Goodbye and farewell Mr. Livingston

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PSC golf from The Golf Club

We had a sad, but inevitable, telephone call last weekend that brought the news of the passing of our great friend, Richard Livingston.  Richard lived and breathed golf all his life, as a European Tour pro in the 70’s he played in 4 Open Championships (once with Gary Player) and probably gave more lessons to Pattaya golfers than anyone else.  

As we all know, Richard came from that fine generation of English Gentlemen golfers that is a vanishing breed of humility and gentle charm.  Thanks for the memories, Mr. Livingston.  We will raise our Sangsom & Coke to your passing, Sir, and may you Rest in Peace.

Monday, March 31, Green Valley (white tees) – Stableford

1st Paul Greenaway (12) 42pts

2nd Brian Green (15) 36pts

3rd Bill Eyles (24) 35pts

3rd Mark Wood (8) 35pts

5thAndy Makara (26) 33pts

Good ole Green Valley is our only regular fixture and every Monday the sign-up sheet is full of locals and tourists alike for this popular venue.  The new scorecard showed a revamped hole configuration that we hope will be the last change for awhile!  Most of the gang finished in the dry but the last few groups got a bit of a dousing, but in this heat that’s not such a bad thing!

Richard Livingston - R.I.P.Richard Livingston – R.I.P.

Our 8 tee times ended up being 9 and so the game was afoot.  There were the usual suspects of course – some guys have been playing this game and this course for so long they can go ‘round with their eyes closed!

Mark Wood has been in the frame on a very consistent basis on this trip out, and today was no exception.  Today he shared 3rd place with Wild Bill Eyles as both turned in cards of 35.  Tourist Brian Green (with his lovely Russian wife Angia) was also good for the podium, as he was the previous week, and 36 points were good enough for sole second.

Beating the huddled masses by a whopping 6 strokes, it was Paul Greenaway who added to his paycheck with a terrific round of 41 points to take the win.  Mr. “Take it Easy” did just that as he strolled off with all the handsome man vouchers on this Monday afternoon, well played mate!

Wednesday, April 2, Laem Chabang (white tees) – Stableford

1st Alan Rothwell (7) 41pts

2nd Peter Larsson (14) 36pts

3rd Mark Wood (8) 35pts

It has been yonks since we last set foot here.  Today we booked our 3:30 p.m. tee time to try our hand at the Night Golf facility that Laem Chabang offers.  We played the A course first, and by the 12th hole, the massive floodlights came on like another morning sunrise to light up the B track.  The verdict was generally a good one, but on certain shots the hard shadows were a bit difficult to deal with.  The great benefit of cooler weather was certainly a bonus, and the 1,950 baht all in price was also a sweetener.

Laem Chabang was Richard’s favourite golf course in Pattaya.Laem Chabang was Richard’s favourite golf course in Pattaya.

This is still a beautiful golf course in perfect condition.  I think that Laem Chabang has been overshadowed by the grander Siam complex of golf courses, but don’t forget that for years L.C. was ranked in the top 10 Asian courses by Golf Digest.

Today it was all Alan Rothwell, as our American friend had the best round of his trip out so far as he shot to 41 Stableford points with 2 blobs on the card!  Peter Larsson and Mark Wood were 2nd and 3rd respectively with respectable scores of 36 and 35 under the lights.

Friday, April 4, Khao Kheow (yellow tees) – Stableford

1st Masao Ishikawa (15) 35pts

2nd Jimmy Dundon (15) 34pts

3rd Stefan Berg (3) 31pts

This Pete Dye golf course is one of the best we have in Pattaya, and now is probably the best value as well.  The guys were raving about the course so it will be on our playlist throughout the summer months.  That said, it is one of the more difficult golf courses in the area, and the scores reflected that challenge.

The podium today was very international with Japan, America and Sweden all represented and we like to have that diversity in our comps.  Ishi is his nickname and Masao Ishikawa was the man on top today as 35 points were enough to beat out 18 golfers for first place.

New York’s Jimmy Dundon is playing good golf these days and today he was just one shot behind to take second spot.  Stefan Berg, playing off just a 3 handicap, stole the last podium slot with his 31 on the day.

Note:  The Golf Club is located on Soi LK Metro.  Just call 085 434 3377 or see our website www.golfclubpattaya .com and for more information mail us: pattaya4golf @gmail.com and see updates at www.facebook.com/golfclubpattaya… all handicaps welcome!