Larry Gibb has a field day

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IPGC Golf from The Haven

Monday, Sept. 5, Bangpra – Stableford

CSS 73

1st Jon Batty (7) 36pts

2nd Mark Lang (5) 34pts

3rd Mike Dabanovich (11) 34pts

4th Pete Seil (6) 31pts

5th Masanori Takano (8) 30pts

6th Lyle Blaw (11) 29pts

Larry Gibb.
Larry Gibb.

The results showed how difficult the day had been even though the CSS for the day only moved out one to 73, as the top six finishers were all below eleven handicap.  The greens were back to their lightning fast downhill, which when added to the breaks from any position level or slightly above the hole made putting an exercise not for the faint hearted – and certainly not for those suffering from low confidence.

Jon Batty held his nerve best, and also left most of his approach shots into the greens below the hole to give himself the best possible chance of a result, to claim the win after returning a level 18 points for the two halves.

Mark Lang just won a count back for second over Mike Dabanovich with a better 18 to 17 after Mike had looked a possible winner until the fifteenth and then took just two points from the next three holes to drop out of contention.

Pete Seil slipped into fourth place following a difficult round when he saw just two 3-pointers on the card but he still managed to stay ahead of playing partner Masanori Takano by a single point.

Lyle Blaw also struggled on many of the holes but finished in sixth another shot adrift.

There were no 2s in the second division but Jon batty, with two, and Mike Dabanovich shared the first division pool.

Wednesday, Sept. 7, Pattana A & B (yellow tees) – Stableford

CSS 72

1st Shuichi Kodaka (18) 36pts

2nd Peter Skinner (10) 34pts

3rd Pat Quinlivan (17) 34pts

4th Steve Bickle (16) 31pts

5th John Carlin (17) 30pts

6th Markku Tynell (20) 30pts

Once again we were welcomed at the door by the guests relations staff who ensured that everyone was well looked after and ushered through check-in, down to the changing facilities which must surely be the most spacious and luxurious in the area and onto the practice green, conveniently positioned on the way to the first tee.  Then it is off over the immaculately presented course where the fairways and greens leave nothing to be desired, for another day of sheer pleasure, except for those missed putts here and there and the odd misdirected shot on the way.

Shuichi Kodaka.
Shuichi Kodaka.

Shuichi Kodaka did enough to take the win with a solid round that split evenly into eighteen a side, even having started the day with a nasty zero, but that was more than made up for with a marvelous fourth shot on the par five last hole from 70 yards that hit the stick at exactly the right angle and dropped straight down into the hole for a four-pointer.  Marvelous for Shuichi but not so wonderful for playing partner Peter Skinner who was already on the green for three and just one point behind at that point.  Shuichi shot slammed the door on Peter’s ambitions for the win and he had to settle for second place.

Pat Quinlivan took third after losing a count back to Peter after he had started out with an excellent 20 points from the front nine but slipped to just 14 on the back, as against Peter’s 17.

Steve Bickle had his best day of the trip to take fourth place but still a long way from his usual form, no doubt slightly affected by the late evening strolls around the area of The Haven.

John Carlin won a count back for fifth over Markku Tynell after returning a better 15 to 13 result on the B course.

Once again there were no 2s in the second division but Peter Skinner added to his holiday fund with the sole one in the first division.

Friday, Sept. 9, Pattaya C.C. – Stableford

CSS 71

1st Larry Gibb (20) 41pts

2nd Peter Skinner (10) 38pts

3rd Terry Hodgkiss (25) 36pts

4th Markku Tynell (20) 35pts

5th Mark Armstrong (24) 35pts

6th John Carlin (17) 29pts

The best of the week was reserved for the last outing, with Larry Gibb having his best round ever in Pattaya and returning a card that included six 3-pointers, a 4-pointer and no zeros.  It enabled him to easily take the top step of the podium and also earn him his lowest ever handicap rating, which was good cause for celebration at the post presentation social.

Jon Batty.
Jon Batty.

Peter Skinner took yet another second place with a very good two under card and could have run the winner closer but for a couple of slip-ups on the front nine from which he garnered just 15 points – but a sparkling 23 over the inward nine sealed his position.

Terry Hodgkiss also had a good round, breaking a long run of underperformances, to take third place another two shots behind and one ahead of a count back for fourth and fifth places.

That count back was won by Markku Tynell after he scored 18 and left Mark Armstrong in fifth as he could must only 17 after a solid start to his day.  That left John Carlin in sixth some way adrift but well in front of the rest of the hopefuls.

There were no 2s in either of the divisions.

Prior to the presentations there were welcome back for John Tallett and Bryan Brown together with a farewell for Peter Skinner who was off on his world tour holiday with his pockets jingling.

Note: If you would like to play with The Haven group, you can contact 094 465 5002 or call in to The Haven, 315/13 Soi Lengkee, situated between Third Road and Soi Buakhao.  All transportation to the course is arranged and you do not need to sign up prior to the day, but you should be there by 8.15 on a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on the days that you wish to play.  A schedule of courses to be played throughout the year can be found on the web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com.