John Kepplers Cider Pool League

Results & Standings Dec. 19 (week 2)

Team	Pts.	For	Against	Diff.
Barking Frog	6	19	7	12
Brasshouse	6	17	9	8
Darkside	6	17	9	8
Billabong	3	16	10	6
Pats Rest	3	14	12	2
Peacock	3	14	12	2
Sweet Dream	3	14	12	2
Panitas/Outback	3	13	13	0
Pats Bar	3	12	14	-2
Lucky Bar	0	9	17	-8
Siam Country Res	0	7	19	-12
Ice Star	0	4	22	-18
Results:  Billabong 11 v 2 Ice Star, Darkside 10 v 3 Pats Rest, Brasshouse 8 v 5 Panitas/Outback, Sweet Dream 5 v 8 Peacock, Barking Frog 8 v 5 Lucky Bar, Siam Country Res 5 v 8 Pats Bar

Buffalo Jack’s Wednesday Premier Darts League

Results & Standings Dec. 18 (week 4)

Team	P	W	L	Bonus	Diff.	Pts.
Yates Bar	4	4	0	4	30	8
Mee Chew Sports Bar	4	4	0	4	18	8
Legends Sports Bar	4	3	1	3	20	6
W. Tankies	4	3	1	3	14	6
I-Rovers A	4	3	1	3	12	6
Mai’s Bar	4	2	2	1	-2	4
Jantha Coffee House	4	1	3	0	-14	2
Clinic	4	0	4	1	-22	0
I-Rovers B	4	0	4	1	-26	0
Buffalo Jack’s	4	0	4	0	-30	0
Results:  Buffalo Jack’s (0-0)-(9-1) v Yates Bar, Clinic (2-0)-(7-1) v I-Rovers A, I-Rovers B (0-0)-(9-1) v W. Tankies, Jantha Coffee House (1-0)-(8-1) v Legends Pool & Sports Bar, Mee Chew Sports Bar (7-1)-(2-0) v Mai’s Bar

British Bar Snacks Friday Pool League

Results & Standings Dec. 20 (week 14)

Division 1
Team	P	W	L	+/-	BP	Pts
Shoot Pool ‘A’	11	9	2	43	1	28
Easy R-Con Bar	12	8	4	17	1	25
Legends Pool	13	8	5	8	1	25
Mata Bar	14	8	6	6	1	25
Pook’s Bar	13	6	7	-5	0	18
The Butchers Arms	10	6	4	-5	0	18
Acorn Pub	12	5	7	-20	1	16
Links Bar	12	5	7	-11	0	15
Sweethearts Bar	13	0	13	-33	5	5
Results:  Acorn Pub 10 v 7 Pook’s Bar, Easy R-Con Bar 6 v 10 Mata Bar, Legends Pool 10 v 4 Links Bar, The Butchers Arms P-P Shoot Pool ‘A’
Division 2
Team	P	W	L	+/-	BP	Pts
Smile Bar	12	11	1	38	0	33
Shoot Pool ‘B’	13	10	3	33	1	31
Crazy Eddie’s	13	6	7	-3	3	21
Dean’s Bar	12	6	6	12	1	19
Old Thai Angle	12	6	6	-5	0	18
Tie’s R Us	14	6	8	-10	0	18
I-Rovers	14	5	9	-21	0	15
Offshore Bar	14	5	9	-24	0	15
FCUK Inn	12	3	9	-20	4	13
Results:  Crazy Eddie’s 10 v 8 Old Thai Angle, Dean’s Bar 10 v 6 Offshore Bar, FCUK Inn 9 v 10 I-Rovers, Tie’s R Us 10 v 6 Shoot Pool ‘B’
Division 3
Team	P	W	L	+/-	BP	Pts
Kilkenny’s Pub	12	11	1	53	0	33
The Rest Stop	14	10	4	37	0	30
Mai’s Bar	12	10	2	28	0	30
Buffalo Jacks	13	6	7	-5	1	19
Rabbi’s Elephant	12	6	6	-8	1	19
The Ranch	11	5	6	1	1	16
Wet Bar	11	4	7	-22	0	12
The Queen Vic	14	2	12	-41	1	7
Connections	13	2	11	-43	1	7
Results:  Buffalo Jacks 4 v 10 The Ranch, Connections 10 v 8 The Queen Vic, Mai’s Bar P-P Rabbi’s Elephant, The Rest Stop 6 v 10 Kilkenny’s Pub

Pattaya 8-Ball Monday Pool League

Results & Standings Dec. 16 (week 15)

Team	Played	Won	Lost	For	Agst	Diff.	Pts.
Phimai Geordie	15	13	2	151	69	82	41
Mata Bar	15	13	2	134	91	43	41
San Snack Bar	15	11	4	140	85	55	37
Crazy Eddie’s	15	9	6	125	100	25	33
Shoot Pool	15	9	6	119	106	13	33
The Rest Stop	15	8	7	124	101	23	31
Cum On Inn	15	7	8	103	122	-19	29
Mee Chew	15	6	9	97	128	-31	27
Buffalo Jack’s	15	5	10	96	124	-28	24
Rising Sun	15	4	11	100	125	-25	23
Connections	14	3	11	74	136	-62	20
Parrot Inn	14	11	3	67	143	-76	16
Results:  Mata Bar 10 v 5 Crazy Eddie’s, Buffalo Jack’s 7 v 8 Mee Chew, Shoot Pool 7 v 8 The Rest Stop, Connections 8 v 7 Parrot Inn, San Snack Bar 8 v 7 Cum On Inn, Rising Sun 3 v 12 Phimai Geordie

Crumpton Cider Tuesday Darts League

Results & Standings Dec. 17 (week 5)

Team	P	W	L	B/legs	Pts.
I-Rovers	5	4	1	5	8
Mee Chew Sports Bar	5	4	1	3	8
Crazy Eddies	5	4	1	2	8
Londoner	5	4	1	2	8
Nervous Wreck	5	3	2	4	6
Yates Bar	5	3	2	4	6
Jantha Coffee House	5	3	2	3	6
Scandalic	5	3	2	2	6
Shoot Pool A	5	2	3	3	4
Mai’s Bar	5	2	3	2	4
Shoot Pool B	5	2	3	2	4
Buffalo Jack’s	5	1	4	1	2
W. Tankies	5	0	5	2	0
Cum On Inn	5	0	5	1	0
Results:  Buffalo Jack’s (6-0)-(7-1) v Mee Chew Sports Bar, Crazy Eddies (9-1)-(1-0) v Shoot Pool A, Jantha Coffee House (6-0)-(7-1) v Nervous Wreck, Scandalic (5-0)-(10-1) v Mai’s Bar, Shoot Pool B (5-1)-(10-0) v Londoner, W. Tankies (2-0)-(5-1) v I-Rovers, Yates Bar (7-1)-(2-0) v Cum On Inn

 

Crumpton Oaks Cider Monday Pool League

Results & Standings Dec. 16 (week 23)

Division 1
Team	P	W	L	+/-	BP	Pts.
Shoot Pool	16	14	2	55	0	42
The Butchers Arms	16	13	3	42	1	40
Smile Bar	15	9	6	10	2	29
Legends Pool	15	9	6	8	0	27
Nicky’s Bar	16	9	7	-9	0	27
Links Bar	17	7	10	-15	1	22
Acorn Pub	17	5	12	-33	2	17
Pook’s Bar	14	5	9	-3	1	16
Sweethearts Bar	14	3	11	-24	5	14
I-Rovers	16	4	12	-31	2	14
Results:  Pook’s Bar 10 v 1 I-Rovers, Shoot Pool 10 v 3 Nicky’s Bar, Smile Bar 8 v 10 Links Bar, Sweethearts Bar 9 v 10 Legends Pool, The Butchers Arms 10 v 6 Acorn Pub
Division 2
Team	P	W	L	+/-	BP	Pts.
Easy R-Con Bar	16	15	1	77	0	45
Offshore Bar	16	11	5	24	1	34
Shoot Pool ‘B’	17	10	7	17	2	32
Cheers Bar	17	10	7	16	0	30
Dean’s Bar	17	8	9	10	1	25
The Caddyshack	14	7	7	6	2	23
Mai’s Bar	16	7	9	-12	0	21
Rabbi’s Elephant	14	6	8	-25	0	18
Wet Bar	14	4	10	-34	0	12
Wombat Bar	17	1	16	-79	1	4
Results:  Mai’s Bar 10 v 9 Wombat Bar, Offshore Bar 4 v 10 Easy R-Con Bar, Rabbi’s Elephant 2 v 10 Dean’s Bar, The Caddyshack 10 v 6 Cheers Bar, Wet Bar 5 v 10 Shoot Pool ‘B’

Allidi blitzes Pleasant Valley

PSC Golf from The Growling Swan

Roy Dayton, Volker Buley & Mike Allidi.

Peter Blackburn
Monday, Dec. 16, Pleasant Valley – Stableford
We had a smaller field than normal signed up for the day’s competition at Pleasant Valley, which was surprising as the 750 baht green fee voucher offer is excellent value for this fine layout.
We all met at The Growling Swan in readiness for the trip and welcomed back Volker Buley for one of his many trips to Pattaya and it was of course great to see him again.
Our 2 mini vans left the GS right on time at 8.30 am and after a very good run arrived at the golf course 41 minutes later to find not many people there so we were invited to tee off at our leisure. Our first four-ball got away 10 minutes ahead of schedule at 9.50 am and found the golf course in fine condition although the greens were somewhat slower than we have been used to of late but nonetheless it was very good value for money.

Sandy Leiper, Mike Gosden & John Davis.

