Weather the real big winner

PSC golf from The Caddyshack

Damian Trant
Monday, August 17, Bangpra – Stableford
In all my time playing golf in Thailand, I don’t think I have ever been stupid enough to play in conditions like this. To say that the lightning was close would probably be one of the biggest understatements of the year.
After several stops and starts most of the twenty golfers games had gone and it wasn’t much fun anymore. The two golfers who did manage to keep it together were Clive Bruce and Roger Moore. Clive proved that it’s ok to hit it like a lady as long has you have a short game to back it up, by taking top spot with 36 points. Roger, in his last round before returning home, was two shots back with 34 points.
1st Clive Bruce 36pts
2nd Roger Moore 34pts
Wednesday, August 19,
Greenwood – Stableford
Only ten golfers bothered to take the longish drive up to Greenwood, the rest of us sensible ones decided to stay at home. I am told that the first five or six holes were perfect for golf and then it all went horribly wrong. The heavens opened and that was that, a washout, a no contest, a wasted day!
Friday, August 21,
Green Valley - Stableford
After the rain affected rounds of Monday and Friday, it was nice to see that the Sun had returned. The great conditions and a couple of dodgy handicaps resulted in a lot of good scoring, especially in A Flight.
Coming in third place in the top division with 35 points was the scribe (Damian Trant). In second place with 37 points was Ben Findon, and well out in front with a 71 gross (41pts) was Mike Allidi. Mike has been away for a while and after always being around a scratch handicap he is now off an unbeatable handicap of four. Well done to Mike!
In B Flight, James Savage took third place with 33 points, Les “Go-Go” Hall was second with 34 points, and Bruce Tollitt took top spot on count back with a better back nine.
A Flight
1st Mike Allidi 41pts
2nd Ben Findon 37pts
3rd Damian Trant 35pts
B Flight
1st Bruce Tollitt 34pts
2nd Les Hall 34pts
3rd James Savage 33pts

Golden day for David Gray

Golf from the Travellers Rest

Reporter Barry Hooper
It was a golden day for David Gray when he came home with forty-one points to win on Thursday, August 20 at Phoenix. David a part time player and a thirty three handicapper had his first win ever, beating the field by four points and leaving Alan Evans in his wake at thirty-seven and Jon Lay, the triple winner of the previous week back in third at thirty-four. Congratulations David, may this win be the first of many more.
On a very different note I have been asked to remind all players who join the TRGG whether members or visitors that it is their responsibility to make sure that they declare before play their lowest recorded handicap where ever it may be held. Failure to do so could result in disqualification under present golf regulations.

Saturday, August 22 winners: Mike Moreton, Bob St.Aubin and Mod Chaviraksa.

