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Pattaya Sports Club Bowling League

200 Bowlers: Nok, Wade, Duanjai & Tui.

Duanjai Wuthrich bowled a 211 game, 511 series to lead first place Indiana to a three point win over Café Kronborg. Lots of 200 games in this match up; Morn Mack had a 500 and La Montgomery bowled a 506 for Indiana, Yeow Gale rolled a 510 and Kran Nielsen had a 506 for Kronborg.

Bowling was not so great on lanes 9 and 10 but second place Green Tree did well enough to win three points from Bavaria. Green Tree remains five points behind Indiana with three weeks to go in the league.

Tui Amphanon bowled a 206 game, 533 series and Ooy Pluemkamon had a 522 to lead VFW Post 9876 to a three point win over Brother D. Sue Murphy bowled a 536 series and Ralph Oderbolz had a 503 for Brother D. Nok Ostbo bowled a 204 second game for VFW.

Tea Party won three points from Canada led by Joe Ferral with a 528 series and Tukata Thompson who rolled a 504. Tue Pettae bowled a 538 series for Canada. Wade Myers bowling as a Pacer bowled a 217 game and 525 series.


It’s Francis’ week; Bob’s Medal

PSC golf from Lewiinski’s Golf Society

Medal winners Mike and Bob with Colin the Golf Manager.

Sunday, March 11, Green Valley - Monthly Medal

A Flight

1st Bob Newell (7) net 67

2nd Francis Goyons (9) net 68

3rd Bob Watson (4) net 72

B Flight

1st Glenn McBurney (17) net 69

2nd Mark Bonner (14) net 72

3rd Colin Davis (15) net 72

Red Flight

1st Mike Craighead (19) net 75

Near Pins: No 4 Graham Holmes; No 12 Gary Blackburne; No 16 Ranay Singh

Bob ‘Broad more’ Newell knew the round was out there, it just hadn’t been answering the call. Well it heard him in time to take the monthly medal for March 2012 as he scorched the course with a gross 74, a whopping net 67, to take the crystal whiskey glass and a bottle of Jameson’s. Every bit of that ‘scorching’ was required as a sublime day had the field tightly bunched and low.

Francis Goyons and Koi.

In quick succession Bob was followed by Francis Goyons, no stranger to the pay window, and Bob Watson, each just a stroke back from the other; Bob Watson did however need the aid of a count back over the unlucky Peter Lenoury.

Glen McBurney led the lads in B Flight with a rock solid net 69. Confusion followed as the calculator went in to overtime to sort out a five player pile up all with net even par rounds. ‘Mussels’ Bonner won this one as he took the silver followed by whom else but the ‘Donkey’ to lift the bronze. Jerry McCarthy, John Foote and Mikko Mutanen were left satang less at sea level.

Mike ‘the mechanic’ added yet another crystal flute to his vast collection with a net 75 in the Red Flight.

As all our regular readers know, Mike and Bob get a non-transferable invitation to play in the year end Gold Medal.

Seven 2,s were recorded.

Monday, March 12, Royal Lakeside - Stabelford

A Flight

1st Francis Goyons (9) 38pts

2nd Greg Bates (11) 38pts

B Flight

1st Lou Szigligeti (17) 36pts

2nd Colin Davis (15) 35pts

Francis Goyons continued his weekly climb to the top of the podium as Sunday’s second place was followed by today’s first with a rock solid 38 points. It did not come easy though as a count back was required to edge the red hot Aussie Greg Bates.

Aussie traffic warden Lou Zig-Zag took the honours in B Flight as he put a no parking ticket on the Donkey’s cart with an even par round.

No 2’s were recorded so a rollover on Wednesday.

Wednesday, March 14, St. Andrews - Stableford

A Flight

1st Francis Goyons (9) 38pts

2nd Graham Holmes (8) 38pts

3rd Ian Bell (6) 38pts

B Flight

1st William Peach (20) 37pts

2nd Sukh Jutana (17) 36pts

3rd Peter Henshaw (18) 35pts

It is always tough to lose a count back and it is always tough not to win when you have 38 points at the Desmond Muirhead designed St Andrews. Well it happened to Graham Holmes (no not that Graham Holmes) and Ian Bell, as they were left second and third in A Flight respectively. The man on fire Francis Goyons made it two wins and a second place in as many games as Francis’s 38 points was more favorably dispersed between the outward and inward nines.

William Peach was one stroke clear in a battle marked by consistency seldom seen in high handicappers, especially on a course so demanding as St Andrews, over Sukh Jutana. Peter ‘Don O Corleone’ Henshaw snuck in for the last spot in B Flight, edging Michael Goggin on count back.

Ian Bell, Ranay Singh, Thierry Petrement and Sukh Jutana shared a rollover 2’s pot.

Friday, March 16, Crystal Bay – Stableford

1st Merle Humphries (19) 38pts

2nd Peter Larsson 9140 36pts

3rd Lou Szigligeti (17) 36pts

On a day when the numbers were a bit modest, given the PSC Charity event, old friend Merle Humphries retuned with a good bit of zeal as he enjoyed a two stroke gap on the field.

Peter Larsson emerged from a triumvirate of players to reap the silver while Aussie Lou the ‘Soi 13 Traffic Warden’ claimed the bronze. Greg Bates was left scratching his head but he did manage a 2, as did Lou and Merle so they just about managed to get their money back.

Note: Lewiinski’s is situated on Pattaya Land Soi 1, Beach Road Soi 13/3 near to 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.


Freeman flays the field

PSC golf Bunker Boys @ The Bowling Green

Monday, March 12, Bangpra – Stableford

Twenty-six players today for our visit to the popular “monkey course”. We arrived to find the course fairly quiet, and we were able to tee off 20 minutes earlier than our scheduled tee time.

Alan Freeman.

Keith Smithson and his mate Mike Lloyd made a welcome return, but it appears that Keith is trying to bring down the tone of the B. Boy’s transport. Evidently his car suffered some damage in his absence, and is now held together by string and parcel tape!

Star of the day was Alan Freeman who shot a gross 72 off his (dodgy?) handicap of 4 to return a great Stableford score of 40 points. Paul Edgar made a long overdue return to form to win the B flight with 39 points, one better than Gez Williams.

Keith Smithson managed to take a near pin prize, so maybe he can put it towards the cost of some much needed car repairs.

A Flight

1st Alan Freeman (4) 40pts

2nd Mike Grasser (11) 35pts

3rd Lee Butler (15) 34pts

B Flight

1st Paul Edgar (19) 39pts

2nd Gez Williams (19) 38pts

3rd Steve Kincoyne (20) 35pts

Near Pins: Lee Butler, Keith Smithson and John Hughes(2).

Wednesday, March 14,
Khao Kheow A & B - Stableford

Twenty-two golfers arrived at Khao Kheow to find the car park almost empty and we were able to tee off immediately. Most golfers struggled in the heat on what was a particularly sweltering day, and maybe the weather suited the players using golf carts.

Certainly Rab McDonald made good use of his wheels to win the day with 38 points. Peter Habgood (also a non-walker) made a return to the podium in his second game back after several week’s illness, taking 2nd place in the B flight, 2 points behind Bernie Stevens.

A Flight

1st Rab McDonald (15) 38pts

2nd Paul Smith (3) 37pts

3rd Alan Freeman (3) 33pts

B Flight

1st Bernie Stevens (19) 37pts

2nd Peter Habgood (19) 35pts

3rd Steve Kincoyne (20) 30pts

Near Pins: Alan Freeman, Keith Smithson, Steve Kincoyne and T. Harvey

Friday, March 16,
Pattana – Stableford

Only a small group of players today, with a large contingent of regulars playing in the PSC Charity Classic tournament. Nothing to report from the course since your author is still in Cambodia, and my regular correspondent was playing in the PSC. A good time therefore to remind everyone, that if you have anything you’d like including in the weekly report, please email it to me at [email protected].

1st Mashi Kaneta (11) 35pts

2nd Paul Edgar (19) 33pts

3rd Roger Mitchell (24) 28pts

Note: The Bunker Boys are a PSC affiliated golf society who now play out of the Bowling Green on Soi X-Zyte between Pattaya 3rd Road and Soi Buakhaow. 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 Bowling Green at 9 a.m. and new players with valid handicaps are always welcome. For more information call Dave on 087 1469978, email [email protected].


