The Growling Swan 18/08
Monday, 18th August – Pleasant Valley – Stableford
Allidi Shoots Under Par At The Valley!
After a late withdrawal the previous evening we were left with a field of 22 golfers who were ready to take on the scenic Pleasant Valley Golf Course and we assembled at The Growling Swan prior to departure. We welcomed Gary Williams from Brisbane, local golfer Paul Taylor and Ken Graham from Ireland before departing the GS right on time at 8.30 am. The traffic was not too bad as our 2 mini vans headed North up number seven and after a good run we arrived at the course just 43 minutes later. The course was not busy so we were able to check in and relax in our preparation and we headed off to the first tee where there was no-one in front of us so our first group, a three ball got away 20 minutes ahead of schedule at 9.40 am. It was hot with very little wind and the golf course was in fine shape although the greens were fairly slow but firm and true. As mentioned earlier it was hot and the humidity was high which did slow us down a bit and we completed the full round in four hours & five minutes.
We had 2 Divisions – Division A for handicaps 0 to 14 & Division B for golfers on handicaps of 15 and over with three places in each Division. There were also rewards for nearest the pin on the par threes and longest first putts on the 9th & 18th greens.
Playing off the blue tees did toughen the course up and only 2 golfers played to their handicap or better with “gun” golfer Mike Allidi shooting a sub par round of 71 to win Division A with 40 points. John Davis came second with 36 points and Martin “Toddy” Todd finished third on 35 points. In B Division it was Patrick Poussier who was the victor with 34 points and with two on 32 points a count back was necessary resulting in Alain “Inspector Clouseau” Taddei (14 point back nine) finishing second from Bob Akapita (12 point back nine) in third spot.
Results for Pleasant Valley:
Division A – 0 to 14
1st –Mike Allidi (3) – 40 points
2nd – John Davis (14) – 36 points
3rd – Martin Todd (8) – 35 points
Division B – 15 and over
1st – Patrick Poussier (21) – 34 points
2nd – Alain Taddei (16) – 32 points
3rd – Bob Akapita (16) – 32 points
NTP’s
5th – Paul Jackson
8th – Ebrahim
13th – Bob Akapita
17th – John Anderson
LFP’s
9th – Ken Hole
18th – Mark West
The Growling Swan NAGA Award, (awarded to the golfer who has the worst score on the day and discreetly their score is not made public) was won by visitor Gary Williams and he accepted the award like the good sport that he is and wore the cap for a short while in the bar afterwards. Gerd then kindly paraded Deefa the Dog and of course collected many donations for the needy in Pattaya from our generous Growling Swan Golfers. Back at the bar there were quite a few of us and whilst welcoming back Muncha from West Africa and Niall from Laos it was obviously going to be a late night for some. Another good day out with excellent company.
Growling Swan Golf, the home of friendly golf in Pattaya welcomes golfers of any persuasion – low & high handicappers alike, female golfers and beginners. We generally play Mondays & Thursdays, meeting at The Growling Swan in Soi Chaiyapoon at 8.00 am with transport departing at 8.30 am. For bookings or more information please contact Peter on 0806 351 386 or email to petermalcolmblackburn@gmail.com
We also play bowls out of the Growling Swan every Wednesday and Sunday. Sunday is Lawn Bowls and Wednesday is Indoor Bowls. All are welcome and for anyone that is interested the transport leaves The Growling Swan at 10.00am on each of those mornings. For more information please contact Paul Rennison on 0843 454 005.