IPGC golf from The Haven
Monday, July 1, Mountain Shadow – Stableford
CSS 74
1st Lyle Blaw (12) 34pts
2nd Jon Batty (9) 33pts
3rs Allen Raaen (9) 32pts
4th Terry Hodgkiss 32pts
5th Hal Hart (20) 31pts
Making the first trip of the month to one of the favoured regular courses the players found that, as usual, it was in first class condition but the green keeper obviously must have had a bad start to the day as the pin placements were extremely difficult, making scoring a question of how many three-putts could be avoided.
Trevor Schirmer.
Lyle Blaw was the best exponent of this as he took his first win out of Soi 13 this trip with a two over return, even though it still included a couple of blobs.
Jon Batty had three zeros on his way to totaling three over and could have easily run out the winner but for a spell in the middle of the round where he was unable to put it near to the pin on the approach.
Allen Raaen took third following a count back over Terry Hodgkiss, which he won with a better 19 to 16 after a very slow start, which left Hal hart in fifth a further shot back.
There were no 2’s in the second division but Allen Raaen and Trevor Schirmer shared the first division pool.
Before the presentations were made there was a welcome for new member Christopher Chiltern together with a welcome back for Todd Pahl and Jon Batty.
Wednesday, July 3, Pattana A & B (Yellow Tees) – Stableford
CSS 74
1st Keith Emerson (11) 36pts
2nd Markku Tynell (22) 33pts
3rd Mike Hill (20) 32pts
4th Terry Hodgkiss (23) 32pts
5th Peter Buckley (19) 31pts
Keith Emerson.
As with many of the courses being played at this time, Pattana was in great condition but the greens suffered from a lack of mowing due to the wet weather making them particularly slow on the A course. The B course greens were found to be good and true but apart from the winner all players scored better on the A layout.
Keith Emerson started steadily and got increasingly better as the round progressed, scoring 20 of his total on the back nine to run out the winner by three clear ahead of Markku Tynell. Markku was well in contention until a couple of blobs on holes 14 and 15 gave him too much to do over the last three and he had to settle for second place.
Mike Hill slipped into third place after winning a count back over Terry Hodgkiss, scoring 12 to Terry’s 11 on the back six after they had tied the nine at 16 apiece.
Peter Buckley came in fifth just another stroke behind them.
Takeshi Hakozaki took the first division 2’s pool while Peter Buckley claimed the second division pot.
Back at The Haven there was a farewell for Lyle Blaw who was returning to Oz to purchase a 72 inch TV so as to be able to settle down in front of a roaring fire, with a pair of slippers and a glass at around 9 pm in the evenings to watch his team reclaim the urn, that’s if he can stay awake until 4 am when the last ball of the day will be bowled.
Friday, July 5, Greenwood A & C – Stableford
CSS 72
1st Trevor Schirmer (13) 40pts
2nd Jon Batty (9) 38pts
3rd Terry Hodgkiss (23) 38pts
4th Christopher Chiltern (24) 37pts
5th Tom McCarthy (19) 34pts
Lyle Blaw.
The overall condition of Greenwood is surely one of the best in the area and it is well worth the drive to what is the furthest course that is played by The Haven. The day’s course was set as A and C with the start scheduled for C, although as usual any count backs would be taken over the last nine on the card making it imperative to have a good start to the day.
After getting away right on time there was a short rain delay, about half way round for most of the players, before the rain cleared away leaving the course damp but very playable as the scores indicated.
Trevor Schirmer had his best round for several years, going four under his recently reduced handicap and ensuring that it will be even lower for the next couple of weeks at least after taking the top step of the podium. His score was the best of the week and better by two than the second placed Jon Batty.
For the third time in a week Terry Hodgkiss lost out in a count back, this time to Jon Batty for second spot after Jon had returned 19 to Terry’s 17 over the C course, which bore testament to Terry’s belief that he needs to start slowly out of the changing rooms and build the round to a climax without any pressure, as his actual back nine on A was a very good 21 points. But no matter, the rules of the day determined that he would be third and Jon second.
Christopher Chiltern got his first winner’s mention with an excellent one under round for fourth place ahead of Tom McCarthy in fifth.
In spite of the fact that there were generally good scores there were no 2’s in either division, no doubt due to the tricky pin placements on all of the par threes.
Prior to the presentations there was a welcome back for Graham Davis and a special one for Hal Hart, he having missed the last outing due to a faulty alarm system and it was noted that due to the absence of Alwyne he was having to dine on Khao Pad and await the post presentations hooter to wash it all down.
Note: If you would like to play with The Haven group, you can contact mobile 082 219 0965 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.