Shennanigans Weekly Quiz

This week’s winners: Chinese Brothers

Results – Tuesday, March 13: 7 Chinese Brothers 110pts; The Knuckleheads 100pts; Fortunes of War 95pts; The Tinkers 94pts; 3 Non Blondes 90pts; The Leftovers 86pts; G.T.F.C. 78pts; Mermaids 74pts; Wosanames 71pts; The Elations 65pts


Hansen blitzes field to claim the ‘Mug’

PSC Golf from the Café Kronborg

Peter Blackburn

Monday, March 12, Greenwood A & B – Stableford

As many people were returning to their various homelands after holidays in Pattaya, our numbers are understandably dwindling and a field of 25 assembled at Caf้ Kronborg in readiness for our long awaited return to Greenwood.

‘The Admiral’ (left) presents The Cafe Kronborg March Monthly Mug to Niels Hansen.

We welcomed Neil Skilton, who has now finally retired and will soon be travelling to various parts of the globe before deciding where he is going to make his home. Peter and Somkhit O’Brien were playing their last game with us for a while as they are returning to Bangkok so we wished them a fond farewell.

Departing the Kronny a couple of minutes early at 0811hrs we arrived at Greenwood 56 minutes later to find the car park almost deserted, which meant an earlier than scheduled hit off. It had been more than 6 months since we had played here and we couldn’t stay away any longer due to reduced green fees (500 baht for 20 or more players) and popular demand from our members. Indeed our first group, a three-ball was able to hit off 25 minutes ahead of schedule at 0935hrs with no-one in front of us and we breezed through the front nine (A) in one hour & forty five minutes.

The course was in great shape and the greens quick although fairly discolored and the weather was perfect but with overcast skies which thankfully delivered a mere couple of drops of rain throughout the day. The second nine (B) was a little bit slower due to some traffic in front of us but with a lengthy drink break half way through the back nine our round was completed in the excellent time of three hours & forty five minutes. Scoring was generally good on the day and the unanimous decision was that Greenwood is back on our monthly schedule.

Walter Baechli & Eddie (The Eagle) Glinseka.

Anything less than 36 points did not get a place on the podium in either flight and A Flight was won by Walter Baechli with a fine 40 points, just one point ahead of Martin Todd in second place. In a count back on 36 points for third & fourth spots Jesper Rasmussen (19 point back nine) edged out Stu (San Miguel) Rifkin (18 point back nine) and unluckily Ken (let’s hear it for) Bernek (17 point back nine) just missed out.

There has been a dramatic form reversal for the winner of B Flight with Eddie (The Eagle) Glinsek having his first win with us after a great 41 points. In second place was Mike Winfield with 39 points and Peter Hammond finished third on 38 points. In a two-way count back on 36 points Dave (The Admiral) Richardson (20 point back nine) finished fourth with Jan Lovgreen (17 point back nine) just missing out.

A Flight (0-19)

1st Walter Baechli (18) 40pts

2nd Martin Todd (9) 39pts

3rd Jesper Rasmussen (19) 36pts

4th Stu Rifkin (14) 36pts

B Flight (20+)

1st Eddie Glinsek (33) 41pts

2nd Mike Winfield (22) 39pts

3rd Peter Hammond (22) 38pts

4th Dave Richardson (24) 36pts

Near Pins: A6 – Walter Baechli; B2 – Stu Rifkin; B5 – Niels Hansen

Long Putts: A9 - Jesper Rasmussen; B9 – Eddie Glinsek

The Compass Cap, which is awarded for the worst score on the day, was narrowly won by Peter O’Brien, and Deefa the Dog was paraded by Hunter and collected several donations to charity from the very generous Kronny Crew. After much deliberation it was decided that the day’s Fashion Award was to be split between Walter Baechli & Bjarne Kjaer.

Thursday, March 15, Pattaya C.C. – Monthly Mug/Stroke

This was to be our last Caf้ Kronborg Monthly Mug at Pattaya Country Club for quite some time as they are about to commence some much awaited work on the course and for the next few months this event will be held at Pleasant Valley.

A late cancellation and an annoying “no show” from a repeat offender reduced the field to 26 and we assembled at Caf้ Kronborg in readiness for the short trip to Pattaya Country Club. We welcomed John Sandgaard (son of Kurt), Mark Armstrong formerly of Sydney but now residing in Pattaya and Frank Pilkington, a regular Tropical Bert’s golfer.

Departing the Kronny spot on 0815hrs we arrived at the course 24 minutes later to find plenty of activity and it appeared that an earlier than scheduled hit off was doubtful. Having driven through light rain on the short trip to the course the skies were looking ominous and we waited at the first tee in drizzling rain but as ever were confident that the weather would hold and once more the “rain gods” were with us.

We managed to surprisingly get our first group, a three-ball away 25 minutes early at 0935hrs and it wasn’t long before the rain disappeared completely although the skies remained overcast all day. The course was in reasonable shape but some of the greens were very ordinary and at times it was necessary to put through very rough patches. Our progress was slowed down somewhat by the traffic ahead but after enforced drink stops due to waiting at a couple of par threes we were able to complete our full round in four hours and fifteen minutes which for a stroke round was quite good.

We had a runaway winner of the March Monthly Mug with Niels Hansen shooting 80 off the stick for his net 64. The A flight was won by Mike Allidi (net 33 back nine) in a count back from Arne Max Pedersen (net 35 back nine) with both golfers posting a net 69. In third place came Leif Kirkgaard with a net 70 and in another count back with net 72 Martin Todd (net 34 back nine) finished fourth ahead of Frank Pilkington (net 37 back nine).

Yet another count back on net 71 was necessary to decide the first 2 places in B Flight with Bo Cardwell (net 33 back nine) winning from Jan Lovgreen (net 36 back nine) in second spot. Graham Buckingham was third with net 72 and Peter Hammond finished fourth on net 74.

At presentations back at Caf้ Kronborg we acknowledged Bjarne Nielsen and his family & staff for once more sponsoring this monthly event.

Monthly Mug

1st Niels Hansen (16) net 64

A Flight (0-20)

1st Mike Allidi (3) net 69

2nd Arne Max Pedersen (16) net 69

3rd Leif Kirkgaard (19) net 70

4th Martin Todd (9) net 72

B Flight (21+)

1st Bo Cardwell (29) net 71

2nd Jan Lovgreen (22) net 71

3rd Graham Buckingham (22) net 72

4th Peter Hammond (22) net 74

Near Pins: 5th – Peter Blackburn; 7th – Martin Todd; 12th - Niels Hansen; 16th – Graham Buckingham.

Long Putts: 9th – Bo Cardwell; 18th – Kurt Sandgaard

The Compass Cap was well won by ‘The Admiral’, Dave Richardson, while Hunter paraded Deefa the Dog who collected lots of donations to charity from the Kronny Crew.


Bartley returns to form

Phoenix Tuesday/Friday Golf Group

Tuesday winners pose with the staff at The Relax Bar.

Mike Gerrard

With myself still not feeling so good I did not play on Friday, March 9, but managed to get to the presentation back at the Relax Bar to help my new apprentice (Mukesh Thakker) sort out the winners.

With the high season coming to a close soon we now have just the elite few within the group, but the scoring was very poor indeed.

Billy Hewitt, with 36 points was the only player who was on or near handicap while in second place was the acting scribe for the day, Mukesh Thakker, with a mere 30 points. Following closely in third place was David Czernie with 29 points.

Onto Sunday, March 11, and again we only had a few players but played a nice format of teams of three and the best two scores to count as a team score. As it happened all the teams scored the same score of 81 points so the bet was off and all the spoils went to the individual scores.

Unfortunately I have lost the paperwork for that day and I cannot remember the winners or their scores. This sometimes used to happen in the past when we had gone back to the My Bar. I think it was Billy Hewitt again. Don’t matter, the company and the day was great - another day in paradise!

So onto our main day, Tuesday, March 13, and ‘Big’ John Bartley was the eventual victor with 38 points. I say eventual, because the Italian connection should have been numbers one and three with John in the middle. Sadly Giorgio Baccioli and Sergio Volpi (who both had to leave early) were not present to receive their honours so they were passed onto the next best.

John was two ahead of visitor Wayne Ferral in second place with 36 points and Goort Gelten and Bill Hewitt shared third place with 35 points each.

Near pins went to Patrick Browne, Mike Gerrard, Hugh Byrne and David Czernie.

The lucky draw prizes donated by the Relax Bar went to Joris Goetshalkx, Stuart Gordon and another newcomer, Herbie Schwieterman.

Noticeable point about Phoenix Golf Course now is the improving condition of the layout. Over the last 6 months the course has been in poor condition compared to previous years. Now, at the end of the busy time the greens are getting back to some sort of good texture. Problem is that the greens staff will soon close nine holes at a time for maintenance work and thus probably making them worse again!

At the end of this month the management of Phoenix are starting two sports days: Tuesday and Thursday. When they have decided how much they are going to charge I will post in the news. At present anyone who is not a member of Phoenix can join our group (midweek only) for a green fee of 1.000 baht (weekends are 1,600 baht). You will be charged as a guest of the members.


