PSC Bunker Boys Golf
Monday, May 24th
Khao Kheow Golf Course C & A
1st Kob Glover (24) 41 points
2nd Dave Ashman (27) 34 points
3rd Goeff Parker (20) 34 points
Near pins Dave Ashman, Kob Glover, & Geoff Atwell.
Starting a round of golf on C1 at Khao Kheow with water tee to green along the left side and out of bounds on the right is always a daunting task, as it proved again Monday.
There is no record of how many wiped the hole but it’s fair to say it was quite a few. A wipe on the first hole is never a good way to start a round of golf as it was again Monday with several returning low scores from a field of fourteen. The exception to that was winner Kob Glover who once again returned an excellent card of forty-one points. That’s three out of five rounds where Kob has returned a score of thirty-eight or better, that’s very consistent golf which should see her handicap drop like a stone from her current twenty-four.
Seven strokes back we found Dave Ashman and Geoff Parker tied on thirty-four with Dave edging it on countback. Both Kob and Dave from the winners circle also managed to bag a near pin each with one other going to Geoff Atwell.
An eleven hundred baht all-in fee was probably the reason we had fourteen players, good value on what is generally an above-average course. The tees and fairways were fine today, but the greens were very disappointing it has to be said. Many had been cored and poorly sanded with the sand not brushed in on several making for difficult and uneven putting speeds. Some greens are close to being lost for the time being with withered grass or even bare in patches. It is hoped the maintenance crew will attend to this quickly as it would be a shame to have to take this course off our roster.
Luckily the seasonal rain fell overnight so we were able to celebrate another round rain-free. The day was again hot and humid but with everybody in carts that was not a problem. A very speedy round as we had the course virtually to ourselves again, showered and changed by 3.00 pm; millionaire golf indeed.
Wednesday, May 26th
Emerald Golf Course
1st Niall Glover (19) 37 points
2nd Dave Ashman (27) 36 points
3rd Geoff Cox (18) 36 points
4th Paul Smith (2) 36 points
Near pins Jimmy Carr, Les Cobban, Dave Stockman, & Jay Babin.
A public holiday to mark the most significant day in the Thai Buddhist calendar made the Emerald Course very busy, in fact so busy it was difficult to find a parking spot in the car park. With several groups out before us including a local six-ball out directly ahead of our lead group, play was very slow. Another problem was a lack of carts to the effect that some had to walk the front nine despite having paid for a cart, before one became available to complete the back nine.
An excellent field of seventeen was on hand, a mark of how people like this course. Many may change their minds after today. Most of the course was what we have come to expect and in ok condition; however, the greens were a disaster. Having recently been cored and sanded the work was of a very poor standard. All the greens were very bumpy, some had brown grass on them which looked about to wither away completely, and putting was a bit of a lottery. Anyone trying to cozy the ball into the hole was left scratching their heads, the only option left was just to bang it into the hole.
A very tight game at the top with Niall Glover taking his first number one spot since his return with thirty-seven points. Dave Ashman, Geoff Cox, and Paul Smith were all locked together on thirty-six and finished in that order on countback. Near pins went to Jimmy Carr, Les Cobban, Dave Stockman, and Jay Babin.
It seems monsoonal weather is having a deleterious effect on the greens at several courses, today’s greens were even worse than Monday’s at Khao Kheow. It’s looking like it’s something we are just going to have to suffer for the time being. The only other option is to play courses with good greens more often rather than trying to find twelve different courses to play each month.
Friday, May 28th
Parichat Golf Course
1st Moe Holmes (36) 41 points
2nd Tony Robbins (21) 40 points
3rd Steve Durey (20) 39 points
Near pins Geoff Atwell, Roger Awad, Moe Holmes, & Michael Brett.
Having missed out on a rainbow game last month we returned to the format for the second last game of May and at the usual venue, Parichat. The course was in excellent condition, in fact, the best of any course we have played recently. It was nice to play on proper greens for a change after our experience at Khao Kheow and Emerald. The pick, clean, and place rule was applied from the start although as it turned out it was unnecessary.
Several times throughout the round it looked certain to rain with menacing black clouds in all directions. Luckily we just had to endure a very quick light shower before we finished in warm sunshine again.
The smallest field of the week for Friday’s game (twelve). Clearly rainbow is not to everybody’s taste. In a week where good scoring was the order of the day the trend continued Friday. A couple of thirty sevens didn’t even get a mention. The winner on the day was Moe Holmes with an impressive round of forty-one points. In light of the fact this is Moe’s second big score, one might suggest his thirty-six handicap may be worth reviewing. Second place went to Tony Robbins with forty points whilst Steve Durey brought up the rear with an excellent thirty-nine.
Near pins went to Geoff Atwell who is becoming a dab hand in this aspect of the game, Roger Awad, Moe Holmes, and Michael Brett.
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