We say goodbye to our 2nd place finisher Stefan Berg who is winging his way back to Sweden, so see you next year mate. Mashi Kaneta had another smooth round to better his handicap by 2 strokes just to get beaten by Stefan on the count back, with Golf Manager Peter Hynard scooping 4th place.
Wednesday, April 11, Pattana (white tees) – Stableford
1st Michael Winterburn (6) 38pts
2nd Ken Aihara (5) 37pts
3rd Mike (11) 34pts
Bob (Nickatelly) Newell took the helm to run the golf today and returned to Pattana full of promise, only to find the sad reality of a comp without any lucky draw prize. Bob and this writer were invited to play here last month as part of the annual get-together of local golf societies by the generous management of Pattana. It was a fun day out on a great but mostly overlooked course.
Jimmy Brackett, Tony Duthie & Peter LeNoury at Rancho Charnvee, Khao Yai.
Everyone loved this course today, in spite of an hour wait for a nasty storm that passed through midway through the round. All cleared up and we were of once again to take on the challenge of Pattana. The course has now matured into a lovely landscape and features just enough undulations and motion in the fairways to make things interesting. General course maintenance has also been given priority and it shows.
Michael Winterburn at the bar.
Michael Winterburn is now a big fan of Pattana, shooting 38 points that gave him the coveted centre block on the podium with steady Ken Aihara on 37 and Mike finishing off the trio with a 34 off his 11 handicap.
One thing everyone commented on was how quick the trip back was … 37 minutes door-to-door so it really is a quality course within easy reach of central Pattaya. The clubhouse here is without question the finest in the area, and they even have a good menu with reasonable prices. We will be back soon. Even if we can’t nick a telly!
Friday, April 13, Rancho Charnvee (white tees) – Stableford
1st Brian Prudden (20) 38pts
2nd Ken Aihara (5) 38pts
3rd Jimmy Brackett (5) 36pts
Our Songkran Road Trip is underway and our first port-of-call was Rancho Charnvee. This is a beautiful little secret tucked away in the hills of Khao Yai, and just a 20 minute trip from Pak Chong. Someone here is living it large with his own private plane and airstrip, house in the middle of the course and his 40 foot boat in the lake next to the clubhouse. The owner of Rancho knows how to have fun with his money!
There are 7 golf courses in the immediate area of Pak Chong and this is one of our favorites. After the 3 hour and 15 minute drive here from Pattaya, we checked in into the Landmark Hotel and met our 1:00 tee time with ease. Being at an 800ft. elevation, it is a bit cooler than Pattaya.
Jimmy Brackett didn’t feel the heat and jumped on the course to shoot his handicap, a cool 36 points. Ken Aihara did 2 better and marked his card with 38 points as did Brian Prudden, so it was down to the count back once again. Ken had 18 on the back to Brian’s 19, so it was Mr. Prudden who claimed the first victory of the trip so far. That’s great shooting for 3 guys who had never played the course before.
We will stay here through next week so our report will feature 5 more courses in the area. Buy next week’s paper to read up on Khao Yai C.C., Mountain Creek, Panorama, Toscana Valley and Bonanza. These are all beautiful golf courses in the Khao Yai area, so see you next week!
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.golfclubpattaya.com and for more information mail us: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and see updates at www.facebook.com/golfclubpattaya.