Trev does it again

PSC Golf from Mulligans Lakeside

Tuesday, March 13, Khao Kheow – Stableford

Tuesday was a visit to the great Pete Dye designed Khao Kheow, with the B & A combination our allotted test. The course was in good condition, so with all players and caddies in place, it was into the breach.

Trev shows off after his birdie at Khao Kheow.

Visiting from Gosnells WA, Phil (20) led the way clearly with 37 points, ahead of Tony (15) another visitor, 33 points, while Monte Sykes (7) squeaked into third spot with 31 points. Tony also picked up a brace of near pins, while the main focus of the regulars fell on Trevor who picked up another near pin, and converted for a birdie 2!

Thursday, March 15, Pattana - Stableford

Thursday was a long awaited return visit to Pattana, with B & C being our test for the day. The course was in good condition, which when combined with the facilities & efficient staff make it a great day out.

Another visitor, Norm Cheetham (14) led the way home today with 37 points, after duelling all the way with Willem Lasonder (21) who finished with 36 points. Your writer was in the group with both place-getters and it was good fun to watch, pity my golf was so far below standard on this occasion.

Tom & Clive split the near pins, with Clive having been inspired by Trev’s success earlier in the week, no birdie 2 though.

Note: Mulligans Lakeside plays golf generally on Tuesday & Thursday, with ML hosting prompt presentations on both days. Call 089 094 1841 for scheduling or enquiries. Hope to see you there, cheers & good golfing!


Aihara - Ichiban

PSC golf from The Golf Club

Steve Ellison

Monday, March 12, Green Valley (White tees) – Stableford

1st Ken Aihara (6) 42pts

2nd Don Bland (4) 40pts

3rd Mark Wood (8) 39pts

4th Mark Reid (8) 36pts

5th John Emmerson (11) 37pts

This is getting to be like a broken record (remember them?), but once again it was the Ken Aihara show as his 42 points took top spot for gold at our regular Monday venue. Ken is in fine form as we all well know, but March is turning into his purple patch for sure, even after getting down to a 6 handicap. Look at all the low handicappers on the board!

Don Bland shot a wonderful round of 40 points for the silver with Mark Wood back in form for the bronze with a very respectable 39 points. In fourth place was Mark Reid for the copper while John Emmerson brought up the rear for fifth place aluminium.

Green Valley is a very underestimated course. It is in excellent shape right now and is one of the best value courses we play. Every hole is different and there are no ‘Mickey Mouse’ holes on this fine Peter Thompson track. We often take RGV for granted, but let’s not forget how lucky we are to have her at our doorstep. We play here every Monday, and the van leaves TGC at 08:15 for a 09:30 tee time so come join us for a great day out.

Wednesday, March 14, Treasure Hill (White tees) - Stableford

1st Dave Shelton (8) 41pts

2nd Bill Eyles (26) 40pts

3rd Steve Weller (5) 37pts

4th Peter Larsson (14) 35pts

5th Ken Aihara (4) 34pts

What a disappointment this course was. All the greens were not just verticut, they were ploughed up for planting it seemed. We were unfortunate enough to get slotted in after the cuts and before the sanding and fertilizing so the golf was not what we were expecting at all. This had been a great track recently, but the advice now would to be to wait a few weeks at least before trying this on. They must do maintenance sometimes, but how about some warning next time guys?

Verticutting is a necessary evil for golf course superintendents. It helps drainage, allows more sunshine and water into the grass plant and opens the “canopy” of the grass for a healthier turf. It removes the vertical growth of the individual grass shoots. The end result will be an improved putting surface with a true and faster roll. I would only suggest it be done in a circular pattern rather than straight so that putting would be less effected by the cuts and the leaf blades are hit at a different angle. But that’s just me and I have never been a greens keeper. Just a thought!

Dave Shelton was back in the saddle once again and did not let the ruts get him down! To shoot 41 points in these conditions is admirable, and this was a well deserved win by a great performance.

Bill Eyles came in second with a really impressive 40 off his 26 handicap, but came in with a first class story. Bill was sitting in the bar when someone caught his attention. He looked and listened for a moment until he realized it was his old mate from 35 years back, George Young from ‘Sowf’ London! Back when they were both Jack the Lads they would knock about at the same venues and had to travel halfway round the world to bump into each other at TGC in Pattaya!

Our mate Steve Weller from Vancouver way was third on the podium with 37 followed by Peter Larsson on 35 and Ken Aihara once again in the frame with a 34 point round.

Friday, March 16, Green Valley - PSC Charity Classic

It was that time of year for the annual PSC Charity Classic that we all look forward to. The Golf Club was a proud sponsor of the 10th Hole and this year, the team of Gary Emmett and Steve Ellison placed 5th out of 64 teams for our best result from The Golf Club. For full results and story, please see the big PSC article in this paper.

A reminder: Our Songkran trip this year is 13-20 April and up in the Khao Yai region at Pak Chong for some terrific new courses including Mountain Creek by Seve Ballesteros, so drop by for details and signups.

Note: The Golf Club is located on Soi LK Metro. We play on Monday, Wednesday and Friday so come join us for a fun day out. Just call 085 434 3377 or see our website www.golfclub pattaya.com and for more information mail us: [email protected] and see updates at www. facebook.com/golfclubpattaya.


Fletcher & Stonebridge star at Burapha

PSC golf from The Outback Golf Bar

Wednesday’s top three (from right): Steve Mann, Fidge Button and Rod Woodriff.

Monday, March 12, Burapha - Stableford

Thirty-three Outbackers here at Burapha for one of the two regular Monday meets, to be greeted with overcast and cloudy conditions; also present were the TIAC boys playing the first round of their four day tournament but they played A & B whilst we were on C & D so the course was well utilised.

We played from the white markers which is a fair test of golf for all divisions; C course was in excellent condition with great fairways and flat & fast greens; on the D course the fairways were also great but the greens have still not fully recovered from their recent scarifying and are a little patchy and uneven. The rough at Burapha still proves to be tough to play out of, no matter which nine you play.

Even though the course was well attended we still managed to hit off 20 minutes early and most completed their round in under four hours.

Before we run through the results, we’d just like give a special welcome back to Barry Rothberg, who doesn’t play so much golf now that he’s living back in the UK but he did OK today with 33pts to get fourth place in Div C. Nice to see you again Baz!

With 33 players we played three divisions with three places in each division with some excellent scores recorded in all divisions, especially division 1 with four players on 37 points who all finished outside the placings.

There were seven ‘2’s recorded and they went to Paul Bourke, John Cunningham, Jim Brackett, Neil Lavery, Campbell Potts, Murray Hart and Bob Lindborg.

Div A (0-12)

1st Chris Fletcher (12/Hi11.8) 42pts

2nd John Cunningham (5/Hi5.8) 40pts

3rd Neil Lavery (11) 38pts

Div B (13-20)

1st Pete Stonebridge (16/Hi15.8) 41pts

2nd Murray Hart (14/Hi13.9) 36pts

3rd Campbell Potts (17/Hi16.3) 32pts

Div C (21+)

1st David Hausman (21/Hi20.5) 37pts

2nd Ivan Plunkett (21/Hi20) 36pts

3rd Greg Ritchie (21/Hi19.9) 35pts

Monday, March 12, Khao Kheow – Stableford

(From the left): Martin Kingswood, Murray Hart & Dennis Pelly were all winners of their respective divisions at St. Andrews.

There were 22 Outbackers today playing B & A from the yellow tees at Khao Kheow and as there was very little wind it seemed hot and muggy for some players. The course was in reasonable condition apart from two greens on B where on some parts of the green it was GUR and on the A side they were working on a couple of fairways pulling out the weeds again. Still, we all went round in 3 hours 20 minutes to 3 hours 40 minutes. Good going guys!

Poor Pat Culloty tried to save his Caddie from getting hit by a golf ball coming from the next tee box and as he put his hands over his caddie’s head, luckily the ball had hit a few trees, knocking out most of the impact speed before hitting him straight in the back.

Steve Plant had an argument with a meter long Iguana on B7 as the lizard lazed around the green. Steve the “Big Hunter” managed to shoo it along its way without further ado but I guess he had a reason for missing the putt.

Dennis Pelly and Martin Kingswood played together for the first time in a draw, to win Johnny Cogan’s farewell bash at Pattaya Country Club last week. Today they’ve gone and singularly won their respective divisions sharing the top score of the day, matching 37’s, which although not good enough to come anywhere at Burapha is very good going round this course. Sel Wegner, who is just finding his form in time for Hua Hin next week, was second with 35, whilst in Div B, Doug Douglas did well for his second place with 36.

