IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at The Links Bar
The Pattaya Golf Society visited Greenwood on Monday, 15th February and found the course in good condition with consistent greens and overall the A and B nines offered the challenge always expected at the course.
The field was divided into two flights at sixteen and under and the top flight saw Masa Takano take third place with level par round giving him 36 points. There were two flight winners with Canadian Billy Shepley shooting the best gross of the day (75) and sharing the win with the newly crowned IPGC Net Champion, Al Griffiths, on 37 points.
The picturesque A7 hole at Greenwood.
In the second flight Dave Lehane and Jim Ferris shared third place with 32 points each whilst Alan Walker belied his “senior” status with a very solid 34 points for second. The winner was David Wang with an amazing 41 points and it was good to see the personable golfer shoot his best round to date with PGS.
There were four birdie ‘2’s and the spoils were shared by Kevin McConnell, Andrew Purdie, and Huw Phillips (two). Finally the Booby Bevy went to Chris Norman for his 19-11 split figures having been coaxed into confidence by an excellent A nine. It’s a funny game, golf!
Firkin superb
Burapha was the test for the Pattaya Golf Society on Wednesday, 17th February and the assigned track was the C & D combination with its elevation changes and spectacular views over the closing holes.
The field was restricted to a maximum single flight and playing from the white, not blue tees as normal, gave all golfers a chance to perform to their handicap.
Former IPGC Champion, Russell Goldsworthy did just that, registering 36 points for third place and the best gross figures of 75. In second was Richard Dobson with 38 points but the winner was so far ahead of the rest of the field he was almost out of sight. Mike Firkin fired his best round ever with the group and raced to the top of the high scores board for 2016 with 43 points. It was nothing short of superb for the Australian golfer.
The ‘2’s pot was shared by Tony Browne and Bryan Dore, both achieving success on C5 and the Booby Bevy went to Isle of Skye golfer Alex Munro, playing his first ever tropical round and his low scoring debut ticked all the boxes for the award.
Close call at Crystal Bay
On Friday, 19th February the Pattaya Golf Society visited Crystal Bay to play a stableford competition on the B and C nines. As the B nine had been unavailable for almost a year the group looked forward to the prospect of a fine day. The two flights divided at 16 and below found the course in good condition and fine weather with a slight breeze made for a comfortable day.
In the second flight Alan Walker again made the frame sharing runner-up place with Larry Slattery on 32 points whilst the form man in the division, Jim Ferris, ran away with the main prize with his 39 point return.
In the top flight Canadian Billy Shepley finished on 35 points for third place, two behind a solid round from Paul Hubbard which saw him rewarded with 37 points. The flight winner was Masa Takano with the best gross of 77 giving him 39 points.
Masa also shared the ‘2’s pot with Jim Ferris and Alan Walker and the only blight on the day was the discovery after the round that a golfer had “lost” some valuables from his golf bag. The subsequent report to the club management drew no joy and all Pattaya golfers are reminded that such events do sometimes sadly happen and all golfers should take full responsibility for their valuables at all times in the Land of Smiles.
