Press Archive 2006

Here we have all the press reports for 2006. Click on a month to navigate and read the reports.

On 3rd January the golfers at the PGS shook off the New Year celebratory cobwebs and headed up a holiday-peaceful route 331 to distant Noble Place to play their first medal event of the new year. The course was crowded but the starter found that the B and C nines were probably the best bet, thanks to some cajoling by Harry Riley and we were presented with a beautiful course in fine condition. The large field was cut at twenty and under and the day was to throw up some intriguing scores. In division one only four shots separated the first from last as five players posted net 74 to share 3rd place, namely Mikael Andersson, Des Richardson, Bill Hewitt, Ya Chaiyanont and Peter Fitton. Sam Fitzsimmons went one better to take runner-up place, his double bogey on the easy par three B3 costing him a level par start to the year. At the head of the top flight list was the ubiquitous John Cunningham, current Player of the Month, and he not only posted a fine net 71 but also a warning of things to come. His new "Callaways" are awesome in their effect! In division two Len Jones began the year in fine style with a very acceptable net 75 to take third place, but a long way behind the stars of the day, Jim Wilson and "newbie" Matteus Brandl. Jim's score of net 68 was his best for a long while, marred only by dropping seven shots on his final three holes on the front nine, whilst Matteus played astonishing golf, having picked up the clubs for the first time only recently. His net 67 was a result of his youthful power and accuracy. Dare he repeat it we wonder! The twos pot was shared by Maralyn Hayes-Dibben, Des Richardson and Matteus whilst an old soldier, improperly dressed for parade and on the first tee, suffered the embarrassment of the Bobby Bevy. A happy New Year to you Sam!

The first week's competitions of the New Year ended with the Pattaya Golf Society leaving the OK Corral to take on Emerald Ban Chang's fine links on Thursday, 5th January. A large group had turned out for the stableford event and all went well until a management blunder in accepting an earlier coachload of unbooked Asians left the club bereft of caddies. Refusing to allow one of our groups to play without caddies left the unfortunate three-ball with no choice but to withdraw to nearby Plutaluang for a casual round. Thanks Emerald! Yet another club with miles to go in terms of achieving a satisfactory management and planning standard. Undeterred, those with caddies embarked on their competition and a taut battle ensued, resulting in an exciting finish. John Cunningham, in his mind playing poorly, and Des Richardson, managed 34 points to take a share of runner-up place. At the head of the table was Wilf Latham, firing one of the two sub-par rounds of the day, 37 points, to share the win with local member Mikael Andersson whose gross 77 was the best of the day also. Harry Riley had already recorded a birdie two on the thirteenth and two holes later he was to repeat the feat, this time joined by playing partner Wilf Latham and they both took a share of the two's pot. It is difficult to return a "no-result" in stableford and Noel O'Brien's success in managing the achievement assured him the Booby Bevy, all on a day when not only good golf was evident at Emerald but also disappointing club management.

On Tuesday, 10th January, the Pattaya Golf Society chose Eastern Star as the venue for their weekly medal event and a large field turned out to enjoy a day's golf at one of the friendliest courses in the area. The field was cut at seventeen and under and the day was to be a toil for many as the fairways were very hard and dry, offering plenty of run but very tight lies. In division two scores were understandably undistinguished with Rob Dolan struggling to make his mark with net 79 which was surprisingly good enough for third. Faring better was second placed Les Hall whose net 76 was many a shot behind the score of the ultimate divisional winner, rookie Mattias Brandl. His net 71 once again belied his status as the "new kid on the block", in golfing terms. Division one saw better scores and local member Arthur Hancock used all his member knowledge to post a creditable net 74 to take third place. Don Nellis started his round with memories of his golf-free Baku base in his mind and when he eventually found his rhythm he played very well to record a one-over net 73 for second place. Lording it over the whole field was the ever-consistent John Cunningham and his gross 37 for the first nine was a credit to his application on the course. He eventually finished with super figures of gross 77, net 68, to take the day's plaudits in style. The only birdie two of the day was recorded by Arthur Hancock and his reward was to accomplish this on a day when such a large field was present, thereby substantially enhancing the twos pot! The recently returned Keith Hector must have been expecting the Booby Bevy after his first round this trip and he was not to be disappointed, his net 91 attracting little challenge. It had all helped to make a fine day's golf with the PGS at Eastern Star.

