Crumpton Oaks Cider Monday Pool League

Results & Standings March 10 (week 6)

Division 1
Team	P	W	L	+/-	BP	Pts.
Shoot Pool	6	5	1	18	0	15
The Butchers Arms	5	4	1	13	0	12
Legends Pool	6	4	2	12	0	12
Links Bar	5	3	2	7	0	9
Sweethearts Bar	6	3	3	-1	0	9
Pook’s Bar	6	3	3	-3	0	9
Offshore Bar	6	2	4	-6	0	6
Nicky’s Bar	5	2	3	-6	0	6
Shoot Pool ‘B’	6	2	4	-14	0	6
Acorn Pub	5	0	5	-20	0	0
Results:  Acorn Pub 9 v 10 Shoot Pool, Links Bar 4 v 10 Offshore Bar, Pook’s Bar 5 v 10 Legends Pool, Sweethearts Bar 10 v 7 Shoot Pool ‘B’, The Butchers Arms P-P Nicky’s Bar
Division 2
Team	P	W	L	+/-	BP	Pts.
The Caddyshack	6	6	0	28	0	18
Cheers Bar	6	6	0	26	0	18
Rest Stop	4	3	1	10	0	9
Classroom	6	3	3	-7	0	9
The Ranch	5	3	2	-12	0	9
Anzac Sports Bar	6	2	4	-11	1	7
i-Rovers	4	2	2	-11	0	6
Buffalo Jacks	6	1	5	-5	0	3
Dean’s Bar	5	1	4	-18	0	3
No Team	6	0	6	0	0	0
Results:  ANZAC Sports Bar 3 v 10 Rest Stop, Cheers Bar 10 v 3 i-Rovers, Classroom 10 v 8 Dean’s Bar, The Caddyshack H-W No Team, The Ranch H-W Buffalo Jacks

Friday 501 Darts League

Results & Standings March 14

Team	P	W	L	F	A	T/G	Pts.
Dang’s	20	16	4	110	62	15	32
Chill Bar	20	15	5	110	62	12	30
Legends Sports Bar	18	11	7	99	63	11	22
Jantha Coffee House	18	9	9	88	74	9	18
Load Out Bar	20	7	13	83	97	7	14
Double Top Bar	20	0	20	24	156	4	0
Results:  Chill Bar (4-1) (5-0) v Load Out Bar, Double Top Bar (4-1) (5-0) v Dang’s

Buffalo Jack’s Friday Darts League

Results & Standings March 14 (week 16)

Team	P	W	L	F	A	B/L	Pts.
The Rising Sun	16	16	0	132	50	8	32
Londoner	16	11	5	124	81	10	22
Yates’ Bar	16	11	5	104	68	10	22
i-Rovers	16	11	5	86	70	9	22
Mee Chew Bar	16	10	6	105	77	11	20
The Nervous Wreck	16	10	6	92	74	7	20
Cheers Bar	16	7	9	72	96	8	14
Captain Morgan’s	16	6	10	70	96	8	12
Buffalo Jack’s	16	6	10	66	106	4	12
The Clinic	16	3	13	65	99	8	6
Palmer’s Bar	16	3	13	48	110	3	6
W. Tankies	16	2	14	66	103	9	4
Results:  Captain Morgan’s (6-0) (4-1) v W. Tankies, Cheers Bar (4-1) (5-0) v Palmer’s Bar, Londoner (7-0) (3-1) v i-Rovers, Mee Chew Bar (3-1) (4-0) v The Nervous Wreck, The Clinic (3-0) (5-1) v Yates’ Bar, The Rising Sun (9-0) (0-0) v Buffalo Jack’s

Asia Back Packer’s Monday Darts Super League

Double Top Sports Bar Tuesday Darts League

Results & Standings March 4 (week 8)

Team	P	W	L	F	A	T/G	Pts.
Lucky Time	8	8	0	51	17	7	16
Chill Bar	8	6	2	53	19	7	12
Sidahla	8	6	2	39	29	3	12
Load Out	8	5	3	44	24	4	10
Double Dutch	8	3	5	24	40	5	6
Cockerooney’s	8	3	5	34	38	4	6
Double Top	8	1	7	18	54	2	2
BB Bar	8	0	8	5	47	0	0
Results:  BB Bar L v W Double Dutch, Chill Bar (7-1) (2-0) v Double Top, Cockerooney’s (2-0) (7-1) v Lucky Time, Sidahla (6-1) (3-0) v Load Out

Heddle takes the medal as Stonebridge sinks an ‘Ace’

PSC golf from The Outback Golf Bar

Pete Stonebridge (left) celebrates his hole in one with monthly medal winner Ian Heddle (center) and Geoff Hirst of DeVere.

Friday, March 7, Green Valley – Monthly Medal
It was a bit of a bumper day here at Green Valley for the Outback, with some 46 players in the DeVere sponsored monthly medal and another 37 playing at St Andrews, the final round of the APT tour boys and also the still practising, TEAC tour.
I can never give enough praise about the condition of this course and true to its form it played as well as ever and the greens seemed to be running faster than usual. Maybe that was slightly reflected in the scores as nobody tore the course apart, although saying that, medal is never an easy format of the game.
The winner was not only the low marker in the field but also the only player to play under handicap, as Ian Heddle (h’cap 3) picked up the trophy and the low gross medal. Just one shot back was another would-be Hua Hin contender, Greg Hill, with a net 72 and then there were six players, all sharing third place, on a one over 73. They included Jim Brackett, Andy Makara, Bob Mattes, Gary Blackburne, Steve Mann & Bruce Milner.

APT Aussie Amateur Players Tour golfers relax after another round in Pattaya.

Our thanks to Greg Hirst of DeVere, the day’s sponsor and who also played today which was great to see and hopefully we will see him back next month, but Greg plays regularly here on Saturdays with the Outback for all you working people if you fancy a hit at the weekend.
As for the ‘2’s, well there were lots of them but Pete Stonebridge got a hole in one on the ninth and scooped the entire pot.
1st Ian Heddle (3) net 71
2nd Greg Hill (18) net 72
T3rd Jim Brackett (9) net 73
T3rd Andy Makara (27) net 73
T3rd Bob Mattes (21) net 73
T3rd Gary Blackburne (10) net 73
T3rd Stephen Mann (10) net 73
T3rd Bruce Milner (15) net 73
Monday, March 10, Burapha C & D – Stableford
Thirty three Outbackers played Burapha C and D on a hot humid day. The course was in great condition which was reflected in comparatively good scores, played at a very comfortable pace. At the same time the 38 TEAC players started their four day tournament on A & B.
Div C was a tight finish with three players all having 37pts, Trevor Agnew beating Paul Kruining and Bob Lindborg on count back. Geoff Harrison recorded the day’s best score of 40pts to win Div B by five from Jimmy Little and Bruce Milner, both with 35. Jim Brackett continued his rich vein of form with 39 pts to win the top division from John Cunningham (34) and visitor, Rob Guthrie, three back on 31.
There were four ‘2’s; all on C8, from Stephen Mann, Rod Crosswell, David Trantham-Fryer & Paul Kruining.
Div A (0-12)
1st Jim Brackett (9) 39pts
2nd John Cunningham (7) 34pts
3rd Rob Guthrie (10) 31pts
Div B (13-20)
1st Geoff Harrison (15) 40pts
2nd Jimmy Little (18) 35pts
3rd Bruce Milner (15) 35pts
Div C (21+)
1st Trevor Agnew (36) 37pts
2nd Paul Kruining (30) 37pts
3rd Bob Lindborg (21) 37pts
Wednesday, March 12, Bangpra - Stableford
We didn’t get a report in from Bangpra but we did get some no-shows, which is never good for golf.
So we ended up with 22 players, having begged for an extra group that we didn’t need – and it takes about half an hour of phone calls to do that and all that can be said the next day is sorry!
Tony McDonough forwarded his claim to have a shout in Hua Hin with a very fine 37pts, which is a good score round here, with Kim Stokes back in second on 33.
Div B went to Chu Srinual with 34pts, who has played with us before but welcome back. Chu was one clear of friend Reijo on 33 with that man Lawton back in third on 32.
There was only one ‘2’ from John Lawton on the 12th.
Div A (0-17)
1st Tony McDonough (16) 37pts
2nd Kim Stokes (16) 33pts
3rd Geoff Harrison (13) 32pts
Div B (18+)
1st Chu Srinual (29) 34pts
2nd Reijo Heiskanen (21) 33pts
3rd John Lawton (18) 32pts
Friday, March 14, Green Valley - Stableford
Summer is here yet again with the temperature warming to about 34 degrees and the humidity rising, making it hot and sticky with very little wind. Today we had 32 regular Outbackers playing plus 37 of the TEAC boys, playing their final round, so it was a busy field.
The course is drying out now and it seemed that if you went into the rough you got more run on the ball than on the fairway (sounds Irish I know). The greens also played quicker and there were many players out there missing some easy putts, including Suzi – even though she scored 43pts! She still easily wrapped up Div C by three from the joint 2013 Outback golfer of the year, Andy Makara, who had 40 and both were a long way clear of the mere mortal, David Davies on 33.
John Lawton squeaked into first place in Div B with 36pts and second place went to Kim Stokes on 35 with Jim Bell taking third.
Bob Finley keeps on churning out the scores, this time another 41, to take the premier Div by five from Chris Playforth (36) and Paul Greenaway (34).
There were only two ‘2’s from John Lawton (4th) and Geoff Stimpson (12th).
Div A (0-12)
1st Bob Finley (12) 41pts
2nd Chris Playforth (8) 36pts
3rd Paul Greenaway (12) 34pts
Div B (13-20)
1st John Lawton (18) 36pts
2nd Kim Stokes (16) 35pts
3rd Jim Bell (20) 34pts
Div C (21+)
1st Suzi Lawton (29) 43pts
2nd Andy Makara (26) 40pts
3rd David Davies (25) 33pts
Note: The Outback Golf Bar is situated about 6km from Sukhumvit Road along Soi Siam Country. Call Jack on 081 578 1956.

