Outback golfers retain Thai Garden Cup

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PSC golf from The Outback Golf Bar

Monday, Oct. 22, Burapha A & B – Stableford

At the start of what was potentially going to be a very busy week at the Outback, 17 Outbackers travelled to Burapha today playing A & B off the blue tees.  It was nice to see that the course had dried out and we had some run on the ball after all the rain we have had in the past few months and carts were allowed on the fairway so no ‘lift, clean and place’.

Unfortunately the scores don’t reflect the condition of the course and maybe we should make life easier by playing off the white tees more often.  Thank you lads for all your help and cooperation, it is much appreciated.

Bob Lindborg got it all right today with an excellent 37pts to win the day from Chris Playforth on 35, with Paul Bourke taking third, four back with 31; after the top three, nobody else broke 30pts.

There was just one ‘2’ from Chris Playforth.

1st Bob Lindborg (20) 37pts

2nd Chris Playforth (13) 35pts

3rd Paul Bourke (9) 31pts

Monday, Oct. 22, Khao Kheow C & A – Stableford

With Suzi looking after 17 players at Burapha, Capt’ Steve away with a privileged concession to play Amata Springs, General Jack took another 31 players to Khao Kheow to play the C & A nines.  The condition of the course was satisfactory with a lot of ongoing work but it was much drier than expected and to be honest, many found the white tees playing rather short.

Rosco & John, the backbone of the Outback win against the German Swiss team on Friday. Rosco & John, the backbone of the Outback win against the German Swiss team on Friday.

As a result, there were some very good scores, not only from Bruce Campbell (41pts) and Kim Stokes (40pts) who took the top two places in Div B but also from Chris Sloan, who won Div A on 39.  Chris was a little disappointed having missed his birdie putt on his ninth hole (C9) for a level par front nine, from which he never really recovered, playing the back nine four over but nevertheless, it was a very good round of golf.

Welcome back to Greg Kennedy & Bruce Campbell, who have brought a couple of mates along to play at the Outback for the first time, namely Dave Hallard, Rory Connell, Wally Brown & Wayne Brooking and welcome back also to Colin Faraday, who has not been seen for some time.

There were two ‘2’s from Kev Waycott & Rory Connell

Div A (0-14)

1st Chris Sloan (8) 39pts

2nd Neville Meyers (11) 38pts

3rd Kevin Waycott (8) 37pts

4th Paul Greenaway (7) 36pts

Div B (15+)

1st Bruce Campbell (20) 41pts

2nd Kim Stokes (15) 40pts

3rd Greg Kennedy (20) 38pts

4th Sugar Ray Handford (18) 37pts

Tuesday, Oct. 23, Pattaya C.C. – Stableford

Thirteen players today on a well manicured nine holes.  Don’t know if it was for next week’s opening of the back nine, or for the Holiday – but long may it last.

The victorious Outback team with the Thai Garden Cup. The victorious Outback team with the Thai Garden Cup.

Welcome back to Eddie O’Neil and John Eyers here to get away from the weather in the UK and welcome also to some form for Noy & Kurt, both of whom scored 36pts for the day’s top scores, Noy getting the win on count back.

No ‘2’s today so we go to five places.

1st Noy Kamsantia (18) 36pts

2nd Kurt Eric Persson (30) 36pts

3rd Campbell Potts (17) 34pts

4th Dennis Persson (17) 34pts

5th David Earthrowl (21) 30pts

Tuesday, Oct. 23, Burapha A & B – Stableford

Today was Chulalongkorn Day, named after the much revered King, and as such was a Thai National Holiday; a fact that had escaped General Jack and there was no Sports Day at Laem Chabang, which had been moved to Wednesday.  So with a bit of last minute phoning around, our thanks go to Burapha for getting us out of a hole and accommodating our 28 players, at an excellent rate.

It was a lovely day for golf, great breeze and sunny skies.  The course had dried out and like Monday, you got run on the fairways for the first time in a long time; the greens were still receptive and great to putt on, all in all a joy to play.  Some players found the rough a little brutal but hey, that’s the rub of the green.

White tees, to give our holiday makers an easier time, with two divisions plus the ‘2’s and in Division 2 (15+) Brian King showed a return to form with a great round of 43 points from Wayne Waywood with 38 points, while third place went to Greg Kennedy with 37 points who beat Fidge Button on a count back.

Division 1 was won by Captain Steve with 38 points from Dave Hallard with 37 points, with third place going to Neville Meyers on 36 points and fourth place to Dave Garrood with 35, who beat Brendon Moylan on a count back.