On Thursday, 12th January, a huge field turned out under the Pattaya Golf Society banner to play the society's weekly stableford event at beautiful Bangpra. The course was well dressed and the greens were back to their notorious best, giving the two divisions, cut at nineteen and under, a stern test of golf. From the start it was essentially a "fun day" with an all-ladies group heading the field out from the tenth tee, setting the tone with high fives, cheers and claps. Really, grown ladies acting like schoolgirls on an out-of-class trip! More seriously the lads were getting down to it and after nine holes Denis Smith had already set a blistering pace with his twenty points and had the whole of the second flight desperately hanging on to his bagstraps. He was to falter over the closing holes, however, and this gave Paul Scully the opportunity to overtake him with his 32 points to grab third place. Barry Pethig had established a respectable second place with his consistent 35 points whilst Texan Jim Wilson was in full control of the flight, his 39 points total blowing away his rivals. In the top flight Stuart Thompson and Sunny Khanna had grafted all day for 35 points and they shared the runner-up place, Stuart's short game, in particular, letting him down badly. Wilf Latham, the long-hitting Lancashire lad, powered his way to the top with a splendid 39 points to take the day's main honours. This included an astounding 22 points on the back nine, his best for a long time. Bob Lindborg and Jim Wilson shared the large twos pot whilst Rob Dolan, fearing a backlash from his mates for the colourful shirt he was wearing, received the perfect "accoutrement" in the form of the Booby Bevy. The garish garment was later donated to the group, to be ceremonially worn by the Booby Bevy winners at future presentations! It was the perfect ending to a thoroughly enjoyable day out with the Pattaya Golf Society from the OK Corral.

A "full-to-bursting" Crystal Bay was the venue for the Pattaya Golf Society's weekly medal event on Tuesday, 17th January, and the day dawned very hot with little breeze to refresh the large field. Five ladies were in the field for the first time and they made a very welcome addition to the group. The field was cut at nineteen and under and the legendary tough greens and tightly cut lies on hard fairways made conditions challenging for both flights. In division two Rob Dolan and Mattias Brandl perspired their way to net 78's and were amazed to find they had made the frame as joint runners-up. A breathless Pat Murphy had beaten them with an equally amazing net 76. Better scores were achieved in the top flight as Uwe Schroeder returned to Pattaya to post a score of net 74 off his new handicap of 8, having had a successful season in his native Germany. His third place was a reflection of this improvement. Sunny Khanna was one of only two players to break par, his net 71 taking second place and Steve Bugden posted a card which saw a slow start but eleven straight pars to finish a dazzling round of net 70, representing the day's best gross of 76. It was a truly fine performance. Unbelievably he shot no birdies and, as no-one else did either, the large twos pot was held over. Ian Howe must have wished the same was true of the Booby Bevy but Mr. Len saluted the day's worst net performance with the traditional bottle and Ian endured his fifteen minutes of fame as he became the first wearer of the Booby Blouse, a colourful, almost luminous silk concoction, kindly donated by a relieved Rob Dolan. Once again Crystal Bay had come up trumps for the PGS.

Thursday, 19th January, marked another "first" for the Pattaya Golf Society out of the OK Corral. With full courses at most golf clubs the norm these days courses are now limiting the number of bookable places and Green Valley restricted the PGS to only seven groups for their weekly stableford event. A hasty dawn call to Emerald at Ban Chang found room for another three groups and a separate competition was arranged there similtaneously. And, would you believe it, it worked! Forty satisfied golfers on a pleasantly warm day, providing fun and skill in abundance. Green Valley was its usual fine challenge and the greens, slower than expected, posed problems enough, especially for the second flight, with the cut at 16 and under. Harry Cowling, occupying an unaccustomed role in the lower flight, toiled all day to produce a score of 30 points to take third place, whilst Rob Dolan and Trudy Chadbourn both posted the flight's best score with their 32 point totals. In division one the quality of the field showed as Sunny Khanna drew a curtain on his present stay scoring 36 points for third place. He was not quite close enough however to John Cunningham, currently "running hot", and his excellent 37 point haul was matched by that of Chaten Patel, who had the impertinence to throw the gauntlet down to the auld Scottish master on his favourite course. There were no twos and a substantial pot was held over until the next round. Mattias Brandle lost his cellphone on the course but found a frog as consolatiion in his sports bag! Kissing it to bring good luck he later found his device had been returned to Reception and he celebrated with the Booby Bevy at the presentation.

