Monday, December 15th
Treasure Hill
1st Paul Smith (5) 41 points
2nd Jimmy Carr (24) 32 points
3rd Keith Norman (17) 32 points
4th Alan Howard (21 ) 32 points
Near pins Colin Greig, Uli Mueller, Paul Smith, & Keith Norman.
Treasure Hill staff were not at their best in recent days, first they forgot our booking and the only way we found out was when someone rang the course to book a caddie. They were able to accommodate us but at a later time than we prefer. Then they neglected to inform us that only sixteen holes were in play so we had to compromise and play two holes twice, second time off a different tee. We did however get a two hundred baht discount on the quoted price.
Because another society arrived at the same time as us we teed off on the tenth hole and the game progressed without any holdups or delays. The course was not at its best but still good to play. Under current circumstances a field of nineteen was acceptable.
Having blown everybody away last week in the club championship Paul Smith continued in a similar vein today taking first place with forty-one points. A full nine strokes back three fought it out for second place with Jimmy Carr taking it on countback from Keith Norman and Alan Howard. All the near pins were taken as listed. A breakaway group of twelve traveled to Royal Lakeside on Tuesday to play probably the best course on our roster where a walking fee of fourteen hundred baht is irresistible, needless to say all were walking. An additional fee of eight hundred baht for a cart is considered unreasonable by most.
Wednesday December 17th
Bangpakong Riverside
1st Walter Baechli (21) 40 points
2nd Michael Brett (18) 38 points
3rd Jimmy Carr (24) 34 points
Near pins Jimmy Carr, Walter Baechli, & Keith Norman
The smallest high season group for a very long time today for a variety of reasons. The Riverside course was in perfect condition as usual. One of the slowest rounds in the history of golf. The all-in fee of eighteen hundred baht attracted several golfing groups, so a late start and a slow round in excess of five hours ensued, painfull for just about everybody. It seems that the better courses with more realistic pricing are attracting big numbers while similar courses with high pricing are struggling, some don’t seem to realise that they have to meet market reality.
For this course scoring was lower than we would normally expect. One exception was the winner Walter Baechli who amassed forty points, his first win with the Bunker Boys. Second place went to Michael Brett with thirty-eight points when a much better score beckoned. Jimmy Carr rounded out the winners circle with thirty-four points. The near pin on the sixteenth hole remained unclaimed, the other three were as listed.
Friday’s game is scheduled for Navy South and East when we expect a much bigger roll-up.
Word around the traps is that courses with ridiculous high season pricing are now having second thoughts and revising down their pricing, the regular flood of golfers from a particular region doesn’t seem to have materialised, while unfavourable currency exchange rates have contributed. A case could be made for better pricing for residents who support local courses all year round and not be hit with prices targeting seasonal visitors.
Friday, December 19th
Plutaluang East and South
1st Alex Sala (26) 41 points
2nd Colin Greig (17) 39 points
3rd Michael Brett (18) 38 points
4th Alan Howard (21) 37 points
Near pins, Bil Richardson, Robby Watts, & Colin Greig X 2.
It must be the season to be jolly, there were certainly some jolly good scores this week, all three winners had forty points or more, and today was no different with winner Alex Sala taking first place with forty-one points. Colin Greig was just two shy in second place and Michael Brett was third with consecutive scores of thirty-eight. The ever consistent Alan Howard rounded out the winners circle with thirty-seven points.
All the near pins were taken with Colin Greig taking two and one each to Bil Richardson and Robby Watts.
One could go on ad nauseum about the frustration of playing behind six-balls. Today was such an occasion where we had one of the worst ever seen. Apparently according to one of our caddies it’s a status thing where people who perceive themselves as hi-so see it as their right to just do whatever they please regardless of how it affects others. I guess it’s just something that we have to tolerate.
The East and South nines were in as good condition as we have seen them and playing off the yellow tees contributed to the good scoring, however without rain soon these two nines will quickly turn brown and offer a much more difficult challenge.
Winner at Treasure Hill Paul Smith.
Winner at Navy, Alex Sala.