Pattaya Sports Club Bowling League

Trophy winners: Joe, Aht, Nok, Antero, Somrit, Bill, Ooy & David.

Café Kronborg held on to win the first place trophies by one half a point. They split their match with Tea Party who took the second place trophies. Ooy Pluemkamon led Kronborg with a 528 series and Aht Johansson was best for Tea Party with a 505.
Third place trophies go to Brother D who bowled very well as they took all four points from an under-manned Canada team. David Shaw led Brother D with a 225 game and 571 series and Antero Ronkainen had a 505.
La Montgomery bowled a 529 series to lead Indiana to a three point win over Green Tree. Green Tree ended the league in fourth place and Indiana ended in sixth.
Tue Pettae bowled a 200 game and 562 series for VFW Post 9876 but her team still lost three points to Bavaria.
Tukata Thompson had a 506 series for Bavaria.
This week will be a fun bowling week and next week names will be drawn for the next league.
Any bowlers who would like to join the next league, which will start in a few weeks time, should come to PS Bowl above Tops on central and second road at 1330 on 21 March or call La Montgomery, 081-838-4225.

Final Results & Standings March 14 (week 30)
Pos.	Team	Score	Standings
1	Café Kronborg	2-2	68.0 - 52.0
2	Tea Party	2-2	67.5 - 52.5
3	Brother D	4 - 0	66.0 - 54.0
4	Green Tree	1-3	59.5 - 60.5
5	Canada	0 - 4	59.0 - 61.0
6	Indiana	3-1	57.5 - 62.5
7	VFW Post 9876	1-1	55.0 - 65.0
8	Bavaria	3-1	47.5 - 72.5

West wins by two at Greenwood

PSC golf from Tropical Bert’s

Mark West & Jim Ferris.

Derek Brook
Tuesday, March 11, Greenwood – Stableford
We were to play the B & C Nines at Greenwood today and having played them many times before, it was, as usual, another great day out. The car park was fairly quiet so as we stood on the first tee I was sure we would get around fast, so sent the three-balls off first – and they got around very fast.
Suffice to say the course is still good value and worth a visit. One good thing I found on this round is that on a couple of par 3’s they even moved the hole closer to my ball and even allowed one putt to drop in to give me a birdie. Nice people!
Back at Bert’s it was soon time for the results and the A Flight, 0 to 19, had the better scores. The winner with 38 points was Mark West ahead of a trio on 36 points that saw Tom Herrington actually win a count back for a change and come second. In third was Mashi Kaneta, with Andre Van Dyk just missing out.

Andre Van Dyk & Doug Maiko with one of Bert’s finest.

In the B Flight the winner was Jim Ferris with 38 points ahead of the scribe, Derek Brook, in second with 32, and Jack Robertson, suitably refreshed, in third with 31.
Near Pins: Derek Brook (2), Andre Van Dyk, Bob Britton
Friday, March 14, Pleasant Valley - Stablford
This course is a pleasant stroll at most times, however when it rains a little it can become quite difficult. On this day we decided to play from the Blue Tees that sometimes make the course a little exciting when you are hitting over water, especially on some of the par 3’s, however with plenty of spare balls in the bag you can usually get over.
On this day playing off all the blues we took on all the water carries, and it was not too bad actually, as said, with a clean strike most players can clear more than they think, or maybe not. Amazing how the same distance over the water as over land, the ball does not go as far.
There were some very wet areas around the course but there was grass under the ball on the fairways and the greens were consistent. All in all, the course was in good condition and we managed to get around fairly well in about 4 hours 30 minutes.
We were back at Bert’s early and so could get on with the results. The winner on the day was Andre Van Dyk with 38 points on count back over Doug Maiko in second. In third was Takeshi Hakozaki with 36 points ahead of Tom Herrington in fourth with 35. We then had a three-way count back for 5th on 30 points that saw Dick Warberg in fifth and Brian Gabe and Paolo De Grandis just missing out. T.T.F.N.
Near Pins: Henry O’Brien, Doug Maiko, Graham Buckingham, Tom Herrington

The never ending story

PSC golf from Lewiinski’s Golf Society

Medal winner Freddy Starbeck poses with Gerry Roche and Colin Davis.

Sunday, March 9, Green Valley - Monthly Medal
A Flight
1st Freddy Starbeck (13) net 69
2nd Jim Brackett (9) net 70
3rd Kevin McEntee (6) net 71
B Flight
1st Terry Mangan (16) net 72
2nd Vic Hester (16) net 72
3rd Peter Henshaw (18) net 74
C Flight
1st Gerry Roche (23) net 71
2nd Jim Bell (20) net 72
3rd Ulrik Sinding (31) net 73
What’s going on? He’s done it again! Freddy Starbeck, who earlier this month won the Lewiinski’s four-day championship as well as winning twice more in the same week, has now added the monthly medal for March 2014 to his list of honours.
With a best on the day net 69, Freddy picked up the crystal cut glassware, a bottle of Jameson’s Irish whiskey, gets his name etched on the Lewiinski’s wall of shame and as our readers and players will know, he also receives an invite to the gold medal slated for January2015. More importantly Freddy is trending to play better golf. Well hey, he better because his new handicap will require it.
Freddy was one clear of A Flight mate ‘Big’ Jim Brackett while Kevin McEntee has finally realized there’s wisdom in the saying “early to bed, early to rise makes a fellow wealthy and wise”, but it needed the aid of a count back verdict for him to lift the bronze as Ian Pickles was left high and dry.
Terry ‘pork chop’ Mangan, who has yet to hit constant stride this visit, sent out seismic signs that an explosion may be in the offing as his solid even par round took the plaudits in B Flight. Vic ‘the inflictor’ Hester was but a stroke adrift for the silver. Peter ‘the silver surfer’ Henshaw filled the last podium place as he edged fellow Irishman Laurie McBride on count back, both returning net 74’s. Laurie had the last laugh though as he had a third share of the ‘2’s pot.
Irishman Gerry ‘the Irish rover’ Roche held the banner in C Flight with a net 71 while Jim ‘A K 47’ Bell lifted the silver a shot in adrift and Ulrik Sinding rounded out the flight a further shot back.
Ed Wyckoff and John Heaney shared the 2’s pot with Laurie.
Monday, March 10, Khao Kheow - Stableford
A Flight
1st Freddy Starbeck (13) 36pts
2nd Kevin McEntee (6) 35pts
3rd JP Maffray (11) 35pts
B Flight
1st Maurice Roberts (14) 35pts
2nd Tom Gorey (17) 32pts
3rd Matt Cronin (15) 31pts
C Flight
1st Martin Allard (23) 33pts
2nd Tin Shaw (29) 32pts
3rd Ulrik Sinding 9310 32pts
In the span of 24 hours Freddy Starbeck went from a hard working guy who deserves everything that comes his way, to a no good @#%$&# son of a @^%$#@ etc. Ah God bless Pattaya!
Freddy might find a one-way ticket to any destination of his coming his way soon. His even par round was the top score in A Flight and the day as he made it two wins in two days. He has just about won the player of the month already. Kevin ‘you know who’ from Co. Offaly lifted the silver a stroke back with a count back conquest over old pal JP Maffray.
Maurice Roberts has shown well whenever he plays with Lewiinski’s and did so again today as his 35 points was the top return in B Flight. Tom Gorey (32pts) and Matt Cronin (31pts) filled the two remaining spots.
C Flight was hotly contested as a single point separated Martin Allard (32pts) and three players log-jammed on 31. Tim Shaw grabbed the silver as Ulrik Sinding made it two pay window visits in as many days, leaving Irishman Tom Gorey at sea level and pot less.
Maurice Roberts, Matt Cronin and Mick Coghlan shared the 2’s pot.
Tuesday, March 11, Bangpra - Stableford
A Flight
1st Terry Mangan (6) 37pts
2nd Laurie McBride (32) 32pts
3rd Mark Bonner (15) 31pts
B Flight
1st Mike Jeffreys (18) 35pts
2nd Nick Shaw (20) 34pts
3rd Peter Henshaw (18) 33pts
Co. Wicklow man Terry ‘pork chop’ Mangan bought home the bacon at the always tough Bangpra today. Terry was also the only player to better par with his man of the match 37 points and was five clear of the consistent Laurie McBride in second. Mark Bonner the London cab driver took the long way round the course as he received the bronze with 31 points. “Hey, where is Freddy boy?”
Mike ‘the Welsh wizard’ Jefferys up held the honour in B Flight with the second best score of the day - 35 points. Mike was one clear of The Queen’s representative Nick Shaw and a further stroke clear of Ireland’s Peter ‘the silver surfer’ Henshaw.
Paul Murphy and Mike Jefferys split the 2’s pot.
Wednesday, March 12, Green Valley - Stableford
A Flight
1st Laurie McBride (15) 39pts
2nd Ed Wyckoff (11) 35pts
3rd JP Maffray (11) 32pts
B Flight
1st Gerry Roche (23) 39pts
2nd Pierre Bietry (18) 32pts
3rd Tom Byrne (16) 32pts
It was a good day for the Irish as Laurie McBride and Gerry Roche posted joint best scores of 39 points each to win the A Flight and B Flight respectively. Gerry was followed in the junior flight by Pierre ‘the magician’ Bietry and a couple of Mick’s - Tom Byrne and Peter ‘the silver surfer’ Henshaw, all on 32. Unfortunately there was no step left on the podium for Peter as Pierre grabbed the silver leaving Tom with the bronze. But Peter did get some compensation in the 2’s pot.
Ed ‘our man in the Whitehouse’ Wyckoff took the A Flight silver four shots adrift of Laurie while JP Maffray’s bid for the bronze spot was almost lost save for a beneficial count back over Colin Smith and the London Cabbie Mark Bonner.
Mark Eriksen and Walter Baechli shared the 2’s pot with Peter.
Thursday, March 13, Crystal Bay B & C - Stableford
A Flight
1st Larry Pumpa (6) 38pts
2nd Max Scott (6) 38pts
3rd Kevin McEntee (6) 37pts
B Flight
1st Maurice Roberts (14) 39pts
2nd Tom Gorey (17) 36pts
3rd Takeshi Hakozaki (13) 36pts
C Flight
1st Colin Davis (20) 46pts
2nd Thierry Danzas (26) 41pts
3rd Christian Boysen (21) 38pts
Well there it is a score that would normally raise the hackles of a skeptical Pattaya golf community, but in this case it received a congratulatory round of applause and hoots of “Great round!” Colin Davis blistered the B & C course for a gross 82, good for 46 points off his departing handicap. Colin has been this low before in his golf life but as he said, it was a looong time since he had done so.
Thierry Danzas followed ‘the Donkey’ but at a distance and his cracking 41 points were followed in by Christian Boysen, whose rock solid 38 points filled the flight.
Larry Pumpa topped out the senior circuit with a count back decision over Aussie star Max Scott as both returned 38 points. Kevin ‘you know who’ filled out the flight a stroke in arrears as he edged Erik Gobert on count back.
In the middling flight Maurice Roberts made it two wins in the week with a sound 39 points. Three players battled it out for the second and third spots with Irishman Tom Gorey emerging with the silver as Takeshi Hakozaki closed the flight with the bronze. Merle Humphreys was left out in the cold.
Six players shared the2’s pot.
Friday, March 14, Silky Oak - Stableford
A Flight
1st Charles Cunningham (17) 38pts
2nd Matt Cronin (15) 31pts
B Flight
1st Aiden Murray (20) 40pts
2nd Trevor Gough (21) 39pts
The junior flight gets a gentle jab from the scribe on occasion, but there were no needles this Friday, just kudos, as Aiden Murray blew the doors off the St Andrews-Green Valley staff designed creation Silky Oak with 40 points. He was closely followed in B Flight by Trevor Gough with his splendid 39 points.
Charles Cunningham continued his fine play by taking the top flight with a very creditable 38 points. Irishman Matt Cronin topped a fine week with his third pay window trip to round out the flight with 31 points.
Colin Smith and Pierre Bietry shared the 2’s pot.
Note: Lewiinski’s is situated on Pattaya land Soi 1, Beach Rd Soi13/13 near Walking Street. Anyone wishing to play with us just pop in and add your name to the list or call Colin on 089 826 0764. Transport is provided.

