Travellers Rest Golf Group
Monday, March 13, Treasure Hill – Stableford
1st Kerry Langlands (12) 36pts
2nd Paul Stanton (11) 35pts
3rd Billy Allen (18) 32pts
Is there a finer a finer way to start a week of golf on the eastern seaboard of Thailand than approaching the 1st tee box at Treasure Hill? This statement will of course attract a wide variety of responses but what cannot be brought into question is the complete uniqueness of these 18 holes of golf.
Not many golf courses start with a narrow par-5 followed by a murderous par-3, but this is the nature of the day out at Treasure Hill. On this Monday the course did not disappoint, with the already hazardous condition made even testier by a very hot and humid day.
The round of the day came from Kerry Langlands whose 36 points was a good enough total to take top spot. Closely trailing the leader was Paul Stanton with another fine round of 35 points while in third came co-owner Billy Allen, who as well as taking this prize also won the colour coordinated golfer of the month award.
Tuesday, March 14, Burapha – Stableford
1st Kerry Langlands (12) 37pts
2nd Alan Gibb (9) 37pts
3rd Robert Holl (11) 35pts
On Tuesday the TRGG made its weekly visit to Burapha playing the A and the B courses. Robert Holl would have been delighted with his first Pattaya outing of 2017 with 35 points and this was good enough to finish third.
Alan Gibb, with another 4 week extension happily stamped in his passport, shot a fine round of 37 points but on the day it was only good enough for silver. With a better back-9 Kerry Langlands was able to post back to back victories.
In Kerry’s case looks are deceiving, as he appears to be a lost wondering remnant from Woodstock. However, two consecutive gold medals in the soaring Pattaya temperatures have proved the steel under belly of the man who looks more comfortable jigging to the lyrics of Steppenwolf, than battling down the 18th at Burupha.
Wednesday, March 15, Mt. Shadow – Stableford
1st Gary Bennett (16) 34pts
2nd Ryan Thomas (1) 31pts
3rd Ally Walker (11) 31pts
Wednesday’s visit to Mountain Shadow found the course at its challenging best. Not many players find the back-9 easier than the front here so a good start is essential for any player wishing to post a good score.
This wasn’t quite the case for Gary Bennett who started slowly but hit a rich vein of form between holes 6 and 14 to be able to accumulate 34 points.
One would have thought that one player from the field of 20 would get close to challenging this score but four other players managed 31points, only to be separated by count back. Ally Walker managed to overcome sleep deprivation to squeeze into third place and second was taken by Ryan Thomas whose 78 was the best gross score of the day.
Thursday, March 16, Green Valley – Stableford
1st Terry Power (12) 37pts
2nd Klaus Fast (03) 36pts
3rd Derek Thorogood (16) 32pts
In recent months the friendliest of golf courses has been Green Valley and many a golfer has visited there with the expectation of a competitive score. This was certainly the case with TRGG visiting the course on Thursday but as summer kicks in it is quite apparent that even this hidden gem in Rayong is no longer handing out easy prizes.
Of the 17 golfers only 2 players managed to shoot their handicap and Derek Thorogood must have been pleasantly surprised when he realized that his 32 points had given him third place. In second place came Klaus Fast and this man comes with a severe public health warning. Under no circumstances should anyone ever challenge him on a golf course. In four rounds he has scored 36, 36, 36 and 35 and all off a handicap of 3 in conditions where 90% of the fields have been struggling to break 30 points. You have been warned!
The top prize of the day was won by Terry Power. Scoring 37 points it was reassuring that Terry is not cast from the Klaus mold. His previous 2 scores had been 26 points so it was definitely an upturn in fortunes from the man that secured the win at Green Valley.
Friday, March 17, Pattavia – Stableford
1st Mike Rushant (12) 36pts
2nd Ted Senior (17) 35pts
3rd Alan Gibb (09) 35pts
Pattavia was the destination for the golf society on Friday. This course is currently one of the most popular in the area and the improvements made over the last couple of years have been impressive.
Alan Gibb continued with his recent history of playing good golf by scoring 35 points and taking third spot. However, he was piped for second place by Ted Senior who managed to secure this prize by virtue of a better back-9. This was certainly a day for Pattaya stalwarts with first place going to Mike Rushant with 36 points. To put it politely Mike regularly “dogs it out” and his form since the New Year has been remarkable with 18 podium visits from his last 33 rounds of golf.
Saturday, March 18, Silky Oak – Stableford
1st Al Marumoto (12) 39pts
2nd Klaus Fast (03) 37pts
3rd Kevin Paggs (17) 36pts
Saturday saw the men brave enough to challenge the crowds heading to Silky Oak. With a break in the summer heat the day’s golf was punctuated by showers and this led to quite pleasant playing conditions. The scoreboard reflected this with 12 of the 16 golfers scoring 30 points or more.
In third place came the man whose attire matches his personality. Wearing trousers more suited to a night out on soi 6, Kevin Paggs reached the heady heights of the podium for the first time. In second place it was no surprise that Klaus Fast was scoring 37 points. In fact according to Klaus he didn’t play that well and left loads of points out there. Really Klaus?
However the round of the day was scored by Al Marumoto. The man who puts the “M” into methodical finally achieved top spot after coming close on several occasions. Playing in a group behind Al can be akin to being water boarded, but on this day it was wonderful spending 5 and a half hours of one’s life watching his practice routine.
