SPORTS

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SPORTS

WKD Tuesday Darts League

Results & Standings Nov. 5 (week 26)

Team P W L B/legs Pts.

Londoner 26 23 3 19 46

i-Rovers 26 23 3 17 46

Mee Chew Sports Bar 26 20 6 19 40

Buffalo Jack’s 26 16 10 16 32

W. Tankies 26 16 10 10 32

Shoot Pool Roxy 26 15 11 17 30

Crazy Eddies 26 14 12 13 28

Jantha Coffee House 26 12 14 14 24

Shoot Pool 26 11 15 12 22

Yates Bar 26 10 16 9 20

Mai’s Bar 26 7 19 12 14

Nervous Wreck 26 7 19 12 14

Scandalic 26 5 21 10 10

Cum On Inn 26 3 23 2 6

Results: Cum On Inn (3-0)-(7-1) v Nervous Wreck, i-Rovers (6-0)-(3-1) v Buffalo Jack’s, Jantha Coffee House (7-1)-(3-0) v W. Tankies, Londoner (8-1)-(4-0) v Crazy Eddies, Mai’s Bar (4-1)-(5-0) v Yates Bar, Mee Chew Sports Bar (7-1)-(6-0) v Scandalic, Shoot Pool Roxy (4-1)-(6-0) v Shoot Pool

Crumpton Cider Wednesday Darts League

Results & Standings Nov. 6 (week 13)

Team P W L Bonus Diff. Pts.

Mee Chew Sports Bar 13 13 0 10 49 26

Jantha Coffee House 13 9 4 10 23 18

W. Tankies 13 7 6 7 11 14

i-Rovers A 13 7 6 9 9 14

Legends Sports Bar 13 6 7 6 3 12

Yates Bar 13 5 8 1 -3 10

i-Rovers B 13 3 10 6 -37 6

Mai’s Bar 13 2 11 3 -55 4

Results: i-Rovers B (4-0)-(5-1) v Mee Chew Sports Bar, Jantha Coffee House (5-1)-(4-0) v Legends Pool & Sports Bar, Mai’s Bar (2-0)-(7-1) v i-Rovers A, W. Tankies (1-0)-(8-1) v Yates Bar

Dolly Dalton Jomtien Pool League

Results & Standings Nov. 7 (week 25)

Team Played Won Lost Bonus Pts

Country Road 23 21 2 2 65

Winners Bar 23 20 3 3 63

Party Girls 22 19 3 3 60

Woaw’s Bar 23 16 7 6 54

Jimmy’s Den 23 15 8 8 53

Flying Dolphin 22 13 9 7 46

Simple Simon 24 10 14 13 43

Shenanigans 23 11 12 8 41

Aussie Ally’s 23 10 13 11 41

Rioja 24 11 13 8 41

DK Bar 22 8 14 11 35

Take Care Bar 22 8 14 11 35

Windmill Bar 23 6 17 13 31

Lion Pub 21 3 18 11 20

Wombat Bar 24 0 24 8 8

Results: Simple Simon 14 v 1 Wombat Bar, Windmill Bar 4 v 11 Winners Bar, Lion Pub 6 v 9 Rioja, Party Girls 9 v 6 Aussie Ally’s, Jimmy’s Den 7 v 8 Flying Dolphins, Woaw’s Bar 11 v 4 Take Care Bar, Shenanigans 7 v 8 Country Road

Pattaya 8-Ball Monday Pool League

Results & Standings Nov. 4 (week 9)

Team Played Won Lost For Agst Diff. Pts.

Phimai Geordie 9 8 1 90 40 50 25

San Snack Bar 9 7 2 83 52 31 23

Crazy Eddie’s 9 7 2 82 53 29 23

Mata Bar 9 7 2 80 55 25 23

Shoot Pool 9 5 4 69 66 3 19

Buffalo Jack’s 9 5 4 65 65 0 18

The Rest Stop 9 4 5 74 61 13 17

Rising Sun 9 4 5 66 69 -3 17

Mee Chew 9 3 6 57 78 -21 15

Cum On Inn 9 3 6 56 79 -23 15

Parrot Inn 8 0 8 37 83 -46 8

Connections 8 0 8 31 89 -58 8

Results: Connections 2 v 13 Crazy Eddie’s, Shoot Pool 7 v 8 San Snack Bar, Buffalo Jack’s 7 v 8 Rising Sun, Mata Bar 8 v 7 Phimai Geordie, Mee Chew 7 v 8 Cum On Inn, The Rest Stop 10 v 5 Parrot Inn

Pattaya Sports Club Bowling League

PSC Friday Bowlers pose for a group photo.

Tea Party maintains their hold on first place as they won all four points from VFW Post 9876. VFW dropped from fourth to fifth place. Tue Pettae bowled a 520 series for VFW.
Sue Murphy led Canada with a 543 series to take three points from Indiana. La Montgomery bowled a 509 series for Indiana. Canada moved up from third to second place.
Green Tree, led by Noodle Russell who bowled a 524 series, took three points from Brother D. Green Tree moved up from fifth to fourth place and Brother D dropped from second to third.
Kran Nielsen bowled a 568 series which was the high series of the week and her Café Kronborg team won all four points from Bavaria. Somrit had a 515 series and Ooy Pluemkamon had a 509 for Kronborg who moved up from seventh to sixth place. Bavaria dropped from sixth to seventh.

Results & Standings Nov. 8 (week 13)

Pos. Team Score Standings

1 Tea Party 4 – 0 33.5 – 18.5

2 Canada 3-1 29 - 23

3 Brother D 1-3 27 - 25

4 Green Tree 3-1 27 - 25

5 VFW Post 9876 0 - 4 25 - 27

6 Café Kronborg 4 – 0 24 – 28

7 Bavaria 0 - 4 22 – 30

8 Indiana 1 – 3 20.5 – 31.5

Crumpton Oaks Cider Monday Pool League

Results & Standings Nov. 4 (week 12)

Division 1

Team P W L +/- BP Pts.

The Butchers Arms 12 10 2 33 0 30

Shoot Pool 10 9 1 25 0 27

Legends Pool 10 7 3 21 0 21

Smile Bar 10 6 4 6 2 20

Links Bar 12 5 7 -7 1 16

Nicky’s Bar 10 5 5 -17 0 15

i-Rovers 11 4 7 -6 1 13

Sweethearts Bar 10 2 8 -25 3 9

Acorn Pub 10 2 8 -18 2 8

Pook’s Bar 9 2 7 -12 1 7

Results: Acorn Pub 10 v 7 Nicky’s Bar, i-Rovers 7 v 10 Smile Bar, Legends Pool 10 v 4 Links Bar, Sweethearts Bar 5 v 10 Shoot Pool, The Butchers Arms 10 v 5 Pook’s Bar

Division 2

Team P W L +/- BP Pts.

Easy R-Con Bar 11 10 1 54 0 30

Offshore Bar 11 9 2 34 1 28

Cheers Bar 12 8 4 20 0 24

Shoot Pool ‘B’ 12 8 4 13 0 24

The Caddyshack 10 5 5 5 2 17

Mai’s Bar 11 5 6 0 0 15

Dean’s Bar 12 5 7 -6 0 15

Rabbi’s Elephant 11 4 7 -20 0 12

Wet Bar 10 1 9 -44 0 3

Wombat Bar 12 1 11 -56 0 3

Results: Cheers Bar 10 v 2 Dean’s Bar, Shoot Pool ‘B’ 2 v 10 Easy R-Con Bar, The Caddyshack 3 v 10 Offshore Bar, Wet Bar 3 v 10 Mai’s Bar, Wombat Bar 4 v 10 Rabbi’s Elephant

Legends Wednesday 9-Ball Pool League

Results & Standings Nov. 6 (week 20)

Team P W D L +/- Pts.

Mata Bar 17 12 3 2 84 39

Links Bar 17 12 3 2 80 39

Easy R-con Bar 16 13 0 3 48 39

Legends Pool 18 11 2 5 34 35

Shoot Pool 17 10 4 3 56 34

Pook’s Bar 19 10 3 6 36 33

Buffalo Jacks 18 3 6 9 -36 15

FCUK Inn 19 4 3 12 -60 15

George & Dragon 16 4 2 10 -44 14

Legends All-Stars 15 3 3 9 -64 12

Wet Bar 19 2 4 13 -78 10

Queen Vic 17 2 3 12 -56 9

Results: Easy R-Con Bar P-P Legends All-Stars, Legends Pool 12 v 8 FCUK Inn, Links Bar P-P George & Dragon, Mata Bar 10 v 10 Pook’s Bar, Queen Vic 9 v 11 Shoot Pool, Wet Bar 8 v 12 Buffalo Jacks

High season brings high scores for some

PSC golf from Siam Country Resort

Tuesday, Nov. 5, Greenwood - Stableford
Greenwood was the venue for our first game of the high season, and what a perfect day for golf it was: clear blue skies, light breeze, and with the course in good order it made for a great start.

Paddy Devereux, Willem Lasonder & Mickey Nield.