Pratt returns to form with win at Navy

PSC golf from Siam Country Resort

Jonathan Pratt shows some form on the tee.

Tuesday, March 11, Pleasant Valley - Stableford
Pleasant Valley was the venue for Tuesday’s game, under clear skies with a light breeze to lessen the humidity. The course was in generally good order, although a tad over watered in some places, which necessitated casual water relief.
We were joined today by one of Pattaya’s characters, the Bike Man, Rick Bevington, with mates Paul Taylor & Stefan Hoge. Rick does a lot of good work for kids in the area and is worthy of support, so when next we see him SCR will be making a donation for his “Bikes for Tykes” project. Anyone else feeling benevolent could do a lot worse than help Rick in his endaevours.
Back to the golf, and it was Jeff Wylie (8) scoring 38 points to lead the way home, while Bob Edwards (8) was a point behind. Near pins went to Jeff, Rick, Stefan & Jonathan.
Thursday, March 13, Plutaluang - Stableford
Thursday saw us travel down to Plutaluang, with the East & South combination being our test of the day. The course was in good order, although the it was quite dry in some areas of the fairways, with greens on the slow side when compared to some of the other local courses.
Jonathan Pratt (11) showed some return to form to lead the way with 35 points, after a stellar front 9 of 21 points, while Bob Edwards (8) rallied with a couple of late birdies to shoot 33 points, and edge Tom on count back 17/16. Near pins went to Jeff with both on the East course, while Neil & Willie shared the South course ones.
Note: Siam Country Resort, Restaurant & Bar is located just off Siam Country Club Rd, after going under the arch past the 7/11, turn right after 50 metres, with the venue on the left another 200 metres along. Golf from here is generally played on Tuesday & Thursday, with the Resort hosting prompt presentations on both days.
As a PSC affiliated venue we welcome ALL golfers, including ladies & seniors (>60s) who have opted for the “Silver” tee option. Call 089 094 1841 for scheduling or enquiries. Hope to see you there, cheers & good golfing!

Vincenzi shines at Eastern Star

Jomtien Golf with the IPGC

Monday, March 10, Pattavia – Stableford
With the numbers now starting to dwindle, as expected for this time of the year, there were only six groups out today and with less than 32 players out we dropped to two divisions with the equal cut today being set at 8-17 and 18+.

Harry Vincenzi, Terry Madsen and Edward Bourn.

It was quite a warm day here but now that the new clubhouse has opened it was a relief to be able to have a decent shower after the round.
Two 39’s came in today with Terry Madsen winning division 1 from Edward Bourn in second, two points behind, and Matti Huomo beat Jerry McCarthy 19/16 on a back-nine count back for third after they both scored 33 points.
Mauri Friman was the other player to score 39 points to win division 2, with Tim Hake taking second on 38 and Kjell Lyshaugen, in his last round with us, filling third spot with 34.
Near pins went to Terry Madsen, Chris Voller, Veli Laakonsen and Tim Hake (2).
Nik Evans birdied the 4th and in form Terry Madsen the 4th and the 13th to split the division one ‘2’s pot and Tim Hake also got a ‘2’ on the 4th to scoop the pool in division 2.
Wednesday, March 12, The Emerald - Stableford
Eight groups out on Wednesday at Emerald and there were a few moans from some of the players post round regarding some large bare patches on the fairways where there were no G.U.R. markings. This should have necessitated us playing one of our relief rules and this will be looked into before our next game here next month, but at the end of the day it was the same for all players out there today.
The best score was returned in division 1, with Khalifa Nasser, playing off 16, beating Walter Weber on a 17/16 back-nine count back after they both came in with 39 points each. With a 6 handicap Kari Kuparinen was third with 36 points.
Eiichi Matsumoto topped division 2 standings with 35 points and Howard Stanley beat Tim Hake 19/18 on the back-nine for second after they both came in with 34 points.
Near pins were claimed by Georges Faber (2), Neville Scurrell, Mika Viljakainen, John Bisceglio, Kjell Lyshaugen and Walter Weber.
As well as two nearest the pins Georges Faber birdied the same two holes on the 5th and 15th and Mika Viljakainen the 5th as well to split the ‘2’s pot in division 1 while in division 2 there was a rollover to Khao Kheow on Monday.
Friday, March 14, Eastern Star - Stableford
The Korean groups have now departed from this course and it was relatively quiet today as we teed off 15 minutes ahead of our scheduled normal time of 9.15 a.m.
The fairways and greens have improved here over the past two weeks and these were the comments from the majority of the players coming in today.
Off a handicap of 16, Karl Flood won division 1 with 39 points and Tony Oakes came second with 37, with Wilf Latham in third with 35.
In division 2, with 19 points on the front and 22 on the back, Harry Vincenzi took the honours with a fine 41 points. Sid Ottaway came in second with 37 and Frank Kelly beat his arch-rival Joe Kubon 16/15 on the back nine to finish third as they both came in with 32 points each
Near pins were picked up by Paul Butler, Wilf Latham, Terry Madsen, Chris Potter, Roar Berger, Frank Kelly and Harry Vincenzi.
Chris Potter birdied the 6th hole for the only ‘2’ of the day.
It was also bon voyage this week to Edward Bourn and Diana and Cliff Elliott.

Smyth shoots 44-pointer at Khao Kheow

PSC golf from The Caddyshack

Monday 10th March at Green Valley was a good day for number 34. Four players finished with this score and the count back machine was working overtime to settle the places. The winning sequence was determined to be Mike Phillips (H/cap 15), Paul Walia (15), Terry Phur (20) and Romeo Cerato (12), with Peter Henderson (18) alone in 5th with 33 points.
Wednesday 12th we travelled north to Khao Kheow. I had not played this course for 2 years due to various reports about the poor condition but was pleasantly surprised that the course was in excellent condition with tees, fairways and greens as good as any around and better than most.
Vincent Smyth (15), who is most accustomed to lush green grass, took advantage of the nice lies and romped home with 44 points. If his handicap was not in question before then it certainly is now. Second place went to Derek Wilkin (19) with a very good 40 points, from Glen Ellsworth (12) in third with 38. Fourth place went to Remeo Cerator (12) with 34 points.
On Friday the regulars were back home at Green Valley but a last minute competition saw us switched to St Andrews for the day. Leading the way was Dave Hester (10) with 40 points from Ted Gardner (8) with 39. Third place went to another low handicap player in Phonsie McGahan (7) with 38 points and completing the podium were Ben Findon (20) and Derek Wilkin (19) both with 36.
Note: The Caddyshack is located on Soi 17 off 3rd Road or soi 8 off Thepprasit Road. All golfers are welcome and reservations are taken at 081 865 3104.