Meanwhile, and on the same theme, I have it reported that fair play and honesty in the game is not dead. One golfer during the play at Greenwood on Tuesday, August 11 found on returning home after the event and presentation that he had incorrectly declared his handicap and immediately rang Fergus the organiser advising him of the error and promptly returned his first place prize.
This meant that he was actually in fourth place. The same day another golfer openly declared to his playing partners that he had touched his ball on approach and penalised himself a shot. It is great to see that the game of golf is still in good hands.
Monday, August 10, Bangpra – Stableford
1st Jon Lay (13) 35pts
2nd Ito Akitoshi (7) 34pts
3rd Gerald Thwaites (10) 33pts
Bangpra (the Monkey course) was the venue on Monday, August 10, and despite only having a fairly low participation it turned out to be a very good day with a winning thirty-five pointer for John Lay. This was a good follow on from his third spot placing on the previous Saturday. Ito Akitoshi was second one back at thirty-four (also one place better that his last Monday outing) and a further one back in third at thirty-three was Gerald Thwaites.
Guess who the 2’s pot went to? Ted Senior no less
Tuesday, August 11, Greenwood – Stableford
1st George Robinson (16) 34pts
2nd Gerhard Burger (15) 34pts
3rd Gerald Thwaites (10) 33pts
4th Tony Burnett (22) 33pts
Tuesday saw a trip to Greenwood and we had not been there in some time so it was a welcome return. There was a moderate turnout on the day and I suspect it’s because not everybody likes the longish trip. Actually it is not so long these days with road improvements.
Points were obviously hard to get, as the top two were involved in a thirty-four point fight out on count back. Gerhard Burger lost out and was knocked back to second again (he was second on the previous Saturday) with only fifteen on the back nine. One up on him and in first place was George Robinson, two places better than his last Tuesday outing.
Coming in third today was Gerald Thwaites with thirty-three points and fourth was our “honest man of the week” Tony Burnett.
Richard Talbot meanwhile made the 2’s pot all his own.
Thursday, August 13, Phoenix
(Mountain & Ocean) – Stableford
1st Jon Lay (13) 41pts
2nd Garry Hall (23) 40pts
3rd Frank Kelly (13) 38pts
4th Amphan North (15) 38pts
Yes another visit to our regular Thursday venue of Phoenix (Mountain and Ocean) and this time with a very low turnout of participants. The course excellent as always and scoring much higher than last week.
John Lay pulled of his double for the week with a forty-one pointer and found himself one up on Garry Hall with his forty. Both good scores. Back in third place was Frank Kelly at thirty-eight after beating Amphan North (it was nice to see her back out on the course again) on count back by fifteen to thirteen.
I see that Fergus was back out after having to rest up from an old leg injury earlier in the week. He may not have been at his top form with his thirty-three but he still picked up a share of the 2’s pot with Garry Hall.
Saturday, August 15, Green Valley – Stableford
1st Jon Lay (11) 35pts
2nd Mod Chaviraksa (11) 35pts
3rd Ted Senior (13) 35pts
4th Richard Moore (25) 34pts
Saturday was a regular weekend visit to Green Valley and a very good turnout this time but the course obviously played hard with many a golfer struggling it seems.
However, after his earlier success in the week, and despite a cut to his handicap it did not stop Jon Lay from taking his third win of the week on count back over Mod Chaviraksa in second and Ted Senior in third. Richard Moore was fourth with a thirty-four.
There were no 2’s recorded on the day.
Monday, August 17, Pattana - Stableford
1st Gerald Thwaites (10) 39pts
2nd Alan Evans (23) 35pts
3rd Billy Fitzgerald (16) 34pts
4th Ito Akitoshi (7) 33pts
Pattana A and C was the challenge on Monday, August 17, and we had a good turnout on the day as the players obviously like this course which was in excellent shape and played well as the scores show.
We had just one division and places down to fourth, and taking that fourth spot was Ito Akitoshi with thirty-three points. Third place went to Billy Fitzgerald with thirty-four, second to Alan Evans at thirty-five and the winner was Gerald Thwaites with a fine thirty-nine points.
There were four 2’s on the day from Ray Allison, Alan Evans and Richard Talbot at the eleventh and Eamonn Murtagh at the sixteenth.
Tuesday, August 18, Khao Kheow – Stableford
1st John Franklin (13) 36pts
2nd Jon Lay (11) 32pts
3rd Richard Talbot (18) 29pts
4th Eamonn Murtagh (16) 26pts
Tuesday saw a trip to Khao Kheow to play the C & A layouts and we have not been to this course in some time so it was a welcome return. We had just a modest turnout on the day but I suspect it’s because this venue is a little expensive for some.
Points were obviously hard to get, as the top man John Franklin only posted a thirty-six for first place, Jon Lay was second with thirty-two and in third was Richard Talbot with his twenty-nine.
Due to the difficultly of the course it was no surprise that there were no 2’s on the day.
Thursday, August 20, Phoenix
(Mountain & Ocean) – Stableford
1st David Gray (33) 41pts
2nd Alan Evans (23) 37pts
3rd Jon Lay (11) 34pts
4th Roger Wilkinson (17) 33pts
A good turnout of participants showed up for our Thursday visit to Phoenix and the course was in excellent shape as always and the scoring was relatively high.
This was to be a golden day for David Gray and one he will never forget. The reason for this was that it was his first ever win and you do not forget those do you? He led the field home with forty-one points for a fine victory, with Alan Evans back at thirty-seven for his second runner up place of the week. Jon Lay was third at thirty-four and was unable to find the form of the previous week.
There were no 2’s so a traditional bell ring back at the Travellers Rest afterwards.
Saturday, August 22, Green Valley - Stableford
1st Bob St.Aubin (13) 38pts
2nd Mod Chaviraksa (11) 31pts
3rd Michael Moreton (25) 31pts
4th Barry Hooper (30) 29pts
Saturday was another of our regular weekend visits to Green Valley. We had a smallish turnout this time and the course played hard with many a golfer struggling, including yours truly who was able to play for the first time in some four months.
Unfortunately our organiser Fergus was unable to join us this week, having to rest up some badly torn ligaments. The winner today, Bob St.Aubin, was also disappointed because Fergus and he usually have good personal battles, although Fergus usually comes out on top. I doubt that would have been the case this week though as Bob came home with a fine thirty-eight points, beating second placed Mod Chaviraksa (31) by seven who finished on the same score as Mike Moreton in third but with a better count-back.
There were no 2’s yet again so we enjoyed the customary bell ring at the presentation.

Duncan the class act at Navy

PSC Soi Kanoi Golf Group

Golfers and caddies at Navy with the day’s winner Craig Duncan (2nd from right).

