Monday, March 25th
Greenvalley
1st Hubert Stiefenhofer (19) 34 points
2nd Kevin LaBar (14) 31 points
3rd Niall Glover (14) 31 points
Near pins. Colin Wilmot, Frazer Davy, & Kob Glover X 2.
First visit to Greenvalley since its closure for a prolonged period due to course renovations. The general consensus was that the course was more expensive but no better than before, one difference was the greens which were considerably quicker, but the altered layout made little difference, some of the par fours were deemed to be on the long side. Others had a very favourable opinion saying the course was in the best condition they had seen, so take your pick which opinion was correct.
Despite heavy rain in Pattaya there was only a sprinkling at Greenvalley, a lucky escape. A number of locals were absent today so a smaller field than expected, the green fees undoubtedly played a part in that.
Never far out of the frame Hubert Stiefenhofer took first place today with thirty-four points despite a par on index one followed by a pair of wipes. Kevin LaBar and Niall Glover were second and third respectively. Kob Glover bagged a brace of near pins with newcomer Colin Wilmot taking one and Frazer Davy in his last game taking the other.
We are hoping for a serious reduction in green fees before our next visit, one can live in hope.
Wednesday, March 27th
Emeralda
1st Ross Schiffke (23) 41 points
2nd Terry Hamilton (19) 36 points
3rd Sam Gershon (18) 36 points
4th Dave Ashman (27) 36 points
5th Bil Richardson (16) 35 points
Near pins Ross Schiffke, Puk Collinge, Geoff Parker, & Hubert Stiefenhofer.
Following last week’s rained off game when we received a full refund we decided to reward the course with a quick return. Wouldn’t you know it, it rained again only this time a quick light shower before returning to sunshine, as a consequence the humidity was through the roof
The course was very damp so the pick, clean, and place rule was applied. The greens whilst looking in good shape were just about the slowest we have ever encountered, those who played Greenvalley on Monday where the greens were electric were shocked by how slow the greens were today. and had difficulty making the adjustment. Three puts were common with just about all coming up short.
Not for the first time in recent weeks Ross Schiffke produced a splendid score to take first place, many are now looking quizzically at his handicap and wondering why it is not coming down, maybe a manual cut is called for. The rest on the winners list were very close as listed with three locked on the same score. All the near pins were taken.
Shot of the day went to Murray Greig who on the seventeenth went over the right hand corner trees and drew the ball back to the middle, ending up no more than ten yards from the green, even he was surprised at where his ball ended up, a bit of work is required on his short game to take full advantage of such massive drives,
Friday, March 29th
Eastern Star.
1st Niall Glover (14) 37 points
2nd Colin Greig (14) 37 points
3rd Kob Glover (14) 37 points
4th Ross Schiffke (22) 35 points
Near pins. Stuart Stammers, Colin Greig, & Michael Brett
The last game of the month was played at Eastern Star in warm humid conditions. The onshore wind normally associated with this course was blowing again today only stronger than normal. and straight in our faces off the first tee, not the ideal start to a course that is considered one of the more difficult on our roster.
We managed to get away ahead of another society so we could play at a reasonable pace and finish in good time. As is often the case at Eastern Star several people lost a few balls to water along the way, the water seems to be a magnet for golf balls.
Scoring was above average today with three better than their handicap locked at the top of the leaderboard. A very tight finish to the golfer of the month race with Colin Greig squeezing in by a margin of six points.With Songkran fast approaching preparations are advanced for a trip to Kanchanaburi where we are scheduled to play Royal Ratchaburi, Grand Prix, Aritaya and Evergreen Hills, hopefully it won’t be as hot as it can be in that part of Thailand.
Hubert Stiefenhofer, winner at Greenvalley.
Ross Schiffke, winner at Emerald.
March Golfer of the month Colin Greig.