Monday, February 17th
Pleasant Valley
1st Keith Norman (20) 38 points
2nd Kevin LaBar (13) 36 points
3rd Michael Brett (18) 35 points
4th Roger Tuohy (13) 33 points
5th Hubert Stiefenhofer (16) 33 points
Near pins Raleigh Gosney, Les Cobban, & Mike Milland X 2.
From forty players on Friday to eighteen for today’s game at Pleasant Valley. More importantly at least four regular drivers were absent making life difficult getting everyone to the course, we even had to turn a couple of players away and use BOLT again to get one group to the course.
In good condition as ever the course looked verdant green with a rich covering of grass on the fairways. Playing conditions were fine until on the back nine we got rained upon, something that hasn’t happened in several months. The rain wasn’t heavy enough to stop play, just enough to make everybody miserable. Some who had posted excellent scores on the front nine, principally Raleigh Gosney who had twenty-four, fell away completely when the rain came, others included Steve Downes and Hubert Stiefenhofer. It was remarkable to see how quickly the greens got soft with every shot in, leaving a big pitch mark.
A strange round from Keith Norman with two birdies and two wipes, he still managed to take first place with thirty-eight points. A big improvement on Friday’s form saw Kevin LaBar take second. Without making a single put until the closing holes Michael Brett somehow managed third place with thirty-five points. Roger Tuohy was steady if not spectacular edging out Hubert for fourth place, During his purple patch on the front nine Raleigh managed to secure a very good near pin on the eight, Les Cobban also took one with Mike Milland taking two.
After an absence of four and a half years last week we had the pleasure of welcoming Mark Stanley back to the Bunker Boys, let’s hope it’s not another four years till his next visit.. We had a few of our regular visitors, Steve Evans, Phil Mashiter, and Derek Stephenson depart with Alan Howard about to follow this week, looks like we will soon get back to low season numbers and faster games with less waiting.
Wednesday, February 19th
Pattavia
1st Ian Flannigan (21) 40 points
2nd Tony Robbins (27) 39 points
3rd Neil Jones (31) 38 points
4th Michael Brett (18) 36 points
5th Hubert Stiefenhofer (16) 36 points
6th Dave Galvin (22) 35 points
Near pins Billy Shepley, Dave Galvin, Ken Smith, & Danny Miller.
Just when we thought our numbers were reducing we got a fresh influx of golfers, including Aussie regulars Sam Reid and Peter Mac, the cycle continues, we believe there are more to come, luckily several regulars are not playing or at least playing elsewhere. Once again we were back to a field of thirty which is good for this time of year, for the first time in ages we needed two minibuses.
As we drove into the course there was nobody to be seen on any part of the course, most unusual. The course was surprisingly green, much more so than we have seen in months, perhaps benefiting from some localised rainfall. We were able to tee off immediately and so finished in good time, how nice is it to play with no hold ups anywhere?
A great day today for the high handicappers with five of the winners list eighteen or over. An exceptional round from Ian Flannigan saw him first place with forty points. Clearly, fully recovered from a recent ailment Tony Robbins was just one point short in second place. Making one of his rare appearances at the Bunker, Neil Jones took third place with thirty-eight points, could this be an omen for Wales this weekend against Ireland. Steady for most of the round Michael Brett fell down wiping the last relatively easy hole when a score beckoned, still thirty-six was enough to edge out Hubert Stiefenhofer on countback, with Dave Galvin rounding out the winners circle with thirty-five points. Dave also managed a very close near pin on the thirteenth, the other near pins went to Billy Shepley, Ken Smith, and Danny Miller.
Friday, February 21st
Hermes
1st Keith Norman (19) 37 points
2nd Ian Flannigan (20) 36 points
3rd Michael Brett (18) 34 points
Near pins Dean Nelson, Tony Plummer, Mab Jiwa, & Michael Brett
We are playing yo yo with our numbers lately, after thirty on Wednesday we were back to thirteen for today’s game at Hermes, perhaps the two thousand two hundred baht all-in fee put many off.
The course today was as good as you could wish for, but a strong wind made scoring difficult, nevertheless a couple of good scores were returned.
The Bristol bear is currently on a bull run winning for the second time this week with a score of thirty-seven. One stroke back was Wednesday’s winner Ian Flannigan despite a stroke cut in handicap, perhaps a few more cuts are required. Treacherous greens didn’t help third placed Michael Brett who once again had the horrors with the flatstick, will it ever end? Near pins were as listed.
We have an excellent roster next week with everyone’s favourite Greenwood up first followed by Bangpakomg Riverside on Wednesday and closing out the month with Bangpra on Friday. The golfer of the month is wide open at this stage so a strong finish will see someone take the prize, who will it be?
Two time winner at Pleasant Valley & Hermes, Keith Norman.
Winner at Pattavia Ian Flannigan