Results from Emerald had Keith Barr third with 27 points, two behind the Irish duo of Liam Horgan and Pat Murphy whose scores of 29 points were a result of frustrations over some bizarre pin positions created by a mischievous greenkeeper.

Potential golfers are reminded that sign-up sheets are available at the OK Bar in Soi Rungland for all high season competitions.

The decision to take the Pattaya Golf Society to Century Chonburi for a medal round after an absence of more than a year on Tuesday, 24th January, was perhaps not the wisest one ever made by the organisers in Soi Rungland. The course has obviously suffered more than most with last years' drought and has recovered the least. Off-fairway the ground is parched and burnt brown and the fairways themselves are hard, dry and compacted, so much so that the use of woods is very much a gamble, and only for the more accomplished golfers. The greens are hard and non-receptive and the run is phenomenal. A quick survey afterwards showed that no-one avoided the dreaded "three putt" syndrome and many went one or two putts further even. Stones in the unkempt bunkers and a lack of water and towels for the first few groups to shower afterwards only compounded the issue. So it was that the large field, cut at eighteen and under set out under hot skies and into the face of a strong wind. In division two the slips were showing as Colin Watson posted a net 80 for his first podium finish with the PGS and was pipped by Dannie Larsen and another rookie, Alan Freeman, with net 79's to take the divisional prize. Division one saw slightly better scores with Keith Hector and the currently in-form Wilf Latham finished level on net 76 to share the minor placings. One shot ahead was the slight figure of Harry Riley and his net 75 was assured as he pipped playing partner Wilf on their final hole. The two birdie two's on the day meant that Uwe Schroeder and Jim Proctor's skill on the long seventeenth was amply rewarded with the large rolled-over twos pot. The day had been a bad one for Andy Haycox. He had lost his locker key, left his cellphone in the minibus and had found the greens like a double helping of "somtam" - difficult to finish in comfort - and his reward was the Booby Bevy. It really had been one of those days, better forgotten, at Century Chonburi.

Thursday, 26th January, saw the Pattaya Golf Society head for Mountain Shadow to play their weekly stableford event anf found the course in its customary excellent condition with greens which astounded everyone with their pace. They may have been set at 9.5 at dawn but by the time the OK Bar's large group arrived countless feet and a drying breeze had quickened them to Augusta proportions. No-one could recollect greens of that pace anywhere! Such was the challenge set before the two divisions, cut at eighteen and under. In division two Matthias Brandl again made the frame with his 28 points, two behind playing partner Andy Haycox whose 30 points went some way to erase the memories of his previous round at Century Chonburi. The second flight winner was Danny Larsen, once again using his strength off the tee, and his 33 points gave him his second successive victory in the week. In division one the cream rose to the top again with Harry Cowling posting 35 points after a few days practice at Soi Dao, and chasing John Cunningham's level par 36. It was fitting that on Australia Day the only Aussie in the field, Stuart Thompson, should take the win and his excellent round of 38 points guaranteed him a few "tinnies" back at the OK later. The twos pot was shared by Wilf Latham, Andy Haycox, Rob Dolan and Alan Maxwell, whilst a lacklustre Len Jones took solace with an ice cold San Miguel Booby Bevy after another abysmal round. However, he was left to reflect on yet another excellent day's golf out of the OK.

Bangpra lived up to its boast as an "international" golf club on Tuesday, 31st January, as it hosted three dozen players from the Pattaya Golf Society, representing twelve different nations. The fixture was the monthly Players' Choice event and the chosen format was stableford, over the beautiful yet challenging course. The cut was at twenty-two and under and in division two the redoubtable English duo of Colin Watson and Andy Haycox made an early impact as their scores of 33 and 34 points respectively took the minor honours, but the only Welshman in the field, Len Jones, had already posted 21 points on the front nine and was to finish level par on 36 points, the treacherous greens on the back nine not to his liking. He had actually tripled his previous outing's score by the end of his round! "Da iawn!" It was a fine and long awaited victory for him. Division one held all the aces again as Dane Jan Eriksen and the Swiss guy on a roll, Mike Allidi, both posted fine scores of level par 36's to share the runners-up place, Mike again posting an incredible gross 74 for his round. Canadian Rick Schramm, vacationing from his work in South Africa made an impact on his return by scoring the day's best round of 39 points to take the top flight in style. The twos pot was shared by Rick Schramm, Barry Pethig, Chris Voller and Jan Eriksen whilst Ian Howe held off the challenge of Steve Cranston, who still had his locker key in his pocket at the presentation, and Margaret Cunningham's' debut round, to take sole possession of the Booby Bevy, having had the temerity to challenge the previous winner's low score of twelve points. The day was completed with the announcement of the PGS "Player of the Month". For the second month in succession the award went to a thoroughly deserving John Cunningham and he later swore he heard the distant wail of the bagpipes in Soi Rungland! Beer's a wonderful thing indeed.