Neil Duncan
Tuesday, August 18, Greenwood C & A (White tees) - Stableford
A tidy group of seventeen golfers were started in two flights and were round in good order with the threatened rain not appearing.
In the A division (handicaps 15 and less) holidaymaking Craig Duncan (manually reduced to 4.6 after 42 points on Monday with East Side Friendly Golf Society) made the best of it by chipping into the hole on 18 for 34 points. Craig was followed home by Cliff Saveall (6), David Clamp (9) and Mike King (11) with 30, 30 and 28 points respectively.
The B Division (handicaps above 16) was won by Bev Ewens (27) with 31 points followed in by Dennis Jaycock (16), Rob Gandley (16) and Jim Fortune (22) with 30, 29 and 26 points respectively. The average score for the day was unusually high for Greenwood at 27.8 points.
Aka O’Reilly’s very well-presented seventeen year old son is visiting him at the moment. On taking his son - who was wearing a canary yellow tee shirt - for a fish and chips dinner at the hump-backed animal bar in Ban Chang after golf, the lovely bar manageress and two comely waitresses sportingly offered the youngster a straight-up ‘three for free’ deal with lots of vigorous hip thrusting movements for emphasis. The lad may have been unfazed but a sage sixty plus fellow diner was heard to remark “O.K. boys, next week we wear yellow tee shirts!”
Thursday, August 20, Plutaluang S & E (White tees) - Stableford
Allocated South and East we were started ahead of schedule. Keeping his game in good shape once again Craig Duncan (5) headed the field with 38 points with another holidaymaker Brian Epsley (10) being runner up with 34 points. Brendon Dougal (20), David Clamp (9) and Neil Duncan (14) were 3rd, 4th and 5th with 33, 32 and 32 points respectively. The average score for the day was 28.4 points.
Rob Gandley, Brendon Dougal and Dennis Dunkley had near pin bonuses whilst Jimmy Fortune scampered off with the bonus for the longest first putt on the 18th green.
Note: Any golfers seeking to play with our group that wish to know about the group’s format please phone Neil on 089 511 0575.

The ubiquitous John Feehan

PSC golf from Lewiinski’s

Sunday, August 16, Green Valley – Stableford
A Flight
1st Pat Regan (11) 42pts
2nd John Feehan (13) 40pts
B Flight
1st Pierre Bietry (14) 40pts
2nd Peter Henshaw (14) 38pts
Red Flight
1st Kathy Doddy (19) 37pts
Near Pins: #2 Seamus Cotter, #9 Ian Halfpenny, #12 Mike Craighead, #16 Dale Shier
Sunday and surprisingly the tees on most of the tee boxes were about as far back as possible, making it a big challenge for the not so big hitters. This did not mean a thing to the Irish boys though as they took three of the top four places.

Pat Regan and Pierre Bietry were the top two at Green Valley.

The senior flight saw Ireland’s Co Tipperary man John Feehan, Ian ‘Gizza fag’ Grout and Jim ‘Capt Fog’ all tied with 40 points each. The prevailing count back handed John Feehan the runner up spot. It took a Co Dublin man to beat him and win the day’s honors, Pat Regan posted a brilliant 42 points.
Pierre ‘The Magician’ stopped it being an Irish clean sweep by posting a very creditable 40 points to grab the junior flight top spot. However, it was a Co Dublin Man, Peter the President who came in as runner up, gaining a count back verdict over Martin Solberg, both knotted on 38 points.
The Red Flight saw the lady on fire Kathy Doody carry on were she left off the previous week, returning a splendid 37 points for top spot.
Spare a thought for ‘Gizza a fag’ Grout who double bogeyed the last hole when a par would have given him a career best 72 gross. Mike Shrosbree did however present Ian with a new packet of fags.
Tuesday, August 18, Treasure Hills – Stableford
A Flight
1st John Feehan (12) 39pts
2nd Peter Henshaw (14) 38pts
3rd Colin Davis (14) 38pts
There are usually never many points to be had at Treasure Hills, but try telling that to the Irish Boys, who for the second match in a row totally dominated the game. This time the Co Tipparary man, John Feehan, turned the tables on the Co Dublin man, Peter ‘The President’ Henshaw, by one shot, 39 points to 38. The President gained the verdict for second in a count back decision over Colin ‘The Donkey’ Davis.
Peter Henshaw and Bob ‘Seamless’ Newell shared the ‘2’s pot.
Wednesday, August 19, Greenwood – Stableford
A Flight
1st Eddie Beilby (15) 38pts
2nd Jim Brackett (8) 36 pts
3rd Jim Reilly (16) 33 pts
With thunderclouds circling the course as we arrived at the Greenwood, it was feared that the heavens were about to open up, which they did causing about an hours break in play. One group sheltered under the bridge that runs under the road, not a good idea as they soon found out when it flooded.
The captain’s group swears they were nearly hit by a meteorite, perhaps it was the party the night before. It was certainly a good sign, as Eddie the Eagle swooped in to record the day’s best score of 38 points. Just behind Eddie was playing partner the ‘Old Vet’ himself Jim Brackett with an even par round 36 points.
The final spot went down to the dreaded count back with the scales tipping in Jim Reilly’s favor (wonder where he hails from?) ahead of John Feehan.
‘Oneball’ was his usual quiet self as he pocketed the day’s only ‘2’.
Friday, August 21, Pleasant Valley – Stableford
A Flight
1st Mike Jeffreys (21) 38pts
2nd John Feehan (11) 36pts
3rd Colin Davis (14) 36pts
Pleasant Valley was the venue to end this week’s golf where Mike Jeffreys took full control from the start to post a very impressive 38 points. This made Mike man of the match.
It was not hard to guess who was second after figuring in all this week’s contests, the right honorable John Feehan, but it took the aid of a count back to push Colin ‘The Donkey’ back into third place.
Peter ‘The President’ scored the only ‘2’ of the day, as Peter himself had a week to remember.
Note: Lewiinski’s is situated on Pattaya Land Soi 1, Beach Road Soi 13/3 near to 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.

