Norman hangs tough to win February award

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PSC Golf from The Bunker Boys at The Ranch

Monday, Feb. 23, Royal Lakeside – Stableford

Not a cloud in the sky when the Bunker Boys teed off at the beautiful Lakeside G.C.  What a treat it is to play at such a well-maintained track.  The groundskeepers here should be giving lessons to some of the other courses.  Special note on the perfect condition of the bunkers where it’s a shame to have to step into them, they look so pretty.

Tony Robbins, in the first group, ended up on his derriere after one swing of the club, apparently pulling a hamstring on his drive.  Being the trooper he is he managed to finish the 501 yard par-5 recording a bogey, but had to pack it in after just one hole.  The three remaining players trudged-on and grumbled a bit about the slow play of the group in front.

A-Flight

1st Gordon Melia (17) 36pts

2nd Gez Williams (13) 31pts

3rd Keith Norman (13) 31pts

B-Flight

1st Andy Brady (17) 35pts

2nd P.J. Redmond (27s) 34pts

3rd Tom McDowell (21) 34pts

Near Pins: Gordon Melia (2), Colin Greig, Gerry Cooney

Wednesday, Feb. 25, The Emerald – Medal

Twenty-two players made the trip to Ban Chang for an afternoon of golf at the Emerald G.C.  The fairways continue to remain an issue here but the layout is good and greens okay.  One can only hope that the dough garnered from the rise in green fees can be used to spruce up the fairways.

With only one round left on the calendar (after today) to decide February’s golfer of the month, all four contenders showed their medal (no pun intended), playing to their handicaps, or almost.  Colin posted a net 72 with the help of an eagle on No.9 to edge out Keith for the win.  Keith, Gordon, and Peter all took their respective positions of place, show, and fourth on count backs.  Keith’s birdie on No.18, resulting in a net 73, made him the front runner – by a smidgen – in the home stretch for golfer of the month award.

P.J. Redmond – reveling in his new lease on life off the silver tees – posted the best score of the day, taking B-flight with a net 69.  Tom McDowell was right on his heels with a net 70 and Frank Quinlan wasn’t far behind with a net 74.

A-Flight

1st Colin Greig (10) net 72

2nd Keith Norman (13) net 73

3rd Gordan Melia (17) net 73

4th Peter Kelly (11) net 73

B-Flight

1st P.J. Redmond (27s) net 69

2nd Tom McDowell (21) net 70

3rd Frank Quinlan (32) net 74

Near Pins: Tim Winder (2), Peter Kelly, Keith Norman

Friday, Feb. 27, Mountain Shadow – Stableford

The excitement was building as our crew headed to one of our favorite venues – Mountain Shadow – for the last game of the month.  The four contenders the Golfer of the Month trophy were all in their favorite Bunker Boys golf shirt and anxious to get started.  Unfortunately, it was all a bit anticlimactic as no one managed to improve their standing and Keith Norman held on for the win.  Way to go Keith!

Playing from the blue tees, with the quick undulating greens and water carries, Mountain Shadow is always a good test of golf; just ask our guys in B-flight where the best score was 30 points, the count back seeing John edge out Jack and Frank.

A-flight was a different story as Geoff Parker made a welcome return to the winner’s circle with a commendable 37 points.  Colin Greig took second with 35 points on a count back over Peter Kelly.  The remainder of the A-flight crew didn’t fare so well, but fun was had by all.

A-Flight

1st Geoff Parker (15) 37pts

2nd Colin Greig (10) 35pts

3rd Peter Kelly (11) 35pts

B-Flight

1st John Murphy (24) 30pts

2nd Jack Swan (23) 30pts

3rd Frank Quinlan (34) 30pts

Near Pins: Neil Hurst, Geoff Parker, Colin Greig, Ian Milne.

Note:  The Bunker Boys, a PSC affiliated golf society, plays out of The Ranch Bar on Pattaya 3rd road (in front of the fire station, and almost opposite the Buffalo Bar).  We play on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and meet at The Ranch at 9am for breakfast and transport.  Contact Buff on 0860465091 or 0806055663 for all enquiries or check website: www.bunkersociety.com.