Monday, July 1st
Khao Kheow C & A
1st Peter Bottrell (17) 34 points
2nd Brendan Harnett (18) 34 points
3rd Bil Richardson (18) 29 points
Near pins Rob Folland, & Bil Richardson.
Within the space of a week we were back at Khao Kheow for the first game of a new month and what an inauspicious start it turned out to be. .Apart from first and second placed players nobody else broke thirty points, there were however five all locked together on twenty-nine points. There was no obvious reason for all the low scores.
In his first win of this trip, Peter Bottrell edged out Brendan Harnett on countback, Peter’s aim is to win golfer of the month in record time before he returns to Melbourne in two weeks. Bil Richardson topped the list of twenty-nine pointers. A further measure of how poorly people played was the near pin competition with only two taken. Looking down the road it doesn’t get any easier with the next game at Treasure Hill where scoring is typically on the low side also.
The B nine still remains closed at Khao Kheow with much work still to be done before reopening, caddies tell us that this will be the best nine when it reopens possibly in high season. All the greens and bunkers are being renovated so it will be something to look forward to in the coming months.
Wednesday, July 3rd
Treasure Hill
1st Rob Folland (16) 32 points
2nd Tony Robbins (24) 31 points
3rd Geoff Parker (21) 30 points
Near pins Geoff Parker, Tony Robbins, Jimmy Carr, & Michael Brett.
The dreaded Treasure Hill course was the venue for the mid-week game where once again scores were very modest, even worse than Monday which was as expected
The course was in the best condition we have possibly ever seen, verdant green and well grassed with even paced greens, there is a competition at the course this weekend which might explain why it was in such fine condition. We played off the white tees today, some of which were in quirky places, clearly they were saving the real tees for the competition,
Thunder rumbled around for most of the round and it looked likely at any moment to hammer down, however only light rain fell a couple of times but never enough to stop play, and we finished in sunshine. Pace of play was good and we finished by 2.30 pm.
Rob Folland took the honours today with thirty-two points and generously rang the bell back at the Sports Lounge. Tony Robbins took second a stroke back with Geoff Parker a stroke further back in third. For a pleasant change all the near pins were taken today as listed above.
Peter Bottrell found the burden of leadership in the golfer of the month race too heavy to bear and turned in an embarrassing card, he assured us things will be different at Greenwood on Friday, a much more forgiving course.
Friday, July 5th
Greenwood A & B.
1st Brendan Harnett (18) Net 70
2nd Craig Dows (6) Net 71
3rd Alan Sullivan (14) Net 72
4th Niall Glover (13) Net 73
Near pins Brendan Harnett, Peter Bottrell, & Alan Sullivan.
A mild calm day with no wind was what we got for the last game of the week at Greenwood where we played the A & B nines. The course was in excellent shape and with an all-in fee of thirteen hundred and fifty baht what more could one ask for?
Once a month we play stroke and today was this month’s round. Whilst many claim stroke is the purest form of golf it is not universally popular, it only takes one bad hole to ruin your day and as it happens that’s precisely what happened to a couple of players who otherwise would have been able to record a decent score.
In recent weeks Pattaya and surrounds has had some significant rainfall so now all the courses are in the best condition possible, but still not wet enough to warrant pick, clean, and place, a rule we thought we may have had to implement today due to very heavy overnight rain.
Despite not one but two bad holes running up big scores Brendan Harnett did enough on the other holes to compile a fine score of net seventy to take first place, this may be a lesson for others who throw in the towel after a bad hole to never give up. Craig Dows had a down period mid round but also recovered well to take second place one stroke adrift, there is still fight in the old dog. Alan Sullivan was third on seventy-two with Niall Glover a stroke further back in fourth. Despite his recent promises Peter Bottrell was nowhere to be seen, perhaps one of those who suffered a bad hole early in the round and never recovered. The long B 2 hole near pin was not claimed, the other three went to Peter Bottrell, Brendan Harnett, & Alan Sullivan.
Despite being in the first three-hall and having a reputation for not being the fastest player at the Bunker, Brendan never held us up once, and having compiled a fine winning score perhaps there is a message there for Brendan: play faster and you will play better.
Peter Bottrell, winner at Khao Kheow
Rob Folland, winner at Treasure Hill
Brendan Harnett, winner at Greenwood.