Stockman relishes the challenge

IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at Rabbi’s Elephant Bar

The Pattaya Golf Society revisited The Emerald course in Ban Chang on Tuesday, August 18, after a few months when the course costs were excessively high. Common sense has now prevailed and it was appropriate that a quality field left Rabbi’s for a day’s stableford golf.
The course has seen better fairways but the greens were superb and the sun beat down all day.
In a very tight affair Wichai Tananusorn managed to put together a good round of 35 points for fourth place and found Paul McNally and Richard Hurley one point ahead sharing second place. For Richard it was another rung on the ladder of his golf education as he continues to develop his game.
Paul McNally, playing off four, enjoys the challenge of going head-to-head with his peers and on this day he had the company of Dave Stockman. Both attempted to play and out-play each other and Paul’s gross of 76 was just pipped by Dave’s 75, giving him 38 points and a well deserved victory. He shared the ‘2’s pot with Booby Shirkey, the popular Scot playing his first comeback round.
The Booby Bevy was shared by Pat Clark for some wayward navigating to the course and a heavily preoccupied recorder who overlooked Dave Stockman’s birdie effort on hole number five and only discovered back at Rabbi’s.
It was good to get back to golf in Ban Chang and the group is looking forward to the next few months at The Emerald.
Voller’s back to form
The Pattaya Golf Society continued its weekly golf on Thursday, August 20, with its 100th competition of the year, this time at Pattana, over the A and B nines, on the latter following hot on the heels of the Thai LPGA championship.
The course was in fine condition and the greens on the B nine were as quick and true as anyone had ever seen them.
Don Nellis, recently back from work in Mumbai, enjoyed a good day with 34 points and a share of third place with “man of the moment” Richard Hurley. The course always brings out the best in Belgian Emiel van der Wiele and once again he was in the frame with a well-crafted 38 points to take second place.
The winner was Chris Voller, recently in golf’s doldrums, and his 39 points represented a best gross figure of 76. The highlight of his round was the eagle on A2 and four pars and a birdie on the front nine, giving him 22 points for the out-round. The only blemish on his card was the “wipe” on B5, a result of a wayward tee shot.
There were no birdie ‘2’s and Toshihiro Aoki failed to live up to the reputation of his namesake, taking the Booby Bevy for a poor performance.
It had been a day which had seen a thoroughly efficient performance from the Englishman, Chris Voller.
Same, same -
but different
On Saturday, August 22, the Pattaya Golf Society turned the clock back nine years and chose Rayong CC (aka Great Lake) as the venue for its Saturday stableford event.
Having heard rumours of improvements at the course, it was an opportunity to see the current course setup first hand. It has to be said the course has one of the finest of Sir Nick’s layouts with difficult, long holes blending with some forgiving short ones. The group found the fairways were perfectly playable with more options now that the extreme rough is being cut down, the bunkers are well raked and the only downside was the very dry and bobbly greens. Water and rolling should do the trick and it’s hoped that this is already programmed for the near future.
As for the competition itself, Dave Stockman managed 35 points for fourth place, one point behind Tim Lazecki who was enjoying his best golf this trip. Joint winners on thirty-seven points were debutant Simon Anderton and Paul McNally, who fired the day’s best gross of 75.
There were no birdie ‘2’s thus making for an enhanced prize fund but the Booby Bevy went to Richard Hurley for his 22 - 12 split, his round becoming unravelled over the finishing holes after a well crafted front nine.
In this shape, Rayong CC is certainly competition “friendly” and plans are being made for a return to the course in due time.