The C & B loop was our allotted combination for the day, and it was the recently returned George Gamble (H/cap 23) who got into the swing with a fine 38 points, a few ahead of Jeff Wylie (7) in second spot.
Although there were several tee shots just off the edges of greens, Near Pins were hard to get and it was only Brian Maddox who managed to garner one.
Thursday, Nov. 7, The Emerald – Stableford
Thursday saw us visit Emerald, and just as the groups were teeing off a shower moved across the course, with several more during the day. The light rain had no effect on the course or scores for the day and it was Owen Walkley (10) leading the way home a clear winner with 41 points.
The minor placings were headed by Paddy Devereux (23) with 37pts, ahead of Mickey Nield (9) with 36, while fourth spot had to be decided by count back after Willem Lasonder (20) & Dave Edwards (16) both signed for 35 points - Willem getting the nod over Dave 18/17.
With the bigger field today, the Near Pins were hotly contested, resulting in Owen, Paddy & Jeff with 2 getting the prizes.
Note: Siam Country Resort, Restaurant & Bar is located just off Siam Country Club Rd, after going under the arch past the 7/11, turn right after 50 metres, with the venue on the left another 200 metres along. Golf from here is generally played on Tuesday & Thursday, with the Resort hosting prompt presentations on both days.
As a PSC affiliated venue we welcome ALL golfers, including ladies & seniors who have opted for the “Silver” tee option. Call 089 094 1841 for scheduling or enquiries. Hope to see you there, cheers & good golfing!

Sal sparkles at Crystal Bay

PSC golf from the Growling Swan

San Mig Stu & Peter Blackburn

Monday, Nov. 4, Mountain Shadow – Stableford

You beaut, ripper mate and on yer son!….These are terms (Australian slang) generally used with reference/expression to merriment, joy and pleasure, which is what the “temporary organizers” of the Growling Swan golf outlet were experiencing today, this being the last day of their penalty duties. President Peter Blackburn was due to return the next day, and not before time!

Sal Brizzi, Max Bracegirdle, Niall Stuart & Gary Monley.

Once again, this scribe (Stu) was unable to tackle the course and thus relied solely on the score sheet and stories of the day relayed by others.

Welcomes were made to Paul Simon who returns to Pattaya from Victoria in Oz for more golfing pleasures, Geoff Wallace, Greg Preferment and Andre Barril. Meanwhile a farewell was said to Luca Santy who was heading back home.

Carts were allowed on the fairways today because the course was dry and it was a sunny/windy so the blue tees were selected to be played from. I am not sure if this brought groans or cheers from the players, however on reflection it is noted that the previous week, when playing off the yellow tees, only three players played to par or better and today off the blues was no better.

Toshi Abe, Paul Simon & Patrick Poussier.

Due to the dry conditions the players completed their rounds in a good time of four hours and ten minutes, which would have been a damn sight longer if I and some of the other delinquents of the GS crew had played.

Our newly arrived, happy, bubbly Japanese player Toshi Abe clearly had a good day and won Division A with 36 points and also collected many of the novelty prizes too! Second was Ebrahim, pleased to be coming off a sour spell, with 34 points and Monthly Mug winner Alaine Taddei was again in the prizes with 32 points, however he had to await a count back from Gero Reidler and Ed Stewart before being awarded third spot.

Division B was won by Patrick Poussier with the highest points score of the day, 37 points, and was followed in by John Davis with a creditable 36 and Maxi Babe (Bracegirdle) took out third place with 34.

Division A (0–20)

1st Toshi Abe (20) 36pts

2nd Ebrahim (18) 34pts

3rd Alaine Taddei (15) 32pts

Division B (21+)

1st Patrick Poussier (23) 37pts

2nd John Davis (21) 36pts

3rd Max Bracegirdle (23) 34pts

Near Pins: 5th – Toshi Abe, 8th - Bill Steinmann, 15th - Toshi Abe, 17th - Max Bracegirdle

Long Putts: 9th - Alaine Taddei, 18th - Toshi Abe

Our returned visitor Paul Simon had his mind on his other Thai interests today as he was the surprise winner of the not so prestigious but very charitable NAGA award for lowest score of the day.

It was with sadness and regret that we were informed of the passing of one of our long time standing Pattaya golfers, Kevin Dinan. RIP Kevin.

Thursday, Nov. 7, Crystal Bay A & B – Stableford

After 2 weeks in Perth, Western Australia it was great to be back playing golf in Pattaya. I must firstly thank the guys who ran the show so efficiently in my absence, mainly Peter Grey, John Pierrel, Dick Braimbridge, Max Bracegirdle and of course Stuart Rifkin who did a superb job doing those very funny write-ups – many thanks to them all.

We also welcomed Tony Campbell from Melbourne today and newcomer Bill Roycroft from Canada. It was sadly time to say farewell to Niall Stuart who was returning to work in Guinea, West Africa.

The rain seemed to have gone away and we had an excellent starting sheet with 30 golfers signed up to play the popular Crystal Bay Golf Course. Our 3 mini vans got away right on time and after arriving at the course 45 minutes later we found it fairly busy but were able to tee off A1 (A & B nines were the allocated combination) 12 minutes ahead of schedule.

The weather was perfect for golf, not too hot with a nice breeze (at times a bit stronger than that) and the golf course was in very good shape although the greens had suffered from the recent heavy rains and were a touch ordinary. It did not deter my playing partners in Group 1 which provided the first 2 placegetters in Division A and it was a very enjoyable day as we completed the round in four hours and twenty minutes.

We had 3 divisions – Division A for handicaps 0 to 14, Division B for handicaps 15 to 24 and Division C for handicaps 25 & over with 3 places in each. There were also rewards for nearest the pins on the four par threes and longest first putts on the A9 & B9 greens.

The A Division was won by Sal Brizzi with a fine 40 points, just 1 point ahead of Bill Steinman in second spot. With 2 golfers on 37 points a count back was required which resulted in Peter Bye (19 point back nine, 14 points on the last 6 holes & 7 points on the last 3 holes) taking third place from a luckless John Pierrel (19 point back nine, 14 points on the last 6 holes & 5 points on the last 3 holes).

Max “Corsets” Bracegirdle was victorious in B Division with 37 points, 2 points ahead of Mark “Westy” West in second place, with Ebrahim on 33 points returning to form in third spot.

C Division was won by Gary Monley with 36 points and Fred Dineley was second with 34. Another count back was necessary to determine third place with 2 golfers on 33 points and it was Sandy “Cindy Lauper” Leiper (16 point back nine, 11 points on the last 6 holes) who captured third spot from Andrew “Turtle” Allen (16 point back nine, 10 points on the last 6 holes.

Division A (0-14)

1st Sal Brizzi (7) 40pts

2nd Bill Steinman (8) 39pts

3rd Peter Bye (12) 37pts

Division B (15-24)

1st Max Bracegirdle (23) 37pts

2nd Mark West (16) 35pts

3rd Ebrahim (18) 33pts

Division C (25+)

1st Gary Monley (36) 36pts

2nd Fred Dineley (25) 34pts

3rd Sandy Leiper (35) 33pts

Near Pins: A5 – Patrick Poussier, A8 – Bill Roycroft, B4 – John Pierrel, B6 – John Pierrel

Long Putts: A9 – Greg Prefrement, B9 – Peter Bye

The Growling Swan NAGA Award was once again won by the departing Niall Stuart and he accepted the award in good spirit. Max then kindly paraded Deefa the Dog and of course collected many donations for the needy in Pattaya from our generous Growling Swan Golfers.

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 (formerly The Bunker Bar) 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.

Three holes-in-one at PCC - is this a record?

Bob Pearce (right) poses for a photo with Jintana Poonchai (left) of the Pattaya Country Club management team. In front of Bob are his three individual hole-in-one trophies plus the unique ‘ball tower’.

Local golfer Bob Pearce has the distinction of recording three hole-in-ones at the same course, Pattaya Country Club, and uniquely all of them came at different par three’s. To complete the set, Bob needs to sink an ‘Ace’ at the par-3 seventh hole but he will have to wait until the course re-opens after renovations.
To mark Bob’s achievement, he was recently presented with a ‘ball tower’ by fellow golfer Roscoe Langoulant who owns the Sports Bar off 2nd Road. Roscoe has himself a career record of three hole-in-ones but his all came on different courses.

Scramble success at Bjarne’s Birthday Bash

PSC golf from Café Kronborg

Team scramble winners Danny Medd, Richard Stedman, ‘Kiwi Bill’ Marsden and Daryl White receive congratulations from Bjarne and Dave.

Monday, Nov. 4, Khao Kheow A & B - Stableford
Khao Kheow’s A & B layout was the challenge today and we were off A1 on time under sunny skies and with a fresh breeze stiffening up as the round progressed. The course on the day was in fine condition with lots of roll but it was a very long 5-hour round due to slow groups ahead of us.
Back in the clubhouse welcomes went out to Ulf Larson from Sweden, John Herr from the USA and Torbjorn Admundson from Iceland.
We had two flights today with the cut at handicap 21 plus 2 near pins and 2 long putt awards. Brian Gabe was the winner of the A Flight with 36 points ahead of Elias Magnusson, who took second on a count back from Arne Max Pederson, and in fourth place was Jan Lovgreen.
Mike Winfield had the top score of the day, 43 points, to take the B Flight honors while Ronnie Ratte came second with 36 and Dave Richardson placed third on a count back over Daryl Evans.
A Flight (0-21)
1st Brian Gabe (21) 36pts
2nd Elias Magnusson (19) 35pts
3rd Arne Pederson (13) 35pts
4th Jan Lovgreen (21) 33pts
B Flight (22+)
1st Mike Winfield (23) 43pts
2nd Ronnie Ratte (30) 36pts
3rd Dave Richardson (27) 32pts
4th Daryl Evans (22) 32pts
Near Pins: A5 Jan Lovgreen, B8 Ronnie Ratte
Long Putts: A9 Susan Gaarde, B9 Arne Max Pederson
Thursday, Nov. 7, Plutaluang – 4-person scramble
Bjarne Nielsen of the Café Kronborg celebrated his 55th birthday today by hosting his annual “Bjarne’s Birthday Bash” 4-person scramble golf day at the testing Plutaluang golf course. Ten groups, made up of over ten nationalities, were signed up to ensure there were plenty of eager teams challenging to have the best fun that only scramble events can offer to all golfers alike.
The only pressure that an individual player needs to overcome on a day like this is to get your compulsory three tee shots out of the way, and several golfers were noted consuming many beers or rums to calm the nerves prior to teeing off and indeed throughout the day!