There were three ‘2’s from Suzi, Dennis and Pat.

Finally, a big thanks to Suzi for running the day!

Div A (0-17)

1st Dennis Pelly (12/Hi11) 37pts

2nd Sel Wegner (14/Hi13.3) 35pts

3rd Steve Plant (13/Hi11.8) 34pts

Div B (18+)

1st Martin Kingswood (19/Hi17.2) 37pts

2nd Doug Douglas (23/Hi21.5) 36pts

3rd Sugar Ray Handford (19/Hi17.6) 31pts

Tuesday, March 13, Pattaya C.C. – Stableford

This Tuesday saw 14 Outbackers take the opportunity to play the regular 18 holes before nine are closed on 1st April for some months. The weather was fine, the course not too busy and following a major tournament on Sunday, the condition was reasonable, except for some of the greens on the back nine.

Organiser for the day, Nigel Cannon (22) led the way with 40 points – thus ensuring a handicap revision before playing in the Outback’s tour at Hua-Hin next week; runner-up was ‘Snow White’ aka John White (23) with 39 points and was still smiling.

Clearly in ‘recovery mode’ and in third place was our ‘Chad’, Barry Chadbourn (25) with 38 points. Former caddy Noy Kamsantia (20) continued her good form with 33 points, thus securing fourth place whilst regular Tuesday man, Terry Marney (29) took the final spot with 32.

Just two more Tuesdays at PCC with the full 18 holes and for the moment the Outback plan to stay here during April to see how it goes, playing nine holes twice.

1st Nigel Cannon (22/Hi22.6) 40pts

2nd John White (23/Hi23.6) 39pts

3rd Barry Chadbourn (25/Hi26) 38pts

4th Noy Kamsantia (20/Hi19.9) 33pts

5th Terry Marney (29/Hi29.1) 32pts

Wednesday, March 14, Royal Lakeside - Stableford

Seventeen Outbackers travelled to Royal Lakeside for the day for a 9.30 tee off. Unfortunately most arrived with only minutes to spare as a truck had overturned on the bridge near the Amata Springs turnoff which delayed most players for up to half an hour. Once we all arrived everything went very smoothly with the manager there to greet us on the first tee and wish us all good golfing.

The course and clubhouse have undergone a number of changes in the last twelve months and the clubhouse is now fantastic and the course presented very well. The fairways have been renovated and sanded in many areas but did not detract or affect play in any way. The bunkers have all had new sand put in them which was very soft leading to some plugged lies but they will settle down over the next few months. The greens have also been recently renovated and the first nine were a little slower than the back nine but were still great to putt on and all the water courses have been redone and it made for a great layout with a course that was receptive to good golf.

There was only one division for the day and we paid out down to fifth place. The overall winner of the day was Fidge Button continuing his recent good form with 40 points on his 16 handicap from Stephen Mann on 38 points on his 11 handicap with third place going to recently returned Rod Woodriff with 36 points of his 14 handicap; fourth and fifth places went to Greg LeBlanc (24) with 34 points and Neil Lavery (11) with 33.

There was only one ‘2’ for the day from Neil Lavery on hole 15 with a great shot to within a metre of the hole and by the way Neil, thanks for driving and thanks to Suzi for running the day.

1st Fidge Button (16/Hi15.9) 40pts

2nd Steve Mann (11/Hi10.6) 38pts

3rd Rod Woodriff (14/Hi13.5) 36pts

4th Greg LeBlanc (24/Hi24.1) 34pts

5th Neil Lavery (11/Hi10.6) 33pts

Friday, March 16,
St. Andrews - Stableford

Thirty-six Outbackers travelled to St. Andrews for our Friday outing, which would have normally been Green Valley but PSC had booked the course for their Charity Tournament with a noon shotgun start.

The course was vacant when we arrived and the starter sent our groups off half an hour early. When setting up the start sheet we had put in yellow tees instead of white and it was only after a few groups had already hit off that I realised that yellow tees were 6,900 yards and that made for a very tough day for a lot of players. Sorry golfers, I can assure you I will check the card before next we visit a course and try to make it fair to all. In saying all that, some players found the extra distance to their liking and some good scores were recorded.

Welcome also today to a couple of newcomers from the UK, namely Fred Bell and Keith Croasdale.

The course was presented well as always with great fairways and tees, but the greens had been spiked and not rolled so they were a little bumpy, making them difficult to putt on.

We had three divisions with three placings in each division plus the ‘2’s.

Division 3 was won by Martin Kingswood with 37 points on his handicap for the day of 21, from John O’Keefe with 36 points and third place being taken by Greg Hill with 35.

Division 2 was won by Murray Hart with 35 points on his 17 handicap, from Sel Wegner on 33 points on his 16 handicap on a count back from Steve Plant also on 16.

Division 1 was won by the consistent Dennis Pelly with the best round of the day of 38 points off his 13 handicap, from Stephen Mann with 37 points with third place going to Mark McDonald with an excellent round 35 points off of 3.

There were eight ‘2’s; from Paul Greenaway, Mark McDonald, Owen Walkley, Fred Bell and Steve Plant on hole 5; Suzi Lawton and Brian Maddox on hole 10 and the two of the day to Murray Hart on hole 17 who hit driver to make the green.

Div A (0–14)

1st Dennis Pelly (13/Hi10.8) 38pts

2nd Steve Mann (14/Hi11.3) 37pts

3rd Mark McDonald (3/Hi2.4) 35pts

Div B (15–20)

1st Murray Hart (17/Hi13.9) 35pts

2nd Sel Wegner (16/Hi13.3) 33pts

3rd Steve Plant (16/Hi13.2) 33pts

Div C (21+)

1st Martin Kingswood (21/Hi16.9) 37pts

2nd John O’Keefe (22/Hi17.6) 36pts

3rd Greg Hill (22/Hi18.2) 35pts

Note: The Outback Golf Bar is situated about 6km from Sukhumvit Road along Soi Siam Country. All are welcome to come and join us for a beer and a hit. Just call in and put your name down on the list or call Jack on 087 941 2474.


Wangjuntr – a real golfing experience

Jomtien Golf with the IPGC

The Jomtien Golf Group at Wangjuntr.

Monday, March 12, Pattaya C.C. - Stableford

Probably our last visit here until the renovations to the course have been completed, the majority of our players do not want to play each nine twice and according to the management the refurbishment for 18 holes will take 14 months, but we will play it by ear.

There was an eight group booking before our 10.00am tee-off but only three groups turn up so we were off 45 minutes ahead of schedule. There were only two divisions out today and two 39’s came in to win both divisions; Jean Morel in the first, with William Chang second two points behind and raivo Velsberg third with 36, and Lee Casey took top podium position in the second division, with David Phillips second on 38 and Tony Holehouse third with 34.

There were no ‘2’s today in either division so a rollover to Green Valley in division 1 and a double rollover in division 2 next Monday.

Near pins were claimed by Georges Faber (2), Arvo Hiller, Chris Voller, Gordon Everingham, Mauri Friman, Tony Holehouse and Jean Morel.

Wednesday, March 14, Eastern Star - Stableford

A coolish nine holes for everyone and the temperature climbed up as the first group reached the 10th and this carried on for the rest of the round. The cut for the men today was 6-18 and 19plus with a ladies division as well.

Playing off 8 now, Bill Bertram recorded the best score of the day in division 1 with 38 points while Marty Rock beat Chris Voller 18/17 on the back nine for second after they both came in with 33 points.

In division 2 another Frenchman was in the reckoning today with Yves Bosset winning with 32 points, beating Tony Holehouse 17/14 on the back nine, with Kalevi Wallius third on 28.

Pranee Bosset won the ladies division with 34 points.

There were no 2’s recorded today so rollovers in both divisions to Friday next week.

Near pins went to Pranee Bosset, Jerry McCarthy (3), Ron Miller, Andy Baber, Kalevi Wallius and John Williams.

A new word has been added to the Jomtien Golf vocabulary this week - we have Albatross, Birdie and Eagle already established, and now an addition, Goose … this only applies to the 16th hole at Eastern Star, please ask Cully Monks for more details.

Friday, March 16, Wangjuntr - Stableford

For the majority our first ever visit here, a one hour and twenty minute journey from Siam Cats for the 33 players out today. There have been many stories over the past three months regarding this course so an interesting scenario today.

We had booked the highland course and after changing at the clubhouse we were taken by truck with the caddie for a 10minute journey to pick up the buggy. It was then another 10 minute drive to the first tee. We teed-off on the first on the roof of the drinks station with at least a 250 metre drop onto the fairway, amazing. For most of us it was an experience we have never encountered, with double greens, hazards in some and the layout beyond imagination.