Fred Land finds a golden touch

IPGC golf from The Haven

Monday, August 17, Khao Kheow – Stableford
1st Greg Gawron 35pts
2nd Alan Griffiths 33pts
3rd Fred Land 32pts
4th Rod Howett 31pts
5th Phil Knight 31pts
It is always a pleasure to be back at Khao Kheow and when the course is almost empty it gives even greater enjoyment, but playing from the yellow tees is not a walk in the park as the scores on this day attested.
With thunder and lightning all around and not a few rain showers, it was unsurprising that the CSS for the day went out to 74.
Greg Gawron was however surprised to win his first competition out of Soi 13 with a less than spectacular score of one over handicap, which still proved good enough by a couple.
Alan Griffiths got straight back into the swing with a solid second place after not touching a golf club for three weeks to edge out playing partner Fred Land into third spot by a single stroke.
Rod Howett won the count back with Phil Knight with a better 17 against 16 over the inward half.
There were no 2’s in the second division but Russell Exley and Alan Griffiths shared the first division pool.
Before presenting the prizes The Doc welcomed new member Toshihiro Aoki and also welcomed back Alan Griffiths.
Wednesday, August 19, Green Valley - Stableford
1st Fred Land 43pts
2nd Danny Greer 38pts
3rd Dave Stockman 37pts
4th Trevor Schirmer 34pts
5th Russell Exley 34pts
Green Valley was expected to be wet and windy but the day stayed fine and dry with just a light wind and with the greens and fairways as usual in fine condition, the scoring was a big improvement from the previous outing.
Fred Land had an outstanding round of 80 gross off his 15 handicap and a lifetime best score to ensure a two stroke reduction to his handicap and an easy five shot margin of victory.
Danny Greer also had his best round for some time in amassing thirty eight points and grabbing second place by one from Dave Stockman who also carded a very tidy gross 76 but had to be content with third place on the day.
Trevor Schirmer won the count back with Russell Exley with a score of 17 to 16 over the back nine to take fourth spot with Russell in fifth.
Alan Griffiths, Trevor Schirmer and Dave Stockman shared the first division 2’s whilst Sid Ottaway and Grant Cadell shared the second division.
There were no welcomes or returnees, but there was a farewell to Fred Land returning after a very successful stay with a handicap three shots lower than when he arrived six weeks previously having played some outstanding golf during his visit.
Friday, August 21, Bangpra – Stableford
1st Alan Hanlon 39pts
2nd Dave Stockman 34pts
3rd Greg Gawron 33pts
4th Danny Greer 33pts
Although the greens are nowhere near as fearsome as they once were, it is still a very brave player that leaves a “ten footer” above any of the holes and with the break from the side of the green to the hole can also sometimes be twice the distance, it needs a steady game and not a little luck to score below ones handicap.
Alan Hanlon out shone the field with the second five shot margin of victory in the week as only two players managed to play within two of their handicap and surprisingly the CSS for the day stayed at 72.
Dave Stockman again had a solid under 80 round to garner 34 points and second place ahead of Greg Gawron and Danny Greer, the latter two only separated by a count back that Greg won with a better 18 to Danny’s 12 after Danny had stormed through the front nine with 21 points and at three under handicap.
Greg will have a few stories to relate on his return to the Gosnells Golf Club, after finishing the week on the podium twice including one win, and never having played to his handicap.
There were no 2’s in either division which was not surprising with the greens as difficult as they were.
Back at The Haven, The Doc welcomed new member Declan Kelly before presenting the prizes.
The IPGC Monthly Medals
The next IPGC Monthly Medals will take place on Tuesday, September 1 at Pattana Country Club. There is a 300 baht entry fee which includes medals for the winners in the 1st Division (0-10, Stroke Play), the 2nd Division (11-18, Stroke Play), the 3rd Division (19+, Stableford) and the Ladies (0-36, Stableford). The results will count towards the end of year Gold and Silver Medals in all divisions. There will be a special European buffet at Rabbi’s Elephant Bar on Soi Buakhao prior to the presentations.
Players can sign up at Donovan’s (Steve Mascari), The Haven (Russell Exley), The Rabbi’s Elephant (Len Jones) or Jomtiem Golf (Glyn Evans).

Milne the magnificent

PSC golf from The Outback Golf Bar

Monday, August 17, Burapha - Stableford
Burapha 21 Outbackers 0 was the final result here as the course (A & B) celebrated its first resounding victory over a weakened Outbacker team.

Eddie Beilby (runner up at Emerald) poses with ‘Roo Cup’ holders, Mark & Steve.