We had left behind the early morning Pattaya rain and although there were rain clouds above they soon cleared away and we were left with another fine & hot day. We proceeded at a steady pace and after being held up a couple of times on the back nine we completed a very enjoyable round of golf in four hours & twenty minutes.
We had 2 Divisions – Division A for handicaps 0 to 18 & Division B for golfers on handicaps of 19 and over with three places in each Division. There were also rewards for nearest the pin on two of the par 3’s and longest first putts on the 9th & 18 greens.
Well, that very fine golfer Mike Allidi was at it again and after having one eagle, 6 birdies and 3 bogeys in compiling his 67 gross he won the Division A with a terrific 42 points. Ebrahim came second with an excellent 42 points and veteran Ken Hole finished third on 40 points.
Division B was won by Roy “Plums” Dayton with an excellent 44 points and in second place came Bent Agerbo with 40 points and JC Lhoste continued his good form and finished third with 39 points.
Division A (0-18)
1st Mike Allidi (3) 44pts
2nd Ebrahim (18) 42pts
3rd Ken Hole (17) 40pts
Division B (19+)
1st Roy Dayton (26) 44pts
2nd Bent Agerbo (20) 40pts
3rd JC Lhoste (23) 39pts
Near Pins: 8th – Mike Allidi, 17th – Peter Blackburn
Long Putts: 9th – Frankie Sharratt, 18th – Ken Hole
The Growling Swan NAGA Award (awarded to the golfer who has the worst score on the day and discreetly their score is not made public) was won by recent arrival Volker Buley who accepted the award like the good sport that he is.
Thursday, Dec. 19, Green Valley – Stableford
It was time for our monthly visit to the classy Green Valley Golf Course to take advantage of the special “High Season” rates and its popularity was confirmed with a terrific field of 36 golfers signed up to play. With a few travelling by car there were 3 mini vans required and we assembled at The Growling Swan in readiness for the journey.
There were many hearty welcomes to be handed out including Russell Goldsworthy from my old Golf Club in Perth, Gosnells, Paul Sharples back from Oman for some R & R, Pattaya residents Jack Robertson & Mashi Kaneta, Jayson Schembri from Melbourne, Dave Fletcher on R & R from Australia, Alex Lyle from Scotland and Ian Jessiman from Central NSW, Australia.
Everyone was on time so we were able to depart the GS right on schedule at 8.30 am and we proceeded to the course, arriving there just 33 minutes later and of course it was quite busy. Our scheduled tee time was 10.13 but we actually were able to send our first four-ball away at 10.05 and in fabulous weather conditions we commenced our round and began to enjoy this beautifully prepared Golf Course.
It was in great condition with lush fairways and magnificent greens which were in fact a little bit too slick for some but very firm and true. The pace was quite good with minimum hold-ups and our extremely enjoyable round of golf was completed in four hours & twenty two minutes. Don’t you just love the weather at this time of year, plenty of sun and not too hot? – just another day in paradise!
We had 3 Divisions – Division A for handicaps 0 to 14, Division B for golfers on handicaps of 15 to 25 and Division C for handicaps of 26 and over with four places in each Division. There were also rewards for nearest the pin on the four par 3’s and longest first putts on the 9th & 18 greens.
The A Division was won by the in-form Mike “Hunter” Gosden who had 37 points, just 1 point better than Russell Goldsworthy in second place. With 2 golfers on 35 points a count back was necessary and it resulted in third spot being awarded to Sal Brizzi (18 point back nine) with your writer Peter “Blacky” Blackburn (16 point back nine) in fourth place.
Another consistent golfer, John Davis won the B Division with 35 points, 1 point better than Ebrahim in second place and Ken Hole finished third with 33 points. There were four golfers with 31 points vying for fourth spot and the count back saw JC Lhoste (17 point back nine) taking the honors from Mark “Westy” West (14 point back nine), Ian Jessiman (13 point back nine) and Bent Agerbo (11 point back nine).
In C Division it was Sandy “Cindy Lauper” Leiper who was victorious with a fine 37 points and there were 2 golfers on 33 points vying for second & third places with the resultant count back awarding second place to Roy “Plums” Dayton (17 point back nine) from Gary Monley (11 point back nine) in third spot. Yet another count back was required to sort out fourth spot with 2 golfers on 32 points and it resulted in Andrew “Turtle” Allen (18 point back nine) edging out Geri Crilly (12 point back nine).
Division A (0-14)
1st Mike Gosden (14) 37pts
2nd Russell Goldsworthy (4) 36pts
3rd Sal Brizzi (7) 35pts
4th Peter Blackburn (13) 35pts
Division B (15-25)
1st John Davis (19) 35pts
2nd Ebrahim (18) 34pts
3rd Ken Hole (17) 33pts
4th JC Lhoste (23) 31pts
Division C (26+)
1st Sandy Leiper (35) 37pts
2nd Roy Dayton (26) 33pts
3rd Gary Monley (34) 33pts
4th Andrew Allen (35) 32pts
Near Pins: 9th – Volker Buley, 12th – Russell Goldsworthy, 16th – Duangjai Tusagad
Long Putts: 9th – Kevin Waycott, 18th – Paul Sharples
The Growling Swan NAGA Award was won by Alex Lyle who accepted the award like the good sport that he is. 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 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.

Pattaya Sports Club Bowling League

Results & Standings Nov. 25 (week 12)

200 Bowlers: Antero, Clinton, Tue, Kran, David, Sue, Tukata and Leo.

The lanes at PS Bowl must have been more receptive than normal because there were lots of 200 games bowled last Friday.
Café Kronborg is moving closer to first place after winning three points from first place Tea Party. Kran Nielsen led the charge for her Kronborg team with a 579 series which included games of 173, 206 and 200. Joe Ferral had a 509 series for Tea Party. Dima bowling as a Pacer had a 517 series.
Brother D took three points from third place Canada and they moved up from sixth to fifth place. David Shaw bowled a great 595 series which consisted of games of 192, 214 and 189 and Antero Ronkainen added a 570 series with games of 182, 169 and 219 for Brother D. Sue Murphy bowled a 200 game and 518 series and Lek Reaper had a 513 series for Canada.
Indiana and Green Tree split their match with each team winning two points. La Montgomery bowled a 543 series for Indiana. New bowler Clinton bowled a 636 series with games of 191, 222 and 223. I think he may have bowled before he came to Pattaya.
Leo Kretscher bowled a 203 game, 519 series and Tukata Thompson had a 210 game and 527 series to lead Bavaria to a three point win over VFW Post 9876. Tue Pettae was best for VFW with a 212 game and 558 series.

Results & Standings Dec. 20 (week 19)
Pos.	Team	Score	Standings
1	Tea Party	1 – 3	47.5 – 28.5
2	Café Kronborg	3 – 1	43 – 33
3	Canada	1-3	41 - 35
4	Green Tree	2 – 2	37.5 – 38.5
5	Brother D	3-1	36 - 40
6	Indiana	2 – 2	35.5 – 40.5
7	VFW Post 9876	1-3	33 - 43
8	Bavaria	3 – 1	30.5 – 45.5

Peter Henshaw is gifted the Medal

PSC Golf from Lewiinski’s Golf Society

Ed Wyckoff & Peter Henshaw.

Sunday, Dec. 15, Green Valley - Monthly Medal
A Flight
1st Ed Wyckoff (12) net 71
2nd Paul Bray (7) net 75
3rd Barry Copestake (13) net 75
B Flight
1st Peter Henshaw (17) net 69
2nd Lou Szigligeti (19) net 70
3rd Colin Davis (17) net 74
Near Pins: No 4 Ed Wyckoff, No 9 Peter Henshaw, No 12 JP Maffray, No 16 Peter Henshaw
Long Drive: Paul Bray
Peter ‘the silver surfer’ is never far from the podium - his name can be found amongst the flight leaders on many of his outings. However, on this Sunday he was the man of the match and that also gave him the monthly medal for December 2013 with a very impressive net 69.

Paul Bray.

