IPGC Golf from The Haven
Monday, May 4, Mt. Shadow – Stableford
CSS 72
1st Paul Taylor (19) 38pts
2nd Mike Dabanovich (12) 38pts
3rd Benny Hansen (25) 33pts
4th Peter Skinner (12) 32pts
5th Darryl Kellett (14) 31pts
An extra Bank Holiday day, when most courses were charging extra on top of the standard green fee, found the management at Mountain Shadow really switched on to the local market requirements, as they provided golf at the same price as a normal day, and that saw a good throughput of golfers on the day. A lesson already learned by some other courses in the area and one that may hopefully be picked up by a few more in the not too distant future.
(L-R) Paul Taylor, Darryl Kellett and Mike Dabanovich.
Mountain Shadow always provides a tough challenge to all levels of golfer. Having been designed for players with handicaps of 15 and below and with its narrow fairways and many undulating greens, the winner can be usually found at level par or worse. But on this occasion there were two players at two under handicap and needing to go to a count back. With a count back of 20 one can usually be sure of winning but not this time as Paul Taylor hammered 23 points out of the nine, scoring sixteen of them on the middle five holes, to take the top step of the podium.
That left Mike Dabanovich in second place with a count back of twenty after he had started the back nine three ahead but not quite able to match Paul’s fireworks over the closing holes.
Benny Hansen took third place after he had started far too slowly but then had a very good last eight holes which included, what was for him, a rare four-pointer.
Peter Skinner was fourth just one shot further back and Darryl Kellett got another mention on the podium in fifth.
There were no 2’s in the first division but Paul Taylor added to his day’s takings with the lone one in the second division which cleaned out the multi-rollover pot.
Wednesday, May 6, Khao Kheow B & C – Stableford
Yellow tees
CSS 74
1st Mike Dabanovich (12) 34pts
2nd Peter Coyne (12) 33pts
3rd Jens Gunnarsson (13) 28pts
4th Lyle Blaw (10) 27pts
5th Jamie King (17) 26pts
The regular bi-weekly trips to Khao Kheow are always well attended, even though the scoring is usually not so good, but the general condition of the course and its challenging set up is well appreciated by all levels of player. On this occasion the greens, whilst being flat and true, were quite slow in comparison to their usual speed and this caused many a three-putt to thwart the hopefuls’ plans of beating the course for a change.
Mike Dabanovich made up for his disappointment in his previous outing, taking the top honours as he won with a two over return that was a real curate’s egg of a round, including as it did more zero and one-pointers than three-pointers, and even had a four-pointer in its makeup.
Peter Coyne again showed well in second place after starting brightly but he slipped in one or two too many zeros to get on terms with the winner.
Jens Gunnarsson took third a long way back as he joined the majority of the field in struggling with the pin placements on the greens, as well as the pace.
Lyle Blaw took fourth one shot behind Jens and Jamie King placed fifth.
There were no 2’s in the second division but Steve Bickle had a happy return when he slipped in the only one in the first division to sweep up the multi-rollover pool.
Friday, May 8, The Emerald – Stableford
CSS 75 NC
1st Darryl Kellett (14) 31pts
2nd Jamie King (17) 28pts
3rd Jim Underwood (12) 28pts
4th Peter Skinner (12) 27pts
5th Mike Hill (19) 27pts
The group do not play The Emerald as often as in the past as many members do not like to condition of the fairways, even allowing that “lift and place within a club length” is always the local rule to attempt to offset the type of grass found and the general condition.
This lack of experience goes some way to explaining why all players found it very difficult to put together a meaningful round and score anywhere near their potential. But also the greens were not at their best, with bumpy surfaces and some very odd breaks making putting a bit of a lottery on the day.
Darryl Kellett at last came good, at least in considering the step level of the podium, as he took his first win during this trip even though it will not be one of the rounds that will be fondly remembered by him.
Jamie King won a count back for second with a better 15 to 13 to leave Jim Underwood ruing the missed opportunity to glean something on an otherwise uninspiring day as he finished with a couple of blobs when two handicap scores would have even won the whole day.
Peter Skinner took his second podium placing of the week in fourth after he had won a count back over Mike Hill in fifth with a better 13 to 12, closing out the last five holes with seven points to Mike’s four.
With the course playing at about its maximum difficulty level it was no surprise to find there were no 2’s in either division.
Note: If you would like to play with The Haven group, you can contact 038 710 988 or call in to The Haven Hotel, 185 Soi 13, situated 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 8.15 on a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on the days that you wish to play. If you would like to leave your golf clubs at The Haven, there are usually lockers available at a nominal charge. A schedule of courses to be played can be found on our web site at www. thehaven-hotel.com.