It was generally an all round poor performance in both divisions as nobody played to handicap, probably for the first time in the two years that the Outback have been coming here every Monday. Was it due to the absence of Capt’ Bob? who is still off with an injury, or was it the threat of the storm onslaught that halted play for about an hour? or just the aftermath of the rain leaving the wet greens and soggy fairways? Whatever the reason, the best score out there came from Bruce Milner with 35 points to win Div A from a surprised Bob Lindborg (33) and an even more surprised Paul Greenaway (32).
The next best came from the winner of Div B, Barry Copestake on 34 points from a couple of mediocre efforts from ‘Gentleman George’ (31pts) and that man again, Steve Milne (30pts).
Come on boys you must try harder next week!
There were four ‘2’s from Bruce McAdam, Bob Lindborg and Bruce Milner grabbed two.
Div A (0-14)
1st Bruce Milner (11) 35pts
2nd Bob Lindborg (14) 33pts
3rd Paul Greenaway (12) 32pts
Div B (15+)
1st Barry Copestake (15) 34pts
2nd George Bishop (16) 31pts
3rd Steve Milne (15) 30pts
Wednesday, August 19, Khao Kheow - Stableford
This excellent Pete Dye Design course is always a good test and made especially difficult today through the extremely inclement weather.
All but one of the 15 Outbackers braved the storm to give their best to play the B & C nines from yellow tees, amongst distant cries from the resident Turnip, that he couldn’t reach the fairway. Strange coming from him, last week whilst playing with Pottsy, who played with him again today (his choice), the Turnip couldn’t miss a fairway.
The lightning was vicious as the boys (and Kathy) sat it out at the halfway house; so close were the strikes followed immediately by the thunder clashes, the poor old Sugarman nearly fell off his chair and dropped his beer as he jumped out of his skin.
Rosco put his new swing to the test, which clearly held up well, scoring a fantastic 37 points in these conditions to win by one from three other excellent scores from Henry O’Brien (36), Kathy Doody (35) and Andy Butterworth (34). The organiser for the day, the Sugarman (thanks mate) finished in fifth.
There was just one ‘jackpot 2’ from Henry O’Brien.
1st Rosco Langoulant (12) 37pts
2nd Henry O’Brien (18) 36pts
3rd Kathy Doody (19) 35pts
4th Andy Butterworth (12) 34pts
5th Sugar Ray Handford (18) 31pts
Thursday, August 20, Green Valley - Stableford
Barry Chadbourn (33pts) headed a small field of six Outbackers in a day of very moderate scoring. Kathy Doody, not Doddy, took the other podium place with 31 points, having been cut from h’cap 21 to 19 after her recent victory on the same course, in the Lewiinski monthly medal.
Rick Evans, might have challenged for second place, but seemingly played off the wrong handicap of six rather than eight; always worth checking if you haven’t looked for a while.
There were no ‘2’s.
1st Barry Chadbourn (20) 33pts
2nd Kathy Doody (19) 31pts
Friday, August 21, Laem Chabang - Stableford
The original tee time of 8am was moved back to 8.30, resulting in a restricted field of just sixteen Outbackers today, due to a shotgun start tournament at midday.
Starting on Mountain (A) followed by Lake (B) from the white tees, the course was fairly mauled by many; 36 points would not have got a mention as more than half the field scored 35 points or more! However, with this course rated at a little under 70 (after allowing for the slope factor), in reality only two players bettered their handicap and it’s unlikely to have a dramatic effect on Steve Milne’s.
His magnificent 44 points not only won the day, but was a considerable contribution to another successful defence of the ‘Roo Cup’ by Steve and his playing partner, Mark Riggall, against the Scottish challenge of Andy Butterworth and Andy Robertson.
Joe Mooneyham (2nd), Jim Brackett (3rd =) and Ivan Plunkett (3rd =), all played in the same group; the fourth being General Jack, who once again failed to show as he stood back watching the trio battle it out.
There were three ‘2’s from Steve Milne, Rosco & Mark Riggall.
Note: The Outback Golf Bar is at Laem Chabang this Friday (Aug 28) but then takes a break until Friday Sept 18 when we return here for another three weeks until Oct. 2.
1st Steve Milne (15) 44pts
2nd Joe Mooneyham (12) 39pts
3rd James Brackett (8) 38pts
3rd Ivan Plunkett (19) 38pts
5th Tony Garnett (13) 38pts
Friday, August 21, The Emerald - Stableford
A deserted Emerald played host to another 14 Outbackers who enjoyed excellent playing conditions and a good pace at the Outback’s alternative venue. This ever-popular course can be likened in length to Laem Chabang from the whites, but not in difficulty as the scores today clearly reflect; the effective rating here (after allowing for the slope factor) being just over 72, some two full shots tougher.
Rick Evans (37pts), still choosing to play off h’cap 6 rather that his listed 8, won by three, ahead of Eddie Beilby (2nd) and ‘Gentleman George’ (3rd), both with 34 points. Eddie Smith, who has just returned from the UK, welcome back mate, took the final podium place with 33 points ahead of the day’s organiser, Chad, on the same score.
Just as a note, Eddie was still in bed (jet lag?) at his allotted tee time and his group eventually started some 45 minutes behind the rest, during which time nobody teed off at Emerald. Just goes to show how quiet it is everywhere.
There were three ‘2’s from Paul Bourke, Barry Copestake and Paul Greenaway.
1st Rick Evans (6) 37pts
2nd Eddy Beilby (15) 34pts
3rd George Bishop (16) 34pts
4th Eddie Smith (10) 33pts
Note: If you played this course, the Outback would like you to comment on our forum, outbackchat – topic, “course reviews”, which can be found on our website, www.outbackgolfbar.com. This would help others as to the current condition of the courses in the area. For example: value for money (green fee & cart etc), pace of play, condition of the fairways, condition of the greens, caddies, and drink stops & restaurant. Even if you played a different course, please send in your review for all to read. The more the merrier.
The Outback Golf Bar is situated about 6km from Sukhumvit Road along Soi Siam Country. All are welcome to come and join us for a beer and a hit. Just call in and put your name down on the list or give Bob a call on 087 941 2474.

Walter captures his first Monthly Mug

PSC golf from the Café Kronborg

Peter Blackburn
Monday, August 17, Bangpra – Stableford
We had 15 golfers on the starting sheet and we headed off in 2 mini vans 45 minutes later than normal as we had a 1030 hrs tee off time which afforded us the cheaper, after 1000 hrs price.

Walter Bachli (right) receives his Monthly Mug from ‘The Admiral’.