Peter took home the engraved crystal whiskey glass, a bottle of Jameson’s Irish whiskey and the final invitation to the Gold Medal. His name will also be engraved on the Lewiinski’s wall of shame. Peter made it a day to remember by also winning two near pins and managed to convert one for a share of the ‘2’s pot.
Lou ‘the blunder from down under’ Zigzag returned a net 70 but a ten on the eighth put paid to his chances. Lou remarked he thought it was a stableford medal?
Two good friends were seen brawling it out for the last spot in B Flight, but it was the Donkey who counted up better than Aussie Bruce Walters.
In A Flight it was joy for Ed ‘our man in the White’ Wyckoff who stood atop of the podium with a net 71. Ed was four clear of a pack of four Aussies; Paul Bray, Barry ‘the boot’ Copestake, Dave Driscoll and Claude Harder. The maths was on Paul’s side and gave him the silver while Barry took the bronze. Dave and Claude sat the presentation out but it was not all doom and gloom as Claude did manage a 2. Sharing the 2’s pot with Claude was Lou Zigzag.
Special thanks to the outgoing Captain Jez Lees who sponsored today’s near pins with a bottle of wine on each and the longest drive.
Monday, Dec. 16, Khao Kheow A & B - Stableford
A Flight
1st Pat Hanafin (13) 36pts
2nd Jerry McCarthy (13) 35pts
3rd Paul Bray (7) 34pts
B Flight
1st John Feehan (17) 36pts
2nd Charles Cunningham (17) 35pts
3rd Jorn Finnerup (26) 33pts
The Irish lads took the bulk of the podium places today as newly arrived Pat Hanafin, steady as ever, took A Flight top spot with an even par round at the always challenging A+B lay outs at Khao Kheow. Pat’s Irish mate Jerry McCarthy and Aussie star Paul Bray trailed behind in single point increments.
Jorn ‘the Irish rover’ Feehan made good and matched Pat’s best of the day even par round to win the B Flight. Charles Cunningham took the silver a shot back leaving Ireland’s Jorn Finnerup to tidy up the flight with 33 points.
JP Gasser, Ed Wyckoff and Charles Cunningham shared the 2’s pot
Tuesday, Dec. 17, Burapha A & B - Stableford
A Flight
1st Francis Goyons (11) 39pts
2nd Reg McKay (15) 39pts
3rd Lee Grace (13) 33pts
B Flight
1st Colin Davis (17) 42pts
2nd Jim Morris (18) 39pts
3rd Jim Elphick (21) 33pts
Colin ‘the Donkey Davis blew every Tom, Dick and Harry away with a spectacular 42 points. The Donkey is no stranger to the podium steps but he rarely posts a truly low score, typically placing around his handicap. Whatever back-up he was saving boiled over today as he thrashed the field, eclipsing the fine 39 point efforts of flight mate Jim Morris, and the A Flight pair of Monsieur Francis Goyons and Buckie Boy Reg McKay. Count back gave Francis the top spot on the podium and Reg the one just below.
Lee Grace filled the A Flight on 33 points as Jimmy ‘two shots Elphick with the same score filled B flight.
Reg McKay, Oliver Orth and Nick White shared the 2’s pot.
Wednesday, Dec. 18, Green Valley - Stableford
1st Lou Szigligeti (19) 41pts
2nd Colin Davis (17) 39pts
3rd Peter Henshaw (17) 39pts
Lou ‘the thunder from down under’ Zigzag might have blown his chances of the monthly medal on Sunday, but he took no chances and no prisoners today with his excellent 41 points. That was two clear of the management pair of Colin ‘the Donkey’ Davis and Peter ‘the silver surfer’ Henshaw. I cannot be rude to the Donkey - he is just playing too well.
Mike Jeffreys slotted home the only 2 of the day.
Thursday, Dec. 18, Crystal Bay A & C - Stableford
A Flight
1st Paul Bray (7) 42pts
2nd Oliver Orth (8) 36pts
3rd Noel Geogehan (15) 35pts
B Flight
1st Lou Szigligeti (19) 42pts
2nd Mike Jeffreys (18) 41pts
3rd Aiden Murray (24) 38pts
In an effort to show that Wednesday’s fine win was not a fluke but rather a trend, Lou ‘the thunder from down under’ Zigzag followed up with a co-man of the match scintillating 42 points. If it wasn’t the week of the Medal, Lou would have more than likely found his name in the bold print.
The bad luck story of the flight was Mike ‘the Welsh Wizard’ Jeffreys who deserved better than second place for his fine 41 points. Mike was three shots ahead of the tandem of Aiden Murray and Charles Cunningham, both with very creditable 38 point returns. Mike left with a jingle in his pockets whilst Charles made nary a sound.
The other co-man of the match was A Flight’s Aussie star Paul Bray with his 42 points who was also a contender for the title spot with second and third podium spots this week. Oliver Orth posted a solid even par round for the second step on the podium. The minor flight place also needed a count back as Noel Geogehan edged Pen of the podium steps courtesy of a more favorable back nine.
Both flight winners carded a 2 along with Oliver Orth (a brace), Peter Kelly and Bruce Berlin.
Friday, Dec. 19, Plutaluang - Stableford
1st Paul Bray (7) 35pts
2nd Francis Goyons (11) 34pts
3rd Nadine Goyons (12) 34pts
Yes it was the Aussie superstar again - this time Paul Bray had a near handicap equaling 35 points thanks to a gross 78 for the man of the match honours on the demanding Plutaluang West and North layouts. So now you know why he is king of the — oh, never mind.
Paul was one stroke clear of Francis Goyons and Francis’s Brothers wife Nadine, but Francis was not in the mood for ladies before gentlemen
Paul ‘who else’ Bray and the Donkey split the 2’s pot.
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 or call Colin on 089 826 0764. Transport is provided.

‘Chopper’ leads the way at Pattana

PSC golf from The Outback Golf Bar

Monday, Dec. 16, Burapha - Stableford
Back on the A and B loops at Burapha today but this time from the blues. The course was in its usual great condition for the 27 Outbackers who played and the weather was warm & sunny with a light breeze.

(From left) Steve Mann, Jon Kittilsen, Tim Knight & Jarod Braithwaite.

Unusually the winning scores in both divisions were the same, decided on a count back and both winners also won last week; Andy Makara, who had 39pts at Green Valley on Friday and Geoff Stimpson here at Burapha last Monday, with exactly the same 34pts.
Andy won Div B on count back from Kerry Rothman (Chopper) both on 34pts, with Ivan Plunkett, who always says he doesn’t like the blue tees but statistically plays them better than the whites, beating playing partner Pete Stonebridge also on c/b with 31pts for third.
In Div A, Geoff Stimpson beat Steve Mann on c/b with 34pts, as Svenn Ole Lund took third place on 33 to beat Tony Pike on yet another c/b.
Welcome to American, Bob Mattes having his first game with us and venturing to get himself a handicap, having been placed provisionally on 28, and was cut following a 69 at Pattaya Country Club a few days earlier, and also hello again to Johannes back for a game, see you in Hua Hin in March.
There were two ‘2’s from Steve Mann (A3) and Chopper (B8).
Div A (0-15)
1st Geoff Stimpson (8) 34pts
2nd Stephen Mann (11) 34pts
3rd Svenn Ole Lund (13) 33pts
4th Tony Pike (8) 33pts
Div B (16+)
1st Andy Makara (24) 34pts
2nd Kerry Rothman (17) 34pts
3rd Ivan Plunkett (24) 31pts
4th Pete Stonebridge (16) 31pts
Wednesday, Dec. 18, Pattana - Stableford
This is not a course we visit very often but due to a tournament at the Emerald, where they had forgotten about our booking, we switched to Pattana just a few days before. 16 of us, so easy for the starter or so one would think; but not when three of the players, who were being shown a short cut to the course, arrived some 45 minutes late, hanging poor old Steve out to dry and kicking his heels. Not really good enough fellas and it did cost me a beer or two to make it up to him.
We started on the formidable first hole of the B nine, on which I can report there were no pars, two bogeys, four doubles, five triples and the rest NR’s; what a nasty opening hole! And that was just from the yellow tee.
B8 is another “B” of a hole, measuring well over 400 yards and very uphill at the end. Although index 1 on the card, is probably more worthy of a par 5 for most (again there were no pars, 6 bogeys, 1 double, four triples and the rest NR’s).
Our other nine was the easier C loop and it has to be said that the course has come on a long way since it opening a few years back when the greens were very ordinary. All in all, with the later than usual start, a very pleasant day out and the traffic around the Amata Industrial Estate was not too bad.
In the Aussies versus the Brits match, the Brits were stuffed (so no change there from the Ashes) mainly at the hands of that man ‘Chopper’ who pulled out all the stops with some excellent driving to score 40pts, a great effort here. Second went to Bob Mattes, who beat John O’Keefe on c/b both five back on 35.
There was just the one ‘2’ from John White
1st, Kerry Rothman (17) 40pts
2nd Bob Mattes (27) 35pts
3rd John O’Keefe (15) 35pts
4th Stephen Mann (11) 33pts
Friday, Dec. 20, Green Valley - Stableford
Winter is here with the winds coming from China making it a little bit chilly for us, necessitating woollies and the like for breakfast at the Outback. The girls are wearing anoraks every morning and evening, as they are finding it very cold and even the fans are rarely switched on just now.
37 people turned up at Green Valley today with two cancellations, so it was a very good turnout, particularly as there was a PSC event at Mountain Shadow as well and before a few were due to go up-country or back to their homelands over the holiday period.
By the time we teed off, some 15 minutes early, the sun had warmed and there was a gentle wind blowing but, and there is always a ‘but’, the speed of play was a bit slow; nothing to do with the our guys I’m pleased to report - just some of the groups ahead who just seemed to amble around.
The course once again was in great condition with many players commenting that the greens were glorious and probably the fastest that they have been for some time, which may have put a dampener on the scores that tended to be generally on the low side.
Playing with us for the first time today was Jeff Barnes and long time no see, Pat and Jum so welcome to you all and also Kevin Welch, an old golfing mate of Jack’s back in the Reading area, as well as Steve Reece and Jarod Braithwaite.
Winners of their respective Divisions were Steve Mann (Div A) with 38pts, Jarod Braithwaite (Div B) with 35pts and Tim Knight (Div C) also with 38pts. Other notable scores came from Tony Pike (37), Barry Copestake (36) and Pete Stonebridge (35).
There were seven ‘2’s from Jon Kittilsen & Steve Plant (4th), Pat Regan (9th), Murray Hart & John Cunningham (12th) and Jon Kittilsen (again) & Paul Sharples (16th).
Div A (0-13)
1st Stephen Mann (11) 38pts
2nd Tony Pike (8) 37pts
3rd Barry Copestake (13) 36pts
Div B (14-19)
1st Jarod Braithwaite (16) 35pts
2nd Pete Stonebridge (16) 35pts
3rd Pat Regan (14) 34pts
Div C (20+)
1st Tim Knight (23) 38pts
2nd Kim Danboise (20) 33pts
3rd Greg LeBlanc (26) 31pts
Note: The Outback Golf Bar is situated about 6km from Sukhumvit Road along Soi Siam Country. Call Jack on 081 578 1956.

Rasmussen reaches the heights at Bangpakong

PSC golf from Café Kronborg

Jesper Rasmussen and Hugh O’Donnell with Dave Richardson.

Monday, Dec. 16, Mountain Shadow - Stableford
A Flight (0-20)
1st Brian Gabe (20) 39pts
2nd John Davis (19) 37pts
3rd Uwe Zickermann (20) 36pts
4th Jesper Rasmussen (20) 36pts
B Flight (21+)
1st Jack Robertson (26) 37pts
2nd Elias Magnusson (21) 36pts
3rd Dave Richardson (28) 34pts
4th Hugh O’Donnell (33) 33pts
Near Pins: #5 John Davis, #8 Richard Kubicki, #15 Mashi Kaneta, #17 Richard Kubicki.
Long Putts: #9 Daryl Evans, #18 Mike Winfield.
Mountain shadow was the challenge on Monday and we teed off 30 minutes earlier than scheduled under sunny skies and with a delightful breeze.
The course was in good condition but if you happened to stray off the fairway it could be a bit of a lottery.

Jack Roberson and Brian Gabe with Dave Richardson.

