PSC golf from The Growling Swan
Monday, July 14, Eastern Star – Stableford
It was time once more to head south and Eastern Star was the chosen venue with 20 golfers on the starting sheet. It was overcast but fine as we assembled at The Growling Swan and we welcomed Jim Groves from London, Thomas Johansson from Sweden, Kurt Eric Persson and his lady Seesa Phompinmon back with us again and Duangjai Tusagad after a long break from golf.
Today was a designated Thai Public Holiday so we expected the course to be busy but in actual fact this was not the case. After haggling for a short time over the green fee rate we managed to check in and presented ourselves at the first tee to await out starting orders. We had five groups of four and our first four-ball got away 10 minutes ahead of schedule under cloudy skies with not too hot conditions and a threat of rain which fortunately resulted in just a few drops throughout the round.
Duangjai Tusagad & Geri Crilly.
The golf course was in quite good condition although there were many instances of GUR on the fairways and the greens were a bit slow. Our pace was not too bad as there were no groups ahead of us but we did spend some time looking for balls after errant shots and this resulted in a round which took four hours & twenty minutes.
The course was definitely playing tough today as there was only one golfer who played to their handicap or better and that was Kevin “Wayco” Waycott who finished on top of Division A with a fine 37 points. Newcomer Thomas Johansson fired a gross 75, which off his 2 handicap gave him 35 points and enabled him to snare second place while John Pierrel was third with 33 points.
In Division B it was Geri Crilly (18 point back nine) who was declared the winner after a count back as there were 2 players on 34 points, with Alain “Inspector Clouseau” Taddei (17 point back nine) in second place. With 2 golfers on 32 points another count back was required to determine third spot and that resulted in Seesa Phompinmon (19 point back nine) getting the chocolates from Bent Agerbo (17 point back nine).
Division A (0-15)
1st Kevin Waycott (9) 37pts
2nd Thomas Johansson (2) 35pts
3rd John Pierrel (12) 33pts
Division B (16+)
1st Geri Crilly (26) 34pts
2nd Alain Taddei (16) 34pts
3rd Seesa Phompinmon (26) 32pts
Near Pins: 3rd – Kevin Waycott, 6th – Eric Black, 13th – Bill Steinman, 17th – John Davis
Long Putts: 9th – Jim Groves, 18th – John Davis
The Growling Swan NAGA Award (awarded to the golfer who has the worst score on the day) was won by Duangjai Tusagad and she accepted the award like the good sport that she is.
Thursday, July 17, Pattana – 2 Person Scramble/Stroke
It was time for our once a month novelty competition and this time it was Ambrose Pairs (2 person Scramble) with a random draw that paired a low handicapper with a high one, the names being drawn out of a hat.
Graham Buckingham & John Pierrel.
We had an awkward number of starters with 25 but Russell Calcutt kindly volunteered to step down as he was “not feeling the best” and those that know Russell will know exactly what that means. The draw was done before we left the bar and there were not too many moans & groans so we were all looking forward to an enjoyable day on a quality golf course, Pattana.
We welcomed Niall Stuart back from working in Laos, first timer John Parkinson, formerly from Manchester but now residing here and it was great to see Graham Buckingham & Tom Cotton back with us once more. It was time to say farewell to Thomas Johansson who will shortly be returning to Sweden.
After a rather long trip to the course, which lasted just under one hour we, we checked in we were told that we would be playing the B & C nines, so without any further delay our first four-ball got away right on our scheduled tee time of 10.00 a.m. The weather was fairly hot with a slight breeze to add some comfort and the course was as usual in great shape with lush fairways and very well maintained greens.
For some reason our round was quite slow, which was surprising as there were no groups ahead of us and we completed our round in four hours & fifty minutes. It had been very enjoyable with excellent company.
The winning pair were John Pierrel & Graham Buckingham with net 64.75, closely followed by Thomas Johansson & John Anderson with net 65 in second place. Coming in third were Bill Steinman & Andrew Allen with a net 66.75 and in fourth spot were Jim Groves & Alan sanders with net 67.25. Gerd Riedler & Geri Crilly occupied fifth place with a net 68.
Near Pins: B3 – Tom Cotton, B7 – Jim Groves, C2 – John Anderson, C7 – Bent Agerbo
Long Putts: B9 – Niall Stuart, C9 – Peter Blackburn
Note: Growling Swan Golf welcomes golfers of any persuasion – low & high handicappers alike, female golfers and beginners. We generally play Mondays & Thursdays, meeting at The Growling Swan in Soi Chaiyapoon at 8.00 am with transport departing at 8.30 am. For bookings or more information please contact Peter on 0806 351 386 or email to petermalcolmblackburn @gmail.com.
We also play bowls out of the Growling Swan every Wednesday and Sunday. Sunday is Lawn Bowls and Wednesday is Indoor Bowls. All are welcome and for anyone that is interested the transport leaves The Growling Swan at 10.00am on each of those mornings. For more information please contact Paul Rennison on 0843 454 005.