Humidity was high as our first group hit off 10 minutes early and as usual the course looked in excellent condition. We were surprised at the shortage of monkeys hanging around the second green and third tee but it was to become apparent that they had read the weather forecast in much more detail than we had.
It wasn’t long before the thunder started and then some lightning and although we played through the rain for most of the round we were never seriously inconvenienced by heavy rain and we battled on. The final scores were indicative of the inclement weather and no-one was able to play to his handicap.
We had 2 flights, A which was handicaps 0 – 20 and B which was 21 +. The winners in both flights were both U.S. “old timers” in Bill Plath and Wayne Koch with Doug Maiko missing out to Bill in a count back with Peter Blackburn third. Kevin Dynan was runner up to Wayne with Hugh O’Donnell edging out Per Anders Karlsonn on a count back for third place.
A Flight
1st Bill Plath (17) 34pts
2nd Doug Maiko (14) 34pts
3rd Peter Blackburn (14) 32pts
B Flight
1st Wayne Koch (23) 35pts
2nd Kevin Dynan (22) 34pts
3rd Hugh O’Donnell (25) 33pts
Thursday, August 20, Phoenix (Mountain & Ocean) –Monthly Mug/Stroke
I looked out of my window at 0700 hrs and it was absolutely bucketing down. Soi Diana Inn was starting to flood and I was thinking that golf today was doubtful. However, I arrived at the Café Kronborg at 0730 hrs and the rain was starting to ease and by 0800 hrs it had stopped. GAME ON!
A very good field of 18 golfers departed on time and we arrived at Phoenix in plenty of time for our 0930 tee off. We were surprised to see that there had been no rain in the immediate area and the course was in fine condition, although a few people did complain about the greens, particularly on the Mountain Nine, but all in all the golf course played very well, as some of the scores indicated.
Such a good turnout allowed us 2 flights – A for handicaps 0 to 17 and B for handicaps 18 and over.
Special mention to Walter Bachli who had an eagle 2 on the Ocean Nine third hole par-4. He tells me he hit a perfect 7 iron from 140 yards out and that would not have been his only great shot as he took out his very first Café Kronborg Monthly Mug. Marcel Wittwer won the A flight on a count back from Ted Morris with Bill Plath in third place. Darryl Evans finished up winner in B Flight from Dave Richardson with Herb Schwieterman in third place.
Monthly Mug winner
Walter Bachli (16) net 67
A Flight
1st Marcel Wittwer (16) net 68
2nd Ted Morris (10) net 68
3rd Bill Plath (17) net 71
B Flight
1st Daryl Evans (19) net 72
2nd Dave Richardson (20) net 76
3rd Herb Schwieterman (23) net 77

Bridge in Paradise: by Neil Robinson

Last week, I was lucky to make a doubled contract.  This week, I got greedy and unlucky.  I was playing bridge with friends from Chiang Mai at the charming Chiang Dao Nest resort.  I was sitting North and picked up a wonderful hand.  I was trying to decide whether or not to open a strong, forcing two clubs at my turn to bid.  To my surprise, my partner, John Bucher, opened before I had a chance.  Sitting EW were Kit Salisbury and Chris Hedges.  Here is the bidding: 

East             South        West          North

(Kit)            (John)       (Chris)       (me)

P                  1S               P                  3H

P                  4H              P                  4N

P                  5C              P                  5N

P                  6H              P                  7S

All pass                                              

I bid 4N, to ask for aces and John replied 5C, showing none.  This encouraged me, because he did not have the ace of clubs, which would be wasted points.  I reasoned that his points must be elsewhere, such as in his bid suit.
I bid 5N, to ask for kings. 6H showed two kings, so I knew he had the king of trumps.  I reasoned that, if he only has the queen of his opening suit, my hand is good for thirteen tricks in spades, with only minimal help from my partner’s hand.  At the very worst, thirteen tricks are only a finesse away, and opposite most 1S openers, thirteen tricks are cold.  So, I bid grand slam.  Greedy, yes, but not unreasonable.  These were the NS hands:  

East dealer, East-West vulnerable 

                     S: AJ9

                     H: AK10852

                     D: AKJ2

                     C: -                        

S: ?                                              S: ?

H: ?                                             H: ?

D: ?                                             D: ?

C: ?                                             C: ? 

                     S: K10743

                     H: Q9

                     D: 10

                     C: KQJ87             

West led the three of hearts.  In view of the bidding, this looks suspiciously like a singleton.  Once trumps are pulled, hearts will run.  Five spade tricks plus six heart tricks plus ace and king of diamonds adds up to thirteen tricks.  The only problem is that pesky missing queen of spades.  What is your plan for making the contract?
John ducked the heart lead around to the nine in hand.  He can take the spade finesse in either direction, hoping to trap the queen in the West hand between board’s ace and jack, or hoping to trap East’s queen between board’s king and ten.
John reasoned that, since West was short in hearts, he was more likely to be long in spades.  So he played the king from hand, dropping the queen in East’s hand.  The good news was that he had found the queen.  The bad news was the 4-1 split.
He played the ace and jack from board, but this still left one trump out.  How to get back to hand to pull it?  If he played a high diamond and then ruffed a diamond to get to hand, he can pull trumps.  But then he has no way to get back to board to enjoy the hearts (if he overtakes the queen to get back to the hearts he will eventually lose to the jack).
The only possibility seemed the faint hope that the lead was not a singleton and to come back to hand by leading to the queen of hearts.  Unfortunately, West ruffed and the contract was down one.  I was criticised for greed, but I still think it was bad luck!
The full deal is shown here.  Double dummy, the way to make the contract is clear - just lead low to the ace of spades, dropping the queen.  Play the jack, then overtake the nine back to hand, pull trumps and take thirteen tricks.  But how to come up with this line at the table, without knowing all four hands?  Did you come up with this plan? 