A tough test of golf today and this was reflected in the scores. Heikki Alanko won division 1 with 35 points, Andy Baber was second with 31 and Ron Miller beat Erik Donnestad 17/13 on the back nine for third.

The two French boys were in the headlines again with Jean Morel winning division 2 with 34 points while Yves Bosset came in second after beating Ian Plummer 18/14 on the back nine after they both returned 32 points.

The ladies winner was Pranee Bosset on 23 points.

Tony Thorne birdied the 4th for the only ‘2’ in division 1 while Kari Aarnio, Yves Bosset (2) and Ian Plummer split the pot in division 2.

Near pins went to Pranee Bosset (2), Heiki Alanko, Ron Miller, Marty Rock, Tony Thorne, Kari Aarnio, Yves Bosset, Tony Holehouse and Velli Laaksonnen.

After the first group arrived back at the clubhouse, 20 minutes later the heavens opened and after 45 minutes of torrential rain our rule is 60 minutes and the competition is cancelled but it eased off with 10 minutes to spare. The strange part of this was the last five groups came in and said it only rained for 10 minutes?

An experience not to be missed here - the majority said it was great to play probably once a year and we are now planning to play the Valley course for the first time in early June.


Ishihara, Kikuchi and Niisato in the prizes

IPGC golf from The Links

Sunday, March 11, Green Valley – Stableford

Twenty-two players teed-off at Green Valley this week, and fortunately, unlike the previous Sunday, we were able to start on time and with a good pace throughout only the final group failed to finish as a torrential downpour threatened to spoil the day.

Phoenix winner - Yukio Kikuchi.

The cut came at 0–13 and 14+, and with scoring proving quite difficult in the B flight, regular Sunday visitor Alec Hoare was the only player to shoot his handicap, finishing five points ahead of Maurizio Guidi, with Phil Savarese finishing a further point back in third despite only managing 16 holes.

The A flight was a much tighter affair, Peter Skinner finally showing a return to form and finishing third on 35 points, one behind Charlie Lapsey who was playing his penultimate round before returning to the ‘Emerald Isle’. Bragging rights however went to Jun Ishikara, playing his best golf so far this visit to score 38 points.

The ‘2’s pot went to Norman Cheetham & Jon Batty.

A Flight

1st Jun Ishihara (11) 38pts

2nd Charlie Lapsey (9) 36pts

3rd Peter Skinner (10) 35pts

B Flight

1st Alec Hoare (18) 36pts

2nd Maurizio Guidi (20) 31pts

3rd Phil Savarese (20) 30pts

Tuesday, March 13, Lotus Valley - Stableford

Twentry-six players, boosted by a minibus full of guests from the Fairways, made the always popular trip to Lotus Valley, although four almost failed to make it there after a slight accident on the treacherous highway. Fortunately no one was hurt and the damage minimal, so we arrived only slightly late to the usual almost empty car park.

As usual we gave the 24 gentlemen players the choice of tees, and 11 chose to play off the whites, joining the two ladies in what was then christened the “Ladies/Katoeys” flight.

In the Gents flight, Russell Exley and Mark Stanley, playing in the same four-ball, both tried to throw victory away on the 18th, with visits to the out of bounds and water respectively, Russell finally coming through by virtue of an 11 point back 6 against Mark’s 10 point haul, after both scored 36 in total and 16 on the back 9. Harry Vincenzi was a further point back in third.

In the “alternative” flight, Mike Korney just missed out on another podium finish, scoring 34 points but missing out on an 18–16 count back to Alex Millborrow. Noi Emmerson finished second on 35 points, with Piere Cere romping home on 39 points

The ‘2’s pot was shared by Shane Ruddle (2), Alex Millborrow, and Richard Hurley who (shamefully) chose to play off the whites, despite his 7 handicap.

Back at the Links, the presentation was somewhat curtailed, as the Fairways bus, carrying 5 of the prize winners, somehow managed to take a wrong turn around Chachoengsao, and was last spotted somewhere in the Chiang Mai region!

Gents Flight

1st Russell Exley (8) 36pts

2nd Mark Stanley (12) 36 pts

3rd Harry Vincenzi (15) 35 pts

Alternate Flight

1st Piere Cere (11) 39pts

2nd Noi Emmerson (20) 36pts

3rd Alex Millborrow (20) 34pts

Thursday, March 15, Phoenix - Stableford

Fourteen players meant we were back to one flight today, and with rain and threatening clouds before tee off it looked like the day might be over before it had begun. Fortunately the rain abated, the skies cleared and we were able to tee off on time.

Playing the Lake and Ocean courses, in perfect golfing conditions and with the tricky greens unusually receptive, the standard of scoring was generally high, with 4 players on 35 points just falling short of the prizes.

Joe Niisato, playing his first round with The Links this trip was third on 36 points, two behind the now in form Peter Skinner, who managed a commendable 38 points. The winner however was another Japanese visitor, Yukio Kikuchi who scored an excellent 39 points off his 20 handicap.

With the par 3’s playing short, the ‘2’s pot was shared by four players; Jon Batty, Warren Gallop, Al Keith and Joe Niisato.

1st Yukio Kikuchi (20) 39pts

2nd Peter Skinner (10) 38pts

3rd Joe Niisato (12) 36pts

Note: The Links depart from the hotel on Soi Buakhao at 9.30am on Tuesdays and Thursdays and for Rayong Green Valley every Sunday. Sign up at the hotel or contact Jon on 080 021 1034. A full schedule of courses can be found on the IPGC website www.ipgc.org


A golfer’s dream

Phoenix Tuesday/Friday Golf Group

Russell checks his ace at Khao Kheow. “Yep, still there!”

Despite all the blood, sweat and tears that accompany a golfer on his round, occasionally a poor day, beset by inaccurate shots and even rotten bad luck, is bolstered by the thoughts that maybe this round is the one when dreams will be realised. Such a day happened at Khao Kheow on Monday, 12th March when the Pattaya Golf Society took on the C and B nines in competition.

Aussie Russell Meiers was undergoing a very mediocre start and coming to the short par three eighth hole he could have been forgiven for assuming all hopes of success had deserted him. The pin was at 157 yards with a slight breeze coming from two o’ clock. He caught a five iron perfectly and caddies whooped as the ball landed all over the pin but the hole was hidden by the slope at the back of the green.

Russell Meiers (left) is all smiles as he accepts his new IPGC golf bag from Stephen Beard of IPGC.

On reaching the green a pessimistic Russell’s first reaction was to look for his ball through the back and when it was nowhere in sight a glance in the hole showed him what all golfers dream about. He had just recorded the second “ace” of his career.

Beginning many years ago left-handed, an injury had forced him the switch to an orthodox swing and he had already recorded a hole-in-one at his home course in his native Queensland. Wonderful stuff, but the day was to contain one more ironic twist. The organiser had been fretting for six holes with Russell’s four-ball never in sight on the tee or the course and was even mentally thumbing the Rule Book for advice. It emerged that the Starter had set the group off early before the official start time and thus the extenuating circumstances upheld the momentous events of the day.

The sweet memory will remain with Russell for the rest of his golf career and every time he takes out his new emblazoned IPGC golf bag, presented to every IPGC member after a competition hole in one, he will savour the day at Khao Kheow when his dreams came true for a second time!


A historic week for Travellers Rest golfers

PSC golf from Tropical Bert’s

Bernie and the other Tuesday winners pose for a photo.

Derek Brook

Tuesday, March 13, Green Valley – Stableford

This was the first course I played here, many years ago, and there have been many changes. All the old timers remember the original tee-off hole, downhill with lemon grass either side, from the old clubhouse. That lemon grass took just about every ball driven into it, and if was full with all sorts of creepy crawlies. That is a memory that has improved. But the old par 5, what is now the 2nd, was in my opinion a great hole. Still we have what we have and it is still a fine course.

The reception was busy on our arrival, it does support more than one course, but we were soon through and at the start where you can take one of two tees, and we always take the easier option to get all away to a good start.

The course was full, so after getting away late, we were held up at nearly every shot, especially on the front nine, with the back nine being a little more fluid. The course itself was in quite good condition, but as at most venues at this time of the year, they have seen heavy use and some wear is apparent. We also had the normal strong wind at this time of the year, still, wind-blown or not we got around.

Back at Bert’s the results were announced. In the A Flight we had a treat as Bob Watson shot a gross 72, or level par, and this gave him 39 points and the win. Cracking round! In second was Alan Sullivan with 38 points on count back over Terry Dutson.

In the B Flight we had something to celebrate as Bernie Cairns came in with a great 44 points for top spot. Bernie said later, “Today’s round put the clock back 25 years.” Bernie has had some health problems and it is nice to see him playing good golf. We then had count back for second place on 36 points and Dick Warberg took second and Virginia Dutson third.