We made it around in just under 4 hours and 30 minutes as the course was busy ahead with early starters. Back in the clubhouse welcomes went out to Rob and Karen Brown from Scotland, Richard and Carole Kubicki from Cyprus, Jesper Rasmussen from Denmark and we also said goodbyes to Svend and Susan Gaarde, back to Denmark for the holidays and a 2 month tour of South America, and Uwe Zickermann, heading back to Germany.
We had two flights today with the cut made at handicap 20 and the full monty of pins.
Brian Gabe took the A Flight with the best score of the day, 39 points, to finish two ahead of john davis in second while Uwe nicked third on count back from Jesper Rasmussen in fourth, both with 36 points each.
Jack Robertson came in with 37 points to win the B Flight and Elias Magnusson finished second with 36 as Dave Richardson and Hugh O’Donnell filled the minor places.
Thursday, Dec. 19, Bangpakong – Stableford
A Flight (0-20)
1st Jesper Rasnussen (20) 41pts
2nd Brian Gabe (20) 39pts
3rd Oddur Olafsson (15) 37pts
4th Rob Brown (7) 36pts
B Flight (21+)
1st Hugh O’Donnell (33) 40pts
2nd Dave Richardson (28) 38pts
3rd Daryl Evans (22) 36pts
4th Carole Kubicki (24) 35pts
We made a trip to our favorite course, Bangpakong, on Thursday and we found the layout to be in just about the best condition of any venue around here. The course was fairly busy but we still managed to get around in approx. 4 hours 15 mins.
Back in the clubhouse welcomes went out to Lawrence Lee from Hawaii and Oddur Olafsson from Iceland.
We had enough players for two flights once again with the cut made at handicap 20 and below.
Jesper Rasmussen won the A Flight with a stupendous 41 points to finish a couple up on Brian Gabe in second while Oddur Olafsson and Rob Brown completed the podium in third and fourth respectively.
The oldest golfer in our group, Hugh O’Donnell, won the B Flight with a fine 40 points and Dave Richardson took second on 38, Daryl Evans third with 36 and Carole Kubicki fourth on 35 after edging out Elias Magnusson on count back.

Glittering Goldsworthy wins 2013 IPGC Club Championship

The 13th IPGC annual championship was held this year over two different courses, The Emerald and Eastern Star. Upon the release of this news some groans were heard that the courses were not apparently up to some people’s standard of play. Nevertheless the Emerald, with the use of preferred lies on the fairways, played well with the greens running at a good pace. Eastern Star must be in the best condition that has been seen for many years and with its testing holes offered a fantastic day two course.

2013 IPGC champs - Billy Fitzgerald & Russell Goldsworthy.

So with the tee markers set out on the IPGC markers, the Emerald was measuring just over 6,450 yards as 90 golfers set on their way in quest to be this year’s champion.
At the end of the first day leading the ladies division was Nut Ponvipa on net 72. In the third division Phil Cass and Chris Reed led the way on net 72 with six further players within 4 of the leaders, leaving all to play for on the daunting Eastern Star.
In Division 2 it was a Japanese battle up front with Yasuo Suzuki and Shuichi Kodaka leading with net 70 each. With the current net leader also leading the low gross it left the Japanese pair in pole position for the overall low net.
In the top flight Russell Goldsworthy shot a level par 72 gross off his 4 handicap to lead the gross and the net. Russell had 7 threes on his card for day one and was 3 under gross through four holes but only being eligible for one trophy, which one would he hold on for?
The rest of premier division was being headed by Chris Voller on net 71 and all golfers making the cut were all within four shots of Chris, giving the possibility of plenty of movement on day two.

Ladies champion Nu Ponvipa (right) accepts the trophy from Stephen Beard.

After the dust had settled and the cards recorded, the CSS for the day just stayed at 72 with 23% of the field meeting the target of within two strokes of their handicaps.
Day two was to be a real tester, set up at 6,617 yards by the organisers to sort out the very best for the Championship. The first tee time at Eastern Star was 0900 and two tees were in operation. The first tee was away smoothly and with just a small nuisance on the tenth eventually everyone was on their way.
Again with the course was in excellent shape and some good scoring was on offer, but as always with Eastern Star, get out of shape and your card will quickly be ruined. With the players not making the cut being placed into three Stableford division competitions it meant even more trophies to play for.
The third division plate was won by Joe Kubon with an outstanding 40 points. Second prize went to Danny Greer with a very creditable 36 points and third place to Paul Magowan for his first ever golf prize with 34 points.
The second division plate was a very close affair with 4 players carding 30 points for 2nd through 5th. Losing out in fifth was Paul Hartley but Paul’s day was not so sad as he had a Hole in One on the par three 17th after having had a disastrous day one, which resulted in a no return.
Fourth place went to Volker Suhr and the third place prize was won by Horst Starchl. Second place in that count back went to Mark Cooper and Mike Lewis just won the division with 31 points.
The first division plate saw Tony Pike just winning a count back over Marty Rock with a better 22 to 21 to leave Marty in second and Wilf Latham taking third, some seven points further back.

Chris Voller (right) shot a 2-day total of 145 to top Division 1.

In the ladies competition Nut Ponvipa held of a late rally from Paula Koppatz, who carded a net 72, as Nut returned a net 79 to become 2013 ladies champion.
The third division championship had David Plaiter coming through the field to finish third on a total of 151 net. Josef Frick was second on 150 net and Chris Reed played a second steady round for a net 73 and the winner’s trophy with a total of 145. Phil Cass was the unlucky one in this flight as the course showed its teeth and he dropped from tied 1st to fifth.
Division two had two early pace setters for the net but unfortunately Yasuo Suzuki found this too much to handle and carded a net 81, which was still good enough for third place. It was Joe McArdle who put in the early charge, finishing with the division’s best of day two net on 75 to take 2nd place and moving 8 places up the field! First place went to Shuichi Kodaka who could not match his first day total but still did enough to win the division by 4 shots on a total of 147.

Paul Hartley (right) receives his hole in one golf bag prize from Stephen Beard.

With the big guns of the second and third divisions seemingly ruling themselves out of the top net it looked as though 5 trophies would be decided in the first division. Third place went to the pre-competition gross favorite Steve Mascari, carding a 148 net total. Steve was involved in a tight race for the Low Gross and was leading after 16 holes, but he still won a prize and there is always next year for the big one. In second place Russell Exley surged through the pack with the day’s second best net of 72 to land himself the runner- up prize, which was almost unbelievably his sixth second placement in the Championships. Top spot went to Chris Voller who carded a very composed 74 to add to his first day 71 on a total of 145.
The Championship Low Net went to probably the most unbelievable round of golf in the championships history. After scoring a net 74 on day one Billy Fitzgerald blew that to pieces by going ten shots better on day two and carding the best gross of the day 75 and the best net by 8 shots for a 64 net. Billy ended as a truly deserving 2013 Net Champion.
Russell Goldsworthy finally found his game, holing every putt that he really needed and he birdied the last hole to just pip Steve Mascari by a shot with a gross 79, which added to his 72 in the first round left him on 151, with Steve on 152.
Russell had made the trip from Perth, Australia from his home club The Gosnells especially for the Club Championships and now must have all the ammunition needed to provide to his keeper for his return next year for the defense of the title. Well done Russell Goldsworthy, the 2013 Club Champion.
After all the presentations were completed back at The Haven all the usual suspects were thanked for their time and efforts as well the buffet providers. The final thanks went to all the participants in what is truly a great tournament and we hope to see all of them and more next year!

Elphick blows hot on a cold day at Greenwood

PSC golf from Tropical Bert’s

Steve Hamstad & Barry Elphick with one of Bert’s ‘finest’.

Derek Brook
Tuesday, Dec. 16, Greenwood – Stableford
It is obvious to those of us who run golf outings in Pattaya that the high season is here. Not only are we seeing raised rates at the golf courses but also all of a sudden the registration forms to play are filling up as soon as they are put up on the board.
And so it was again on this day, and at Bert’s early in the morning we were to see many faces that have been coming for many years. So with a packed list we were underway on time and started the journey to Greenwood. On this trip each driver seems to have his own way, but more and more the drivers seem to go past Laem Chabang Golf Course. On this day the road was very busy and as we approached Greenwood the rain fell lightly.
On driving into the course we could see that the road was pooled with water so we expected a course that had water on it, what we did not expect was a parking area that had very few cars on it and indeed when we got changed and went to the first tee the course seemed empty. Very surprising!
We had been told that carts were only to go on the cart path, but that was changed at the last minute and we were allowed to drive on the course. So off we went into a freezing cold wind.