Dave and Mike double up

IPGC golf from The Haven

Monday, March 10, Crystal Bay A & B - Stableford
CSS 74
Division 1 (0-15)
1st Mark Williams (8) 35pts
2nd Terry Martin (14) 33pts
3rd Takeshi Hakozaki (10) 33pts
4th Pat Prendeville (15) 30pts
Division 2 (16+)
1st Dennis Odgers (21) 38pts
2nd John Teague (21) 35pts
3rd Mike Armstrong (19) 35pts
4th Don Everett (19) 33pts
The first visit of the month to play the A and B courses at Crystal Bay was an improvement from the last visit in as much as the greens were in much better shape, being flatter with less bounces over unrolled spike marks from previous days play, and so the scores were marginally better. The course generally has benefitted from the increase in attention from the green staff.

Dave Howden and Mike Armstrong.

Two divisions were the order of play for the day with the cut coming at 15 and below for the first division. This was led home by Mark Williams by two clear even having slumped over the last five holes, gleaning just six points, but he had done enough earlier to ensure the win. Returning member Terry Martin slipped into second place after winning a count back over Takeshi Hakozaki, the latter having failed to take advantage of his home course knowledge, with a better 17 to 14. Pat Prendeville took fourth place another three behind them.
The second division was won by another returnee, Dennis Odgers, whose two under handicap return proved to be easily the best of the day as he swept round without a zero-pointer on the card, which ensured a very steady round and the win by three ahead of the chasing pack. John Teague and Mike Armstrong fought it out over the back nine for second place, with John just edging it with 17 to Mike’s 14, to leave Don Everett in fourth another two back.
There were no 2’s in the second division but Bas Coleman and Mark Williams had one each in the first division to share the pot.
Prior to the prize presentations there were welcome backs for Michael Cutmore, Terry Martin, Dennis Odgers and Frank Hughes.
Wednesday, March 12, Greenwood B & C - Stableford
CSS 72
Division 1 (0–16)
1st Dave Howden (14) 35pts
2nd Neville Duncan (10) 34pts
3rd Allen Raaen (7) 33pts
4th Martin Harrington (11) 33pts
Division 2 (17+)
1st Mike Armstrong (19) 37pts
2nd Don Everett (19) 35pts
3rd Frank Hughes (18) 33pts
4th Frank Dunstan (24) 32pts
Another two-division day, but with the cut coming at 16 and below for the first division, as the group took on one of the best conditioned courses in the area, playing possibly the hardest of the two nines. The wind also played a big part, ensuring that the scores were lower than usual with the best of the day being one under handicap, and with only one player managing to equal or better par for the day it was surprising that the CSS stayed at 72.

Dennis Odgers and Mark Williams.

Mike Armstrong went two better than in his previous event by winning the second division with the best of the day, to underline the old adage “beware the injured golfer”. He swung shorter and slower to protect his strained back and recorded his second best round in a row during this trip. Don Everett was again in contention, taking second place two behind and two ahead of Frank Hughes in third. Frank Dunstan clambered onto the podium with a well rounded card that suffered only from a slip over the last three holes as he took just three points to fall out of contention for a higher placing.
The first division saw Dave Howden at the top as he saw off the close challenge of Neville Duncan by a single point after he had started exceptionally well, returning a three-under handicap score for the first nine. Dave faded somewhat towards the end and nearly allowed Neville to pip him at the post but he just held on to take the win and leave Neville in second spot. Allen Raaen then won a count back for third place with Martin Harrington having a better 18 to 14.
Surprisingly there were quite a few 2’s slotted in on a day when the scoring was not particularly good, with four in the first division shared between Todd Pahl, Mark Williams, Dave Howden and Bob Heath, whilst the second division pot was shared by Don Everett and Russell Gilroy.
Back at The Haven before the presentations were made there were welcome backs for Allen Raaen, Alan Richardson, Ian Goldschmidt, Victor Reimer, Gary Brown, Peter Martin, John Pearce and Jon Batty.
Friday, March 14, Eastern Star - Stableford
CSS 72
Division 1 (0–17)
1st Dave Howden (14) 34pts
2nd Bob Heath (12) 33pts
3rd Terry Martin (14) 32pts
4th Alan Hanlon (13) 31pts
5th Mark Williams (8) 31pts
Division 2 (18+)
1st Mike Armstrong (19) 39pts
2nd Markku Tynell (23) 35pts
3rd Torild Lossius (31) 31pts
4th Ray Beavis (22) 31pts
5th Russell Gilroy (18) 30pts
Eastern Star has seen a great improvement in playing conditions over the last few months, both on the greens and through the green. Many of the previous naysayers have returned to play the course and once again we had enough contenders here to make two divisions and indeed almost three, with eight groups taking to the tees.
Dave Howden won again for his second win on the trot but by the slimmest of margins as Bob Heath, aka “Captain 2000”, ran him close, but just two points from the last two holes stopped his charge to the top as Dave held on for the win, scoring five from the same two holes. Terry Martin again showed well in third just a point down as Alan Hanlon took fourth after winning a count back over Mark Williams, returning a better 16 to 14.
The second division also went to a second time winner on the bounce as Mike Armstrong underlined his new and improved technique with yet another podium top step appearance as he ran out the clear winner by four points. Soon to return to his club Wakehurst in Sydney, he may only play there if injured, to try and continue with this undoubted improvement in play.
Markku Tynell took second place well clear of the following pair who had to be separated by a count back, which Torild Lossius won over Ray Beavis with a better 17 to 14, and that left Russell Gilroy to take the last accolade of the week, a shot off in fifth place.
Peter Skinner, Neville Duncan and Todd Pahl shared the first division 2’s pool while Shuichi Kodaka made it a day to remember with the only one in the second division which netted him almost as much as the two division winners.
Before making the presentations The Doc welcomed back Torild and Leif Lossius, together with Keith Emerson, Rod Crosswell and Peter Skinner. There was also a farewell for Don Everett who is returning to OZ for a short break.
Note. If you would like to play with The Haven group, you can contact mobile 094 567 5726 or call in to The Haven Hotel, at 185 Soi 13, 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 Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on the days that you wish to play. A schedule of courses to be played can be found on our web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com.

Double Top Sports Bar Thursday Darts League

Standings March 13 (week 18)

Team	P	W	L	F	A	T/G	Pts.
Load Out	17	16	1	114	23	17	32
Chill Bar	17	15	2	100	29	14	30
PJ’s Bar	17	13	4	98	39	14	26
Double Top ‘A’	17	12	5	92	45	10	24
CS Coffee	17	10	7	74	63	8	20
Moonies	18	8	10	62	84	11	16
Double Top ‘B’	17	5	12	44	93	6	10
Bye	17	3	14	25	88	2	6
BoonSong Bar	16	3	13	24	84	3	6
Bye	17	0	17	0	85	0	0
Results:  BYE L v W Load Out, BoonSong Bar L v W Chill Bar, Double Top ‘B’ W v L Bye, Moonies (4-1) (5-0) v CS Coffee, PJ’s Bar (4-1) (5-0) v Double Top ‘A’

High scores all round at Riverside

PSC golf from Café Kronborg

Torben Sorensen and Peter Hammond with Dave Richardson.

Monday, March 10, Khao Kheow B & C - Stableford
Khao Kheow was the game today and we set off on C1 under sunny skies and with an unseasonably strong wind out of the south. The course was in good shape but some closely mown areas needed to be cut. It was not busy so we raced around in 4 hours and 5 minutes.
Two flights today with the cut at handicap 20 and a full set of pins. Torben Sorensen won the A Flight with 35 points, then a three way count back on 34 saw Peter Bygballe in second, Leif Kirfgaard take third and Mashi Kaneta finish fourth.

Hennig Olsen and Mike Winfiekd with Dave Richardson.

Peter Hammond won the B Flight with an even par 36 points, two ahead of Mike Winfield in second while Steen Habersaat took third with 32 and Jack Robertson was fourth with 31.
A Flight (0-20)
1st Torben Sorensen (19) 35pts
2nd Peter Bygballe (18) 34pts
3rd leif kirkgaard (18) 34pts
4th Mashi Kaneta (13) 34pts
B Flight (21+)
1st Peter Hammond (25) 36pts
2nd Mike Winfield (24) 34pts
3rd Steen Habersaat (25) 32pts
4th Jack Robertson (25) 31pts
Near Pins: B3 Mike Winfield, B8 Hennig Olsen, C3 Kurt Sandgaard, C8 Steen Habersaat
Long Putts: C9 Kaj Aabling
Thursday, March 13, Bangpakong - Stableford
It was off to one of our favorites today, the Bangpakong Riverside course, and after a quick check-in we were off under sunny skies but with a stiff breeze blowing. The course was in exceptional condition, as always, but we got stuck behind some 5-balls in front which made it a 4 hour and 40 minute round.
Henning Olsen took the A Flight honours on a count back from Mashi Kaneta, both fine scores of 40 points. Then it was a four-way count back for third and fourth with Elias Magnusson taking third, Brian Gabe getting fourth and Tate Akifumi and Leif Kirkgaard just missing out
Mike Winfield won the B Flight with a fine 43 points, 2 ahead of Kurt Sandgaard in second, and Jack Robertson took third on 37 as Steen Habersaat edged Jan Lovgreen for fourth on count back, both with 36’s.
A Flight (0-19)
1st Henning Olsen (15) 40pts
2nd Mashi Kaneta (13) 40pts
3rd Elias Magnusson (19) 37pts
4th Brian Gabe (16) 37pts
B Flight (20+)
1st Mike Winfield (24) 43pts
2nd Kurt Sandgaard (29) 41pts
3rd Jack Robertson (25) 37pts
4th Steen Habersaat (25) 36pts
Near Pins: #4 Mashi Kaneta, #7 Doug Maiko, #13 Steen Habersaat, #16 Henning Olsen
Long Putts: #9 Kaj Aabling, #18 Jan Johansen
Note: The annual ‘Papa’ Ray Rogers Memorial Scramble golf tournament will be held on May 8 at Plutaluang Golf Course. Entry is THB500 with the bash back at the house. The sign-up sheet goes up on April 24 at Cafe Kronborg.