On Thursday, 2nd February, Crystal Bay Golf Club hosted the Pattaya Golf Society in its inaugural monthly team event and fifteen teams turned out to enjoy a feast of golf on an excellently prepared course. The pairs scramble format is always an enjoyable one and there was a "buzz" all day as the teams went about their business. The event was to run to form as the top four teams were all held in high regard as possible favourites for the event. Third place was shared by the team of Harry and Ya Riley and John Cunningham and Chris Voller and their scores of net 68 showed their prowess in "regulation" golf. A significant scramble margin separated them from the second placed team, Brian Wilkinson and Sonny Crawford, and their score of 64 led the field for a long time. It was only when Stuart Thompson and Chaten Patel returned to te clubhouse that the final result was known. Most peoples' favourites, Chaten and Stuart had won the event by only 0.6 of a shot, their 63.4 being the best of the day. There were countless twos, six of them coming on the picturesque B6th hole. The sole Booby Bevy was awarded to the golfer who said to his partner on the eleventh tee "That's it, we've got all our six drives in" and then corrected it to "Well, six and five anyway!" Extra maths homework is on the agenda for Ken Graham when he returns to Belfast. Everything had added up to make the day a very pleasant one at Crystal Bay.

A cloudless sky, a baking sun and a well prepared course greeted the seasonally large field of golfers from the Pattaya Golf Society when they visited Eastern Star golf resort on Tuesday, 7th February, to play their weekly medal event. The two flights were cut at 16 and under and it was to be a day which threw up only a handful of good scores. In division two Basil Foley, returning after a few months away from the game, found his feet again and his round of net 76 was good enough for third place, three shots behind Barry Pethig, whose net 73 was a reward for his consistency. Heading the flight was Len Jones whose first nine of six under par held promise of greater things, but within three holes had lost the advantage as a result of some indifferent approach play. He nevertheless rediscovered his rhythm and ended the day with a level-par net 72 to take the victory. In division one pre-round favourite Mike Allidi dropped shots alarmingly, leaving him well off the board and this allowed a clutch of players, including Ya Chaiyanont, Uwe Schroder, Phil Mitchell and Arthur Hancock, to share third place with net 73. Second was Wilf Latham with a score of 71 and he was to be thwarted yet again by the form of John Cunningham whose best gross of 78 gave him a net score of 70 to take the day in style. The twos pot was shared by Uwe Schroder, Basil Foley, Wally Barstow, Bruce Dreon and Alan Duffy. John Mason received a large cheer when it was revealed that his fifteen shots on the par-five fourth was the seasonal highest score for an individual hole and he accepted the Booby Bevy with relish. But for him, and all the Pattaya Golf Society players, just being on a golf course was its own reward.

The usual warm welcome awaited the Pattaya Golf Society when they arrived at friendly Emerald Ban Chang for their weekly stableford competition on Thursday, 9th February. The day was hot as the large field, including four excellent lady golfers, took to the tee with the cut being at 16 and under. The combination of hard fairways and fast greens was enhanced by the mischievous antics of an adventurous greenkeeper, making the course a sporting challenge for all and good scores were at a premium. In division two Rob Dolan, affecting a mysterious limp, posted a score of 31 points for third place, just one behind an improving Steve Cranston, for whom it was his first podium finish. Well ahead was the ever consistent Barry Pethig who was enjoying his best round for a while, and his 38 points will please the handicapper. In division one Harry Riley and Yasuo Suzuki shared third place with excellent scores of 36 points, the former delighted that he had managed to win part two of a four round challenge thrown down by "El Presidente" Dale Shier. Again sitting proudly atop the leaderboard was the exquisite form of John Cunningham and apart from having the honour of being the second flight winner's brother-in-law he could proudly boast of a double win for the week. His best gross of 77 gave him a dominating 39 points for a fine victory. The twos pot was shared by John Reeves Jnr, Jim Bell, who had a brace, and the aforementioned John Cunningham whose round began with an eyecatching eagle two on the first hole. In the vastly improved club locker room Rob Dolan discovered the cause of the pain in his foot as he extricated a comb from his golfshoe and as this was witnessed by more than a few there were no more challengers for the Booby Bevy and his embarrassed smile said it all at the presentation. The day had been fun as well as successful for the golfers from the OK Corral.