Then for the rest of us it was curry and cold ‘uns! TTFN.

Near Pins: Mashi Kaneta, Virginia Dutson, Barry Elphick, Alan Sulliva

Long Putts: Mashi Kaneta, Terry Dutson


Kraft collects another win

PSC golf from the Three Sisters Bar

Tuesday winner Paul Kraft (left) with Jerry Hore.

More than a bit hazy this March 14 as many of the group teed off in a blinding fog. How the poor caddies were able to find the balls remains their secret. Groups called back to groups following so they would know it was safe to hit. This lasted until Hole 3 for the first four groups. When the fog cleared it turned into a beautiful day for golf. Humidity was low and the course was in good condition except for a couple of greens.

Returning to Caddy Shack II, the cards were tallied and once again Paul Kraft was the winner with a 38, followed by Jerry Hore and Richard Hall, both with 37. Jerry won on the count back. A total of 16 players showed up and basically the scores were lower than normal.

Herbie provided snacks only as food was going to be available at the Blue Moose Bar celebrating Bill Thompson’s 55th Birthday.


Masa holds the ‘Aces’ ... except one

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

On Monday, 12th March the Pattaya Golf Society visited Khao Kheow to play a stableford competition on the C and B nines, which were very soft as a result of recent rain. The club is also in the process of re-turfing some of the greens but marking the areas GUR allows some relief when putting.

The field was divided into two flights at fifteen and under and in the second flight Evan Millar was joined by Kevin McBride as the runners-up returned scores of 31 points. For Kevin it was his second visit to the podium in as many rounds and gives him something to boast about in the north-east when he lands back in the UK next week. The flight winner was new member Howard Jeglum and the Canadian marked his first IPGC competition with 34 points.

In the top flight the returning Haru Kato joined “Banjo” Bannister, Dave Moriarty and Mike Earley in joint second place on 33 points whilst the in-form Masa Takano took another win with his level par 36 point return.

The highlight of the day was a hole in one on C8 by Aussie Russell Meiers and this, the second ace of his career, gave him a great deal of pleasure as he duly rang the bell on his return to Rabbi’s in Soi Buakhao. This was the tenth ace recorded by the group in the past eight years and the eighth on golf geezer Mr Len’s watch. In nailing his tee shot Russell undid the good work done by Wichai Tananusorn, Howard Jeglum and Bill McGarvie earlier in the round as their birdie ‘2’s were eclipsed.

Masa had held almost all the aces at Khao Kheow but the big one went to Russell Meiers.

Triple for Takano

The Pattaya Golf Society made no apologies for visiting Greenwood for the second time in the month on Wednesday, 14th March. The course represents such excellent value for money compared with the “denizens” of the region who are just pricing themselves into oblivion by comparison.

An empty car park greeted the large field when they arrived and immediate progress was made on the A and B nines with no-one else in sight. Such was the pace of play that the lead group completed the full round in barely 3 hours 30 minutes!

With the field divided into two flights at fifteen and under the second flight saw “Rabbi” Cohen enter the frame in third place with 32 points, eating the dust of the second placed golfer, Russell Meiers and his 37 points. The flight winner was Brian Shaw who impressed with 39 points.

In the top flight Dave Moriarty, the group’s “Mr Consistency”, posted 35 points for third, one behind Joe Niisato on 36. The flight winner, Masa Takano, made it three in a row when he posted 39 points to follow the high standards he is setting for his game at present.

“Rocketman” Rick Schramm took the ‘2’s pot with the only birdie 2 of the day, on A6, and the Booby Bevy went to Wichai Tananusorn for his worst ever round in five years with the group, but he was all smiles later in Soi Buakhao threatening devastation on the field the next time out.

Greenwood did not disappoint and provided the warm hospitality for an excellent golfing day out with the PGS.

Banjo hits the high notes again

On Friday, 16th March the Pattaya Golf Society visited Mountain Shadow for a stableford competition on the testing course which was in top condition with good fairways and greens running at a quick pace. Though not everyone’s favourite the course demands accuracy and the field was divided into the usual two flights at fifteen and under. The strong breeze was to be a factor also as the day wore on and the fourteenth, the toughest par five in the province, into the wind was a real challenge.

In the second flight Mr Len again found third place his own with 30 points, having once again started slowly trying to find the pace of the greens. In second place was Greg Gawron with 31 points and the winner was Jim Bell with 35 points.

In the top flight Rick Schramm, Masa Takano, Warren Gallop and Peter Seward all shared second place on 32 points whilst it was left to Richard Bannister to impress again with 38 points for an emphatic win.

Larry Slattery and Benny Hansen shared the ‘2’s pot for their fine efforts on the fifteenth and the Booby Bevy went to the “star” of the previous three rounds, Masa Takano, for his demise from a twenty point front nine score to only twelve on the back nine, proving that one can nothing for granted in the noble game.

It is always good to play a challenging course and Mountain Shadow fitted the bill perfectly.


A pair of 40’s are the best of the week

IPGC golf from The Haven

Monday, March 12, Crystal Bay A & B - Stableford

CSS 73

Division 1 (0-13)

1st Fred Land (13) 38pts

2nd Warren Gallop (10) 37pts

3rd Alan Pilkington (9) 33pts

4th Takeshi Hakozaki (12) 33pts

5th Alan Griffiths (11) 33pts

Division 2 (14+)

1st Leif Lossius (30) 42pts

2nd Ole Stamnes (27) 36pts

3rd Maurizio Guidi (20) 35pts

4th Ron Kerslake (28) 34pts

5th David Bowles (20) 34pts

Another good turnout required the formation of two divisions for the visit to Crystal Bay where the course was found to be in quite good shape with the greens, although not up to the condition of the past, good enough to stand comparison with most in the area. It is a shame that the standard of the locker rooms cannot be improved as the lack of maintenance reflects badly on the overall perception of the club and the day’s enjoyment, especially amongst the tourists that are involved with the local groups.

Fred Land.

Division one was led home by Fred Land who has been steadily improving throughout this visit, which started way back in December since when his handicap has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride but with a definite downward trend and it is now almost two shots lower. The day’s two under handicap round was not the best, but it was still sufficiently tidy to beat off the challenges of a very good quality field in the division, albeit by a single point.

Warren Gallop, who has promised to play a lot more golf and teach rather less to enable him to get down to the handicap level that befits his talents, came close to making it a second place for Fred but just failed in the attempt. After a very quiet two over going out, he put the pedal down to cover the back nine in three under handicap which even included a blob.

Alan Pilkington was also ruing a terrible start that saw just a lowly total of thirteen going out but recovered sufficiently enough to grab third place ahead of Takeshi Hakozaki, who could not seem to make the home course advantage tell to his benefit but outscored Alan Griffiths in a count back by 14 to 12 n the last six after they had tied the nine at eighteen a piece.

Leif Lossius.

The second division was a runaway victory for Leif Lossius whose six under handicap round was his best ever in Thailand by five shots after several nearly round at handicap level and earned him a three shot reduction on his return from Norway next time.

Ole Stamnes played well to take second with a round that would normally have been in the running for the top prize except for Leif’s outstanding effort, with Maurizio Guidi another shot back in third.

Ro Kerslake took his first placing out of The Haven after he won a count back over David Bowles with a better 20 to 12 after David, having scorched out with 22 points, then subsided on the inward half.

There were no 2’s in either division.

Before presenting the prizes The Doc welcomed back Ron Kerslake and Warren Gallop and there was also a farewell for Torild and Leif Lossius.

Wednesday, March 14, Mountain Shadow - Rainbow Scramble

1st Yasuo Suzuki & Jun Ishihara (9) 50pts

2nd Shane Heavey & Ron Kerslake (18) 49pts

3rd Bruce Kusyk & Wilf Wellman (16) 48pts

4th Alwyne Burley & Don Everett (15) 47pts

5th Yukio Kikuchi & Kaneo Watanabe (16) 47pts

6th Warren Gallop & Allan Hanlon (9) 47pts

The now regular monthly Rainbow Scramble was held again over the always popular Mount Shadow course, although the criticisms leveled at its sister course Crystal Bay have a resonance here as well with the locker rooms in even worse shape every time we visit, but the saving grace is the course, which as ever provides an excellent golf challenge. This is especially true for the rainbow format that requires teams of two to play six tee shots from each of the Red, White and Blue tees, with each team member having to have at least seven of those tee shots after the handicaps have been calculated by adding the two players playing handicaps together and applying an allowance of 40% of that total.

Allan Hanlon.