Hughes hits pay-dirt at Mountain Shadow

Travellers Rest Golf Group

Tony Molloy and Frank Hughes.

Andy Rich
For the golfers at the TRGG I have some good news. Last week’s player of the week and twice a winner again this week, Neil Bramley, has left the shores of Pattaya to return to work - and not before time I hear you say. It should now give everybody else a chance and I might get to post some other golfer’s photos in my reports.
Although Neil is a smashing fella and good company on the course, he is almost robotic with his cackhanded golf swing (he holds the club with a reverse grip) and he has unerring accuracy. For the last few weeks he has been there or thereabouts every time he has played and has ripped up all the golf courses in Pattaya, together with all of his opposition. So see you again in a few months Neil and don’t practice so much.
Monday, March 10, Pattaya C.C. - Stableford
The TRGG visited Pattaya Country Club on Monday for the first time in about two years, so most of us were looking forward to see how it looked after all the changes we have heard about. I think we all came away agreeing that it is still a work in progress. The opening nine holes were much the same and work is still necessary on the areas just outside the fairways and the bunkers could do with some more sand and a rake occasionally.
Personally I found the back nine to be in a much better condition, probably helped by the fact I played better on the back nine than the front, but the fairways seemed greener and the greens were good and so were the bunkers and I should know, I managed to find most of them.
The numbers playing are still up and two flights were necessary at all four competitions this week.
In Division One it was the aforementioned Neil Bramley who once again showed the consistency to finish in the lead. He was followed home by another two regulars in the TRGG fraternity, Jim Cooper just pipping Phil Battah on count back for second place.
In Division 2 Derek Thorogood returned the best score of the day, beating Ged Higgins in second and his old mate Billy Allan in third.
Div. 1 (0-14)
1st Neil Bramley (10) 33pts
2nd Jim Cooper (14) 31pts
3rd Phil Battah (12) 31pts
Div. 2 (15+)
1st Derek Thorogood (16) 35pts
2nd Ged Higgins (21) 34pts
3rd Billy Allan (15) 30pts
Tuesday, March 11, Green Valley - Stableford
On Tuesday it was back to Green Valley for our regular visit and in Division 1 it was Jim Cooper who managed to improve on his Monday’s position by beating all before him. David Jeffrey took second spot and Roger Wilkinson finished third.
Division 2 had the best score for the second day running and as in Division 1 with Jim Cooper, it was the second placed man on Monday, Ged Higgins, who came out on top today. He managed to hold off Jeff Norman in second and Tim Dalton in third.
Div. 1 (0-14)
1st Jim Cooper (14) 37pts
2nd David Jeffrey (9) 35pts
3rd Roger Wilkinson (14) 34pts
Div. 2 (15+)
1st Ged Higgins (21) 38pts
2nd Jeff Norman (18) 37pts
3rd Tim Dalton (19) 36pts
Thursday, March 13, The Emerald – Stableford
Thursday it was off to many people’s favourite golf course at Emerald and it was a case of déjà vu, same old, same old with lightening striking in the same place yet again. Neil Bramley took the claret jug once more at the course designed by another consistent golfer Nick Faldo. Neil shot another jaw dropping 41 points to take Division 1 from another consistent golfer, Mike Rushant in second, and yet again for the second time this week Roger Wilkinson was third.
In Division 2, Irishman Tony Molloy broke up that déjà vu feeling by finishing ahead of two other guys who don’t make it to the top very often. In fact I know Irishman Seamus Farrell, who finished second, gets giddy every time he just stands up. Ken Kamakana, who hopefully doesn’t suffer from vertigo, finished in third.
Div.1 (0-14)
1st Neil Bramley (10) 41pts
2nd Mike Rushant (13) 38pts
3rd Roger Wilkinson (14) 37pts
Div.2 (15+)
1st Tony Molloy (16) 38pts
2nd Seamus Farrell (29) 36pts
3rd Ken Kamakana (26) 35pts
Saturday, March 15, Mt. Shadow - Stableford
On Saturday the TRGG brought Cheltenham race week to a close by visiting Mountain Shadow. In Division 1 it was Jim Cleaver who galloped into the lead and stayed there, with Larry Simpson trotting into second and Gerry Fernandez beaten by a short nose came in third.
In Division 2 there was a stewards enquiry when the winner came in with an amazing 41 points but Frank Hughes passed the urine test and was found to be clean so held on to the trophy. Les Leong took second place and Glen Kananoa was third.
Div.1 (0-12)
1st Jim Cleaver (10) 33 pts
2nd Larry Simpson (12) 32pts
3rd Gerry Fernandez (12) 31pts
Div.2 (13+)
1st Frank Hughes (18) 41pts
2nd Les Leong (22) 38pts
3rd Glen Kananoa (15) 33pts
Good luck to all you golfers for the coming week and if you would like to play a round of golf with the TRGG, please phone Fergus Brennan on 086 056 7019 or pop into the Ned Kelly Bar in Soi Lengkee and add your name to the weekly lists which are posted on the notice board.

JJ takes the win as the field swelters

The Backyard Golf Society

Very humid today, Friday, March 14, with shirts and shorts soaked through after half a dozen holes. Eight of the guys showed up for the scrap and it was a welcome back to the ‘Great Dane’.
I reckon we won’t be seeing the Randyman again unless he grows some thicker skin. Allegedly he was unable to cope with some light hearted banter about his slow play. Shame really, I’d have thought his thirty years experience as a fire-fighter would have stood him in good stead for any leg-pulling. However, he will always be made welcome with the Backyard boys. We love you!
On to today’s scoring and our winner with 36 points was JJ, so well done to him. Mike meanwhile took seven skins, Nev had four, and the Great Dane had three and also took nearest the pin at the 15th. JJ also took a couple of skins along with his victory in the comp.
What happened to Mickey this week after his tremendous performance seven days prior? He only managed to take one skin today. Maybe his caddy wasn’t up to scratch - he definitely needed a few lessons in caddying but he did show some expertise in pulling down coconuts.
It was then on to Banchang for a few lemonades where the winner stood his hand... or so he thought! Until next week, take care and enjoy your golf.

‘Blacky’ & Kurt Eric scrape home

PSC Golf from The Growling Swan

Peter Blackburn
Monday, March 10, Eastern Star – Stableford
The challenge for this first game of the week was the tricky Eastern Star Golf Course and after a withdrawal due to sickness we had 19 starters on the sheet and we assembled at The Growling Swan in preparation for the journey.

Peter Blackburn, Frankie Sharratt & Kurt Eric Persson.

We had just the one newcomer amongst us, Mark Erikson from the USA, and he was handed a hearty welcome. Departing the GS right on time at 8.30 am we headed South down number 3 in two mini vans and after a fairly good run arrived at the golf course 45 minutes later. There was a fair bit of activity there and we took our time in preparation as there were members of another golf society having coffee in the restaurant but we were asked by the Starter to proceed to the first tee and our first four ball hit off 15 minutes ahead of schedule at 9.45 am.
We proceeded in sprightly fashion with no-one in front of us but unknown to us there was somewhat of a “ruckus” behind us on the first tee as the golfers who had been drinking coffee in the restaurant rocked up and wanted to commence their round in the middle of our five groups, in fact they suggested that our first group be called back. Fat chance of that and our others members stood firm and told these others golfers that they would now have to wait and if they had a problem with that then they should speak to the Starter. I did not know about this until after we had finished but I admired our members for their solidarity and thanked them for not succumbing to the aggression and intimidation.

Bill Steinman & Russell Calcutt.