                                 S: AJ9

                      H: AK10852

                      D: AKJ2

                      C: -                

S: 8652                                S: Q

H: 3                                      H: J764

D: 96543                              D: Q87

C: 643                                  C: A10952

                      S: K10743

                      H: Q9

                      D: 10

                      C: KQJ87       

Send me your interesting hands at: [email protected].

Mickey Mouse Friday Night Dart League

Results & Standings August 21 (week 3)

O’Leary’s played away at the OK Corral where the Posse showed the Lepracorns what fast draw shooting was all about; the Posse taking both game & beer. The lovely Too (OK) outgunned all of the Posse and managed to score 3*. Great darts Too (maybe you can give Bob a few lessons before next Friday!)
The Londoner has a very thirsty team, however they have still yet to win a game after Cheers took the match and Londoner the beer.
Gorgeous George took the Palmers Crew along to the secret location to play the Coffee Shop Quartet; the Blue Mountain taking the game with Palmers Crew supping a free beer. Blue Mountain have now dropped out of the league, apparently all the BM girls have a crush on Gorgeous but as they can not have him they just do not see the point in carrying on!
Team Lucky Time made their way to the Bunker to find Mrs. Mick (Ta) washing the customized golf buggy and then hanging a ‘For Sale’ on it. Ta said that now they had a little daughter they needed something more appropriate. Capt’ Mick sat inside sulking and casting longing looks at his beloved golf buggy.
Lucky Time started strong but then the Bunker Boys made one of those dastardly comebacks. Then result could have gone either way, the final score being 5-4 to Lucky Time. The beer leg was nip and tuck all the way, yours truly checking out for LT on X1.
In the Soi Yamoto derby, Risby led the Sunshine Boys along the soi to the Dungeon and then at the end of the evening he led them back home again, wondering why he had bothered leading them anywhere in the first place! Melly’s Crew took their frustrations out on the Sunshine Boys, taking the game 10-3, and then also took the beer.
Not naming any names or pointing the ‘finger of ridicule’ at anyone in particular, but guess who lost to a girl? Darts Pai. Okay, before he starts, Mark (RS) also lost to a girl, darts Thip. Until next week!

Pattaya Backgammon League

Gabriel Davis
At Somboons Restaurant on DongTarn Beach last Friday, August 21, the Pattaya Backgammon League hosted its largest event to date with 16 players representing 7 different countries.

Among our contestants were Mr. and Mrs. Gary Kay from Chicago. Mr. Kay had been a top 25 player in the world for over a decade and Mrs. Kay is a tough as nails competitor as well. We at the PBL would like to thank them for stopping by for two tournaments and hope to see them back again soon.
Incredibly and unfortunately for Mr. Brown, he was paired with me in the semi final and lost at a staggering 11-0 score. This brings our personal match record to 4-0 in favor of this writer. On the left is a position from our 11pt semi final match which illustrates that making the right decision doesn’t always have its rewards.
Here you can see that Black is leading the match 3-0 and has a Blitzing (attacking) position and White is looking to cover up and reconsolidate his position. During the course of live play my choice to double came easily and quickly, while Mr. Browns was thoughtful and precise.
I actually believed this was a pass/drop, that he was unable to accept the doubling cube. In the end he took/accepted and ended up losing a gammon for 4 points. Later back at the bat cave I put this position in to the computer program called Snowie (a neural network that can give definitive answers on backgammon) and was a bit surprised to find it telling me that Mr. Brown has once again made the correct decision where I had an opposing view. Better luck next week Mr. Brown.
The Pattaya Backgammon League meets every Friday at Somboons on DongTarn Beach and registration starts at 13:00. You can visit our website www.pattayabackgam monleague.com for more information.

Sala Thai Restaurant closes on Café Kronborg

Pattaya Sports Club Bowling League

200 Bowlers: Tue, Tui, Antero & Zahl.

Sala Thai Restaurant gained ground on Café Kronborg after they won three points from Sabai Sabai Friday and Café Kronborg lost three to VFW Post 9876. Nok Kennedy bowled a 566 series for Sabai Sabai Friday but it was not enough to overcome the high handicap enjoyed by Sala Thai Restaurant.
VFW Post 9876 won their three points from Café Kronborg behind very good bowling by Tui Amphanon who had a 220 game, 560 series and Kaew who bowled a 542 series. Kran Nielsen had a 524 series and Yeow a 514 for Café Kronborg.
Brother D continued their winning ways taking three points from Jack Tar: Mai Munsitha rolled a 535 series for Jack Tar. Antero Ronkainen had a great day with games of 227, 188 and 180 for a 595 series to lead Bavaria to a three point win over Indiana. Café Ole won all four points from Green Chilli with Tue Pettae leading Ole with a 224 game and 560 series, and Maliny Pasakit bowled a 519 series to help Swethai take three points from Canada.