IPGC golf from The Haven
Monday, August 18, Pattavia – Stableford
CSS 72
1st Kevin Waycott (8) 39pts
2nd Hal Hart (21) 34pts
3rd Mike Dabanovich (13) 32pts
4th Barry Winton (5) 31pts
5th Trevor Schirmer (14) 31pts
Following the previous week’s competitions, of which two were non-counting for handicap upward review, this past week’s events were, at first glance, much easier with the CSS for the day remaining at level par whist the other reduced by a stroke. But it does not necessarily following that the courses were harder before as there are many reasons for the CSS to either rise or reduce on the day, amongst which are the strength of the wind, rain, heat, pin placements and not least the tee positions which affect the overall length of the course.
Mike Hill, Kevin Waycott and Ron Wilson.
None of these issues seemed to affect Monday’s winner Kevin Waycott, as once again he completed the ritual fleecing of the hopefuls from The Haven, taking his third win in his last five outings with the group. This win, at three under handicap, was good enough by five points to take the top spot, leaving the rejuvenated Hal Hart happy to claim second place.
Mike Dabanovich showed flashes of his old form but too many singletons left him just too much to do over the closing holes and saw him finally have to settle for third place ahead of Barry Winton, who also wished he could have started again after six holes with just nine points in the locker, but a better 18 to 17 over the back nine saw he take fourth ahead of Trevor Schirmer.
There were no 2’s in the second division but Barry Winton and Trevor Schirmer shared the first division with one each.
Wednesday, August 20, Green Valley – Stableford
CSS 72
1st Ron Wilson (12) 39pts
2nd Terry Hodgkiss (23) 38pts
3rd Ben Jackson (16) 35pts
4th Hal Hart (21) 33pts
5th Mike Dabanovich (13) 32pts
6th Don Everett (19) 32pts
7th Barry Winton (5) 32pts
Ron Wilson turned up at Green Valley amassed a fine 39 points, but after having started out like an express train over the opening half he almost failed at the last gasp as Terry Hodgkiss steamed through the back nine finishing with 20 points and just missing out by one for his long awaited win. He was left ruing the one-pointer on the 17th and had to be content with just second spot.
Ben Jackson slipped into a well earned third place sticking with it after a few bad holes that took him out of contention for a top step.
Hal Hart was once again on the list of podium names in fourth just one ahead of a three-way count back between Mike Dabanovich in fifth with 18 on the back nine and Don Everett in sixth with 15, which left Barry Winton in seventh with just 14 after a very solid start to his day.
Terry Hodgkiss and Ben Jackson shared the 2’s in the second division while Ron Wilson added to his day’s haul with the only one in the first division.
Friday, August 22, Crystal Bay – Stableford
CSS 71
1st Mike Hill (23) 42pts
2nd Hal Hart (21) 40pts
3rd Rod Crosswell (15) 35pts
4th Don Everett (19) 35pts
5th Trevor Schirmer (14) 34pts
6th Mathew Badman (11) 32pts
Crystal Bay has had a lot of negative comments recently regarding the greens and on this day’s experiences most of them would appear to have great validity, with the A course greens seeming to have as many as four different types of grass all growing at different rates and in different directions, making any attempt at putting a lottery, and in some cases something akin to a test bed for the famous bouncing bombs of yore. It was clear that the lower the handicap of the player the worse was their score.
Even so, the scoring on the day was of such a high level that the CSS actually went down, which speaks well for the condition of the rest of the course from tee to green. But there does seem to be some efforts being attempted to rectify the situation as the C course greens were all being cored and hopefully some remedial work will be carried through to deal with the variation of grasses in the near future.
But none of this should take away from the outstanding win by Mike Hill whose 42 points, which represents a gross score of 89, and which is his best recorded out of nearly 250 rounds, well deserved the victory ahead of Hal Hart in second place, who must have thought that four under handicap would be about right for the win. But on this showing, apart from a couple of lapses which resulted in zero points, Mike was in unbeatable form amassing eight 3-pointers plus two 4-pointers resulting in 32 from ten holes and a truly great round to remember.
Rod Crosswell took third place after winning a count back over Don Everett in fourth, carding a better 17 to 15 on the last nine.
Trevor Schirmer ended the week as he had stated it in fifth place to leave the returning Mathew Badman in sixth a further two strokes back.
There were no 2’s in either division.
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.