Birthday boy Bjarne Nielsen (left) with Dave Richardson.

Playing the East and South courses off the white tees proved a good challenge, however many teams managed several birdies resulting in lower overall scores than was had last year. The greens were a bit slow, as is common on this course, and some tees required a hammer to bed your tee into the ground but the presentation of the course in general was commendable.
We teed-off 20 minutes earlier than our anticipated 11am start time with the weather both hot and also overcast at times. A few spots of rain were initially felt, however the concerns of all were allayed as the heavens behaved and all teams were able to complete their rounds without rain delays or interruptions.
Once the golf was over it was back to the Café Kronborg for drinks, presentations by Dave “The Admiral” Richardson (tall stories galore) and of course the salubrious buffet dinner that the Nielsen family and staff provided and which everyone took full advantage of. This included absolutely the tenderest beef and ham, delicious Thai cuisine and salad and delightful desert and fruit.
The team winners of the outing were Daryl White, Richard Stedman, Danny Medd and ‘Kiwi’ Bill Marsden with a gross 67 and net score of 59.5. Second place getters were Noodle Nual Russel, Nalinlee Surya, Ian Pickles and Wulle Mercer with net 61.5, narrowly defeating the team of Mike Winfield, Stu Rifkin, Niels Hansen and Jan Lovegreen (net 61.7) and thus relegating them to third spot.
Near Pins: E2 Ronnie Ratte, E5 Jan Bandvra, S4 Niels Hansen, S7 Noodle Nual Russel.
A special thank-you goes to the Pattaya Sports Club for providing plenty of lucky draw prizes ensuring that everybody went home with something and many thanks also for the prizes supplied by Café Kronborg.

Latham takes victory with 42-pointer

Jomtien Golf with the IPGC

Monday, Nov. 4, Khao Kheow – Stableford
We were just one player short today for three divisions and with 31 out the cut was made at 4-16 in division 1 and 18+ in division 2. We were allocated the B and C courses today, playing off the yellow tees at 6,355 yards. The weather here looked a bit dubious after nine holes but all eight groups completed the round in perfect weather conditions.

Jim Connelly.
Bryan Priestley, with a handicap of 25, won division 2 with 37 points ahead of Glenn King in second on 33 and in his last game before his return to Australia, Lindsay Phillip’s brother Colin was third with 32.
Terry Madsen, playing off 11, returned a score of 35 to win division 1 while Bryan Rought took second with 34 and Peter Pedder placed third after beating Terry Tucker and Chris Voller on count back after they all came in with 32 points each.
Near pin prizes were claimed by Martin Grimoldby, Mike Lewis, Lindsay Phillips, Gerry Cooke (2), Rodney Howett and Bryan Priestley.

Colin James.
Lindsay Phillips birdied the 8th on the B course and the Welsh boy Mike Lewis and Bryan Rought did likewise on the 8th on the C nine to split the ‘2’s pot three ways in division 1 while in division 2 there was a rollover ensues to Green Valley on Wednesday.
Wednesday, Nov. 6, Green Valley - Stableford
We are back here again after a few discussions with the management and have two bookings each month up to the new year, although with only 8 tee times allocated this week at 8.49 a.m., we had to turn down many players in the lead-up to today’s game.
Some remarkable scores came in off the white tees in their normal positions and Wilf Latham, playing off 12, topped division 1 with 42 points. Chris Voller (10) was second in the division with 39 points and Darryl Blair took third after beating Billy Fitzgerald on a 21/16 back nine count back, both on 38’s.
In division 2, Bryan Priestley was the winner today with 37 points on a count back over Walter Weber in second and ‘Countback’ Burnie was third with 36.
Near pins went to Arthur Hancock, Kari Kuparinen, Pete Sumner, Terry Tucker, Magne Gunnarson, Rod Howett and Colin Phillips (2).

John Walsh.
Billy Fitzgerald and Terry Tucker birdied the 4th and Arthur Hancock the 12th to spli the ‘2’s pot in division 1 and Rod Howett was smiling as he took the rollover pot in division 2 with his birdie on the 12th hole.
It was great to see back with us today Jim Connelly, John Walsh, Colin James, Dennis Scougal, Matty Swire and Peter Grant.
Friday, Nov. 8, Eastern Star - Stableford
The rainstorm started here in Jomtien around midnight on the Thursday, continuing throughout the night and it was still raining around 8.00 a.m. Friday morning. After a call to Eastern Star we were informed it was even worse in Ban Chang so we cancelled our outing today, which was a pity as it would have been our first game of the season with over 32 players and three divisions.

‘Disco Dave’ dances down the Valley

PSC golf from Lewiinski’s Golf Society

Sunday, Nov. 3, Green Valley - Stableford
A Flight
1st Dave Driscoll (13) 42pts
2nd Peter LeNoury (10) 39pts
3rd Yui Bietry (12) 38pts
4th Thierry Petrement (14) 38pts
B Flight
1st Peter Henshaw (17) 38pts
2nd Bob Lindborg (19) 37pts
3rd Dave Boran (15) 36pts
4th Barry Tregutha (18) 35pts
Near Pins: No 4 Paddy Jordan, No 9 Bill Peach, No 12 Steve Gibson, No 16 Peter LeNoury

Dave Driscoll (left) with Peter Henshaw.

Dave ‘Disco’ Driscoll, whose accomplishments have been lauded in this column several times, made another marked move on his handicap with a scintillating 42 points today. Dave’s score for the front nine was 24 points which relates to a gross 37. His A Flight winning and man of the match score overshadowed the fine efforts of Peter ‘the Beast’ LeNoury and Yui ‘the Beauty’ Bietry as Yui took the silver via a ladies before Gents count back over monsieur Thierry Petrement.
Peter ‘the silver surfer’ Henshaw stood atop the B Flight podium with a splendid 38 points. Bob ‘the Guru of Green valley’ Lindborg, Dave Boran, and Barry ‘the Book End’ Tregutha were strung out in one digit increments (Barry’s fourth place was by way of a favorable count back over Terry’ Pork chop’ Mangan).
Thierry Petrement, Paul Herring, Mike Holmes and Bill Peach shared the 2’s pot.
Monday, Nov. 4, Greenwood B & C – Stableford
A Flight
1st Matt Doyle (11) 38pts
2nd Dominic Downey (12) 34pts
B Flight
1st Reg McKay (16) 34pts
2nd John Heaney (20) 32pts
Co. Offaly gang man Matt Doyle left nothing to chance on this day as he suppased the entire field by a clear four points and copped the top spot in A Flight. Matt was also the only player to better his handicap, the nearest man to him being Co. Galway’s Dominic Downey.
Scotland’s ‘Buckie boot boy’ Reg McKay was the same distance behind Matt as he stood atop the B Flight podium. Reg was two strokes clear of Irishman John Heaney as he rounded out the flight.
No 2’s were recorded so a rollover to Tuesday.
Tuesday, Nov. 5, Bangpra – Stableford
A Flight
1st Bob Watson (4) 37pts
2nd Max Scott (4) 34pts
3rd John Pierrel (10) 33pts
B F light
1st Thierry Petrement (14) 35pts
2nd JP Gasser (11) 33pts
3rd Matt Cronin (15) 33pts
C Flight
1st Barry Oats (24) 33pts
2nd Mick Coughlan (22) 33pts
3rd Eddie Henshaw (22) 29pts
It was off to Bangpra to battle the lightning fast greens and the marauding monkeys. But there was no monkeying around for Aussie Bob Watson as he did it best with his 37 points which topped A Flight and the day’s scores. Bob was three clear of his Aussie mate Max Scott and five clear of the esteemed Texan John Pierrel.
Nice guy Thierry Petrement topped B Flight with a steady 35 points. Second and third place was decided on count back as JP Maffray edged Irishman Matt Cronin for the silver.
Dropping down to C Flight we saw Barry Oats 33 points have a more favorable inward split than Ireland’s Mick Coughlan’s. A count back was also needed to sort out the last podium place with Irishman Eddie Henshaw’s back nine containing the better maths than the unfortunate Mick Robertson.
Max Scott and John Pierrel split a handsome rollover 2’s pot.
Wednesday, Nov. 6, St. Andrews - Stableford
A Flight
1st Brian Dunbar (10) 38pts
2nd Ed Wyckoff (12) 36pts
3rd John Pierrel (10) 33pts
B Flight
1st Pierre Bietry (16) 38pts
2nd Terry Mangan (15) 38pts
3rd Reg McKay (16) 36pts
C Flight
1st Liam McGuiness (18) 40pts
2nd Fergus O’Brien (24) 39pts
3rd Jim Elphick (26) 38pts
Co. Offaly man Liam McGuiness (nothing to do with ‘Shush you know who’s’ mob) was the man of the match with a superb 40 points in C Flight. Fellow countryman Fergus O’Brien wasn’t far back in the hot and humid conditions at 39 points. A player for whom a return to form might be just be round the corner was Jimmy ‘two shots’ Elphick, who filled the remaining bronze place with a solid 38 points.
Pierre Bietry and Terry ‘pork chop’ Mangan, who are seemingly lauded once a week for their play, sought the comfort of B Flight to take the two top steps with two under their handicaps 38 point returns. The luck of the Irish deserted Terry as Pierre edged him for the gold. Scotland’s’ Buckie boot boy Reg McKay, in the unusual circumstances of finding himself in B Flight, took the third plateau on the podium.
Brian Dunbar attacked A Flight with nearly the same fervor as C Flight as his 38 points found him two clear of Ed ‘our man in the White house’ Wyckoff and five clear of John ‘Tex’ Pierrel.
Michael Prideaux, Lindsay Semple, Colin Davis and Peter Henshaw were all content as they shared the 2’s pot
Thursday, Nov. 7, Mt. Shadow - Stableford
A Flight
1st Brian Dunbar (9) 38pts
2nd Ed Wyckoff (12) 33pts
B Flight
1st Campbell Johnson (I5) 35pts
2nd Paul Herring (13) 32pts
If 38 points was successful on Wednesday, why not try it again? Well Dave Dunbar did and the result was the same, another A Flight victory and this time the man of the match honours to boot. Brian may not recognize (and rest assured the field will be checking) his new handicap. Amazingly Ed ‘our man in the White house’ Wyckoff followed Brian up the podium steps again for the flight silver and second consecutive count back defeat five shots in arrears.
Top man in B Flight was Campbell Johnson with a steady 35 points; Campbell was three strokes clear of Paul Herring.
No 2’s were recorded so it’s a rollover on Monday.
Note: Lewiinski’s is situated on Pattaya land Soi 1, Beach Rd Soi13/13 near Walking Street. Anyone wishing to play with us just pop in and add your name to the list otherwise why not get in touch with Colin on 089 826 0764. Transport is provided. Please note as the high season approaches Lewiinski’s will be playing golf every day bar Saturday.