The weather was hot with a fairly stiff breeze and the course was in very good shape although the greens were somewhat slower than normal and at times unpredictable. It was a very enjoyable round with good company and the round was completed in four hours & five minutes.
We had 2 Divisions – Division A for handicaps 0 to 18 & Division B for golfers on handicaps of 19 and over with three places in each Division. There were also rewards for nearest the pin on two of the four par 3’s and longest first putts on the 9th & 18th greens.
Your humble correspondent, Peter “Blacky” Blackburn (20 point back nine) scraped home to win Division A on a count back with 4 golfers on 37 points and Ebrahim (19 point back nine and 15 points on the last 6 holes) finished in second spot. In third place came Alain “Inspector Clouseau” Taddei (19 point back nine, 12 points on the last 6 holes & 8 points on the last 3 holes) with Gerd Riedler (19 point back nine, 12 points on the last 6 holes & 7 points on the last 3 holes) just missing out on a place.
With 3 golfers on 35 points in one of the closest batches of results that I can remember, another count back was required to determine the placings in Division B and first place went to Kurt Eric Persson (17 point back nine & 13 points on the last 6 holes. In second spot was Kurt Eric’s partner Seesa Phompinmon (17 point back nine & 12 points on the last six holes) with Rita Zoebelli (17 point back nine & 10 points on the last 6 holes) finishing third.
Division A (0-18)
1st Peter Blackburn (14) 37pts
2nd Ebrahim (16) 37pts
3rd Alain Taddei (17) 37pts
Division B (19+)
1st Kurt Eric Persson (24) 35pts
2nd Seesa Phompinmon (27) 35pts
3rd Rita Zoebelli (25) 35pts
Near Pins: 3rd – Seesa Phompinmon, 17th – Alain Taddei
Long Putts: 9th – Alain Taddei, 18th –Gerd Riedler
The Growling Swan NAGA Award, (awarded to the golfer who has the worst score on the day and discreetly their score is not made public) was won by Frank Sharratt who accepted the award like the good sport that he is. JC then kindly paraded Deefa the Dog and of course collected many donations for the needy in Pattaya from our generous Growling Swan Golfers.
Thursday, March 13, Khao Kheow A & B – Combined Stableford Pairs
It was time for our monthly novelty competition and this time it was a combined stableford pairs event with once again a random draw, pairing a low handicapper with a high one. There was much interest for the day and we eventually ended up with 37 golfers after a couple of late withdrawals and last minute additions.
We left the GS right on schedule at 8.30 a.m. and headed up number 7 and after a good run arrived at the golf course after just 40 minutes. We had plenty of time before our 10.06 am tee time which enabled us to do the random draw for partners amidst a few moans & groans but all realized that it was to be a fun day and apologies were not necessary.
We were allocated the B & A nines in that order and our first four-ball got away 16 minutes ahead of schedule at 9.50 a.m. It was quite hot with a fairly stiff breeze and the golf course was in magnificent shape with lush fairways and very well maintained greens which were fairly slow at times.
We had no other groups within sight ahead of us but our round was not one of the quickest ones and even though it took four hours & thirty minutes we finished well ahead of the group behind us. We had a very enjoyable day with lots of laughs and even though our group did not feature on the podium we all had a ball!
As there were 19 teams of two we went down to sixth place with an additional award for the best individual score for a non podium finish and there were also rewards for nearest the pin on the four par 3’s and longest first putts on the 9th & 18th greens.
Big Bill Steinman was somewhat apprehensive when discovering that his drawn partner, Russell “John Daly” Calcutt had presented himself after just one hour’s sleep but they were both smiling and embracing each other after they posted a combined 77 points to win the day. In second place was Robbie Taylor & Dennis Odgers with 73 points and Ebrahim & Rita Zoebelli came third scoring 71 points. In fourth place came John Davies & Dick Braimbridge on 66 points and with 3 teams on 65 points the resultant count back saw the team of Mark “Westy” West and Stephen Newton (38 point back nine) finish in fifth place and Gerd Riedler & Ken Grimes (34 point back nine) take sixth, with Mike “Hunter” Gosden & Ian Jessiman (29 point back nine) just missing out.
In the individual award there was another count back with 2 golfers on 37 points which saw Tom McMahon (19 point back nine) take the honours from Mike Gosden (18 point back nine).
1st Bill Steinman (10) & Russell Calcutt (35) – 77pts
2nd Robbie Taylor (14) & Dennis Odgers (21) – 73pts
3rd Abrahim (16) & Rita Zoebelli (25) – 71pts
4th John Davis (15) & Dick Braimbridge (36) – 66pts
5h Mark West (14) & Stephen Newton (28) – 65pts
6th Gerd Riedler (8) & Ken Grimes (19) – 65pts
Near Pins: A3 – Frank Donnelly, A5 – Bill Steinman, B3 – Ian Jessiman, B8 – Dennis Odgers
Long Putts: A9 – Robbie Taylor, B9 – Ken Grimes
Note: Growling Swan Golf welcomes golfers of any persuasion – low & high handicappers alike, female golfers and beginners. We generally play Mondays & Thursdays, meeting at The Growling Swan in Soi Chaiyapoon at 8.00 am with transport departing at 8.30 am. For bookings or more information please contact Peter on 0806 351 386 or email to petermalcolmblackburn @gmail.com.
We also play bowls out of the Growling Swan every Wednesday and Sunday. Sunday is Lawn Bowls and Wednesday is Indoor Bowls. All are welcome and for anyone that is interested the transport leaves The Growling Swan at 10.00 a.m. on each of those mornings. For more information please contact Paul Rennison on 0843 454 005.

Jimmy Brackett slays Soi Dao

PSC golf from The Golf Club

Jimmy Brackett (3rd from left) poses with some of the Soi Dao road trippers.

Steve Ellison
Monday, March 10, Green Valley (white tees) – Stableford
1st Paul Greenaway (12) 40pts
2nd Geoff Doody (22) 37pts
T3rd Peter LeNoury (10) 35pts
T3rd Martin Kingswood (15) 35pts
Yet another full sign-up sheet took the gang out to Rayong Green Valley once again where we always hold our Monday competitions. Today it was Paul Greenaway who “took it easy” on his march to a 40 point round of golf and he took the win by three strokes. As well as we all know this course, that’s a great round to put together for a strong showing today for Paul.
The week before he placed third and this outing Geoff Doody moved up a notch to take sole second place with an impressive 37 Stableford points. It seemed a doddle for Doody this time out so who knows what next week holds for Geoff at this rate?
Our mate Peter “play every day” LeNoury shot a consistent 35 to tie for third with Martin Kingswood to round off the leaderboard for this Monday.
Wednesday, March 12, St. Andrews (white tees) – Stableford
1st Gary Blackburn (9) 39pts
2nd Jimmy Brackett (9) 37pts
3rd Peter Rogers (22) 36pts
Always a popular choice for Pattaya golfers, St. Andrews is one of the best golf courses we play in the area. It is not necessary to have the gimmick of 2 holes that are par 6’s, but if you can overlook that curiosity the layout is fantastic.
We had great weather today and not nearly as hot as the norm for this time of year. In fact, the last 4 months have been pretty darn perfect!
Five groups of golfers joined in with us today and 3 of the guys had stand out scores. In third place was the colourful Peter Rogers. Peter shot his handicap today and his 36-pointer was well earned on this track. The very consistent Jimmy Brackett was in the frame again as a 37 gave him second place, a good warm-up round for Soi Dao!
Top spot went to affable Englishman Gary Blackburn who ate the course up with his 39. Gary celebrated as he also ate up a pork chop dinner back at TGC, and it went down a treat indeed.
Thursday, March 13, Soi Dao (yellow tees) – Stableford
1st Jimmy Brackett (9) 43pts
2nd Jim Dundon (13) 39pts
3rd Ron Robertson (26) 37pts
Friday, March 14, Soi Dao (white tees) – Stableford
1st Jimmy Brackett (9) 38pts
2nd Brendan Cope (29) 37pts
3rd Alan Rothwell (6) 33pts

It is just over a 3 hour drive to this golf course so an overnighter and 2 rounds of golf were on the agenda for this road trip. It is well worth the time and trouble to get here as its’ unique mountain setting makes for a magical golf tour that is unmatched in Pattaya.
The course has seen a few changes, primarily made in removing much shrubbery and trees to open up the mountain vistas even more so. I disagree with the trimming back of the big tree on the left of the 11th. Before, you needed to work the ball from right to left off the tee, but now a straight shot would suffice for a decent approach position.
The 9th fairway is completely sanded and a club-length relief is provided. The trees have also been cut back off the 9th tee box and it is not nearly the intimidating drive it once was. We shall see in time how things grow back and if those were the correct design decisions or not.
We ended the first day of golf with Cap’t. Phil giving us the presentation at poolside and hosting our traditional wine and cheese welcoming party to get things loosened up!
It was interesting to see a couple of 37’s shot by a 26 and 29 handicapper respectively! One of those great days for golf found Ron Robertson on Thursday and Brendon Cope on Friday on the podium with great scores on this difficult golf course.
The star at Soi Dao, and for our golf this week, was Jimmy Brackett who won on both days, first from the yellow tees, then on Friday from the white tees and obviously the overall trophy. This was our first journey here in ages! Look above and you will see Jimmy also shot 37 at St. Andrews as well for a winning week of golf for the Arizona guitar man. Well played buddy!
Don’t forget to sign up for our Songkran road trip to Khao Yai from the 15th – 20th of April. Thanks to all who joined us this week, and for your support of The Golf Club.
Note: The Golf Club is located on Soi LK Metro. Just call 085 434 3377 or see our website www.golfclubpattaya .com and for more information mail us: [email protected] and see updates at www.facebook.com/golfclubpattaya... all handicaps welcome!

Walkley wins at a canter

PSC golf from The Billabong Golf Bar

Steve Compton, Jim Bell, Paul Greenaway and Bob Newell at Green Valley.

Monday, March 10, Eastern Star - Stableford
Eastern Star was our venue for today and we were all pleasantly surprised by the condition of the greens - they were in superb shape. The last time we were here some of the greens looked like bunkers but now they are perfect. Well done to the management and greens staff for the improvements and we will certainly be back here soon.
With only a small group playing and the course very busy we still got round in bang on four hours. The scores were ordinary considering we played from the yellow tees, which I thought would make it easy but it was not to be.
The winner today was Martin Hayes with 35 points and coming second on a count back with 31 points was Capt Bob, with third place going to Brian Maddox.
There were no ‘2’s recorded.
Wednesday, March 12, Green Valley - Stableford
Wednesday saw us at Green Valley on a perfect day for golf with a nice light breeze and the course in great condition. We got away a little early and there were no holdups and the game took just on four hours, which is spot on.
We had nine groups playing and some good scores were recorded. We had a five-way count back on 35 points for fourth and fifth spots with Paul Greenaway getting across the line in fifth place and Jack Butler in fourth. Third spot went to Bob Newell with 36 and in second was Steve Compton with his best score this trip, 38 points. Taking first place and the plaudits today was Jim Bell with a great 39 points.
There were four ‘2’s coming from John Player, Bob Newell, Jack Butler and Roger Ison,
Friday, March 14, Plutaluang - Stableford
A practice round today at Plutaluang East and South, getting ready for our monthly scramble there on the 28th March. The course is in great condition at the moment and if you can handle the greens you could have a great day out here. It’s not that the greens are not good, but just different from everywhere else: lightening fast but you still have to give it a good rap when putting into the grain.
With just a slight breeze blowing it was a perfect day for golf. There were some good scores and some very ordinary ones, including only ten points on the back nine by the scribe so his 28 points total didn’t get even close. Fourth place went to Brian Maddox with an even par 36 points while in third was Jim Grieve with 37, edged out on count back by Steve Compton in second. Top spot went to Owen Walkley with a fantastic 42 points and he was a clear winner by miles.
There were three ‘2’s today coming from Brian Maddox, Steve Compton and our visiting Canadian Daryl Pollock..
Note: If you are looking for a game with some friendly golfers, give Bob a call on 082 204 3411 or call into the bar just off Siam Country Club Road looking straight down Lake Mabprachan.