Yasuo Suzuki at last reached the top step in a competition on this trip after he teamed up with fellow countryman, Jun Ishihara, to sweep to the front with an imperious fourteen under card that closed out with 26 points on the back nine as they finished four under gross.

Second place went to Shane Heavey and Ron Kerslake who used their handicap, which was the highest of the day, well and combined a measure of luck with some clever thinking to just end up a point short, although they would have still missed out in a count back.

Another inspired pairing with Bruce Kusyk saw his partner Wilf Wellman reach the dizzy heights for the first time after never actually seeing his handicap reduced in over six years of playing in Thailand, but it is fair to say that he is not here all the time, as they took third place with a very good card that matched the previous month’s winning total.

Yukio Kikuchi.

Fourth Place went to a count back, with Alwyne Burley and Don Everett just getting the edge over Yukio Kikuchi and Kaneo Watanabe after scoring a better 25 to 23 on the last nine, and thus consigning the latter pairing to fifth place.

Perhaps the saddest pair was that of Warren Gallop and Allan Hanlon, who having completely missed the fact that Alan needed to play the last tee from the blues to complete his seven tee shots and the last blue tee, played from the whites and had the score for that hole, three points, deducted from their total score, leaving them back in sixth instead of second after count back.

Due to the format there were no 2’s competitions.

Before the presentations there was a welcome for Phil Savarese and welcome backs for Kaneo Watanabe, Yukio Kikuchi, Pat Quinlivan, Tony Pieroni and Norman Cheetham.

Yasuo Suzuki & Jun Ishihara.

Friday, March 16, St. Andrews (White tees) – Stableford

CSS 73

Division 1 (0–12)

1st Allan Hanlon (12) 40pts

2nd Jason Cole (7) 38pts

3rd Bob Heath (12) 35pts

4th Alan Griffiths (11) 35pts

5th Phil Groves (8) 34pts

Division 2 (13+)

1st Yukio Kikuchi (20) 40pts

2nd Fred Land (13) 37pts

3rd John Teague (20) 34pts

4th Paul Hartley (19) 34pts

5th Ron Kerslake (28) 34pts

After the two previous outings in the week it was a pleasure to have some very comfortable, clean and spruce changing facilities to go along with a first class layout at the St. Andrews 2000 course, where the day’s competition had been moved to after the annual PSC Charity Classic had needed the Green Valley part of the facility, which had originally been booked. But the management had offered the course at the same rates as the original which was a very fair exchange.

Another big attendance just stayed at two divisions with the previously unlucky Allan Hanlon making up for missing out in the last competition, taking top place in the first division with a very good four under handicap round. Jason Cole, now a regular winner out of Soi 13, took second place while Bob Heath won a count back over Alan Griffiths by 20 to 15 for third as they traded back nine for front nine, and Phil Groves closed out the list in fifth another shot back.

The second division was headed by Yukio Kikuchi, also with a very nice four under return that pushed Fred Land down to second as he found himself unusually in the second tier with so many low handicappers turning out to take advantage of the good deal on offer.

John Teague made it a good day as he took third place after winning a count back over Paul Hartley with a better 22 to 19 and Paul in turn taking fourth after beating Ron Kerslake by 19 to 14.

After a few dry days both of the 2’s pools were cleaned out with Alan Hanlon, Michael Cutmore and Jason Cole sharing the first division and John Teague clearing the second division on his own.

Back at The Haven there were welcome backs for David Ross, Phil Cass and Paul Hartley.

Note: If you would like to play with The Haven group, you can contact mobile 082 219 0965 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 8.30 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on the days you wish to play. A schedule of courses to be played can be found on our web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com.


Linborg and Lavery link up to capture 16th PSC Charity Classic title

Charity Classic winners, Bob Linborg (2nd left) and Neil Lavery (3rd left) with PSC Golf Chairman Joe Mooneyham (left) and PSC President Tony Oakes (right).

There were 128 members playing in the annual PSC major fund raising Charity Classic Golf tournament at Green Valley on Friday, March 16. The format was a ‘2-person better ball’ Stableford with a prize to be won on each hole. The course was in its usual great shape and the weather was perfect for golf.

Golf Chairman Joe Mooneyham was joined by Tony Oakes, Bobby Clark, Bob Linborg, Nigel Cannon and Dene Mundy to welcome the players, handle registration, answer queries and hand out the Charity Classic shirts.

So at Noon off went the shotgun signaling the start of what was to be a memorable day. It was some 4พ hours later that the teams came back to hand their cards to Nigel, who calculated the results whilst the players had a welcoming shower followed by some well-earned refreshment and the buffet provided by Green Valley.

Runners-up, Geoff King and John Gall.

This year, as in the past, there was also a raffle and included in the many prizes were a R11 driver, air tickets to Chaing Mai, and a 1-year membership to Pleasant Valley. The final ticket was to receive 50% of the money collected for the raffle. Whilst the names for the technical prizes were being collated 3 lovely ladies from Green Valley sold raffle ticket to generous members. The presentation was a lengthy affair but thanks to Tony, Joe and Nigel it all went smoothly.

PSC MC Nigel Cannon opened the proceeding by introducing President Tony Oakes who congratulated Joe on a fine and well organised successful day. Golf Chairman Joe Mooneyham then took the opportunity to thank the many sponsors who had supported the day and also to all those who participated. Final appreciation went to the members of PSC’s Executive Committee for their support and help.

Teeing-off at beautiful Green Valley.

It was then back to Nigel for the formal announcement of the winners. The technical winner’s names can be found on the web-site and on the Club notice board.

In first place with a score of 49 Stableford points was the team of Bob Linborg and Neil Lavery. How these 2 came to play together is a story in itself! Bob withdrew 2 days earlier with a back problem; Neil was invited by Joe to play in his first PSC competition just a few days before. Owing to 2 no shows – Bob decided his back was ok so joined Neil.

Runners-up on 47 points were Geoff King and John Gall, followed in third place on count back, with 46 points by Walter Baechli and Barry Elphick, from Tony Chetland and Jens Jenison. Full results are on the web site and the Club notice board.

The lucky draw was next followed by the raffle – and the Neil story continued with him winning the R11 driver, golf balls and a 2-ball putter. Neil returned the putter to Joe and asked for it to be auctioned which thanks once again to the generosity of the members the final bid of 3,750 baht was accepted to big appreciation for Neil and the purchaser.

The last ticket of the night for 50% was drawn with many hopeful faces. The winner was one of our lady members who went home very happy indeed!

It was another successful event for PSC, and particularly for Golf Chairman Joe who leaves shortly for a month in the USA.

Hot work out on the fairways.

Brett Chan, Brad Gearie, Gary Emmett and Steve Ellison, representing The Golf Club, line up at the PSC Charity Classic.

PSC smiles from Joe, Mod and Ampan.


City slip back in the title race

Bangkok Casuals League Div. 1 & 2

Pattaya City FC take on Scans FC at Thai Polo Club, Saturday, March 17. (Photo/Pattaya City FC)

Paul Frain

Pattaya City played the Bangkok team the Scans last Saturday at Thai Polo Club and knew that nothing less than a win was needed to keep the pressure on the other teams at the top of the table.

After beating the Scans 4-1 earlier in the season City were confident of achieving the right result this time around and began the game in impressive fashion, with some slick passing moves leaving their opponents chasing shadows, however, despite carving out some good opportunities City were unable to make the breakthrough. A blockbuster shot by City captain Craig Banks brought a great save from the Scans keeper which was followed by a spectacular overhead kick from a defender to clear the ball off his own goal line.

A goal had to come from somewhere with all the pressure on the Scans defense, and when the lively Vorontsov broke through the visitors’ back line he was dumped on the floor and a penalty was given. Vorontsov decided to take the penalty himself but he pulled his shot wide of the upright to hand the visitors another let-off.

Despite this setback, City maintained their dominance of the game and eventually made the breakthrough their play deserved when a 35-yard howitzer of a shot sailed into the Scans net to make it 1-0, which remained the score at the break.

A big shock awaited City at the start of the second half however when, in their first attack, City’s Tshuma hit an unstoppable shot that struck the inside of the Scans post and was cleared downfield to be picked up by an opposing midfielder who squared the ball into the path of his center forward to equalize for the Scans to make it 1-1.

Both defenses upped the stakes by keeping the forwards quiet but then City burst through only to hit the bar. The Scans slowly made inroads through the City defense but just could not get a telling shot in and the match started to deteriorate, which led to one player being sent off from each side. The game ended in a 1-1 scoreline and was a very disappointing result for City.

City Res give the division leaders a fright

The Pattaya City Res team played table topping Titans for the second week in succession and looked forward to a good result after the previous week’s positive showing.