Golfnutter: Ball Striking – Part 2

The feet-together drill – creating an in-to-in swing path.

There are no shortcuts to better ball-striking – so ended last week’s epistle. While that statement is true, there are certain drills that can offer an insight, and feel, into what it’s like to actually hit the ball “square”. For those who have never experienced the sensation of a “full shot flushed square to target” let me assure you, it’s better than sex!
Before we go there I will resate something written previously: I am not a certified golf instructor, nor do I claim that advice offered in these columns cures all problems. Ideas presented here are based primarily upon my own humble (amateur) experiences augmented by copious reading on matters golf. If you, the reader, really want to improve your ball-striking, you probably can’t avoid hitting balls, visiting a professional teacher and hitting more balls – about one range-hour for each minute of instruction. This should suit those in Pattaya down to a tee – I mean what else is there to do?
Last week’s column focused on clubface alignment and swing-paths, pointing out that the vast majority of us hopeless golf romantics actually slice the ball. We do this because our swing-path is out-to-in; where the club approaches the ball from outside the target line and travels across the line to the inside after impact. This results in a wide left-to-right (for right-handers) ball flight which not only finishes off target, but lacks length, significantly so.
Three fundamental elements of hitting a golf ball are grip, stance and swing. Whilst each one of these is a subject in itself, this article will assume your grip and stance is sufficiently proficient to complete the swing mechanics necessary to rotate the club.
Put aside a few hours at your local driving range. You will need a couple of trays of balls, a 7-iron, an open mind and some patience. Descriptions apply to right-handers.
Without ball, take a normal stance then put feet together with elbows tucked in, as in the address position, above. With light grip pressure, swing back easily with your upper arms brushing your chest as your wrists start to hinge.
Stop when your left arm is horizontal to the ground (9 o’clock), as shown in centre photo, but elbow straight.
Note the position of the back of your left hand – it should be facing frontwards, towards the target.
Keeping your upper arms close to your chest, swing the club slowly (no ball yet) down through the impact area and on to where your right arm is horizontal to the ground (3 o’clock), elbow straight. The back of your left hand should now be facing the ground.
Repeat this 9-to-3 movement a few times and watch what happens to your wrists – they rotate. Most golfers with medium to high handicaps don’t rotate – ball-strikers do. This rotation is not caused by conscious thought. Rather, it is the result of swinging from 9 to 3 around a stationary spine. During the full golf swing, club-head rotation is further aided by the weight of the head relative to the far lighter shaft – provided the golfer’s grip is not overly tight.
After several practise swings you will feel your balance improve. Your feet are together to limit your swing. Bad balance will be due to over-swinging. This exercise is not about smashing the ball; it’s about achieving the correct swing-path whilst maintaining balance and rhythm.
Now, align the club-head on to a target, address the ball (teed up) and hit with half-power. When you sense your balance is being maintained, increase to three-quarter power. Your focus should be on maintaining balance, rhythm and making good contact. After some practise, you may wish to swing past 3 o’clock – not a problem. But never take the backswing past 9 o’clock.
Don’t expect to master this in five minutes, but persevere and master it you will. At a point when your ball-contact is good on say seven from ten attempts, start swinging with as much power as good balance permits – keeping both feet firmly planted and together.
It’s about now you medium to high-markers will notice when contact is flush, the ball literally soars – even past where your normal 7-iron would finish – the feel from your hands will be as if you hardly touched it, and all this from a half-swing!
Something else has been introduced that high-markers normally keep suppressed; the posture of feet-together coupled with upper-arms close to chest promotes a natural release. It’s caused by those wrists rotating – the later the better. This and the in-to-in swing path the drill promotes results in the shot being hit square-to-square (straight), or square-to-out (draw), the pre-requisite for better ball-striking. Whilst this may not be orgasmic, we’re not far away.
Next week – “It’s better than sex.”
Golfnutter

Bourke on the mark at Burapha

PSC golf from The Outback Golf Bar

Monday, Nov. 4, Burapha - Stableford
28 Outbackers played Burapha C and D in perfect weather, which included four players staying at the Amari, who hired some clubs from us and just came for a hit, without playing in the comp.

Paul Bourke.
With no recent rain the course was in great condition with lots of run on the fairways, although the scoring didn’t really reflect this as apart from one outstanding score the rest was fairly ordinary.
Paul Bourke was the only player to beat his handicap and won Div A with 39pts; he was two under after the first six holes! A long way back in second was Gary Croft (33) and John Wilson beat Steve Mann on count back for third both on 31pts.
Mark Kembrey, back here from Aus on his regular short work routine break, won Div B with 34pts on c/b from Andy Makara with Stephen Blazanyik (31) back in third and Ivan Plunkett fourth with 30pts.
Mark Kembrey topped off a great day by being the only player with a ‘2’ ... and he had three of them - Well done mate! A rare feat which I believe has only happened once before at the Outback, believe it or not by the General – a few years back at Greenwood.
Div A (0-15)
1st Paul Bourke (9) 39pts
2nd Gary Croft (15) 33pts
3rd John Wilson (14) 31pts
4th Stephen Mann (10) 31pts
Div B (16+)
1st Mark Kembrey (17) 34pts
2nd Andy Makara (24) 34pts
3rd Stephen Blazsanyik (17) 31pts
4th Ivan Plunkett (24) 30pts
Wednesday, Nov. 6, Bangpra - Stableford
This was the first visit to the wonderful Bangpra golf course in the high season by the Outback. Not only was it the first but somewhat unique in that we officially had an 8.45am tee time; normally any groups coming here in the high season tee off around 11.30, which makes a very late return to Pattaya and we all know what the traffic can be like late in the day.

Tim Knight.
The field was prepaid for and guaranteed at 16 players and what a great day out. The course was superb and we teed off ahead of schedule at 8.30 off the tenth. There were no delays at the turn and we were all done and dusted by 1 o’clock.
The best score of the day came from Tim Knight with 34pts as many of us struggled on these unique greens, measuring up to 10 on the stimp but quite how they measure that here I will never know cos they (the greens) must have been about 12 downhill (tricky to stop near the hole) and 8 uphill (tricky to reach the hole), particularly when you don’t want to go past!
Second was John O’Keefe (33) with Don Lehmer, and welcome to you mate, in third.
There were two ‘2’s, both on the 2nd hole, from Don Lehmer & Jack Moseley.
Our next visit here will be at the same time on Dec 4th; if you’re interested, book in and pay your green fee as soon as possible.
1st Tim Knight (24) 34pts
2nd John O’Keefe (16) 33pts
3rd Don Lehmer (19) 32pts
Friday, Nov. 8, Green Valley - Stableford
After rain Thursday evening, which continued through the night, we woke to more heavy rain. It was no surprise that the planned start sheet for the 34 players was going to transform itself in the next couple of hours as text messages and phone calls came in from a number of players. Unfortunately, we were later given some wrong information about Green Valley and the state of the course, having been advised that it was closed due to the adverse weather.
We later found that to be wrong and a couple of our groups did play but it rained throughout and was very heavy again for the last few holes. Green Valley have since apologised for the error, which was more likely a case of “lost in translation”.
Don’t forget the 20,000 Baht “Race2Bkk” final at Lotus Valley on Weds 20th Nov. If you are a qualifier and wish to play, please call Jack to confirm. Even if you didn’t qualify, you are still welcome to join us as we have extra tee times available. The following Friday (22nd Nov), watch out for our “Ashes Match” - a 2 person scramble/ambrose at Green Valley.
Note: The Outback Golf Bar is situated about 6km from Sukhumvit Road along Soi Siam Country. Call Jack on 081 578 1956.