McDonald & Gosney sail home at Riverside

PSC golf Bunker Boys @ The Ranch

Monday, March 10, Bangpakong Riv erside - Stableford
Nineteen golfers embarked from the Ranch to tackle one of the courses furthest afield in the area, taking just over an hour unless you happened to be in Colin Greig’s car.

Raleigh Gosney.

Arriving at the clubhouse to ongoing minor renovations to the locker area, all seemed fairly quiet but looks can be deceptive. This is a popular course with Pattayaites and Thais alike, but respect for bookings means that we normally tee off on time. Unfortunately the first few holes tend to be very slow as a look around revealed groups on every fairway.
The first par 3, hole number 4 is a particular bottleneck as 4 out of our 5 groups were in attendance and the drinks stop did a brisk trade. Thereafter proceedings slightly quickened and on a beautifully manicured track the protagonists were hoping to take full advantage.
The weather was overcast but still very warm and a strong breeze was blowing which stiffened during the course of the round, creating a few problems. Fairways were in great shape as were the greens, although they were on the slow side but shouldn’t have caused too many sleepless nights.
As expected scores were generally good, with only 2 players failing to reach the 30 point mark, and then not by much. “A” flight in the form of Rab McDonald produced the best card of the day with 39 points followed by ‘Mr. Consistent’ Paul Smith on 37 points and Mark Stanley with 35.
Raleigh Gosney scooped B flight with 37 points while Neil Griffin, with the help of a 20-yard hole out from the bunker for par on number 11, left John Hughes a beaten man on a 35 point count back.
Back at the Ranch there were more than a few raised eyebrows when it was discovered that the 4 near pins had gone to the 4 players in the final group, what money would you put on that!
A Flight
1st Rab McDonald (12) 39pts
2nd Paul Smith (3) 37pts
3rd Mark Stanley (7) 35pts
B Flight
1st Raleigh Gosney (18) 37pts
2nd Neil Griffin (25) 35pts
3rd John Hughes (18) 35pts
Near Pins: Colin Greig, Paul Smith, Gordon Melia and Raleigh Gosney
Wednesday, March 12, Pattavia Century – Stableford\
30 players turned out for the game at the newly renovated Pattavia course and we arrived to find the new clubhouse was finally open, and very impressive it is, To say it’s a massive improvement on the previous one would be the understatement of the year.
Although the course didn’t appear to be busy we were requested to start off the 10th tee and the first group got away on schedule. The greens on the first half dozen holes had been recently cored and sanded but were still running quickly, if a little bumpy. From the 7th hole onwards the greens were cut to their quickest and presented major problems to everyone. In particular, the par five 9th hole (normally the 18th) had been cut on a steep slope and any putt which missed the hole (from any direction - including uphill!) went down the slope and ended up on the front edge of the green almost 30 feet from the pin.
Chris Cox suffered more than most, when having a 10 foot birdie putt across the slope (which actually narrowly missed the hole) finally walked off the green with a triple bogey. Kenny Chung was the only player to come close to mastering the greens and managed to amass 36 points to win the KPK Foods voucher for the overall win.
A Flight
1st Mike Lloyd (14) 35pts
2nd John Graham (11) 34pts
3rd Roger Touhey (10) 34pts
B Flight
1st Kenny Chung (24) 36pts
2nd Tore Eliassen (18) 34pts
3rd Tom McDowell (21) 31pts
Near Pins: John Graham, Raleigh Gosney, Keith Hemmings and Paul Smith
Friday, March 14, The Emerald – Medal
Arriving at Emerald the 22 players were met with a busy car park but nobody on the first tee so off we went to do battle with one of the shorter, but by no means easier courses on our regular circuit.
On the front nine the white tees had been moved forward for a lot of the holes and this was reversed on the back nine with a mystery tee box appearing for the uphill par-5 14th. Greens were in good condition holding the ball and running true but not overly quick. Fairways were not so good with their assortment of grass and in need of some rain to counter the hard lies.
A few of the leaking sprinkler heads also need attention giving rise to GUR’s. On the flip side the ball was getting some good run for those managing to stay on the fairway and the par-5 4th hole presented a few eagle chances with only Mike Lloyd able to convert.
Despite its short length this varied and testing course rarely gives up good scores with today definitely not bucking the trend. Only the winner of A Flight, Mashi Kaneta, and B flight winner Tore Eliasen shot better than their handicaps, with the rest of the field strung out in their wake.
The onset of the low season and hopefully low(er) green fees is nearly upon us but disappointingly Emerald seem to be holding their prices.
A Flight
1st Mashi Kaneta (13) net 69
2nd John Batty (9) net 74
3rd Mike Lloyd (14) net 74
B Flight
1st Tore Eliasen (18) net 71
2nd Geoff Parker (15) net 75
3rd Bruce Ogilvie (15) net 77
Near Pins: Tore Eliasen, Bruce Ogilvie, Keith Hemmings and Mike Lloyd
Note: The Bunker Boys play out of The Ranch bar on Pattaya 3rd Road (in front of the fire station, and almost opposite the Buffalo Bar). Contact “Buff” on 086 046 5091 or 080 605 5663 for all enquiries or check website at www.bunkersociety.com.

McGuigan triumphs on long day at Green Valley

IPGC golf from The Tara Court Golf Group

Donal McGuigan and Charlie Lapsley.

Sunday, March 9, Green Valley – Stableford
1st Donal McGuigan (24) 36pts
2nd John Beshoff (15) 36pts
3rd George Pearson (20) 34pts
4th John Kelly (26) 33pts
5th Frank Dunstan (24) 33pts
Today was another painfully slow round of golf at Green Valley. We all arrived in good time for our allotted tee-off but had to wait for over twenty minutes to get started. Then we had to endure over five hours on the course and waiting on every shot. There was not a Marshall in sight anywhere to do anything about it.
I see where they are changing the layout from next month and say it will take four minutes off the time to play. It is not four minutes they need to take off but at least one hour. Our last few rounds here have been the same and this year there are very few Korean tour groups around to blame.
Maybe it was because of the slow play and the boredom but the scoring wasn’t great today. Donal McGuigan was the winner with thirty six points, beating John Beshoff on a count back. George Pearson, who slept in and missed the bus and had to take a taxi to the course, came third and got his taxi fare back! John Kelly was fourth with thirty three, edging Frank Dunstan on a count back.
Joe McArdle and Terre shared the ‘2’s pot.
Tuesday, March 11, Pattaya C.C. – Stableford
1st George Cullen (13) 36pts
2nd Joe McArdle (13) 35pts
3rd John Kelly (26) 33pts
We had a smaller group out on Tuesday at Pattaya Country Club and the course was in reasonable condition, although it actually seems to be deteriorating instead of improving and is not really value for money compared to other courses in the region.
There were not many other golfers around so at least we enjoyed a fast round of golf, unlike Sunday’s experience, and got round in less than four hours.
George Cullen, who is just getting back to form, was the winner today with thirty six points and in second place was Joe McArdle with thirty five. John Kelly, who was playing his last game for this trip, took third place with thirty.
There were no ‘2’s recorded today.
Thursday, March 13, Mountain Shadow – Stableford
1st Charlie Lapsley (8) 37pts
2nd Joe McArdle (13) 37pts
3rd John Beshoff (15) 34pts
4th George Cullen (13) 34pts
5th Paal Anderson (14) 34pts
We were back at Mountain Shadow on Thursday to one of our favourite courses. It was, as usual, in excellent condition and was not too busy so we again got round in under four hours, which is great.
It was a bit hotter today although there was a fairly strong breeze, which made playing here a bit more difficult than usual. This is a course where you have to be hitting straight and keep out of the trees and sometimes a strong wind can make that difficult to do. Despite that, a few of our players managed to beat their handicaps.
Charlie Lapsley was the winner today with thirty seven points, which off his eight handicap and under the conditions was a very good score. Once again Joe McArdle was beaten into second place, having the same thirty seven points but losing out on the count back to Charlie. In third place was John Beshoff with thirty four points and he beat George Cullen and Paal Anderson on a count back.
Once again there were no ‘2’’s today.
Note: The Tara Court Golf Group play every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, leaving O’Gara’s Bar and Restaurant in the Tara Court on Pratamnak Rd. around 10.00 a.m. Sign up either in O’Gara’s or ring Joe on 089 249 1364 and he will book you in.