The course was wet in places as expected, but all in all not too bad. The conditions however were as cold as I have experienced on a golf course for many a year. One player put on two shirts and after a few holes I put on my ‘sleeves’ - not to keep the sun from burning me but to keep me warm.
The ground was soft underfoot so we had little run and with the cold wind the ball seemed to go nowhere. Once on the greens we found they were as slow as any we had played on the whole season. This was a different day in Thailand. Still we went on and managed to get around.
Round over, it was a quick shower and a bite to eat then into cars for the drive back. The drivers were a bit worried about the road as it is breaking up in places quite badly so many different routes were used. However, they mostly got back to Bert’s within a few minutes of each other.
We were soon into the results and the winner in the A Flight, 0 to 18, was Steve Hamstad with 36 points ahead of John Hackett in second with 35 points and Max Scott in third with 34 on a count back over Mark West.
In the B Flight the scores were a little better. The winner with 41 points was Barry Elphick, with Max Bracegirdle in second with 39 points and Jack Robertson in third with 38.
Results over we did the usual and had a few ‘cold ones’. T.T.F.N.
Near Pins: Landis Brooks (2), Richard Kubicki, Bob Watson
Long Putt: Paul Sharples

Double Scotch at Green Valley

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

On Monday, 16th December, the Pattaya Golf Society visited Green Valley to play a stableford competition on the popular course which was in excellent condition throughout with well paced greens.
The large field was divided into two flights at sixteen and under but they all narrowly failed to make the Olympic qualifying time of six minutes per group as demanded by the management! Good and sensible progress was maintained and the only holdup was caused by a sharp shower about an hour into the round which left greens temporarily very wet.
In the second flight Larry Ang, Jim Ferris and Masashi Iizumi all shared third place with 32 points whilst John Chelo went one better to make second place his with 33 points. The winner was the flight 2 form man, Dave Plaiter who completed his round with 34 points.
In the top flight Marc Jensen posted a fine 34 points for third whilst Rick Schramm came second with 35 points. Winning the flight for the second successive round was Scot Iain Wilson, this time with 37 points from a remarkable gross of 74 on a rain affected course. It was an excellent effort and was helped by his birdie two on the twelfth hole which gave him a share of the ‘2’s pot with Dave Cadwallader and Mikael Lindberg.
The Booby Bevy went to Helene Lindberg after her low score of the day.
The usual suspects ... again
Bangpra was the choice of the Pattaya Golf Society on Wednesday, 18th December when a large field of golfers visited the club to play a stableford competition in two flights cut at sixteen and under. As usual the course was in excellent shape and the greens if anything were slower than normal but downhill putts still rolled a long way.
Results show that the usual suspects were very much to the fore at Bangpra with the second flight seeing Mr Len occupy third place with 30 points, Jim Ferris take second with 31 and “Player of the Year” contender Dave Plaiter win with another solid performance and 34 points.
In the top flight Peter Wilson and Wichai Tananusorn shared runner-up place with 32 points whilst Iain Wilson made it three in a row with another sizzling round of 75 shots, giving him 36 points.
There were no birdie ‘2’s - there rarely are on the legendary greens - and Robbie Taylor enjoyed Rabbi’s non-winner beer whilst Brian Shaw took the Booby Bevy in his stride for his low score of the day.
Bangpra is probably the best experience Pattaya golfers can enjoy and the course rarely disappoints.
Super Sam
The week before Christmas ended for the Pattaya Golf Society with trip to Greenwood to play a stableford competition on the A and C nines which were in excellent condition. Getting away before time - essential at Greenwood on a Friday - the large field made good progress.
The field was divided into two flights at sixteen and under and as always from the white tees the course was to play all of its 6600 yards length. Solid golf followed with the second flight seeing Henry Mah and Bent Saeverud share third place with 33 points whilst Jim Ferris continued his fine form finishing second with 35 points. The flight winner was John Chelo with 36 points, his sole birdie two on A2 helping him on his way with four points early in his round.
In the top flight Peter Wilson again found himself in the frame, this time sharing second place with Mark Cooper on 35 points. The flight winner with the only sub-par round of the day, 37 points, was Sam McLellan and his clinical golf showed the importance of hitting the fairways consistently on the testing course.
At the other end of the scale Mikael Lindberg received the Booby Bevy for his low score which left his wife above him in the lists for the first time this trip. The lady loved it of course! In addition he made it a double as he also picked up Rabbi’s non-winners’ beer draw.
An excellent week’s golf with the PGS had seen a very enjoyable and worthy conclusion.

Joes gets stuck with ‘Bridesmaid’ tag

Travellers Rest Golf Group

Andy Rich
Something fairly unusual happened last week, a certain player named Joe Stranks played in all four competitions organized by the TRGG at four different courses and finished in the top three of each competition without actually winning any of them. Now that is what I would call a consistent golfer - or maybe just an unlucky one. Well done Joe!

Ito Akitoshi - winner at Mountain Shadow.

Monday, Dec. 16,
Mt. Shadow - Stableford
On Monday at Mountain Shadow Joe was beaten into second place by Ito Akitoshi who had his best round for quite a while. Ito didn’t hang around taking prisoners and raced away from the rest of the field, finishing well clear. Joe’s mate Barry Wood trailed in third.
1st Ito Akitoshi (9) 39pts
2nd Joe Stranks (12) 35pts
3rd Barry Wood (11) 33pts
Tuesday, Dec. 17, Green Valley - Stableford
On Tuesday the TRGG headed back to Green Valley after a week’s absence. This time it was Neil Wilkinson and Jim Cooper who beat Joe down to third place but it was a close run thing. Neil finished just one point ahead of the other two.
1st Neil Wilkinson (13) 37pts
2nd Jim Cooper (13) 36pts
3rd Joe Stranks (12) 36pts
Thursday, Dec. 19, Bangpakong - Stableford
We headed off to most people’s favourite course, Bangpakong, on Thursday and I can report it is back to its best. The wind got up a little on the day and it played long and induced a few more errors than normal.

Nigel Ward - winner at Bangpakong.

Joe Stranks must have thought he had done enough to finish top of the heap for a change by amassing 41 points, only to discover he had been beaten on count back by Nigel Ward. Enough to make you spit is it not Joe?
1st Nigel Ward (17) 41pts
2nd Joe Stranks (12) 41pts
3rd Bill Shepley (6) 38pts
Saturday, Dec. 21, Crystal Bay - Stableford
It was back to Crystal Bay (B and C course) on Saturday and Barry Wood, Joe’s supposed mate, decided it was his turn to put a stop to Joe finishing in top spot, and to make matters worse Guy Fraser knocked Joe out of the runners-up place on count back. What an unfair world it must seem.
1st Barry Wood (11) 38pts
2nd Guy Fraser (10) 36pts
3rd Joe Stranks (11) 36pts
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.
Happy New Year to you all!

Voller shines for the win at Eastern Star

Jomtien Golf with the IPGC

Monday, Dec. 16, The Emerald – Stableford
The figures are diminishing within our group, with quite a few players returning home for the Christmas and New Year festivities but with the majority returning the second and third week of January.

Rod Howett.

We had seven groups out today, a field of 28, and the cut was made at 17 and below in division 1.
In his last game before returning to the UK, Pete Sumner, playing off 8, topped division 1 with 39 points while Lindsay Phillips took second after beating Paul Hartley on a 18/17 back nine count back, both on 33 points each.
Rod Howett beat the Austrian supercar racer Pepo Frick to top spot in the second division; Rod edging it 18/17 on count back of the back nine holes as they both came in with 36 points each. Roar Berger came in third with 34, beating Burnie Sinclair and Walter Weber on count back.
Miss Nut took out the ladies division on 30 points with Paula Kobbatz in second two points behind and Diana Elliott third on 27.
Near pins went to Diana Elliott, John Chambers, Raivo Velsberg (2), Burnie Sinclair and Chris Slota (2).
We said bon voyage today to Pete Sumner and Terry Redding, both heading back to Chiang Mai.
Wednesday, Dec. 18, Pattaya Country Club – Stableford
We had heard many critical reports regarding the condition of this course over the past few weeks since the renovations had been completed but we took the chance to play our first game here in over a year. As it turned out we were quite surprised that the majority of our seven groups enjoyed the round and thought the course had improved. So with the conditions here seemingly getting better each week, we have re-booked this course to play it again in four weeks time.

Horst Starchl.

Pepo Frick won division 1 today with 37 points while Horst Starchl was second after beating Chris Reed 20/19 on a back nine count back after both scored 36 points each.
Charlie Charalambous was the winner in division 2, edging Paul Chabot on another count back after they both scored 35 points, and in third place was Bernt Dupland who beat David Taylor on c/b, both scoring 34 points.
Near pins were shared around among Jerry McCarthy, Horst Starchl, Volker Suhr, Paul Chabot, Pepo frick and David Taylor.
Jerry McCarthy birdied the 12th hole to scoop the ‘2’s pot in division 1 and Chris Reed and David Taylor shared the spoils in division 2.
There was a welcome return today to the Bristol boy Bob Poole while it was farewell to Cliff and Diana Elliott.
Friday, Dec. 20, Eastern Star – Stableford
A field of 32 again in perfect weather conditions here with a cool breeze coming off the coast and the course conditions still improving each week, especially the 13th green.

David Taylor.

The white tees were slightly forward on some holes and Chris Voller, now playing off 10, took advantage to shoot a gross level par 36 on the back nine to win division 1 with 42 points. Horst Starchl off 13 was second eight points behind and Dennis Scougall beat Frank Kelly and Tony Thorne for third on count back, all on 33 points each.
Walter Weber was the winner in division 2 with 40 points, beating the organiser by 2 and Iain Walsh placed third with 36.
Chris Voller birdied the 13th for the only ‘2’ in division 1 while Glyn Evans, Frank Kelly and Iain Walsh split the pot in division 2.
Near pins went to Bill Bertram, Horst Starchl (2), Chris Voller, Ian Walsh and Walter Weber.

Locke leads from the front

The Billabong Bar Golf Society

Karen & Alan Beck with Greig and Richard.

Wednesday, Dec. 18, Green Valley - Stableford
It started out a cold morning and really didn’t get any warmer as we progressed around the course, with 37 players playing from the white tees at Green Valley, our normal venue for Wednesday’s.
There weren’t that many golfers on the course and it turned out to be quite a quick round. The greens were lightening fast once again and you couldn’t get a bad lie anywhere on the course - it is in really splendid condition.
We said goodbye today to Geert, Nut and David as they were leaving for Belgium early Friday morning. I will get some Belgium chocolates next time from Geert - thank you mate in advance.
The scores were quite good considering it was a very windy day out there. The prizes went down to sixth place which was taken by John Aylott, losing out on a three-way count back on 34 points to Arab Russell in fifth and Nichawan Khiaophuang in fourth. Third place went to Bob Finley with 35 points and second to Roger Ison with 36. Top spot was claimed by the ever consistent John Locke with a fine 37 points.
There were two 2’s, coming from John Locke and Sel Wegner.
Friday, Dec. 20, The Emerald - Stableford
Emerald was the venue today and we got away early as there were very few people on the course. It is good to see Candy back at the helm and things running smoothly.
The course was in great condition, but it is starting to dry out in places so hopefully they can keep the watering up to scratch. If I thought Green Valley had fast greens they were no match for The Emerald today for speed; you just had to look at the ball and it went 2 feet and from above the hole it was diabolical. The scores were quite good though so someone can putt better than the scribe.
We welcomed Alan Beck and his lovely partner Karen back from Christchurch NZ for a month of golf and relaxation.
There were a bunch of golfers at the top of the leader board today with Waldo taking line honours with 36 points. We then had a five-way count back on 35 points that saw Mark Allen taking second, Richard Steadman third and Greig Ritchie fourth.
There were two ‘2’s today, one from Phil Waite and the other from Greig Ritchie.
Note: If you fancy a game with some friendly golfers just give Bob a call on 082 204 3411 or call into the bar and put your name on the sheet. The Billabong golf bar is situated just off Siam Country Club Road looking straight down Lake Maprachan.

