rd Joe Peters (18) 40pts
4th Peter Masters (8) 38pts
5th Charlie Sheppard (17) 37pts
The course at Green Valley is almost back to its former state with the fairways offering a good roll and the greens receptive, which all adds up to a good opportunity for the participants of the competition to score well and get the handicap down.
Three certainly did that with Mark Armstrong holding on well over the back nine to win the three-way count back with a better 24, which left Peter Skinner in second place after he returned 22 on the nine and 15 on the last six leaving Joe Peters in third as he could only put together 14 over the back six.
Frank Dunstan with The Ashes.
Peter Masters slipped in another Sunday net under par round to signal a possible future drop in his handicap and Charlie Sheppard returned his best score for a little while, also under handicap, but with such good results having been returned above him, he had to settle for fifth spot.
The 2’s were shared between Peter Masters, Joe Peters and Gary Olliffe.
Monday, November 7, Pattaya C.C. – Stableford
CSS 72
1st Peter Skinner (9) 37pts
2nd Joe Niisato (16) 37pts
3rd Alan Pilkington (9) 37pts
4th Mike Spear (22) 35pts
5th Rod Howett (24) 35pts
Mark Armstrong.
Pattaya Country Club has changed quite a bit over the last few weeks to become one of the favourite courses on the schedule as the fairways and greens continue to provide an excellent basis for golfing enjoyment, and even though the surrounding areas are sometimes a bit on the untidy side, a good day out can always be relied on by the players.
Peter Skinner lost no time in making up for missing out on the previous outing with yet another under handicap round, but this time recording a better back nine than the other two in the count back and succeeding with 21 to take the top step of the podium, as Joe Niisato settled for second with 18 points and Alan Pilkington third place with 16.
Mike Spear made a big splash with his best return for some considerable time, in fact in over a year, to take fourth spot and was left ruing a very slow start that saw him open the first half with just 13 but finished strongly with 22 on the back as Rod Howett, after a good start, struggled to keep up the momentum with just 16 over the inward half.
Peter Skinner.
Peter Skinner had the lone 2 in the first division while Paul Simpson had the same to claim the second division pool.
Before presenting the prizes The Doc welcomed back Peter Skinner and Paul Simpson.
Wednesday, November 9, Khao Kheow – Stableford
CSS72
1st Frank Hughes (17) 36pts
2nd Dick Heaney (17) 34pts
3rd Brendan O’Driscoll (13) 34pts
4th Lyle Blaw (12) 34pts
5th Shuichi Kodaka (16) 33pts
The course has had some poor reports of late but although not quite as good as had been recently reported, it was still a great improvement of the rather soggy presentation of other recent visits as the scores from the yellow tees indicated, with the CSS remaining at 72 for the first time in a while.
Frank Hughes took care of business with a solid level handicap round to take a two shot win ahead of a group of three fighting it out over second place. These were led by Dick Heaney whose 19 on the back nine was sufficient to ensure his place in front of Brendan O’Driscoll, who finally took third after a mammoth count back over Lyle Blaw that saw him win on the last two with a better 4 to 3 after they had halved the nine on 17 the six on 12 and the three on 5.
Shuichi Kodaka slipped into fifth with a steady if unspectacular three over return.
In keeping with the difficulty of the course there were no 2’s in either division.
Back at The Haven there was a welcome for new member Brendan O’Driscoll and a welcome back for Al Rolnik.
Friday, November 11, The Emerald – Stableford
CSS 71
1st Graham Johnson (7) 38pts
2nd Bubbles Davies (17) 37pts
3rd Brendan O’Driscoll (13) 35pts
4th Russell Exley (7) 35pts
5th Rod Howett (24) 35pts
A good turnout for the always popular Emerald at Ban Chang enjoyed a course that, whilst not at its best, was very playable which was borne out by the CSS for the day reducing to 71 as many of the day’s hopefuls returned cards that were around their handicap level or better.
Graham Johnson finished the day on top with a very creditable two under that just edged out the visiting Bubbles Davies who had hoped that his best round since 2008 would get him to the top of the pecking order. Sadly it was not to be, as he missed out by a single point, so he contented himself with being best drinker in the bar after the results were declared.
Brendan O’Driscoll made it two podium places on the trot with yet another third place, winning the three-way count back this time with a better 19 to 17 ahead of Russell Exley, who was in turn better than Rod Howett who could only muster 15 after a very bright start.
Once again there were no 2’s in the first division but Don Everett made a happy return day with the only one in the second division which swept the rollover pot.
Prior to the presentation of the prizes there were welcome backs for Dave Howden, Don Everett, Wayne Waywood, Bubbles Davies and Frijof Kayser. As usual there was what is now a ritual showing of the replica Ashes Trophy to the returning members from Oz together with the offer to join with Frank Dunstan in having their picture taken holding the treasured item which, and in the light of the recent result against SA, it might be a long time before the opportunity might occur again with the real thing.
Note: The Haven group now departs Soi 13 at the earlier time of 9 am until further notice. If you would like to play with the group you can contact mobile 082 219 0965 or call in to the hotel at 185 Soi 13 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 8.30 on Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays and 9.00am on Sundays on the days you wish to play. A schedule of courses to be played can be found on our web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com.