Cottee shines at rain-free Mountain Shadow

The Billabong Golf Bar

Monday, Nov. 4, Greenwood - Stableford
We left the bar a little bit earlier today for our trip to Greenwood and got there about 30 minutes before our allotted tee time and were away early as we were the only group there at that time. The course was in great condition with the greens being lightening fast and the fairways cut to perfection - you couldn’t get a bad lie. The temperature was just perfect as well with a little wind a great day for golf.
We had to say goodbye today to Chris Dodd who had to cut his holiday short, and also welcomed Richard Steadman over for his annual pilgrimage.
The decision was made to play from the yellow markers as the length was just on 6,000 yards and from the whites it was 600 more, so it was a bit short today for the big hitters but enjoyable all the same.
Taking fourth place was Craig Wheeler with 36 points on a count back over Ralph Hymer while third place went to Owen Walkley with 38 points, just losing out to our old mate John Locke on count back for second. Top of the stack today was Brian Maddox with a fine 40 points.
There were three ‘2’ recorded by Craig Wheeler, Owen Walkley and an eagle two on B1 from Capt Bob.
Wednesday, Nov, 6, Green Valley - Stableford
It was a great day for golf at Green Valley on Wednesday and the course was in magnificent condition with the greens as fast as hell.
It was welcome back to JJ Harney today and his lovely wife Margaret, and although she didn’t play it was nice to catch up for a drink later.
We had eight groups playing but apart from a few golfers the scores were a bit ordinary to say the least. Coming in fifth place was Martin Kingswood 34 points, losing fourth spot on count back to Bob Finley, while third place went to Paul Greenaway with 35 points. Taking second on the podium was Eng Cotterell with a fine 38 points and the winner with 40 points, which could have been even better if the putts had dropped, was Paul Bourke - a great round of golf mate!
There were seven ‘2’s which should have been nine if Paul Bourke had had an ounce of luck and it would have been the first time we would have seen four ‘2’s from one golfer. The ones that did drop went to Paul Bourke (2), Paul Greenaway (2), Craig Wheeler, Peter Le Noury and John Locke,
A piece of sad news I was to hear today was that my good friend Ian (Juggy) Jones passed away in Geralton in the north of Western Australia. Our condolences go out to all his family for their sad and sudden loss.
Friday, Nov. 8, Mountain Shadow - Stableford
While it never stopped raining at the bar all day it was great weather for the golfers who did go out to play at Mountain Shadow on Friday. The greens, as always, were fast even with the rain they had had overnight and it was carts allowed everywhere so no winter rules in force.
There were a few cancelations because of the rain but as usual here in Thailand it always seems to be localized, raining here but not there. There were good scores and bad but it was down to Cottee to show the way with a fine 41 points to take out first place ahead of his good mate Gary Hogg, who won a three way count back on 34 points over Tom Hand and Steve Compton. There were no ‘2’s so all the dosh went to the guys in the winners’ circle.
Note: If you are looking for a game with some friendly golfers, call into the bar or give Bob a call on 082 204 3411. The bar is just off Soi Siam Country Club, looking straight down Lake Mabprachan.

Thakkar takes the plaudits at Navy

Phoenix Members Golf Society

Tuesday winners pose with staff members at The Relax Bar.

Mike Gerrard
Tuesday, Nov. 5, we played at Plutaluang (Navy) Golf Course and we were competing for the voucher donated by Ann’s Salon, where the winner can go and have whatever he wants in the way of beauty treatment. I can say without any fear of contradiction that most of our members need it! So a good prize to win.
Sadly, due to badly burning my hand, I could not play today but I was there to sort the teams out and send the boys off the first tee. I was filling up with tears as I watched the last group amble into the distance. Well most of them anyway. Some never really got too far with the first shot.
All I can tell you about the golf on the day is that the weather was set very fair indeed and unlike our beloved Phoenix the stint meter readings for the greens were a maximum of 6.7. Ugh!
Back at the Relax Bar later I waited for our lads (lads, that’s a joke to start with) to come back, many with tales of woe, woe and thrice woe! And very soon all were back including Mukesh Thakkar (he had told me earlier that he would not be able to get back because his wife wanted him home early). However, it soon transpired why the crafty little bugger came back. He was the winner with 37 points which is a good score round the West & North course here at Plutaluang. In our little society if you don’t come to the presentation you don’t get anything!
In second place was Jim Neilson with 32 points (now that’s more like it) and joint third were Richard Baldwin and Goort Gelten, both with 31 points but with Richard having the slightly better back nine.
Near pin winners were Jim Neilson (2), Richard Baldwin and Peter Harris, Richard being the only player to hit the short par 3 lighthouse island green.
Our lucky draw winners today were John Bartley and Joris Goetschalckx, with the free drink going to Steve Gibson and the free massage to Bart Starink. Both of these last two lucky draw prizes are donated by our hosts The Relax Bar.
Away from golf for a moment, on Sunday, November 17 there will be a boat going out on the ocean for a day’s fishing. I have one spot left if anyone would like to join us. Call me (Mike) on 087 091 7565 for more details.

Fergus ditches ‘Bridesmaid’ tag

Travellers Rest Golf Group

Andy Rich
The first week in November will always be about Bonfire Night and Guy Fawkes to us Brits so it was no surprise to see plenty of fireworks in our golfing competitions this week with three of the four only being decided after count back, with scores being tied between winner and runner up. The ladies also came to the party and certainly held their end up.
Monday, Nov. 4, Khao Kheow - Stableford
The week started off on Monday with a trip to Khao Kheow (A and B courses) and because of the increase in numbers two divisions were required.

Tewin ‘Poopay’ Lamthong - winner at Green Valley.

The First Division (for up to 12 handicap) saw our regular scratch golfer Bob Watson fight off some close attention from two of our ladies and come out on top, so to speak, but only after close scrutiny of the scorecards and a count back finish.
Div 1
1st Bob Watson (0) 32pts
2nd Mod Chaviraksa (11) 32pts
3rd Tewin Lamthong (10) 30pts
Div 2
1st Gerry Swan (13) 32pts
2nd Gary Bennett (18) 30pts
3rd Tom Kett (19) 29pts
Tuesday, Nov. 5, Green Valley - Stableford
Bonfire Night on Tuesday saw the TRGG head off to Green Valley to do battle and it was Tewin ‘Poopay’ Lamthong who ended up on top of the bonfire, well leader in the clubhouse actually.

Fergus Brennan - winner at Mountain Shadow.

Leaping from the previous day’s third place she improved both her score and her finishing position, beating off a fierce challenge from her other half, Fergus Brennan, who had to settle for second place, something he has grown used to over the last few weeks. Mod Chaviraksa slipped a place from the previous day to finish third.
1st Tewin Lamthong (10) 38pts
2nd Fergus Brennan (12) 38pts
3rd Mod Chaviraksa (11) 35 pts
Thursday, Nov. 7, Mt. Shadow - Stableford
On Thursday the bus driver could be forgiven for taking the road to Phoenix, which he has done every Thursday for years and years, but not anymore. This week the TRGG set sail for Mountain Shadow and the change of venue obviously suited our resident runner up as Fergus Brennan actually swept into first place to banish his demons and he didn’t need a count back to do it. Gary Bennett was second and Scotsman Ian Bell was third.
1st Fergus Brennan (12) 38pts
2nd Gary Bennett (18) 36pts
3rd Ian Bell (6) 35pts
Saturday, Nov. 9, Crystal Bay – Stableford
On Saturday it was off to Crystal Bay (A and B courses) and thankfully all of Friday’s rain had subsided enough to allow the golfers to dispose of their waders.
Gary Bennett showed he was not going to settle for the regular runner up label by taking first place, but only just from Alex Chao after yet another count back. Fergus Brennan this time had to settle for third place.
1st Gary Bennett (18) 39pts
2nd Alex Chao (16) 39pts
3rd Fergus Brennan (12) 38pts
Good luck to all you golfers for the coming week and if you would like to play a round of golf with the TRGG, please phone Fergus Brennan on 086 056 7019 or pop into the Ned Kelly Bar in Soi Lengkee and add your name to the weekly lists which are posted on the notice board.

Chris Cox has a round to remember

PSC golf from the Bunker Boys @ The Ranch

Monday, Nov. 4, Mountain Shadow – Stableford
Another beautiful bright sunny morning and the high season has obviously arrived as 29 golfers turned up at The Ranch for our second visit to Mountain Shadow in recent weeks. Fortunately the course was quiet, enabling us to fit in the extra groups without any problems, and we were able to tee off on schedule.

October ‘Golfer of the Month’ Geoff Parker (left) with Geoff 2.

