The Growling Swan 30/06
Monday, 30th June – Mountain Shadow – Stableford
Gerd, Hunter & Patrick On Top At The Mountain!
Well, Monday morning was here again and it was time for our first game of the week which was to be at the tough Mountain Shadow Golf Course. After yet again another late withdrawal due to illness we were left with a fine field of 28 who were up to the challenge. As we met at The Growling Swan there were once again many welcomes to be handed out which included Eric “Judge” Black from Geelong in Victoria, Kev Waycott having relief from his teaching duties, Geoff Bracegirdle from Perth in Western Australia, Richard Shutt formerly from Newcastle in New South Wales but now living in Pattaya, Andrew Purdie from Australia and Keith “Kissy” Buchanan with us once more. Unfortunately there were some farewells to be handed out notable Dave “Fletch” Fletcher returning to work in Western Australia, Rocky Lawson, Peter McDonald & Rob Cross going back to Melbourne after their annual holiday in Pattaya and sadly Nolan “No-one” Wise who after 19 months here is returning to Australia for a number of reasons. I have a feeling that he will be back with us in the blink of an eye! As all were on time our 2 mini vans were able to depart right on time at 8.30 am and after the usual 45 minute drive we arrived at the course where things were fairly quiet. After checking in we did our preparation including a few practice putts for some and after arriving at the first tee we were able to send our first four ball away 15 minutes ahead of schedule at 9.45 am. The groups in front were a couple of holes ahead and moving quite well so in perfect weather conditions we proceeded and found the golf course to be in great condition with the lush fairways and very well prepared greens. We maintained a steady pace, getting round the front nine in just over two hours and kept it up, completing a very enjoyable round of golf in four hours & ten minutes.
We had 3 Divisions – Division A for handicaps 0 to 12, Division B for golfers on handicaps of 13 to 17 and Division C for golfers with handicaps of 18 and over with three places in each Division. There were also rewards for nearest the pin on all the par threes and longest first putts on the 9th & 18th greens.
The best score on the day went to the form golfer Gerd Riedler whose 40 points was easily good enough to secure him first place in A Division. In second place came “Big” Bill Steinman with 35 points and your writer, Peter “Blacky” Blackburn came third with 34 points. In Division B it was Mike “Hunter” Gosden who was victorious with 38 points, 2 points clear of Keith “Kissy” Buchanan in second spot and Eric “Judge” Black was third with 35 points. Patrick Poussier continued his good form and won the C Division with 37 points, 4 points ahead of Geri Crilly in second place and Frank “Woody” Donnelly came third with 32 points.
Results for Mountain Shadow:
Division A – 0 to 12
1st –Gerd Riedler (8) – 40 points
2nd – Bill Steinman (8) – 35 points
3rd – Peter Blackburn (12) – 34 points
Division B – 13 to 17
1st – Mike Gosden (13) – 38 points
2nd – Keith Buchanan (13) – 36 points
3rd – Eric Black (16) – 35 points
Division C – 18 & over
1st – Patrick Poussier (22) – 37 points
2nd – Geri Crilly (25) – 33 points
3rd – Frank Donnelly (23) – 32 points
NTP’s
5th – Gerd Riedler
8th – Geri Crilly
15th – Bob Akapita
17th – Alain Taddei
LFP’s
9th – Steve Truelove
18th – Dick Braimbridge
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 John Anderson on a count back and he accepted the award like the good sport that he is and wore the cap for quite some time 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. It was then back to the bar for several Aussie cold, low priced beers and there was an excellent crowd there determined to give “Notso” a good send off and most stayed for quite some time. Nolan kindly rang the bell as was expected and it was a terrific end to a very good day.
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.