Monday, December 1st
Bangpra
1st Michael Brett (18) 41 points
2nd Gerry Cooney (21) 40 points
3rd Tony Robbins (30) 39 points
4th Brendan Harnett (22) 39 points
Near pins. Near pins Richard Baldotto, Tim Duffy, Uli Mueller, & Jimmy Carr.
Today was the first game under the new system where we moved forward one tee from our regular distance of six thousand five hundred yards to the next tee, and it has to be said that it was not the raging success we had hoped for. Basically, the yellow tees were so far forward that they were on the same tee box as the reds making for a ridiculous game. Some continued from the yellows while most reverted back to the whites after only two/three holes, all in all a bit of a shambles.
The course was busy again, so we had a late start and began the round from the tenth tee. The course was in excellent condition; the greens were quick as ever. Pace of play was acceptable under the circumstances.
The standard of scoring was very good. In an act of self-sabotage one week out from the club championship and putting his handicap in jeopardy Michael Brett had a winning score of forty-one points despite two wipes, he was one that reverted back to the white tees after two holes. Gerry Cooney played the full round off the yellows and took second place, one ahead of Tony Robbins who also played the yellows and beat Brendan Harnett on countback with twenty-two on the back nine. Competition for near pins was very keen with a measure required to determine the winner on two holes; winners were as listed.
It’s fair to say that our effort to accommodate all levels of ability is still a work in progress as we strive to find a system acceptable to all, as an Irish politician might say, “lessons will be learned”.
Wednesday December 3rd
Plutaluang, North & West
1st Sean Murphy (22) 42 points
2nd Mike Milland (17) 40 points
3rd Daryl Vernon (21) 38 points
4th Uli Mueller (12) 38 points
Near pins John Sykes, Sean Murphy, Craig Dows, & Hubert Stiefenhofer.
Today was the second game under our new tee choice, i.e. one forward from our regular tees and was much more agreeable than our first effort. Today the yellow tees were midway between the whites and reds so a much more realistic choice than Bangpra. Once again the course was just about as good as Navy can be with well grassed fairways, however the greens were very slow, the complete opposite to what you would expect just looking at them.
We seem to be in a spate of good scores lately which might be expected given the shorter distance played. An outstanding round of forty-two points saw Sean Murphy take first place, Sean is playing to a much higher standard than during any of his previous visits with all parts of his game in fine touch. Mike Milland also had a fine score of forty points to take second place. A three way tie for third and fourth with Tony Robbins the one to miss out. Once again a couple of very good near pins were taken, probably the best from Craig Dows who got very close on the lighthouse hole.
Preparations are almost complete for next week’s club championship to be held over two days, Monday at Pattavia and Friday at Bangpra. We are expecting the biggest number of the year so far.
Friday, December 5th
Crystal Bay.
1st Michael Brett (18) 45 points
2nd Colin Greig (17) 44 points
3rd Sean Murphy (22) 43 points
4th Tony Robbins (29) 42 points
5th Mark Hayward (16) 39 points
Near pins Mark Hayward, Les Cobban, Brendan Harnett, & Jay Babin
A field of twenty was on hand today for the last game of the week disproving the view that Crystal Bay is not a popular course. Today Crystal Bay was in nice condition with greens back to normal speed after our last visit when they were particularly slow. It won’t be long before the course starts to deteriorate, already the fairways were turning brown and in need of a good drenching.
In a week where high scores were the norm today they went to another level with some of the best scores we have seen for a long time. Its hard to say whether its a case of very bad timing, peaking too soon or the start of a run of good form coming into the club championship for todays winner Michael Brett who top scored with forty-five points. Another who hasn’t been hitting the high spots lately, Colin Greig was just one short of first place with forty-four points. Sean Murphy went one better than his Wednesday score with forty-three points. Tony Robbins would be forgiven for thinking he had won with forty-two points, good enough only for fourth place. In his first game of this tour Mark Hayward took fifth place with thirty-nine points, a score that would win most days. All the near pins were taken as listed.
The pressure is now on for next week’s club championship, one or two are in secret training at some range, let’s see if it pays off, either way it should be an exciting week of golf. Will the regular suspects fight it out on Friday, or will someone come from the clouds and take it?
Winner at Bangpra, and Crystal Bay, Michael Brett.
Winner at Navy, Sean Murphy.