The sudden increase in numbers meant that we would have two flights for the first time since the end of March, and the organizers quickly came to the realization that their workload would now be significantly increased for the next five months.
The course is currently in good condition but always provides a stern test, as any wayward drives are invariably punished by difficult lies in the copious coconut and mango trees which line the fairways. Tony Scambler got off to a flying start by carding an eagle on the par 4 first hole, and continued in a similar vein to take the honours in the A Flight by five clear points ahead of Dave Ashman and Neil Hurst, who had to be separated on a count back.
This course is clearly designed for lower handicappers, so it was no surprise that the scores in the B Flight were significantly lower than those in the A Flight, but it was still an extremely tight contest. With the cut set at 16 and over, three golfers were tied on 30 points, but PJ Redmond took first place on the count back ahead of Drake Mooser and John Hughes, who were both playing their first game since returning to Pattaya.
A Flight
1st Tony Scambler (10) 39pts
2nd Dave Ashman (14) 34pts
3rd Neil Hurst (11) 34pts
B Flight
1st PJ Redmond (27) 30pts
2nd Drake Mooser (20) 30pts
3rd John Hughes (17) 30pts
Near Pins: Eddie Kelly, Bernie Ruschmeyer, Keith Norman, and Tony Scambler.
Wednesday, Nov. 6, Crystal Bay C & A – Stableford
We had twenty-five golfers today for our visit to the Crystal Bay course, which was in effect a practice round for the upcoming John Preddy Memorial Charity tournament to be held here on the 22nd November.
The first group teed off without delay in bright, breezy conditions and the course was in good shape, apart from the bumpy greens which are still recovering from the recent monsoons.
Crystal Bay is one of those courses where someone usually manages to card a good score, but no one was expecting the winner to come home with an amazing score of 44 points (off a handicap of 10). This is what Chris Cox achieved, which is even more amazing since he carded a modest score of 24 points in the first game of his visit on Monday!
The cut was set at 17 and Derek Stephenson took second place in the A flight with another great score of 41 points, with Mike Lloyd taking third with 38 points.
Our popular veteran, Reg Smart won the B Flight with 38 points which included a birdie on the par four 5th hole (for 5 points!) - such are the joys of getting two shots on a hole! Ken Davidson produced his best round so far to take second place in the B Flight on a count back ahead of Peter Habgood.
A Flight
1st Chris Cox (10) 44pts
2nd Derek Stephenson (14) 41pts
3rd Mike Lloyd (16) 38pts
B Flight
1st Reg Smart (26) 38pts
2nd Ken Davidson (25) 35pts
3rd Peter Habgood (17) 35pts
Near Pins: Chris Cox, Derek Stephenson, Steve Durey and Neil Hurst.
Friday, Nov. 8,
The Emerald – Stableford
Following heavy overnight rain, the morning was dark and grey with persistent drizzle, so it was no surprise that only 14 golfers turned up at The Ranch. There was no sign of the rain abating, but this hardy group decided to make the trip to Ban Chang on the off-chance that the weather would clear up in an hour or two. The rain persisted throughout the drive to the course, and we arrived to find only a handful of determined golfers in the clubhouse waiting for the weather to improve.
After an hour or so the rain appeared to be stopping, but as we were prevaricating as to whether to pay the green fee, another storm front moved in with accompanying thunder and lightning, so the decision was made easy as the greens and fairways quickly turned into lakes and rivers.
The disappointed group decided to head off to the hostelries in nearby Ban Chang, and spent an enjoyable couple of hours discussing the vagaries of the weather in Thailand, so the journey wasn’t entirely wasted!
Note: The Bunker Boys are a PSC affiliated golf society, who play out of The Ranch bar on Pattaya 3rd Road (in front of the fire station, and almost opposite the Buffalo Bar). We play three times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and meet at The Ranch at 9 a.m. New players are always welcome. Contact “Buff” on 086 046 5091 or 080 605 5663 for all enquiries. You can find all the news, schedules and results on our website at www.bunkersociety.com.
The 8th Annual John Preddy Memorial Charity Golf Tournament will be held on the 22nd November 2013 at Crystal Bay Golf Club. Entry fee of 1,700 Baht includes green fee, caddy fee, free buffet and lucky draw ticket plus individual and team Stableford prizes. Interested players and sponsors may contact Buff on the telephone numbers above.

Riverside splendour

The Pattaya Golf Society (IPGC) at Rabbi’s Elephant Bar

On Monday, 4th November, the Pattaya Golf Society visited Bangpakong Riverside to play a stableford event on a course which must rank with best in the province at the moment, with lush fairways and fair and consistent greens.
For the first time in months the field was divided into two flights with the cut at sixteen and under and in the top flight “Banjo” Bannister improved his score yet again with 35 very solid points. Aussie Ian Rowson won the flight with 36 points.
In the second flight John Coetzee, Richard Keenan and Murray Edwards all posted 32 points to share second place whilst Dave Plaiter rose to the challenge with the day’s best points score of 38 points. He also recorded one of the two birdie ‘2’s of the day, on the thirteenth with Andrew Purdie taking the other with a birdie on the seventh.
Mike Ensor had sponsored two technicals and these were won by Dave Plaiter and Peter Sanderson, the latter albeit on count back from Richard Dobson to decide the second lowest score.
On a day such as this there was no booby bevy award and Rabbi’s special beer draw was won by John Mason. What an excellent golf day the Riverside had provided!
A pleasant day out for the ‘Boss’
The Pattaya Golf Society visited Pleasant Valley on Wednesday, 6th November to play a stableford competition on the tight course which had sanded and uncut greens in need of a roll. The recent storms have played games with the course staff who have been desperate to get their courses up to scratch for the high season.
For many of the field it was their first experience of the course and scores showed the impact a very tight back nine has on golfers. Scot Iain Wilson set the best gross standard for the day with 77 shots giving him 33 points which shared third place with Glenn Martin whilst Dave Plaiter went one better with 34 points for second. The winner, for the second time in ten days, was Len Jones whose 36 points could have been better if he had not stuttered on the back half.
Len’s birdie ‘2’ on the eighth was matched by Iain Wilson’s excellent birdie on the thirteenth and the booby bevy went to Michael McGuigan for his expected poor showing on his return round. Rabbi’s beer draw was won by John Mason and the day ended in high spirits with the celebration of mine host’s birthday.
Plaiter rounds off a fine week
After hours of steady rain on Friday, 8th November the Pattaya Golf Society decided to bluff it out and not cancel, as some other Pattaya groups had already done, and travelled to a damp but playable Crystal Bay to take on the challenge of the B and C courses. And did they make a fist of it! On the customer friendly course average scores were 31-plus points for the whole field with Paul Edgar receiving nothing but the accolades for his 37 points, helped in part by a birdie ‘2’ on B6.
In third place was Karl Flood, performing well after a dismal day last time out at Emerald and his 38 points more than made up for it. In second was Aussie Gary Bolger, stroking the ball long and accurately to return a score of 39 points. The winner, at the end of a week which had seen him win one event and come second in another, was Dave Plaiter and his 41 points left him five under his handicap at the end of the week. Life will be a little tougher next week mate!
Robbie Taylor shared the ‘2’s pot with Paul Edgar after his effort on C4 and Rabbi treated Syd Harrison to a free beer after his card was pulled out of the non-winners pack.
The Booby Bevy went to Larry Ang on his return for a mere point-a-hole score and the group warmly thanked Rabbi and Khun Peung of the Elephant Bar for their hospitality at the end of another excellent week.

Business as usual for Phil and Vincent

IPGC golf from The Haven

Monday, Nov. 4, Eastern Star - Stableford
CSS 75 NC
1st Phil Groves (7) 33pts
2nd John Carlin (16) 30pts
3rd Terry Hodgkiss (24) 29pts
4th Don Everett (20) 28pts
5th John Wood (24) 28pts
The eve of Guy Fawkes Day promised some early fireworks that in the event turned out to be a rather damp squib, with none of hopefuls managing to play to the standard and ensuring that the CSS for the day moved out to 75 to become non-counting for handicap upward adjustment.
Phil Groves.
Phil Groves did the best in almost reaching the mark of two over handicap, finishing at three over and a further three ahead of his closest rival to win yet again following the previous week’s successes in the Stableford and the Monthly Medal.
That second place was taken by John Carlin who literally strained every muscle and sinew in his efforts to keep up with the winner; so much so that he has posted that he will be on injured reserve list until his return to Australia later in the month with a severely strained back.
Terry Hodgkiss took third place just a further shot back but was well pleased to have got onto the podium with the conditions on the course extremely difficult. Terry outscored two of his playing partners, Don Everett and John Wood, who finished in fourth and fifth places respectively after a count back that Don won with a better 18 to 13.
There were no 2’s and precious few 3’s in either division.
Wednesday, Nov. 6, Crystal Bay A & C - Stableford
CSS 71
1st Vincent Gras (17) 40pts
2nd Hisahiko Makino (12) 39pts
3rd Don Everett (20) 37pts
4th Derek Johnstone (19) 37pts
5th Phil Groves (7) 36pts
6th Gary Duckling (8) 35pts
Overcast skies but no hint of the forecast high winds and rain to the north of Pattaya made for the good scoring that had been expected on the previous outing.
Vincent Gras.
Vincent Gras followed up his first and third places of the previous week with another well deserved win, although he needed to close out his round with a solid par for three points to deny the hard chasing Hisahiko Makino. Hisahiko was looking for his first win out of The Haven but missed out by just a single stroke after he managed just a bogey for two points on the last hole.
This outcome was totally at variance with earlier rumours that had filtered through from Darwin, Vincent’s home own, that reported he was spraying it everywhere before leaving for Thailand. It turned out that it was not golf balls that were being sprayed but golf clubs and almost anything else that did not move that fell within his reach. It may well be that this new venture into bespoke and exclusively designed paint jobs for woods and putters will attract a huge following, but equally it could be quickly shelved if it starts to interfere with Vincent’s golfing days in Thailand.
Slipping into third place and improving by one position on Monday’s result, Don Everett had to win a count back against the persistence of new member Derek Johnstone, but a better 20 to 15 over the inward half completed the job after Derek had scored an improbable 22 points going out.
Phil Groves had to settle for fifth place with a level handicap round that underlined the condition of the course compared to the previous outing.

