Back nine blitz lands victory for Banks

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PSC Golf from Siam Country Resort

Tuesday, Sept. 6, Green Valley – Stableford

On Tuesday we returned to Green Valley golf complex where the course was in nice shape, but very busy in the morning with four and a half hour rounds the order of the day.

Stuart Banks.
Stuart Banks.

Stuart Banks has been on a particular good run of form recently, so there has been muttering in the ranks as to how we might trip him up.  He helped us out a bit by having a lesson the day before, so that completely screwed up his swing for the first nine holes.  Then on the tenth hole, as he was waiting on the fairway, a ball came flying from the adjacent tee, missing by just a few feet; shortly after, another thudded down even closer.  While Stuart was looking around dazed and confused, the assassins glided quietly by on the other fairway.

Being somewhat shell-shocked from the bombardment clearly shook him up but Stuart recovered with 23 points on the back nine and a winning score of 37 points.  Neil Harvey came up one short again for second place on 36 points.

At the presentation the group congratulated Stuart on another good win, but enthusiastically urged him to spend his winning on another lesson.  Let’s hope this one doesn’t wear off after nine holes.

Thursday, Sept. 8, Greenwood – Stableford

It was a quiet day at Greenwood, so all the good caddies took the day off.  However, the course was in excellent condition as always, and it was a pleasure to be able to  play at a relaxed pace.

Although we did have a rather disagreeable incident when we committed a breach of etiquette rarely seen in Asia by waving through a faster couple behind us.  The shame.  The ignominy.  It was all too much for one of our caddies, who rather than let them play through, stayed rooted in the middle of the fairway and committed hari kari.  The couple played through without acknowledgement.  Maybe it was just as well, as one of our players would have surely murdered him otherwise.

While we are on the subject of pace of play, Stan Rees and I compared ways to get round the course, and yes, you get round quicker if you walk down the middle of the fairway, rather than drive your buggy from the rough on one side to the rough on the other side (and back again).

While the B team were struggling with the finer points of protocol, the A team were piling up the points, and it would have been a monster score for Neil Harvey had his short putts not persistently refused to drop in the hole, and so he finished with a mere 38 points, but it was Paddy Devereux who hit the jackpot on a triple rollover “nearest the pin” and also claimed first prize with a solid 40 points.

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 meters, with the venue on the left another 200 meters along.  Golf from here is played on Tuesday & Thursday, with the Resort hosting prompt presentations on both days.  As a PSC affiliated venue we welcome all golfers.  Call 089 2535440 (Willem Lasonder) for scheduling or enquiries.