Henderson blitzes Green Valley

PSC golf from The Caddyshack

Bruce Tollit.

Monday, Dec. 16,
Green Valley – Stableford
Gentry Harringtong (H/cap 10) became a consecutive Monday winner with 38 points today at Green Valley. Derek Wilkin (18) took second on count back from Dave Hester (13), both with 36 points each. Ed Horrocks (20) plced fourth with 35 and 10 Heineken, and fifth place went to Terry Phur (19) with 34 points.

Peter Henderson.

Wednesday, Dec. 18,
Eastern Star - Stableford
Wednesday we played Eastern Star on quite a windy day and our ageless leader Bruce Tollit (21) took the honors on count back from Phil Cawse (15) and Brian Orr (16), all three players with 36 points.
Friday, Dec. 20,
Green Valley - Stableford
Friday we were back at Green Valley for a traditional Friday 5-hour round. Peter Henderson (22) finally broke his duck with an outstanding 44 points. Brian Orr (16) was runner up with 40 points from Bill Shepley(6) in third with 39. Fourth place went to Derek Wilkin (18) with 38 points.
Note: The Caddyshack is located on Soi 17 off 3rd Road or soi 8 off Thepprasit. All golfers are welcome and reservations are taken at 081 865 3104

Williams wallops the field at Riverside

PSC golf Bunker Boys @ The Ranch

Monday, Dec. 16, Pleasant Valley – Stableford
We were scheduled to play at the Navy course today, but when our organiser rang up the day before to book a caddy, we discovered that our booking had been cancelled to accommodate a tournament - without of course anybody from the course bothering to tell us. After some hasty phone calls we were able to arrange a suitable tee time at Pleasant Valley and set off up the 7 motorway in bright, sunny weather.

Never seen before – Skinny drinking tonic water!

We tee’d off on schedule and the course was in good shape although the greens were slow and grainy – almost at Navy course speed.
Gordon Melia is certainly not a great fan of this course and normally would probably have taken a day off, but this was his last game before returning to U.K. for a Christmas break, and his last chance to secure more points to consolidate his lead in race for the Golfer of the Month title. Gordon certainly seized the opportunity with both hands, and a great back nine score of gross 38 (playing off a handicap of 18) gave him a massive total of 43 points to secure the win.
Gordon also managed to take the near pin prize on the par three 17th hole, topping his tee shot which went skimming down the fairway heading directly at the pin, but coming up twelve inches short, leaving a straight uphill putt for an unlikely birdie.
Colin Greig took second place on a count back ahead of Geoff Williams with Tony Scambler claiming the final podium position a point further behind.
We welcomed back Blair (Skinny) Newton today at the start of his annual visit, and as the picture shows, he’s turned over a new leaf - forsaking the Heinekin for tonic water!
1st Gordon Melia (18) 43pts
2nd Colin Greig (9) 37pts
3rd Geoff Williams (14) 37pts
4th Tony Scambler (9) 36ps
Near Pins: Colin Greig, Gordon Melia, Tim Winder, and Tony Robbins.
Wednesday, Dec. 18, Bangprakong – Stableford
Another bright, sunny and cool (some said “chilly”) morning as we set off from The Ranch for the 85km trip up the 7 motorway to Bangprakong.
With a course length of over 6,700 yards from the white tees, this course is not short, but it’s always in good condition and is more forgiving than many other local courses, so we usually expect someone to card a good score. Today though the scores were exceptional, with Geoff Williams truly hitting top form and leading the way with a fantastic 44 point total. Following a disappointing first few games, Geoff’s form has been gradually improving and we can only guess what heights he might achieve before the end of his visit – certainly his handicap will be substantially reduced!
Tony Robbins must have been very disappointed to find that his 41 point total was only good enough for second place, and a count back was needed to separate Rab McDonald and Colin Greig for the minor places.
The only disappointing aspect of the day was that the crowded course resulted in numerous holdups, so we were forced to endure our first five hour round of this high season, meaning there were some very tired golfers when we eventually returned to Pattaya.
1st Geoff Williams (13) 44pts
2nd Tony Robbins (14) 41pts
3rd Rab McDonald (14) 37pts
4th Colin Greig (9) 37pts
Near Pins: Colin Greig, Geoff Williams, Mark Stanley and Tore Elliasen.
Friday, Dec. 20, Crystal Bay C & A – Medal
When we arrived at the club house there was some confusion over our tee time, and the course was busy, but we eventually got away only a few minutes later than scheduled.
It was obvious from the first tee that the strong breeze was going to be a major factor and that was borne out with the scoring, when only one player managed to score better than his handicap, on a course where we normally expect someone to produce a high score. The other major factor which came into play was the poor condition of the greens on the A course, which had large patches of rough grass making putting a lottery.
Although the cool breeze provided very pleasant playing conditions, the busy course produced another slow round which apparently affected the concentration of some of the pre-game favourites. Colin Greig wasn’t one of those affected, continuing his good run of form to win the A Flight ahead of Tony Scambler, with Gerry Cooney taking third place ahead of Geoff Parker on a count back.
Geoff Cox produced the best score in the B Flight (can he really be playing off a 16 handicap?), with Geoff Hart and PJ Redmond making welcome returns to the podium.
Our finishing hole today was the tricky par five 9th hole on the A course, and two golfers who shall remain nameless, were apparently competing to see who could record the highest score, both of them consigning three balls to a watery grave, before both walking off with double digit scores.
A Flight
1st Colin Greig (9) net 71
2nd Tony Scambler (9) net 73
3rd Gerry Cooney (13) net 75
B Flight
1st Geoff Cox (16) net 73
2nd Geoff Hart (26) net 75
3rd PJ Redmond (28) net 76
Near Pins: Geoff Cox, Geoff Hart, John Graham, and Tony Scambler.
Notre: The Bunker Boys are a PSC affiliated golf society, who now 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, so if you enjoy a fun day out, and a friendly but competitive golf competition why not come and join us.
We meet at The Ranch at 9 a.m. for breakfast and transportation, and 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. 

‘Deadliest Catch’ wins on count-back

The Backyard Golf Society

The Backyard Golf Society lads had a solid hit-out at Emerald on Friday, Dec. 13. With a few players absent through self-inflicted next morning blues (Foos yer Doos) or car maintenance issues (Michelle Chatt) we only had the 2 groups out.
The winner on the day on count-back was Andy “The Deadliest Catch” Crabb, pipping ‘Diet WhiskeyMan’ 16 to 15 on the back nine.

The ‘Deadliest Catch’.

Skins went to ‘Diet Whiskey’ with 5, 4 each to Don ‘the Divorcer’ (another self-inflicted casualty but he did manage to sober up enough on the back nine after looking like a prime candidate for an early shower on the front 9) and ‘Golden Trowel’s Boyfriend’, 3 to Irish John and 1 to ‘The Deadliest Catch’.
Another M.I.A. today was ‘Passport Control’, he was tied up showing his new squeeze “Irish” around Pattaya and showing her off to all he can find. Fine lass she is too.
Foos yer Doos (last seen at the market bars around 11pm on Thursday night, at which time he vehemently declared his intention play on the Friday) did his party-piece again and failed to show up with the roll-over kitty from the previous week. Nick – Tash’s Razor – provided some entertainment on his first guest appearance at the society, even the caddies had a good laugh at some of his trick shots.
Down the road for a few quick refreshments where “The Deadliest Catch “declined to have a photo taken, so the photo accompanying this report shows Mr Crabb in a scene from The Deadliest Catch on Discovery Channel.
One for the Irish
Another very blustery day greeted the Backyard boys at Emerald on Friday, Dec. 20. The recent cool weather is certainly providing comfortable golf conditions but the wind can play havoc with a lot of shots.
The winner today was Irish John with 37 points while the near-pin prize was won by the Passport Control, as was last week’s roll-over. Skins were well doled out with 5 to Irish John, 4 to Don the Divorcer, 2 each to Golden Trowel’s boyfriend and Jimmy 2 Stone and the last 5 holes 1 rolled over to the next game.
Foos yer Doos will no longer be allowed to hold on to the roll-over kitty as he always fails to show up when he has the money.
We said farewell today to Andy “The Deadliest Catch” Crabb and the Biss and welcomed another defector from Slimey’s in Chris. The Divorcer has headed to Siem Reap for Christmas, no doubt the killing fields will be getting a visit along the way.

Blackshaw takes the win at Navy

PSC golf from the I-Rovers Sports Bar

Tuesday, Dec. 17, Plutaluang E & S – Stableford
Just a handful of players for Navy today, some say it’s too hard, some say it’s not in good condition, some say they just don’t like all the trees in the middle of the fairways. Personally, I love it. It’s got the equal best caddies in Pattaya (with Emerald), and yes it is hard and long and the green are renowned for being very slow, but golf wasn’t meant to be too easy.
Overall the course today was in fairly good condition, they were actually sanding the greens about three holes behind us all day. The weather was perfect, light to medium breeze and with sparkling blue skies. Play moved along ok, and the company was fantastic. What better way to spend a day in Pattaya?
We saw some good scores returned today, especially on the back nine. Bjorn from Sweden came back today with his new clubs just purchased from Central Shopping Mall, and considering he hasn’t played in 3 months he swung the club beautifully but as we all know, sometimes that doesn’t equate to a great score.
Paul Blackshaw (hcp 11) took the top spot again with 82 gross, 46 on the front and 36 on the back for 37 points and had a few lip out as well for a few more birdies. Rocky Jenks (hcp 17) had a good back nine as well to record 33 points for second. Well played guys!