Vincent’s spray job.
Yasuo Suzuki took care of the first division 2’s pot whilst Don Everett did the same in the second division.
Before the presentations were announced there were welcomes for Richard Park and Gary Duckling together with welcome backs for Bill Park, Vincent Gras and Bill Roycroft. There was also a special welcome back for the “Yamahita Golf Tour” from Japan in the form of Masami Tagaki, Hisahiko Makino and Tatsumi Noguchi led as always by their intrepid leader and guide Yasuo Suzuki.
Friday’s competition at Emerald was cancelled after nine holes due to the weather conditions that saw the course completely waterlogged following a heavy downpour. This was after the whole previous night had seen a constant deluge, at least in the city areas. The course management were very fair in allowing rain checks for nine holes on the next visit.
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.

Carmody calls the shots at Pleasant Valley

PSC golf from Tropical Bert’s

Derek Brook
Tuesday, Nov. 5, Pleasant Valley – Stableford
Pleasant Valley seems to raise likes and dislikes in many of the golfers and this was probably reflected in the turnout today which was quite small for this time of the year, or most likely they were saving their powder for the big ‘Poppy Day’ competition on Friday. Still, we had 4 groups and we were soon underway to our destination. The bridge where we come off Route 7 is under repair, so be very careful, but we were soon at the course.

Don Carmody, Brian Gabe and Daryl Evans with one of Bert’s finest.

This to me is a good golfing layout, a little bit tight perhaps but it looks a ‘clean’ one and you can enjoy the walk around. Except on this day that is, as I had ‘one of those caddies’. I fully understand the need for a caddy to have their start and first round, but a sensible caddy master would send out a new caddy in a group with a very experienced one with the capacity to teach.
There is nothing more annoying than to play a provisional ball because your caddy says you ball is ‘O.B.’, then to spend time in the woods looking for it, then to find it in the middle of the fairway. That is unless you are given a Driver on a par three, or left alone on the green while your caddy takes your sand wedge back to the cart. Get the idea? However, I have to say I am not the most tolerant of players, so I probably got what I deserved!
So to the course, and it was fine really. The fairways were green and in good shape while the rough was difficult and the greens, I thought, were in good fast condition. What was more important is that apart from a strong wind the weather was really good.
Back at Bert’s it was time for the results. The winner with a good 42 points was Don Carmody ahead of another good round of 40 points from Brian Gabe just coming back to form. In third place and completing the podium was Daryl Evans with 34 points.
It was then time to get busy as Friday was not far away. We did however have time for a few beers. T.T.F.N.
Near Pins: Landis Brooks, John Harrison (2)

Rush hour at Green Valley

PSC golf from The Caddyshack

Roger Rush (H/cap 18) came out an easy winner at Green Valley on Monday, Nov. 4, with an excellent 42 points. Emmet White (13) took second place with 36 and Terry Phur (19) was in third place with 35.
On Wednesday, Nov. 6, we played Mountain Shadow from the blue tees and Phonsie McGahan (5) took the win with 29 points, beating Peter Henderson (20) on count back.
The last schedule game of the week on Friday, Nov. 8, was a wash out with heavy rain for most of the day.
Note: The Caddyshack is located on Soi 17 off 3rd Road or soi 8 off Thepprasit Road. All golfers are welcome and reservations are taken at 081 865 3104.

Tributes all round to ‘Gentleman George’

PSC golf from The Golf Club

Steve Ellison
Monday, Nov. 4, Green Valley (white tees) – Stableford
1st Chuck Anderson (9) 39pts
2nd Ken Aihara (4) 38pts
2nd Akifume Tate (17) 38pts
3rd Robbie Taylor (11) 37pts
3rd Ken Grimes (17) 37pts

‘Gentleman’ George Bishop.
It was a special Monday event today as we took time to remember our dear friend Gentleman George Bishop who sadly passed away earlier this year. Phil Williams led the tributes and George’s wife Gogo was also in attendance for the tournament.
Captain Phil Smedley did a fantastic job of getting it all together and the lads have been singing his praises for doing such great work at running our golf these days. We had a full roster on the cards and, as Brad says, the herding of the cats started at our 08:15 departure time.
Thanks to all who joined in with us and congrats to Chuck Anderson who is now the proud owner of a sleek new silver golf bag!
Wednesday, Nov. 6, Khao Kheow (white tees) – Stableford
1st Aki Tate (17) 40pts
2nd Phil Smedley (10) 37pts
3rd Massimo (22) 36pts
Time once again to visit one of the best golf courses in the Pattaya area and challenge the Pete Dye design at Khao Kheow. All reports back in the clubhouse were very positive about the condition, there was just a bit of water about in a few places but it all played beautifully.

Chuck, Gogo & Phil at Monday’s presentation.
The first 3 golfers hit beautiful drives, but all were 60 yards left of the fairway. None of them bothered to line up the ball like Jack Nicklaus does, that is to pick a target a yard ahead of your ball and use it as a general directional guide. The tees were set up way left, so if a golfer just plops the ball down and swings away without a proper setup, he is penalized by a nasty surprise in the left rough.
Your eventual winner on the day, Aki Tate, was observed lining up his drive properly and the result was a shot right down the middle of the fairway. Sometimes it is good to revert back to Golf 101 and get back to basics. That is why the pros are always being watched by their coaches! Aki had a great day and ended up with a big red 40 circled at the top of his scorecard and a well deserved win for the thinking man’s golfer.
Captain Phil also had a good day, and when you card a 37 at Khao Kheow you have had one sweet round of golf. Massive Massimo brought up the rear and took the bronze with a very respectable 36 points on the day.
Friday, Nov. 8, Battavia Century (white tees) – Stableford
T1st Frank Riley
T1st Ken Aihara
2nd Mick Beresford
You may have noticed there are no actual scores for the comp today. As the rain filled the skies overhead, there were some who continued play and others who sat it out, but the three best golfers are listed above.

Aki Tate bags another win.
This was a well anticipated event at the newly opened Battavia Century, the former Century Chonburi designed by Sir Nick Faldo. The track has always been a great layout, but with a small budget to work with there is only so much the greenskeeping staff can do. Chang Brewery bought this course some 8 months ago and has given her the resources she deserves.
All aspects of the course were just fine, especially given the recent rains. The construction of new facilities is well underway and the course itself is very playable. This is never going to be another Siam, but with a bit more TLC it will definitely become a popular track for those on a budget. We will return here to play again and watch the improvements being made and see this golf course progress to the level befitting of her pedigree. Put it on your playlist boys, we need to support this newborn beauty!
Note: The Golf Club is located on Soi LK Metro. We try to schedule summer “Sports Days”, so come join us for a seriously fun day out. Just call 085 434 3377 or see our website www.golfclubpattaya.com and for more information mail us: [email protected] and see updates at www.facebook.com/golfclubpattaya... all handicaps welcome!

Some of the mob ready to tee-off at Khao Kheow’s B1.

Pandoo Nation capture Land of Smiles tourney

Champions Pandoo Nation strike a victory pose.

Report by Scott Murray / Photos by Tadamasa Nagayama
Pandoo Nation, a team made up of primarily ex-NCAA players, won the 19th Land of Smiles ice hockey tournament recently held at The Rink located on seventh floor of the Central Grand Rama IX shopping plaza in Bangkok. In the final, they defeated the Siberian Bears 6-2.
To get through to the final, Pandoo defeated the Kreuz Subsea Sharks, a team made up of primarily Junior A players from Canada, in the semi-final. Those two teams fought it out for the Hong Kong championship earlier in the year, with Kreuz prevailing though they were bolstered by ex-NHLers Wayne Primeau and Todd Warriner. In Bangkok, Subsea did have ex-NHLer Tyler Sloan, but he wasn’t enough to cope with Pandoo’s speed.
The defending champions, Bangkok’s Flying Farangs were eliminated by Pandoo in the quarter-finals. Last year, they were fortunate to have Chicago Black Hawk Johnny Oduya patrolling the blueline for them as he spent time in Bangkok during the NHL strike. This year they weren’t so lucky.

Pandoo try to break through the Siberia defence.

The Flying Farangs actually had three teams in the tourney and their B team lost to Slovenia in the semi-final of the Rec division; the undermanned but skilled Slovenian squad eventually lost to defending-champions HK “Pit Stop” Liepaja Latvia in the Rec final 3-1. Ironically, the Latvian team had defeated the Flying Farang B squad in a shoot-out in a semi-final game the year before.
Thirty-eight teams competed in the tournament this year, which ran from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2 and culminated with a closing party at the Amari Boulevard, where the Flying Farang rock band, 5 Hole, played to rousing applause. Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Kazakhstan, Macau, Jakarta, Kuwait, Switzerland, Finland and Canada also sent teams to compete in the tournament.
In the Asian Division the Hong Kong Hitmen, bolstered by Thai star Tewin Chartsuwan, defeated the Abu Dhabi Storms Men’s team. In the Women’s Division, the Dubai Gazelles beat the Abu Dhabi Storms Women’s team.
Ex-NHLer Francistek Kucera, who played for the Chicago Black Hawks in the 1992 Stanley Cup final, played for the Old Boys Pilsen Indians in the Rec divison, while another ex-NHLer, recently retired defenseman Jaroslav Spacek, showed up for the closing party. Spacek was captain of the Buffalo Sabres for a period, while Kucera won gold with the Czech team at the Nagano Olympics in 1998 and was involved in the Jaromir Jagr to Washington deal.
For more information about ice hockey in Thailand, go to www.jogsports.com.

