Monday, July 8th
Pattaya Country Club
1st Rob Folland (15) 37 points
2nd Tony Robbins (24) 36 points
3rd Michael Brett (17) 35 points
Near pins Kevin LaBar, Niall Glover, & Rob Folland X 2.
A late start to today’s round at Pattaya Country Club due to heavy bookings at the course, consequently a slow round ensued, at least one major society was out ahead of us. It feels like the frustration of slow play is already with us. Slow play is a huge bone of contention with almost all those guilty of slow play refusing to recognise that they are actually slow. More often than not the reason many players are slow is that they are never ready when it’s their turn to play, also too much consultation with caddies contributes.
An overcast day with not a breath of wind to start with but by the close of play the wind was up and the skies clear.
Much better scoring today compared to the last few rounds although it has to be said we played off the wrong tees with the expectation that the course was much wetter than it turned out to be.
Rob Folland took the honours today with a fine round of thirty-seven, a few slip ups here and there but not with the putter, he never missed a putt today all day.. To go with his winning score he also snared a brace of near pins. Second place went to Tony Robbins, the biggest beneficiary of playing off the wrong tees, whilst Michael Brett took third on countback. The remaining near pins went to Kevin LaBar and Niall Glover.
Talk about Brendan Harnett being a slow player was added to by his tilac who said he was even slower in the boudoir, we can’t confirm the veracity of that statement.
Wednesday July 10th
Emerald
1st Michael Brett (17) 35 points
2nd Rob Folland (15) 33 points
3rd Craig Dows (6) 32 points
Near pins Niall Glover, & Michael Brett.
Today we were scheduled to play Silky Oak but several members expressed their dislike of the course so we scheduled a game at Emerald instead, and what a good decision it turned out to be. Emerald was in the best condition we have seen for a very long time having had to cope with criticism for several months for being dry, bare and shabby, it was lush green and well grassed and well manicured. If there was a complaint it was that the greens were very slow, still looked just fine but seriously slow. With almost daily or nightly rain sometimes both, courses are now looking the best they have been for months.
On the way to the course it looked like we would get drenched at some stage, however luck was on our side and despite being very humid the rain stayed away. We played pick, clean, and place again but as it turned out the course was much better than we expected. So far we are fortunate to not have been rained off or even been disrupted by rain.
A modest thirty-five points was enough to secure first place for Michael Brett, a win after a prolonged period of low scores. To mark the occasion a little bell rang back at the bar. In very good form lately Rob Folland took second place with thirty-three, despite a slight hangover following the opening of his new bar in Soi Lengkee. Craig Dows completed the winners list with thirty-two points. Only two near pins were taken, going to Niall Glover and Michael Brett. Rob Folland can’t stop winning as he took all three sixes in his group.
Friday, July 12th
Plutaluang North & South
1st Rob Folland (15) 36 points
2nd Uwe Jorgensen (27) 35 points
3rd Lewis Greig (17) 32 points
Near pins Peter Bottrell, Craig Dows, Niall Glover, & Michael Brett
An unusual combination of nines today at Plutaluang as the East nine was closed for greens repair. The course was in very good condition and with an all-in fee of eleven hundred baht was excellent value. A promotional fee of one thousand baht walking was in place, one feels a bit of Thai logic at play here.
The course was not busy so a relatively quick round was had, apart from the last group who were a bit tardy allowing a Korean group to slip in ahead of them and slow them up further. Second win of the week to Rob Folland with a tidy thirty-six points, by now he is streaking ahead in the golfer of the month race. Uwe Jorgensen threw in a good round as he does regularly, taking second place a stroke back. Lewis Greig took third on countback from Alan Sullivan on countback, Alan must be suffering a bit of bad karma. In his last game of this tour Peter Bottrell took a near pin before returning to Melbourne to take care of his dog, there may even be a special party to attend also, the other near pi/ns went to Craig Dows, Niall Glover & Michael Brett.
Brendan Harnett also played his last game of this tour so no more jokes about his electric paced play for the time being.
Apart from having two exceptional long puts Tony Robbins also excelled with the accuracy of his driving, on one hole he managed to hit the tee marker ahead of him, the ball bounced back to where he hit his original shot from, such accuracy surely deserves a prize, if he was there for another month it is unlikely he could repeat the feat
Rob Folland, winner at Pattaya Country Club. & Plutaluang.
Michael Brett, winner at Emerald