IPGC golf from The Haven
Monday, June 9, Mt. Shadow – Stableford
CSS 72
1st Allen Raaen (7) 36pts
2nd Trevor Schirmer (15) 33pts
3rd Markku Tynell (22) 31pts
4th Bruce Hilde (17) 28pts
An interesting set of courses for the week started at the never easy Mountain Shadow, which had been originally planned to be used by golfers with handicaps of fifteen and below and always certainly plays even harder than that standard. Once again the course came out the winner with just the leader as the only player able to make par, and playing to the standard of within two of handicap at least the CSS for the day remained at a level 72.
Tom McCarthy and Ron Wilson.
Allen Raaen, as that winner, had another solid round, after starting out scoreless on the first hole he then buckled down to garner 20 points on the front followed by a steady 16 on the back and led in the pack by three clear.
Trevor Schirmer ran him the closest in second after also having a steady level handicap nine going out followed by a slightly weaker 15 points coming back, which was marred by a couple of blobs, otherwise he could well have been on the top of the podium for the day.
Markku Tynell is always there or there abouts when the scores are not over the top and once again this was proven to be so as he took third place another two behind Trevor, and three ahead of Bruce Hilde in fourth.
Once again there were no 2’s in the second division but Allen Raaen added to his day’s haul with the sole one in the first division.
Wednesday, June 11, Khao Kheow A & B – Stableford
CSS 74
1st Ron Wilson (11) 34pts
2nd Allen Raaen (7) 33pts
3rd Markku Tynell (22) 28pts
4th Terry Hodgkiss (22) 27pts
5th Bruce Hilde (17) 27pts
6th Victor Moshonkin (13) 27pts
The second outing to the always difficult Khao Kheow layout, where the A and B courses were the day’s test, also proved to be a hard slog although the course was in much better shape than the previous week, with the greens having been shaved down a bit and looking and playing a lot better. Even so, scoring was again at a premium with the best of the day being 34 points, but just enough to keep the day counting for handicap although the CSS for the went up to 74.
New member Ron Wilson was totally unperturbed by the course’s reputation, not having played it previously, which may well have assisted in his well deserved win just one ahead of Allen Raaen, who just failed to repeat the form of his last round and therefore had to settle for second spot.
Markku Tynell was again to be found lurking in third place and even allowing for a less than sparkling eight over handicap, it was still one better than the fight out for fourth and a lot better than many others on the day.
There was a three-way count back for the fourth spot with Terry Hodgkiss taking it with a best of 14, leaving Bruce Hilde in fifth after he won on the back six with a better 10 to Victor Moshonkin’s 8 after they had tied the nine at 13 apiece.
Ron Wilson had the sole 2 in the first division to make it a very happy first outing with the Soi 13 group whilst Markku Tynell finally cleaned out the multi roll over in the second division, which was greeted with much delight by the rest of the group as one could imagine.
Friday, June 13, Treasure Hill – Stableford
CSS 73
1st Tom McCarthy (22) 42pts
2nd Bruce Hilde (17) 35pts
3rd Shuichi Kodaka (19) 33pts
4th Victor Moshonkin (13) 31pts
5th Trevor Schirmer (15) 28pts
After the rigours of the previous two outings in the week there were few that were looking forward to taking on Treasure Hill after a night of heavy rain, even though the tees were being played from the slightly easier yellow positions. Most of the worriers had good cause, but the top three finishers at least could take some pride in their rounds, especially the winner.
Tom McCarthy, who had not played since October back in the States, using the driver bequeathed to him by Karen, Rodney Hayes’ daughter last year after the latter had sadly passed away, found that it had not lost any of the old magic as it consistently found the fairway from the tees.
Tom led the group in over the front nine by a clear three shots and after the turn the gap finally widened to seven, as he cruised into his maiden win with his new found treasure, closing out his day in the sun with 22 points on the back nine, even slipping in a serious anchor, zero, on the last hole. One sobering note, next week will see him playing from a handicap three strokes lower.
Bruce Hilde, after a quiet beginning to the day, forced his way onto the second step of the podium with a stunning inward half of three under handicap, which pushed Shuichi Kodaka down a place by returning a better score by five strokes over the nine, leaving Shuichi in third place.
Victor Moshonkin kept the Eastwood flag flying with a fourth place, ending the day a couple of shots adrift but still three ahead of fifth placed Trevor Schirmer who had only his long drive to recount in the bar later.
There were no 2’s in the second division, but Lex McDonald slipped in the sole one for the first division.
Note. If you would like to play with The Haven group, you can contact mobile 094 567 5726 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 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.