Chinese duo take Phuket Open gold

China’s Chen Xue (left) and Xinyi Xia (right) hold up their gold medals after winning the 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball Phuket Open title, Sunday, Nov. 3

China’s Chen Xue and Xinyi Xia clinched gold in the final of the 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball Phuket Open, held at Karon beach from October 29 to November 3. The penultimate FIVB Open event of the season was back in Thailand for an eight consecutive year.
Xue & Xia never allowed USA’s Emily Day and Summer Ross to find the play that had brought them to the medal match, taking the gold in only 36 minutes 2-0 (21-16, 21-18) on Sunday, November 3. Sixteen-year old Xia complemented her playing partner Xue perfectly, with the latter now having taken gold in Phuket for a third time.

Chen Xue and Xinyi Xia of China pose on the podium with silver medalists Emily Day and Summer Ross of the USA and Brazilian bronze medal winners Maria Clara Salgado Rufino and Carolina Solberg.

“We are so excited, it’s almost our last tournament of the year. It’s very great to play here and it’s our lucky place,” said Xue afterwards. “I must say Xinyi played very well and she created a new history in a Chinese team, as she is the youngest at just sixteen years old and she made her first gold medal, so I’m very proud of her.”
“It was a good experience for me and I played every ball very seriously which helped the result,” said Xia.
Chen Xue has won gold in Phuket twice before, in 2006 and 2011 with partner Zhang Xi, but joined Xia in Phuket for only their second tournament together. After finishing ninth in Xiamen Grand Slam the previous week, the pair had little expectation entering Phuket.

Phuket Thailand Open fans at the center court on Karon beach.

“We just thought we would get into the top eight, so this is our best record. Until we got through to the semifinal we hadn’t thought about the possibility of winning it before,” said Xue.
Despite professing their desire for gold, the silver medal was Day/Ross’s best result and the Americans’ first ever podium finish. The pair have also only been in the final four once before when they finished fourth at Long Beach Grand Slam this year.
“We wanted the gold obviously, but we’re proud that we had such a great finish to this tournament. They played an awesome match and really did well against us, so we couldn’t do too much,” said Day
“I thought they were a great team and there’s just a lot to learn from them. They’re great,” said Ross. “I can’t believe that girl’s sixteen, come on, how is that possible? She’s so good.”
In the bronze medal match, it was familiar faces all round as Brazilians Maria Clara Salgado Rufino and Carolina Solberg faced off against their fellow compatriots Agatha Bednarczuk and Maria Antonelli. It was a close affair in the first set with some outstanding rallies and well-read defence from both teams, but Maria Clara/Carol’s skill in bringing the ball back into play from every angle secured the bronze in another two set finish 2-0 (21-18, 24-22).

Germany’s Chantal Laboureur meets Russia’s Ekaterina Syrtseva at the net in one of the Pool B qualifying matches.

Thailand has hosted over 10 women’s and one men’s FIVB tournament. Overall, the USA has been the most successful with 10 medal finishes in the seven FIVB World Tour events held in Phuket. The tournament previously ran from 2006 until 2011, when the event moved to Bangsaen in 2012. China’s Chen Xue and Zhang Xi won the 2011 edition, while Jennifer Kessy and April Ross were victorious in 2012.
The final FIVB Open of the season will be held in Durban, South Africa from 11 to 15 December.
(Report and photos courtesy www.pentanglepromotions. com)

Pattaya Sports Club sea-fishing report

Fishing is probably no different from any other sport – it has its highs and lows, the days when you can do no wrong, and those when whatever you try just doesn’t produce the results. Our two trips so far this month have precisely illustrated that simple fact.

Ryan nets a Striped Seaperch.

Saturday 2nd November saw a full complement of eight out of Bang Saray in fine weather, and Colin reported: “The trip was a success ... It seems everyone caught something worthy of note and there was a general ‘buzz’ of excitement and anticipation nearly all day.”
At least five nice greys were caught on the trip, the largest of these by Ray, and later on in the day Colin and Paul landed a barracuda apiece. Colin’s son Ryan got a shark of at least 80cm which he returned to the sea, as well as the excellent Stripey Sea-perch.

The small shark was returned back to the ocean.

Unfortunately nothing like as much fun was had a few days later when a team reduced to four by illness and golf injury (give it up, Charlie!) set out from Sattahip on Thursday 7th with high hopes. A variety of locations, both at anchor and drifting mostly off the outer shores of Ko Chuang gave us a frustrating time, with the large fish biting through lines or taking gear to the bottom and the normal prey ignoring our bait for long periods.
Between us we got a few nice Grouper and Snapper, but not much to write home about. Colin got a small Barracuda, and Chairman John a small Jack, and a Bluelined Rockcod. And, er, that’s it – ah well, there’s always next time!
Our remaining scheduled trips in November are on Saturday 16th and Thursday 28th. The schedule so far for December is Saturday 7th, Thursday 12th and Saturday 21st, possibly also Saturday 28th or another date between Christmas and New Year. For further details and bookings visit www.pattayasports.org/ or phone John O’Neill on 085 391 7045

Sandy fights for European Formula 3 Championship

Sandy Stuvik waits in his car in the pit lane during qualification at the Barcelona race circuit in Spain, Saturday, Nov. 9.

A dramatic weekend in Barcelona for the European Formula 3 Open Championship decider saw Ban Chang youngster Sandy Stuvik struggling with car problems during practice on Friday as he missed out the first free practice session due to an oil pressure problem. Then, during Saturday morning’s qualifying session, Stuvik found himself fighting a huge over-steer in the car and could only manage a season worst P8 starting position for the afternoon’s race.
The 1st race of the weekend at the Barcelona Circuit on Nov. 9 saw Stuvik continue to struggle with his car’s steering problem but he gradually clawed his way up the field and eventually finished in fifth position. Meanwhile his championship rival Ed Jones took the chequered flag to win the race and take over the overall championship lead.

Stuvuk leads a group of three cars through a corner during the European Formula 3 Open Championship season ending race weekend in Barcelona.

News emerged later however that Jones had raced at the Barcelona Circuit only 2 weeks prior to this event, in direct contradiction with F3 rules which prohibits testing on championship circuits. A protest was subsequently filed and accepted for hearing by the organizer committee at a later date.
For Sunday’s race on Nov. 10, Stuvik’s car set-up was modified for a lower rear ride height before qualifying and finally the young Thai driver again had a car he could race with and managed P2 position in the qualification, just one tenth behind Jones in P1.
For the final race of the season the Thai driver suffered an unusually slow getaway from the grid and dropped to 5th position, before quickly getting past the drivers in front and up to 3rd. Jones was out in the lead again but he pushed his tires too hard in the opening part of the race and with the graining taking effect he started dropping backwards, first getting overtaken by Alex Cougnaud and soon after by Stuvik. By the end of the race the Thai driver was in second place and Jones had dropped to 5th. Frenchman Alex Cougnaud, also from RP Motorsport, won the race.

Sandy Stuvik (2nd left) congratulates Alex Cougnaud (2nd right) after the Frenchman won the final race of the championship, Sunday, Nov. 10. Stuvik placed second in the race.

The summary of the season is that Sandy Stuvik has the most points, 267 vs Jones 256 points, but the championship is decided on only 14 of the 16 race results and since the Thai driver has finished every single race in 5th place or higher, he has to drop valuable points. On the net points list Jones leads with 256 vs Stuvik’s 247. The championship remains undecided however until after the protest hearing against Jones by the Formula 3 tribunal, which is scheduled to take place at the end of November.

Youth table tennis champs on parade in Pattaya

Jamlong Passara (left), former president, and Father Pichan Jaiseri (center), president of Rotary Pattaya, present the winning award to U-18 champion Khamron Hiranyasiri from the Pattaya Sports Club.

Warunya Thongrod
The 3rd Pattaya Youth Table Tennis Championship 2013, supported by Rotary Pattaya, took place at the city’s School No. 7 over a period of 2 days last month.
The competition, held Oct. 18-19, was divided into 7 sub-categories consisting of singles Youth U-10, U-12, U-15, and U-18 divisions, plus a Team Youth U-18 tournament and VIP singles.

Pattarathorn Passara (right) receives the U-15 winner’s trophy from William Macey, Charity Chairman of Pattaya Sports Club.

The event was conceived 3 years ago to help promote the sport of table tennis amongst Pattaya’s youth and teach them discipline and to use their time effectively and productively. Funds raised from the tournament this year will be donated to Rotary Pattaya to assist with their charity projects.
The finale of the competition saw Thai national team player Khamrom Hiranyasiri from the Pattaya Sports Club take on Thaksin Prachumchalad of CC4 in the Singles Youth U-18 category. Khamrom used his experience to race into a two sets to nil lead (11-6, 11-6) before Thaksin finally found some form and took the third set 11-8 to keep himself alive in the match. It proved to be only a short reprieve however as Khamrom reversed the score in the fourth set to win it 11-8 and take the title with a three sets to one victory.

Table tennis champs for today and tomorrow.

Other individual winners at the tournament included Jettanabadee Janphen from the Central Sports Club in the U-10’s, Weeraphat Phuttakhunkasem (Central Sports Club) in the U-12’s and another Thai national team youth player, Phattarathorn Phassara (Pattaya Sports Club) in the U-15’s. CC4 took out the team U-18 honours and Charoen Khetcharin was the champion in the VIP singles event.

Khamron Hiranyasiri (top) hits a forehand to Thanksin Prachumchalad in the U-18 final.