Monday, January 22nd
Crystal Bay C & A.
1st Alan Sullivan (14) 42 points
2nd Andrew Winterburn (17) 38 points
3rd Neil Griffin (27) 38 points
4th Witt Mann (14) 37 points
5th Mike Milland (20) 36 points
6th Kob Glover (16) 36 points
Near pins. Mike Milland, Colin Greig, Frank Dartford, & Jimmy Carr.
Ironic how a course deemed unsuitable to play all of last year attracted the biggest number of players for a very long time, forty, that kind of put paid to the notion that people don’t want to play this course. We were able to tee off as soon as we arrived and play without any stoppages or interruptions.
The course was pretty much as expected, dry, hard, and brown except for the places where the irrigation system was broken down, those areas were verdant green. The bunkers were a shambles as usual, and the greens on the C nine were much slower than the A nine. Despite that most enjoyed the course, the layout is as good as any other course we play.
Scoring was of a high standard with Alan Sullivan taking first place with a very good forty-two points. Newcomer Andrew Winterburn took second place on countback from Neil Griffin both with thirty-eight points, Andrew generously made a contribution to the delinquent fund. Witt Mann was alone in fourth with thirty-seven points Four players finished on thirty-six points with only two making the winners list i.e. Mike Milland and Kob Glover. Mike also took a near pin with Colin Greig, Frank Dartford, and Jimmy Carr taking the other three.
After golf one member had a problem with a flat tyre, only to find the spare was also underinflated, a common mistake where people forget to regularly check the spare, forgetting that overtime it also loses pressure.
Wednesday, January 24th
Royal Lakeside White Tees.
1st Ian Flanigan (22) 38 points
2nd Tony Robbins (28) 38 points
3rd Eddie Kelly (25) 35 points
4th Jimmy Carr (18) 35 points
5th Michael Brett (17) 35 points
Near pins Mike Milland, Jimmy Carr, Rob Folland, & Paul Smith.
From the outhouse to the penthouse in a matter of days, what a delight to play a course in such perfect condition today. The fairways were like carpet, the bunkers well sanded and raked perfectly, and the greens were fast and true. The only obstacle to a good score today was the wind which blew quite hard at times. Even the caddies today were a class above those at most courses. It was certainly worth going the extra mile to enjoy such a course as we have been limited in our course choices in high season due to overpricing, today’s all-in fee of two-thousand, two hundred and fifty baht was on the high side but still acceptable.
Very respectable scores were returned today with Ian Flannigan taking first place on countback from Tony Robbins who seems to have a new lease on life after a prolonged period out of golf, both had thirty-eight points. Third, fourth, and fifth were decided on countback and placed as listed. The near pins went to Mike Milland who is now a regular with near pins, Jimmy Carr, Rob Folland, and Paul Smith.
Friday, January 26th
Pattavia
1st Dave Ashman (28) 43 points.
2nd Alan Howard (21) 39 points
3rd Jon Dean (16) 39 points
4th Kevin LaBar (12) 38 points
5th Kob Glover (16) 37 points
6th Ian Flanigan (22) 35 points
Near pins Cameron Hunt X 2, Ronny Portis, & Jimmy Carr.
Back to a very ordinary golf course again today. Rock-hard, bone-dry, fairways with little grass mostly brown, many areas devoid of any grass, bunkers with little or no sand, and silly greens are not a recipe for enjoyable golf. Add to the fact we had to tee off late on a very crowded course raises the question, why do we play this course four times every month when so many other options are available to us?
Pattavia is a course that polarises opinions, some detest it while others see it as their favourite course. It’s possible that after today’s round, it may replace Treasure Hill as Dave Ashman’s favourite course. With an astonishing round of forty-three points, his best score in years, Dave took first place by a margin of four points from second-placed Alan Howard who beat on countback third-placed Jon Dean. Kevin LaBar had a very solid round of thirty-eight points in fourth place Kob Glover took fifth on thirty-seven points, two ahead of last-placed Ian Flannigan. Cameron Hunt grabbed two near pins with one each going to Ronny Portis and Jimmy Carr.
Next week we undertake a longer-than-usual trip to play the Subhapruek course close to Bangkok, some members have played this course a couple of times but several who are down to play have not played it before so a bit of an adventure is in store for them.
Alan Sullivan, winner at Crystal Bay.
Ian Flannigan, winner at Royal Lakeside
Dave Ashman, winner at Pattavia.