There were five ‘2’s from Dave Hallard, Kim Stokes, Geoff Bracegirdle & Rory Connell got two.

Div A (0-14)

1st Steve Mann (9) 38pts

2nd Dave Hallard (12) 37pts

3rd Neville Meyers (11) 36pts

4th Dave Garrood (10) 35pts

Div B (15+)

1st Brian King (24) 43pts

2nd Wayne Waywood (15) 38pts

3rd Greg Kennedy (19) 37pts

4th Ian Button (15) 37pts

Wednesday, Oct. 24, Greenwood A & C – Stableford

A small select group of 8 golfers went to Greenwood for the first time in a long time, amid conflicting reports as to the condition the course was in.  Playing the best two loops, A & C, it was in a satisfactory state, although the greens were not as good as they have been in the past.

Barry McIntosh won the day with 35pts from Paul Bourke & Dennis Pelly.

There was just one ‘2’ from Paul Greenaway.

1st Barry McIntosh (18) 35pts

2nd Paul Bourke (9) 33pts

3rd Dennis Pelly (9) 33pts

Wednesday, Oct. 24, Siam Plantation A & B – Stableford

Thirty seven players showed for our normal Wednesday competition at Siam Plantation and it was great to see so many players after a couple of disappointing turnouts.  The day started out overcast and then became clear and sunny and we finished with black clouds and threatening thunderstorms but had little rain.

The course was in great condition and even though the greens had been scarified they still played flat and true.  Once again the starters got us all off on time and we completed our rounds in a comfortable four and half hours.  Siam is just a pleasure to play with great staff and caddies who make sure that you have a very enjoyable experience at a great golf course.

Three divisions, with four places in each plus the ‘2’s and the scores were very good considering the very stiff breeze that blew all day.

Division 3 was won by Mike Quill who showed a return to form after a early night with 38 points from Anton Rowbottam with 35 points, while third place went to Paul Kelly on 34 points and fourth was Don Everett with 33.

Division 2 was topped by Rosco Langoulant who loves this course, with 38 points from three players all on 35 points; Fidge Button  taking second, third went to Bob Maloney and fourth went to Dave Hallard also on 12.

Division 1 had three players all tied up on 36pts; on count back the win went to Kevin Waycott with David Garrood second and Stephen Mann third; in fourth place was Rory Connell with 35.

There were five ‘2’s to Paul Kelly, Anton Rowbottam, Neville Meyers on Tapioca 3, Kevin Waycott on Sugar Cane 3 and Stephen Mann on Sugar Cane 6.

Div A (0-11)

1st Kevin Waycott (10) 36pts

2nd Dave Garrod (10) 36pts

3rd Steve Mann (9) 36pts

Div B (12-15)

1st Rosco Langoulant (12) 38pts

2nd Ian Button (15) 35pts

3rd Bob Maloney (12) 35pts

Div C (16+)

1st Mike Quill (21) 38pts

2nd Aton Rowbottam (19) 35pts

3rd Paul Kelly (25) 34pts

PARASUB:  Friday, Oct. 26, Green Valley – Stableford

Ten days ago, it looked as though the Outback would not have enough players to play in the annual event against the German Swiss Golf Club, the Thai Garden Resort Cup.  This was to be the fifth year of the event but the rainbow multiplier format was falling on stony ground as was the tournament entry fee; a rapid rethink was required.

At a last minute emergency meeting the format was changed to a 2-man better-ball event (stableford) and the entry fee reduced to 200 baht.  In less than one week, the number of entries went from about 15 to 39, and the General couldn’t even pick himself to play.

So the event went ahead, with two teams of 15 per side (60 players) plus two 3-man teams, although we’re not quite sure where their scores ended up; and then behind that lot were two three balls, just out for a hit – so all in all a massive total of 72 players.

In the evening we all headed off to the Moon River Pub for unlimited booze and a great buffet, all for the price of 1,000 baht per player and I can tell you, that many were perceived to have got good value on the deal – a great night out.  The resident Philippine band adds to the night and the winning teams all received a 500 baht voucher, courtesy of the Thai Garden Resort.

Regrettably, the scorecards were a bit of a mess making it virtually impossible to fathom out the better-ball winners, so we eventually scrapped the idea and just settled for the matchplay result, which went once again to the Outback, winning 8 matches, halving 2 and losing 5.

For sure, next year’s format will be up for review, but the smart money would be on just a straightforward matchplay event, with no entry fee.  The entry fee from this year’s event amounted to 12,000 baht, 2,400 of which was spent on near pin prizes and a couple of extras; the balance has been banked and will be used for some special prizes next year.