No losers at Royal Lakeside

The Pattaya Golf Society (IPGC) at Rabbi’s Elephant Bar

The Pattaya Golf Society travelled to Royal Lakeside on Monday, 10th March to play a stableford competition in two flights, divided at seventeen and under. The course was in fine condition, with grassy fairways and quick greens. A strong wind was in evidence all day and golfers who could keep the ball straight and low were the winners.
In the top flight Rick Schramm returned from a timeout in Kanchanaburi to post 35 points for third place, only to find himself edged out by the level par rounds of Dave Moriarty and Mike Earley, a fitting end to the latter’s stay.
In the second flight Rod Stevens and Peter Sanderson shared third place with 36 points each whilst a mere one point ahead were Jorn Eriksen and Masashi Iizumi with the best scores of the day, 37 points.
John Chelo, Larry Ang and Yvonne Earley shared the ‘2’s pot and Rabbi’s consolation beer was enjoyed by Mr Len who nominated Bryan Brown for the Booby Bevy after finding it was the senior golfer’s birthday and who had enjoyed a senior moment on the course when he scratched a hole thinking it was a one-point par four not a two point par five! It was a fitting end to a good day for the PGS at Royal Lakeside.
Comfortable win for Wichai
On Wednesday, 12th March the Pattaya Golf Society started the new partnership of Shane and Peter at the Elephant Bar in Soi Buakhao with a stableford round at Bangpra, with a small field of heroes who survived a lengthy farewell party for Jeff “Rabbi” Cohen at the bar the previous evening.
The course was well prepared with greens a little slower than normal. Scoring was difficult with the strong breeze blowing and the white tees set well back but Dave Moriarty’s 29 points saw him take fourth place whilst Masashi Iizumi went one better with his 30 points giving him third place. Jorn Eriksen’s consistency continued with a fine 31 points giving him second place whilst the best round of the day was played by Wichai Tananusorn, his best gross of 78 giving him 36 points for a relatively easy win.
Dave Lehane took the ‘2’s prize for the only birdie 2 of the day, on the seventeenth, and John O’Sullivan celebrated Shane’s first consolation beer. The Booby Bevy went to Billy Hill for the lowest total of the day on the Scot’s first visit to Bangpra.
The new era had begun in style with the transition as seamless as possible.
Moriarty outsmarts Holmes,
but Edwards steals the show
A notable week in the Pattaya Golf Society’s history closed with a visit to Greenwood on Friday, 14th March to play a stableford competition in two flights on the C and B nines. The course was in excellent condition, but, as is common with many three nines courses, the greens were not consistent in pace. However, the course represents the best vfm golf in the province currently.
With the cut at seventeen and under play got underway on time with many old friends on show, including John Mason and John Holmes, and in the top flight Wichai Tananusorn and Dave Moriarty shared third place with 32 points. Alan Griffiths went one better with 33 points for second but the flight winner was Larry Slattery, a model of consistency with 35 points.
In the second flight Pat Murphy and Jim Ferris shared second place with 32 points but a memorable eagle on the seventeenth gave Murray Edwards a bonus of five points to secure the win with 38 points.
Wichai recorded the only birdie ‘2’ of the day, on B5, and Rabbi celebrated his final round with the group with the Booby Bevy.
At the presentation club captain David Thomas led a warm tribute to Rabbi and Khun Peung as they bade farewell to Pattaya, intent on a future with the family in Surin. But life goes on at the Elephant Bar with PGS golf still on top of the schedule.

Brass Monkey beat promotion rivals

Bangkok Casuals Football League Div 1 & 2

Paul Frain
Pattaya based Brass Monkey F.C., lying second in the Division 2 league table, played the team one place below them, Hanuman Boys, last weekend and with both sides plying for promotion it promised to be a close game.
Right from the kick-off both teams showed that they meant business, with Brass having the first chance but the Hanuman keeper pulled off a smart save with his foot and the loose ball went wide. Hanuman replied with a quick break of their own but the Brass defense denied a final shot..
Brass should have gone ahead when a superb through-ball from Fungkejorn found Matveev in the clear with only the keeper to beat, but he put his shot wide. Hanuman were also looking dangerous with their breakaways but the final ball was lacking.
Brass went close again when Dipita’s shot hit the outside of the left upright but they were not to be denied a third time and they took the lead when Matveev capped a fine passing move to put Brass 1-0 up.
Hanuman came back strongly and after the Brass keeper pulled off two fine saves, they finally got back on level terms with a fine goal that started with a move in their own penalty area. Brass had one more chance to restore their advantage before halftime but the Hanuman keeper brought off a wonder save to deny Brass’s Poehl.
The second half saw the game open out and both defenses had to work overtime to stop the other team from scoring, but it was Brass that went ahead once more when a free-kick found its way to Dipta who latched on to it to make it 2-1.
The tempo quickened and fierce tackles were made by both sides but it was still the Brass team who made the most chances. Hanuman were getting desperate and they went close with two shots on goal but the Brass defense held firm and the Pattaya team were worthy winners at the final whistle. The pace and standard of play in this match was top class.

Dolphins sink to third straight defeat

Pattaya United midfielder Pratran Senala (right) is challenged for the ball by an Angthong FC defender during their Thai Division 1 match at the Angthong Stadium, Saturday, March 15. (Photo courtesy Pattaya United FC)

Pattaya United’s dismal start to the new Thai Division 1football season showed no signs of abating last weekend as they were sent crashing to a third straight defeat with a 4-0 loss at Angthong FC.
Coming off back-to-back defeats to Phuket and Ayutthaya, United were hoping to steady the ship at the Angthong Stadium last Saturday but they were immediately put on the back foot when they fell behind to a 9th minute headed goal from Japan midfielder Nobuhito Takahashi.
United managed to avoid conceding further goals until the hour mark, when former Dolphin striker OJ Obatola came back to haunt his old team as he converted from close range to put his side 2-0 up.
Things got worse for United on 70 minutes when goalkeeper Hassachai Sankla hauled down Angthong’s Viliam Macko in the area and Gastón González easily converted the resultant spot kick to make it 3-0.
A thoroughly miserable afternoon for Pattaya players and supporters was completed just 7 minutes later when González scored his second goal of the game to cap a neat passing move that ripped the United defence apart.
Pattaya United are currently sitting bottom of the Division 1 table having conceded 8 goals and scored none in their opening three games. The team will be hoping to turn things around this coming Sunday when they take on Big Bang Chulalongkorn University FC in Bangkok. Kick-off is at 6 p.m.

RAM CC edge Pattaya Thoroughbreds in friendly

Pattaya C.C. Thoroughbreds and RAM C.C. players pose for a group photo prior to last weekend’s match.

Pattaya Cricket Club hosted RAM CC from Sussex, England in a friendly 25over game at the magnificent Thai Polo Ground on Saturday, March 15.
Batting first, RAM CC’s opening batsmen Rakesh (53 retired) and Taz (43) took advantage of a weakened PCC Thoroughbred XI bowling attack as they hit the ball to all parts of the ground in a stand of 103. Kartin (56) lived up to his name with some extravagant shots and Danny (39no) continued the onslaught as finally RAM CC finished with a daunting 221/4.
Nineteen wides from the inexperienced PCC bowlers did not help the home side’s cause despite a two wicket burst from Simon Bradwell in the final over who recorded figures of 2/3 from his one and only over. Where was he earlier when the captain John Spiers needed him?
In reply, Dan Nicholson (9) and Venky (30) got PCC Thoroughbreds off to a rousing start, scoring at nearly 8 an over. Andy Schofield (1) ran in and ran off again, leaving the accomplished John ‘Anchor’ Spiers and Dave Callick to maintain the momentum.
Runs continued to flow, particularly from Dave’s bat and the target just seemed achievable. But the return of the RAM CC opening bowlers Nikesh (1/26) and Kartin (1/26) stemmed the run rate as John (56no) and Dave (80no) failed to find the necessary boundaries and PCC ended 25 runs short at 196/3.
PCC would like to express their thanks to the support of Pattaya Sports Club and the club’s next fixture is on Saturday, March 22rd against Siam CC in the Bangkok Cricket League at the Thai Polo Club.
Anyone wishing to join the club, particularly umpires, are asked to visit the website www.pattayacricketclub.com or visit the club Facebook page.

Madagascar teams dominate International Petanque tourney

Victorious Madagascar team members hold the winner’s trophy as they pose for a photo with tournament officials at the conclusion of the event.

Jetsada Homklin
Madagascar took top team honors at the third International Petanque Master tournament in Pattaya.
City Councilman Rattanachai Sutidechanai passed out prizes and cash awards to top finishers at the closing ceremonies of the March 6-9 tournament at the Petanque 9-Rai Club on Soi Kopai.
The tournament was split into three divisions for three-person teams, a targeting match and open competition. Teams from Belgium, France, Japan, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, Senegal, Thailand, United States, and Vietnam participated.
In the three-person team group, the Madagascar 2 line-up won 20,000 baht for first place. The Thai team took the 10,000-baht second-place prize, while the Madagascar 3 team took third for 10,000 baht and France won fourth.
In the targeting match, Thais Thanakorn and Watchara won first and second, respectively.
An open competition saw France place first, the Momento team second and Madagascar 2 take third.
Petanque is a form of boules where the goal is, while standing inside a starting circle with both feet on the ground, to throw hollow metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a “cochonnet” or jack. The game is normally played on hard dirt or gravel, but can also be played on grass, sand or other surfaces.

St. Andrews Panthers show their teeth

Eric shows focus under pressure in the finals of the softball tournament.

Dave Martin
St. Andrews Green Valley under-13 FOBISIA team confirmed their sporting prowess in typically victorious fashion in the recent international FOBISIA tournament held in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. Twenty-four eager Year 7 and 8 students demonstrated teamwork and skills in basketball, football and softball over a three day tournament in the picturesque Malaysian city, known for its rugged mountain treks and orangutan rehabilitation programme.
Faced with the possibility of cancellation less than two months ago, due to the original Bangkok host withdrawing citing the political unrest in Thailand’s capital, Kinabalu International School stepped up to accept the challenge. Much to the delight of international schools from Thailand and Nepal, the school organized a stellar sporting spectacle.

David from St. Andrews (left) challenges for the ball with an opposing team member from St. Stephens.

The event was modified to suit the venue and number of participants and this proved to be the key ingredient in creating a wonderful friendly sporting environment. The competition was still tough and there were many great sporting highlights over the three days of competition including a penalty shoot-out in the boys’ football final and an extra-innings decider in the softball final.
St. Andrews teams built on their rich sporting legacy and gained champion status in every sporting event, completing a clean-sweep of success over the opposition to claim five 1st place trophies. With the girls’ team in particular being well-represented, they were separated into two teams for both basketball and football.
The school community is very proud of the team’s achievements, sportsmanship and enthusiasm.

St. Andrews’ students are champions again.