Monday, November 4th.
Eastern Star
1st Michael Brett (15) 37 points
2nd Stuart Stammers (11) 32 points
3rd Peter Bottrell (18) 32 points
Near pins Paul Smith, Anders Nielsen, Jason Taylor, & Jimmy Carr.
Following the excitement of last week’s Khao Yai trip it was back to a more mundane setting for the first game of a new week at Eastern Star. It also marked the start of high season pricing with today’s all-in fee of two thousand and fifty baht, a significant uplift on low season.and not a welcome one either.
The course was in good condition apart from a couple of greens that were not up to scratch. There was less wind today than we are accustomed to at this course and fortunately though the rain threatened a few times it stayed dry.
Scoring was on the low side apart from the winner Michael Brett who had his best score ever at this course. It’s true that in golf in order to win a few things need to go your way as was the case today. Avoiding the water and bunkers and sinking a few clutch puts made all the difference. A tie for second with Stuart Stammers edging out Peter Bottrell on countback, both with thirty two points. Near pins were as listed.
Since most were away in Khao Yai last week it was decided to hold over the golfer of the month presentation until our return. At the mid stage of the month it looked like a run away win to Michael Brett, but with no addition to his score and a big surge from Stuart Stammers with forty-one points at Greenwood it looked like the lead would change hands, however he fell short by a single point making Michael the
back to back winner.
Wednesday, November 6th
Pleasant Valley
1st Michael Brett (15) 36 points
2nd Tony Robbins (27) 31 points
3rd Keith Smithson (2) 29 points
4th Greg Berry (13) 29 points
Near pins, Geoff Atwell, Mike Milland, Keith Smithson, & Michael Brett
A midweek game at Pleasant Valley where all was not rose’s. One person had their water confiscated by the marshal, why he allowed theft of his property is a mystery, furthermore the same player wasn’t aware he could walk and had a cart he didn’t require, so one not so happy camper. On the positive side a fee of sixteen fifty was a reasonable price for high season golf. The course was crowded so we teed off from the tenth tee. The early holes were slow but gradually the game attained a reasonable pace.
Off the blue tees, some of which were pushed right back coupled with overnight rain, the course played particularly long today. As usual the ninth and eighteenth fairways were soggy, otherwise the course was in decent condition.
Enjoying a prolonged purple patch by his standards Michael Brett took the honours again today with thirty-six points even with at least three lip outs, surprising how golfers tend to remember the lost opportunities and overlook the lucky ones. Despite it being one of his least favourite courses Tony Robbins took second place five back. In his first game of this tour Keith Smithson took third on countback from Greg Berry. In one of what he considered one of his best shots ever, Geoff Atwell got a good near pin, the other three went to Keith Smithson, Mike Milland and Michael Brett. Mike Milland was at pains to point out that he birdied his near pin, the only one to do so.
Friday, November 8th
Pattavia.
1st Takeshi Hakozaki (16) 37 points
2nd Craig Dows (11) 37 points
3rd Alan Sullivan (15) 37 points
4th Michael Brett (15) 37 points
5th Jimmy Carr (22) 36 points
6th Jimmy Chawke (19) 36 points
Near pins.Anders Nielsen, Craig Dows, Jimmy Chawke, & Steve Downes
We arrived at Pattavia today at about 10.30 for our scheduled tee time of 11.20 but with nobody waiting to play we were able to get away straight away and finish ahead of time. A big change from the previous two rounds this week when we had small groups, today we had twenty-seven players roll up, some unannounced which caused a bit of grief for the organiser. Still we managed to fit everybody in and had an enjoyable round for most in bright sunshine.
Despite being at the end of monsoon season, the Pattavia course is already turning brown and looked bare in places which doesn’t bode well for high season when we play there twice a month and traffic through the course will be busy.
One of the tightest games for ages with the top four places decided on countback, second and third even went down to the last three holes to decide it. Fifth and sixth also decided on countback, how often do you see one stroke separate first from sixth
On again Anders Nielsen found himself with a near pin as did Craig Dows, Jimmy Chawke, and Steve Downes.
Many golfers took the opportunity to walk today as Pattavia is an easy walking course, one couple even shared a cart, something rare these days.
Michael Brett, October golfer of the month, and winner at Eastern Star and Pleasant Valley.
Takeshi Hakozaki, winner at Pattavia.