On Tuesday, 14th February, the golf lovers from the OK Corral called on one of their favourite courses, Mountain Shadow, to play a medal event. On a hot day there was only a slight breeze to cool their ardour but the lovely Legacy "Lady" was having none of it. The course was to prove very long off the blue tees and the quality field, average handicap sixteen, found good scores hard to come by. In the second flight scores were very mediocre and Rob Dolan captured third place with a round of net 85, hardly the stuff of dreams. Keith Hector fared better with his net 78 but soulmate Harry Cowling took the day with an accurate round of 76. The top flight saw better scores and John Cunningham and Yasuo Suzuki shared third place with net 74, John achieving the best gross of the day with his 81. Harry Riley, using woods for seemingly every occasion, ground out a level par round to take second place but it was left to Wilf Latham to beat par with his net 71, and take a deserved victory. Lee Fitzsimmons, son of Sam, murdered the back nine with a blistering gross 38 including the day's only birdie two. As a callow youth he once played off scratch but has lost contact with golf completely over the recent years and it will be interesting to see where the handicapper places him in the CONGU list when he completes his third card. The Booby Bevy went to Dale Shier after his efforts on the first two tees saw him drive a ball via a tree onto the putting green and then leave his drive on the second firmly up a coconut tree. Such was the day at Mountain Shadow.

On Thursday, 16th February, Green Valley hosted the Pattaya Golf Society for its weekly stableford event in hot conditions and on a course which was showing signs of the annual wear and tear by Asian visitors. Greens were hard and slick and the introduction of the "new" par three twelfth draw some gasps from the large field when they stood on the vast sloping green. Just where can you site the pin fairly and how do you get close? Nevertheless the group from the OK Corral are adaptable and resourceful as they day was to show. The two flights were cut at fifteen and under and for some it was their first taste of the second flight for a long time. In division two Paul Quodomine and Len Jones were both afflicted with putting woes but managed to post scores of 26 points to share third place. Playing partner Andy Parkinson fared better as his 30 points was destined for a share of the lead as he joined the illustrious Harry Riley, demoted for the day by the accomplished top flight, and both shared the day's victory. In the top flight Harry's illustrious rivals Ciano Glavinia and "El Presidente" Dale Shier went head-to-head and shared third place with their 33 point totals whilst local members Jan Eriksen and Mike Allidi played golf at a higher level. Jan's 35 points took second place behind Mike's level par 36, his gross 74 being by far the best of the day. His joy, and the twos pot, was shared by Dale Shier, as they both birdied the new hole to the amazement of their groups. Golfers will pity poor John Mason who is suffering from a severe shanking affliction at present.but his humour and patience was relieved by the Booby Bevy, prescribed to wash away the thoughts of his single figure score. Green Valley had indeed been a tough nut to crack.

On Tuesday, 21st February, a large group of golfers from the OK Corral, representing thirteen different nationalities, took to route 331 for a day's medal play over the "A" and "B" nines at Noble Place. The course was beautifully set up and the two groups, divided at nineteen and under, enjoyed the competition. In the second flight Denis Smith made an impact as his net 78 took third place in style. Playing some of his best golf since taking up the game over a year ago, his only two blemishes on the card spoilt an otherwise personal best. In second place was the popular American Paul Quodomine whose 75 was an excellent performance. Indeed, for Paul, just being on the course is a pleasure as he struggles to overcome some severe handicaps. Winning the second flight was Dannie Larsen with a fine net 72. In the top division three players shook the wind out of the course with excellent scores of net 70. Chaten Patel joined Harry Riley and Saranya Chaiyanont atop the leaderboard to take the day's top prize. Uwe Schroder took his first "twos" pot with an excellent birdie on the sixth hole. Now, Tuesday is always medal day with the Pattaya Golf Society, and presuming his ball was lost off the tee on the first, Sam Fitzsimmons scratched the hole, reluctant to walk back to the tee. He continued to play level par golf, even finding his original "lost" ball whilst coming up the ninth. Imagine his disappointment when he realised that it was not a stableford competition! An ice cold "Bombay" and tonic was already waiting for him back at the OK Corral. Cheers all!