Golfnutter: US Golf’s most celebrated round

Ouimet and Lowery – 30 years between them.

AIt is appropriate the last column for 2013 be dedicated to an event that occurred precisely 100 years ago; an event that many regard as primarily responsible for golf making it into the mainstream of US sport.
The scene was the 1913 US Open held at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. Back then US golf was still in its infancy. It was a time when amateur golf was the domain of the wealthy (think Gatsby), and professional golf existed primarily to provide some sort of income for former caddies. Back then the USGA ruled that caddies caddying after the age of 16 lost their amateur status. Society looked down on professional golfers.
Great Britain ruled the waves and almost everything else. Since the first US Open, held in 1895, British golfers (16 wins) had dominated. These were professionals at the height of their game, and although top amateurs were respected, they rarely featured.
Against this backdrop should be added a certain social nuance; that US society was still regarded, on both sides of the Atlantic, as somewhat less sophisticated than the upper echelons of Empire. Indeed, it was a time when the British Empire reigned over everything, including golf.

The famed photo of Francis Ouimet (top) and caddie Eddie Lowery (centre) post victory.

But no one told 20-year-old amateur, Francis Ouimet, and his 10-year-old caddie, Eddie Lowery. Ouimet’s father, who worked as a gardener at the Brookline Country Club, had bought a house adjacent to the 17th hole. They moved in when Francis was four years old. He started caddying at the Country Club from age 11, and using borrowed clubs and balls he found around the course, taught himself how to play.
Earlier in 1913, Francis Ouimet had won the Massachusetts Amateur. This along with his performance in the US Amateur (quarter-finalist), and his undoubted knowledge of the host course saw the USGA invite him to compete in the US Open.
This showcase of US Golf had been postponed from its original June date to allow for the participation of champion golfer Harry Vardon (Vardon grip, Vardon Trophy), and Ted Ray, the 1912 Open Champion, who were touring the US playing exhibition matches.
Whilst it was Ouimet’s first appearance in the championship, he knew the course better than most. Notwithstanding, the world-renown Vardon and Ray were the clear favourites, and they along with nearly everyone else were favoured over Ouimet.
On the day before the championship started, Eddie Lowery and his older brother wagged school, but only Eddie managed to avoid the truant officer. He then convinced Ouimet to hand him his bag.
After 36 holes, Vardon was in a tie for the lead. Ray was two back followed by Ouimet who was four off the pace. At the end of the third round they shared the lead, a position repeated 18 holes later when all three posted a score of 304. By this stage, interest in the event had grown beyond anything US golf had witnessed. The stage was set for a dramatic playoff the following day.
The media made the most of it with David vs Goliath – both of them – stories aplenty. This kid and the squirt carrying his bag, both from the wrong side of the tracks, had no right being in the same contest against such revered opposition. Furthermore, not only was he an amateur, but he was US-born. Underdog, amateur, and one of us, with a chance of putting the British Empire in its place – it didn’t come much bigger.
Before the playoff, a member of the Country Club offered a reasonable sum to the cash-strapped Ouimet if he agreed to take a more experienced caddie into the playoff. Ouimet declined the offer.
The 18-hole playoff saw Ouimet prevail by five over Vardon and six over Ray. Crowds the like of which US golf had never seen hailed their new champion. The media greeted the victory as a coming of age for US society, as well as US golf.
In the years immediately following Ouimet’s US Open triumph, golf in the US took off with player numbers increasing by a staggering two-million over the next decade.
Ouimet went on to win the US Amateur twice (1914 and 1931). He played on the first eight Walker Cup teams and was captain of the next four. His playing record in these trans-Atlantic matches was an outstanding 11-1. In 1951 he became the first non-Briton elected Captain of the R & A. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974, seven years after his death in 1967.
Had the 20yo amateur and his 10yo caddie not prevailed that day, golf may not have gone mainstream… and Thailand wouldn’t have courses or caddies.
Thank you Francis. Thank you Eddie.
Happy New Year!
Golfnutter

Grindvold grabs the glory

PSC golf from The Golf Club

Brad Gearie, John Mulrooney & Stuart Melrose.

Steve Ellison
Monday, Dec. 16, Green Valley (white tees) – Stableford
1st Jack Grindvold (2) 38pts
T2nd Chuck Anderson (9) 37pts
T2nd Martin Zimmerman (13) 37pts
T3rd Grant Cadell (13) 36pts
T3rd Steve Mulberry (11) 36pts
Firstly, we hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and wish you and your family the very best of health and happiness for the New Year. This past week, it actually did feel like “winter” here in Pattaya as temperatures dropped to the low 70’s and we all found ourselves digging through the closet for our long lost coats and jumpers!

Jack Grindvold with Director of Golf Phil Smedley back at The Club.

Today was just another manic Monday, as the song goes, but we all managed to hit the road by our usual 08:15 departure time full of caffeine. Phil did another great job of herding cats and stayed back on the tee for his group to go out last to ensure all our golfers were paired up as listed. The golf course was just spectacular and this early in the morning a light dew dusted some of the greens still.
We had 32 golfers who joined us today so there was lots of work to be done. If you didn’t shoot your handicap, you were not in the chase, that’s how good the field was. There were 2 guys tied for 3rd and 2 guys tied for 2nd , but only 1 at the top of the podium. Steve Mulberry and Grant Cadell shot their handicap and tied on 36, while Martin Zimmerman and Chuck Anderson ended a shot better on 37 for joint second place honours. If you recall last week, Mr. Anderson shot a 44 on this course for the win.
Top spot today went to our ol’ pal Jack Grindvold, who is certainly one of the best golfers in Pattaya. Jack plays off a slim handicap of 1.8 so he really has to earn his Stableford points out there. Hailing from Sweden, Jack is also one of the fittest linksman in town and regularly rides his road bike 300 kilometres a week. Well played buddy!
Wednesday, Dec. 18, St. Andrews (white tees) – Stableford
T1st John Mulrooney (12) 35pts
T1st Stuart Melrose (3) 35pts
3rd Brad Gearie (12) 31pts
It seems like déjà vu all over again, as the famous Yankees baseball player Yogi Berra was famously quoted way back when. But yes, once again we were heading back to one of the finest golf complexes in Thailand, the trio of Green Valley, Silky Oaks and St. Andrews. There is a lot of golf to be had here, and the quality of this golfing destination is always superb.
Brad Gearie is a retired pilot from Australia who is a regular visitor to The Club and his 31 points today were just enough to snag 3rd on this tough track. We had a couple of blokes that shot an equal 35 points on this chilly morning in Rayong. Dubliner John Mulrooney won European Tour “Caddy of the Year” back in 2011 as he bagged for Darren Clarke for his Open Championship win 2 years back. His skills were apparent today and shared the win with Stuart Melrose. Stu lives just a 5 minute walk from his home course and his 3 handicap was put to good use today.
Thanks to all who joined us this week, well played lads!
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.golf clubpattaya.com and for more information mail us: [email protected]  and see updates at www.facebook.com/golfclubpattaya..  . all handicaps welcome!

Paddy the star of the show

PSC golf from Siam Country Resort

Tuesday, Dec. 17, Mt. Shadow - Stableford
Tuesday was a visit to Mountain Shadow, where we played from the blue tees at about 6,200 yards. The course was in good condition, with the greens running on the fast side, making the downhill, downwind ones particularly difficult to nestle up next to the hole. The breeze was up to a wind, about 2 clubs, resulting in scores being a little on the low side.

Player of the week - Paddy Devereux.

Paddy Devereux (H/cap 22) coped best to score a respectable 32 points, with George Gamble (23) being the only other group member to crack the 30 mark, to gain second spot.
Near pins were well and truly spread around between, Paddy, Willem, Tom & Jeff.
Thursday, Dec. 19, The Emerald - Stableford
Thursday saw us return to Emerald, with the wind still up, making it tough (for our group anyway) to score. Newcomer Tony Millward (20) played well in spots to score 31 points, while the rest of the field tailed off badly, with Paddy Devereux (22) getting second with a rather meagre 24 points. Regulars Jeff, George & Alan have had better days, I’m sure.
Near pins went to Tony & Ken with 2.
Friday was the PSC monthly tournament at Mountain Shadow where we had 7 players competing. 6 of those players should have gone on a picnic in the countryside, while Joel Flor (23) scooped up 1st in D grade, with the best score of the day at 40 points. Well done to Joel, and I will ask Na at SCR to pack the picnic basket for the rest of the boys next time.
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 0890941841 for scheduling or enquiries. Hope to see you there, cheers & good golfing!

La Boheme win Queen’s Cup at St. Regis Pink Polo 2013

Action from the 2013 Pink Polo tournament as Thai Polo take on St. Regis in one of the round-robin matches.

 

Elfi Seitz
The Queen’s Cup Regis Pink Polo tournament, now in its fifth year, was held at the Thai Polo & Equestrian Club in East Pattaya on Sunday, December 8.
Once a year the rich and famous dress in pink garb to benefit breast cancer research and help raise funds for the Queen Sirikit Centre for Breast Cancer at the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok.
Nunthinee Tanner, chairman of the St. Regis Hotels & Resorts Ltd., and a co-organizer of the event, commented: “I have been aware of the danger of breast cancer as one of the most serious causes of suffering for women nowadays and have learned that there had been a large number of women out there who lack knowledge about the disease and the opportunities for treatment. So, now in its fifth year, the polo ladies’ tournament is a showcase of the prowess of women polo players who come together annually not only in a bid to display their skills but also to raise funds for the Queen Sirikit Centre for Breast Cancer. The theme of pink has been chosen because that’s the colour that symbolizes the fight against breast cancer.”
The event once again featured a pre-match fashion show on horseback led by models, actors and members of high society, all donning the latest creations by Azona, Burberry, Catimini, Mango and Mezzo Piano.
Harald Link, the Chairman of the B. Grimm Group and a co-owner of Thai Polo Club then drove a sleek Porsche car onto the field to lead out the teams and match officials in formation. The matches between the all female teams of St. Regis, Thai Polo and La Boheme were held in a round robin format and featured a plethora of fast-paced and thrilling polo action which wowed the spectators. In the end the La Boheme team prevailed and took to the podium to collect the prestigious Queens Cup.