The defenders of both sides kept on top in the first half and chances were few and far between until City’s forward Brigstock-Barron broke through and with only the keeper to beat was brought down in the penalty box. Captain Gary Bowden converted the resulting spot kick, sending the keeper the wrong way to make it 1-0 to City.

Titans tried to get back on level terms but the City defense held firm and the visitors could only shoot high and wide. The Titans did equalize however straight after the interval, when the City defense failed to clear the ball properly.

City, who had lost their defending king pin Bowdon through injury, looked like wobbling a little, especially when the Titans were awarded a penalty kick of their own. However the opposing forward blasted the ball high over the bar and the City Res could breathe again.

Titans were still looking to take the lead and put the City defense under extreme pressure but it held firm until a good passing move led to goal which the City keeper had no chance to save. With five minutes to go City threw caution to the wind and nearly equalized when Brian Wilkins header was brilliantly saved by the Titans keeper but the visitors held on to finish 2-1 winners.


‘Dolphins’ stutter in Thai Premier League opener

PSC golf from the Three Sisters Bar

Pattaya United keeper Narit makes a save during the first half of the Thai Premier League match against Samut Songkhram FC at the Nongprue Stadium, Saturday, March 17.

Staff reporters

Pattaya United’s eagerly anticipated start to the 2012 Thai Premier League season began with more of a whimper than a bang as they were held to a lackluster goalless draw at home by Samut Songkhram FC last Saturday at the Nongprue Stadium in Pattaya.

Missing from the Dolphin’s line-up was star striker Ludovick Takam, who signed for rivals Chonburi FC in the close season, and his absence was keenly felt as United toiled for most of the match to create any clear cut openings in their opponents’ defence.

In front of a lively crowd, Samut Songkhram FC started the more composed of the two teams and the forward pairing of French striker Christian Nade and winger Napat Thamrongsuphakorn caused more than a few problems down United’s right flank. It was however the Dolphins who carved out the clearest chances in the first half; first OJ Obatola shot tamely at the keeper with the goal seemingly at his mercy, then Kritsana Taiwan was unlucky to see his glancing header rebound off the post and out to safety.

Dolphin fans try their best to gee-up the team.

The second half was for the most part a carbon copy of the first and United found it difficult to get any cohesion to their play and break down the well organized Songkhram defence and the game petered out into a nil-all draw. The Dolphin’s will be hoping to add far more zest to their attacking endevours for this forthcoming weekend’s home match against BEC Tero Sasana on Saturday.

Meanwhile, just down the coast last weekend Chonburi FC got their season off to a flying start with a comprehensive 4-0 defeat of Thai Port; the goals coming in the form of a brace from Kroekrit Taweekarn in the 6th and 45th minutes, added to further strikes by Geoffrey Doumeng (30) and Nuru Sriyankem (79).

In the Thai 1st Division last Saturday, PTT Rayong secured local bragging rights over close neighbours Thai Navy with a 2-1 home victory, while Sriracha went down 2-0 away to Suphanburi the following day.ai

Thai Premier League Standings March 18

Team P W D L +/- Pts
Chonburi 1 1 0 0 4 3
Buriram United 1 1 0 0 2 3
Bangkok Glass 1 1 0 0 2 3
Muang Thong United 1 1 0 0 1 3
Osotspa 1 1 0 0 1 3
BBCU 1 1 0 0 1 3
Army United 1 0 1 0 0 1
Chainat 1 0 1 0 0 1
Pattaya United 1 0 1 0 0 1
Police United 1 0 1 0 0 1
Samut Songkhram 1 0 1 0 0 1
TTM Chiangmai 1 0 1 0 0 1
BEC Tero Sasana 1 0 0 1 -1 0
TOT 1 0 0 1 -1 0
Esan United 1 0 0 1 -1 0
Chiangrai United 1 0 0 1 -2 0
Wuachon United 1 0 0 1 -2 0
Thai Port 1 0 0 1 -4 0
Results:  (Sat 17/03) Buriram United 3 v 1 Chiangrai United; Pattaya United 0 v 0 Samut Songkhram; Muang Thong United 2 v 1 BEC Tero Sasana; Chonburi 4 v 0 Thai Port; (Sun 18/03) Police United 0 v 0 TTM Chiangmai; Bangkok Glass 2 v 0 Wuachon United; Army United 1 v 1 Chainat; Osotspa 2 v 1 TOT; BBCU 1 v 0 Esan United.


Penultimate ball maximum dents Pattaya Cricket Club’s league hopes

Bangkok Casuals League Div. 1 & 2

Sunny square cuts to the boundary as Pattaya Cricket Club get off to a flying start in their innings.

With two balls remaining, eight wickets down and six runs required by Abidaya Birla CC for victory, Pattaya CC were confident of securing what would have been a remarkable win. But ABCC batsman Gilhan had other ideas as he swung through the line of a fast, full length delivery to send it soaring over long on and in doing so severely dent PCC’s T20 league title aspirations.

It was a game of huge momentum swings as PCC won their first toss of the season and elected to bat first on a swelteringly hot morning at Horseshoe Point. Sunny was again in fine form and celebrated his call up to the Thai national team as he punished anything wide with a fluent 26 ball 31 before he clipped one off his hip to the jubilant square leg fielder. Yasir, John G and Debdas all perished in pursuit of runs and PCC were 66 for 4 after 9 overs.

PCC captain Simon, 59 not out from 39 balls, became the cornerstone of the remainder of the innings as he maintained a healthy run rate with support from Hansie (14) and Usman (29) and PCC closed with a competitive 175 for 6. The pick of the ABCC bowlers was Shahab who finished with 2/23 from his 4 overs, having conceded 13 runs from his opening over.

In reply, despite two early wickets, Shahab and Faran maintained the required run rate and after 10 overs ABCC were comfortably placed at 91/2. The PCC bowling had been ragged at times and only after what can be described as the mother of all bollockings from the home side captain, that belied his normal calm exterior, did the bowlers start performing.

Mithu’s off spin and Usman’s left arm quick worked in tandem as the pressure slowly built. Faran (35) and Shahab (66) fell quickly in succession and wickets began to fall regularly as the batsmen were unsure as to how to reach their target.

To add to the tension an enormous tropical storm gathered menacingly that made the ground extremely dark, except when the lightning struck, and Sunny bowling at the speed of light had the last over to bowl with 9 runs needed. His first ball ripped out Mishra’s middle stump. The new batsman Arun scrambled a single and Gilhan pushed two runs from the third. A swing and a miss seemed to put PCC in the box seat but Gilhan’s final mighty blow ended a fantastic T20 game that left PCC regretting their wayward first half bowling efforts.

PCC can still qualify for the playoffs but they need to win their remaining two league games and hope other results go in their favour.

For more information on fixtures and events please refer the PCC website www. pattayacricketclub.com.


Pattaya promotes youth development with open Sports Clinic 2012

Sepak takraw will be one of the sports taught at the open Sports Clinic 2012.

Warunya Thongrod

The Education Office together with Pattaya City Hall hopes to keep Pattaya’s youth active and occupied during the upcoming holidays by encouraging them to take part in the Sports Clinic 2012 project.

Now in its fourth year, the Clinic aims to lay a foundation course for young people interested in sports to develop their talents to the next level. The three sports included in the program this year are swimming, sepak takraw and football.

Training for the swimming will be held by the instructors from the Pattaya Swimming Club while the takraw will be taught by experts from the Chonburi-Pattaya Club, one of the most famous in the Thailand League. The budding young football stars will have a real treat as they will receive hands on tuition from the coaching staff of the city’s Premier League outfit, Pattaya United Football Club.

Applications are not limited to only youths from Pattaya City but from everywhere as the Office of Education wants to encourage everyone to participate in sport and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

The project will be held from 1-10 April at Youth Center Stadium on Thepprasit Road in Pattaya.


 
HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]

Pattaya Sports Club Bowling League

It’s Francis’ week; Bob’s Medal

Freeman flays the field

Shennanigans Weekly Quiz

Hansen blitzes field to claim the ‘Mug’

Bartley returns to form

Trev does it again

Aihara - Ichiban

Fletcher & Stonebridge star at Burapha

Wangjuntr – a real golfing experience

Ishihara, Kikuchi and Niisato in the prizes

A golfer’s dream

Bernie puts the clock back 25 years

Kraft collects another win

Masa holds the ‘Aces’ ... except one

A pair of 40’s are the best of the week

Linborg and Lavery link up to capture 16th PSC Charity Classic title

City slip back in the title race

‘Dolphins’ stutter in Thai Premier League opener

Penultimate ball maximum dents Pattaya Cricket Club’s league hopes

Pattaya promotes youth development with open Sports Clinic 2012
 

PATTAPA SPORTS ROUND-UP

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