Bangpra hosted the Pattaya Golf Society for its weekly stableford event on Thursday, 23rd February, and put on its usual fair face to treat the large group. The greens were their usual pace with some very eccentric pin placements adding spice to the challenge. The two flights were cut at nineteen and under and ladies were included in both. In division one Harry Riley continued his fine current form recording 33 points to take third place but it was not to be good enough as both Liam Horgan and Mikael Andersson went better posting scores of 35 points to share the win. Mikael's gross of 79 was the best of the day. In the second flight two players turning out for the first time this week obviously benefited from their day of rest. Barry Pethig took third place with a score of 33 points whilst Rob Dolan went one better recording 34 points for second. Topping the list was the ebullient Pat Murphy whose 38 point card was the best of the day. Pat is always a popular addition to any golf group and usually finds a victory or two with the PGS on his visits. Murphy' Law probably! There were no birdie twos and the large pot was rolled over. Reg Reader, visiting Thailand for the first time, is having his first taste of golf in the Kingdom and if his handicap of 21 was reversed it would indicate his points score. Despite the iced towel around his neck he was still able to smile his way around the course and his bonus was the Booby Bevy back at the OK Corral. Well done all, another good day with the PGS.

On Tuesday, 28th February, the popular golf course at Eastern Star hosted the Pattaya Golf Society for its end-of-month "Players' Choice" tournament played under a stableford format. Nearly forty golfers had gathered at the OK Corral for registration and the field was to be divided into two flights, the cut coming at 20 and under. The course was well turned out and the pace of the greens was more to the golfers' liking than many others experienced lately. In the second flight both the Robs, Dolan and Heath, amassed scores of 32 points to give them a share of the runner-up berth but Len Jones went one better posting 33 points to take the divisional award. The top flight saw better scores and all four winners recorded scores of less than par. Roger Coe and Ben Findon tied for third with hard won 37's whilst newly promoted Andy Parkinson headed them with an excellent score of 39 points. This was not to be good enough however as the currently in-form Ya Chaiyanont, one of three ladies in the field, found the red tees shortened the course immensely for her long driving and by the fourteenth hole she had already gathered 31 points. Putting together another ten over the closing four holes she easily won the day, ending with a startling 41 points. It was simply too much for the rest of the field, a fine round by a splendid lady golfer. The luckiest man at Eastern Star was Eberhard Stoll, only playing because of a late withdrawal, and his birdie two on the sixth took sole possession of the substantial rolled over twos pot, whilst the newly returned Jim Parkinson expected, and duly received, the Booby Bevy for his low score of nineteen points. A packed OK Corral also congratulated Harry Riley for his win in the inaugural monthly Order of Merit competition, his 27 points giving him a three point advantage over his nearest rival John Cunningham, who was runner-up. It had been quite a day for the Riley household!

On Thursday, 2nd March, the PGS held the first round of its Matchplay Championship with eight ties being held at the challenging Emerald course at Ban Chang. The Pattaya Golf Society is the only golf group in the city to hold an annual matchplay title event and everyone enjoyed the challenge of the first round. The draw had thrown up some intriguing matches and there were to be some very tight finishes. Rob Dolan took his tie against Basil Foley to the last before winning by one up, as did John Cunningham who needed a birdie on the last hole to defeat the very strong challenge by Ken Graham, playing his best golf for a long time. Les Hall hung on for a long while against Ya Chaiyanont but the only lady in the field took control over the final few holes to win 3 and 2. Rob Heath played some excellent golf over the final three holes to win the sixteenth and seventeenth and take the tie 2 and 1. Elsewhere Harry Riley's experience held the back nine challenge of Andy Parkinson at bay, returning a winning score of 2 and 1, having been two up at the turn. Len Jones "fluked" a par putt from the fringe of the sixteenth green to win the hole and lie dormie two against Denis Smith and this took the wind out of Denis' sails, having hit a perfect five-wood onto the green but missed the downhill putt for the hole. Len took the tie 3 and 1. In the final tie Ben Findon and Masashi Iizumi were involved in the closest match with Ben getting back to square after nine and having to take the sixteenth to stay level. It ended all square and a replay was hastily scheduled for the next golf day at the OK Corral. In the opinion of many old heads the matchplay format is the most fascinating in golf and represents the purest form of the game and that was very much in evidence at Emerald.