 

 

Stomping in pink. A half-time polo tradition given added colour.

 

 

The pre-tournament fashion show featured new lines from Azona, Burberry, and Mezzo Piano among others.

 

 

The horses are always the center of attention.

 

 

Even the cars got the pink treatment for this special day.

 

 

All smiles from Harald Link, the Chairman of the B. Grimm Group and one of the organizers of the event.

 

 

A show-jumping contest was one of the highlights of the day.

Columbia Trail Masters returning to Pattaya

Enjoy some spectacular trail running at Khao Mai Keaw, Pattaya on January 12.

The 6th edition of the Columbia Trail Masters will take place at Khao Mai Keaw, Pattaya on January 12, 2014.
The event is one of most scenic and spectacular trail running events in Thailand and will offer 4 distances as follows: 50 km trail, 25 km trail run, 10km trail run and 3 km fun run/walk for children and families.
Running events have exploded in popularity during the last seven years in Thailand and more and more people are going back to nature and outdoor activities. Trail running is a new and very fast growing sport that integrates physical and mental endurance, the great outdoors and adventure.
Trail running combines the beautiful outdoor scenery of hiking with the physical challenges of running. If you are the type that loves being in beautiful, outdoor settings, then trail running could be something for you. In addition to the regular running benefits such as improved fitness level and potential weight loss, trail running is also a lot better on the joints. Running on hard surfaces such as pavement and concrete can be tough on the bones and joints. People who suffer from things like shin splints and knee problems often report that they don’t experience these problems on trails.
Along with the races on January 14, the organizers will also provide an Expo village for sponsors to display and sell their products and services and serve a post-race lunch in a friendly and festive atmosphere.
Admission costs to take part are as follows: (50km) 1250 Baht before January 6 or 1500 Baht on the day; (25km: 900 Baht/1100 Baht; (10km) 600 Baht/800 Baht; (3km trail run/walk) 150 Baht for adults (15 & over). Registrations for the 3km fun run will be accepted on Saturday January 11 from 10am to 5pm and on Sunday January 12 from 6 to 7am at the venue. Free for children of 14 years and under.
For more information and registration, go to website: www.ama-events.com or call 02 718 9581-2.

Jia takes top spot at Ocean Sunglasses Future Cup

The twelve young sailors pose for a group photo following a weekend’s competitive sailing at Royal Varuna Yacht Club, Dec. 14-15.

On weekend of 14–15 December, a regular though special event was held at the Royal Varuna Yacht Club. The Ocean Sunglasses Future Cup is a club junior regatta attracting young sailors, mainly members of RVYC aged between 7–13 years competing in a series of races sailed in the Optimist class, the world’s biggest and most popular junior sailboat. Racing is based just off the Pattaya shoreline with all juniors competing for the converted trophy and a pair of Ocean Sunglasses.
Starting on Saturday, the youngsters descended down the beach to launch their craft on the ocean. The first two races were won by Anika Goetschmann, while Jia Ungpakornkaew took line honours in the third, fourth and fifth races respectively. Aim Lisahapanya recorded two second places to put him in third after the first day, behind Jia and Anika.
On Sunday, Jia and Anika both recorded further wins, and Quentin Uhrich placed second twice. Out of the 12 sailors Jia took the top honours, with Anika, Aim and Quentin following in respective order.

Optimist compete out on the water in the Ocean Sunglasses Future Cup.

At the same time the Future Cup was being held, 30 adult members received training from some of Varuna’s top sailors and coaches, learning how to race and go fast! The weekend finished with a prize giving ceremony where special appreciation was given to the volunteers and sponsors who helped RVYC provide such a great weekend.
The 12 young and talented sailors who took part in this event have all come through the Royal Varuna Yacht Club ‘Sailing School’. They recently learnt the basics on how to sail and many are pushing towards the Thai National Team.
The iconic RVYC is located in a private cove between Jomtien and Pattaya on Phratumnak Hill with some of the best sailing conditions in the world between the Pattaya shoreline and Koh Larn. Sailing tuition is taught in either English or Thai by our team of qualified sailing instructors. Regular courses are available for juniors and adults. Please visit www.varuna.org for more information.

Fantastic fight-back earns Europe Royal Trophy glory

The European Team – winners of the seventh edition of the Royal Trophy.

The European golf team staged a tremendous and stunning fight-back to seize the Royal Trophy from their stunned Asian counterparts, as an incredible late rally saw them defy overwhelming odds to complete an 8½–7½ victory at the Dragon Lake Golf Club in Guangzhou, China last Sunday.
Jose Maria Olazabal’s team trailed by two points heading into the final session, and then found themselves facing a seemingly insurmountable 7–3 deficit as Thai stars Kiradech Aphibranrat and Thongchai Jaidee romped to victory in the first two singles matches.
But the Europeans did not lose another match. They won five of the last six singles and halved the other to turn the contest on its head, leaving Y.E. Yang and his players looking on in shocked disbelief.
The most incredible transformation came in the match involving David Howell – twice a Ryder Cup winner – and Japan Golf Tour Order of Merit runner–up H.S. Kim. Kim was three up with four holes to play, after covering the opening stretch of holes in an eye–catching five under par. But Howell won every one of those remaining holes to take the match one up, and suddenly the tide had turned in Europe’s favour.

Nicolas Colsaerts clinched the final match to secure the European victory.

The amazing climax that followed merely continued the Royal Trophy’s growing reputation for producing edge of the seat excitement. Asia triumphed in a play–off after an 8–8 tie last year, and Europe staged an even more amazing fight-back to win the 2011 Royal Trophy after entering the singles trailing 6–2.
But even Olazabal admitted he had not seen Europe’s remarkable change in fortunes coming this time, and that view must have been shared by everyone at the Dragon Lake Golf Club last weekend.
The European Captain commented: “I think the boys achieved something truly extraordinary today, and I can only thank them for giving me the last trophy I was missing, after I won both the Ryder Cup and the Seve Trophy in the past.
“But I have to say I had no idea it would turn out this way until the final hour or hour and a half of play. I must admit I had my doubts, especially after we lost the first two points in the singles and found ourselves trailing by four.

Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee strikes for Asia at the Royal Trophy.

“The Asian team is a very strong one, and all of my players will have even more respect for their abilities even though we won in the end.
“I know it will be tough for them to take this defeat, but they can be proud of the way they played, and we know they will make it even more difficult when we come back to defend this trophy next year. But all I can say about my eight guys is that they are all great battlers, and they never know when they are beaten.
“For me the turning point was when David turned his match around so dramatically. You don’t expect to get anything out of a match like that when you are three down so close to the end, and to get a full point seemed to inspire everyone.
“I think you learn a lot about yourself in adversity, and what these guys learned is that they can still triumph over all the odds. I can only thank them again for making my job so easy.”

Team Asia’s Fujita finds himself in a spot of trouble.

The Spanish golfing legend should have known Europe never know when they are beaten – after all, he was in charge when they produced the greatest Ryder Cup comeback of all time last year. In that event they overturned a 10–6 lead going into the singles, completing the ‘Miracle of Medinah’ by charging to a 14½–13½ victory.
But Ollie said he had an inkling that Ryder Cup victory could happen after Europe grabbed some much–needed momentum with two victories towards the end of the second day. This time they were still on the back foot for the first half of the singles session.
Needing just one and a half more points for victory after their Thai duo had powered to emphatic victories – or a point to force another play–off – Asia simply folded. They managed just one half from the remaining six matches, and that came courtesy of a three–putt bogey from Alvaro Quiros on the final green!
Asia Captain Y.E. Yang looked shell–shocked as he remarked: “It hurts to lose like that, and it feels pretty shocking to know we are not going to take the Royal Trophy away with us.

Captain Olazabal (right) talks tactics during the final day at Dragon Lake Golf Club.

“My players tried hard and they all did their best, but the European team seemed to get stronger as the competition went on.
“But I can promise you that we all feel like we will learn from our mistakes and next year we will come back stronger.”
The Royal Trophy itself will also come back stronger in 2014, after the seventh edition – and the first to be played in China – proved it deserves its place as one of the great showpiece events on the golfing calendar.

John Kepplers Cider Pool League

Buffalo Jack’s Wednesday Premier Darts League

British Bar Snacks Friday Pool League

Pattaya 8-Ball Monday Pool League

Crumpton Cider Tuesday Darts League

Crumpton Oaks Cider Monday Pool League

Allidi blitzes Pleasant Valley

Pattaya Sports Club Bowling League

Peter Henshaw is gifted the Medal

‘Chopper’ leads the way at Pattana

Rasmussen reaches the heights at Bangpakong

Glittering Goldsworthy wins 2013 IPGC Club Championship

Elphick blows hot on a cold day at Greenwood

Double Scotch at Green Valley

Joes gets stuck with ‘Bridesmaid’ tag

Voller shines for the win at Eastern Star

Locke leads from the front

Henderson blitzes Green Valley

Williams wallops the field at Riverside

‘Deadliest Catch’ wins on count-back

Blackshaw takes the win at Navy

US Golf’s most celebrated round

Grindvold grabs the glory

Paddy the star of the show

La Boheme win Queen’s Cup at St. Regis Pink Polo 2013

Columbia Trail Masters returning to Pattaya

Jia takes top spot at Ocean Sunglasses Future Cup

Fantastic fight-back earns Europe Royal Trophy glory