IPGC Golf from The Haven
Monday, Jan. 12, Mt. Shadow – Stableford
CSS 72
1st Bruce Kusyk (13) 36pts
2nd Philip Cass (16) 35pts
3rd Adrian Cook (13) 33pts
4th Mark Williams (6) 33pts
5th Trevor Schirmer (13) 30pts
6th Mike Hill (21) 30pts
An interesting week started out at the always difficult Mountain Shadow course where improvements continue to be made, both on the course and in the clubhouse and changing rooms. Originally designed to be played by players with handicaps of 15 or below even being one of the shortest on the circuit from the blue tees, it always poses a stiff challenge for a player to play to or below their handicap, no matter what level they play.
Bruce Kusyk, Adrian Cook & Stephen Lewis.
On this day the point was again proven with Bruce Kusyk being the sole entrant able to play to handicap. It was touch and go as to whether the CSS would go up as usual, even though the conditions for golf were considered to be excellent both with regards to the weather and the condition of the course, but in the event it remained at 72 and with a good field of below 15 handicappers, level par was just sufficient to win the day for an in-form Bruce.
Philip Cass is another who has shown an increase in form and he took another podium place in second, just a single shot behind and two ahead of a two-way count back for third that saw Adrian Cook get the nod with a better 12 on the back six after he had halved the nine in 17 with eventual fourth placed Mark Williams.
There was also a count back for fifth, which Trevor Schirmer took ahead of Mike Hill with a better 17 to 16.
Adrian Cook and Bruce Kusyk shared the 2’s pool in the first division but once again there were none in the second division.
Wednesday, Jan. 14, Pattavia – 2P-Scramble
1st Adrian Cook & Stephen Lewis (12) 44pts
2nd Kevin Blake & Hal Hart (10) 44pts
3rd Mike Dabanovich & Patrick Scullion (12) 43pts
4th Philip Cass & Mike Hill (12) 42pts
A very eventful day started out with leaving The Haven just before 10 a.m. for the 11.28 tee time at Plutaluang only to be told on arrival that there were no carts available for the group, even though three carts had been reserved together with caddies earlier in the week. After a quick count up and a little reorganization it was determined that the group needed eight buggies for those that would be unable to complete the course without one, but no amount of requests, cajoling and downright begging could produce even the slightest hint that 26 green fees were required in addition to the obvious many that had already crammed through the turnstiles.
Alan Hanlon & Terry Hodgkiss.
So where to play was the question?
Amazingly the fifth course approached as a likely replacement venue, Silky Oaks, had all the tees times as and when we wanted them, all the carts (even at one per player), but no caddies. But again no amount of pleading could convince them to send out two players in thirteen carts without caddies, even adding in a couple of hundred baht each as a sweetener to make it 3,000 baht a pair, total 39,000 plus f & b for the day. Sadly this underlines the situation in Pattaya, where sooner or later the cost of caddies will seriously impact negatively on the golfing scene unless a new approach is embraced by the managements.
Eventually the group managed to organise everything needed at Pattavia with a tee off that could just be made following a seventy kilometer drive up the 331.
Having arrived just in time to be met cordially by the manager and away just ahead of the allotted time, the course was found to be in very good shape except that a lack of water through the green, excepting the greens that had been watered and played well but extremely fast, made the players grateful that the scramble format allowed two shots at everything.
Arian Cook & Stephen Lewis, a very unlikely pairing of Chelsea and Spurs hot heads, just squeaked in for the win by the narrowest of margins ahead of Kevin Blake & Hal Hart, who combined well but failed to capitalise on a good 23 point opening nine to lose with the worst of a 23 to 21 count back.
Mike Dabanovich & Patrick Scullion took third, just a single point behind, also winning a pot of cash and free drinks for the evening. They finished ahead of Philip Cass & Mike Hill in fourth after the latter had slipped slightly after a bright start of 23 points.
Perhaps the saddest pairing on the day were Russell Exley & Stephen Beard who managed to snatch a defeat from the jaws of an almost certain win, when after opening with 25 points they collapsed through the inward half with only 17, which was not only the worst back nine in the competition but also ensured they lost a pot of cash and paid for several rounds of beverages.
Due to the format in operation there were no 2’s pools.
Friday, Jan. 16, The Emerald – Stableford
CSS 72
Division 1 (0–20)
1st Alan Hanlon (14) 39pts
2nd Hal Hart (20) 34pts
3rd Mark Cooper (13) 33pts
4th Rolf Koepfer (20) 32pts
Division 2 (21+)
1st Terry Hodgkiss (24) 35pts
2nd Wilf Wellman (30) 34pts
3rd Markku Tynell (22) 32pts
4th Jim Lloyd (30) 32pts
Another good turnout required the formation of two divisions, with Alan Hanlon running away with division one by five clear strokes ahead of Hal Hart, who strangely found himself in the first division for the first time, and who was in turn one up on Mark Cooper in third. New member Rolf Koepfer took fourth another stroke back.
The second division was led in by Terry Hodgkiss, who denied Wilf Wellman his long awaited win out of Soi 13 by a single point after the latter had scored a zero on the last hole, following an inspection of his card that showed he needed just a seven for two points to have played to his handicap for the first time in eight years whilst playing with The Haven.
Markku Tynell claimed third after winning a count back over Jim Lloyd with a better 16 to 15, but at least Jim featured on the podium for the very first occasion, much to his delight.
There were no 2’s in the first division as well as the second division where the pot has got so big it had to be moved to a larger container and is in danger of becoming the target of a takeover company that is hungry for cash in exchange for shares.
Note: If you would like to play with The Haven group, you can contact 038 710 988 or call in to The Haven 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 8.15 on a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on the days that you wish to play. A schedule of courses to be played can be found on our web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com