Kidd's Stuff at Bangpra

On Tuesday, 7th March, the Pattaya Golf Society left the OK Corral in Soi Rungland to travel to Bangpra International Golf Club to play their weekly medal event under hot cloudless skies on a course well prepared. The large group was cut at 17 and under and the two flights strove manfully to gain an advantage over the testing course. In division two Masashi Iizumi, distracted maybe by his rerun of a matchplay tie, posted a net 78 to tie third place with a smiling Jim Parkinson, for whom any golf is infinitely better than a winter in faraway Scunthorpe! In second place was Rob Dolan and his net 76 allowed him to get some practice in before an important matchplay tie two days later. The flight winner was rookie Ian Kidd, playing only his second competition with the group and his presence on the rostrum will add confidence to his game. In the top flight David Wilkinson fired net 75 for third place, being pipped by Ben Findon for second. The winner, as usual it seems, was Mike Allidi who once again produced a quality round with the day's best gross figure of 73 allowing his miniscule handicap to give him net 71 for the day's only sub-par round. His first nine of 34 "off the sticks" will live in his memory a while yet. Bill Hewitt returned to the PGS, with his habitual birdie two on the second hole giving him sole ownership of the large bonus pot and Aussie Stu Thompson stuttered alarmingly in a greenside bunker on the final hole to walk off with a nine on his card. Definitely not the stuff six handicaps are made of, but a worthy winner of the Booby Bevy. The broadest smile of the day was the one worn by Ian Kidd when golf at Bangpra seemed merely Kidd's stuff.

On Thursday, 9th March, the Pattaya Golf Society left the OK Corral for the refreshingly empty Green Valley course to play a stableford event on a well maintained track with consistently running greens. The two eager flights were cut at 23 and under, high by recent standards, yet the overall quality of the golf did not detract from the enjoyment of the day. In the second flight it was to be remarkably tight at the top with Les Winch, Alan Freeman and Len Jones all holding sway with 31 points each, Len not being distracted by his simultaneous matchplay tie aganist Ben Findon. In division one the consistent trio of Bill Hewitt, Ken Graham and Saranya Chaiyanont all returned cards of 33 points to share the minor placings, whilst Mike Allidi again showed his class with an excellent gross 73 giving him a level par score of 36 points. Alan Freeman had the honour of the day's only birdie two, coming on the second hole. In the Society's quarter-final matchplay ties Rob Heath beat Basil Foley, one up, Len Jones beat Ben Findon, one up, Saranya beat Rob Dolan, one up and Harry Riley defeated a lacklustre John Cunningham 4 and 3. Denis Smith, so diligent in his preparations for golf, twice checked on the best route to the course, never having played there before, and got hopelessly lost, allowing Rob Dolan, for whom such adventures are common, to present him with the Booby Bevy for adding to the good humour of the day. Congratulations to all.

On Tuesday, 14th March, the PGS took its large golfing roadshow to Mountain Shadow where they found a well-prepared track with the usual racing greens ready to face their weekly strokeplay challenge. It was also the first of the month's Order of Merit events and points were at stake! The field was cut at 22 and under and scoring was to prove difficult in the intensely humid conditions, but thankfully the thunderstorms affecting groups elsewhere held back in deference to the lads from the OK Corral. In a tight division one Andy Parkinson realised he had chosen the wrong time to try out new clubs but still managed to bag a score of net 80 to take third place. He was just one shot behind Ciano Glavinia whose net 79 was frustratingly a shot behind winner Harry Riley. In division two the personable Swiss golfer Freddie Braun found his form with a solid net 78 which gave him third place, a shot behind the joint winners, the redoubtable pair of Smith and Jones (Denis and Len), who held the field at ransom with their best-of-the-day net 77. It was the first time that the golfing bosses had shared a fine win and the applause was the greater for it. The day's only two was recorded by Andy Parkinson and poor Dave Corrigan embarrassed himself by running over his partner's golfball, and allowing the Heineken to take control of his card, which bore a score of more than a hundred - net, that is! The Booby Bevy had found a suitable home again. Ultimately it was full marks to Smith and Jones for their efforts on and off the course on a day which they will long remember.

On Thursday, 16th March, the Pattaya Golf Society abandoned the bustle of Soi Rungland and sought the solace of Noble Place for their weekly stableford event. The course was in excellent condition and continues to be the best value for money anywhere in the Kingdom. The group was divided into two flights, the cut coming at 22 and under and the choice of nines were the "B" and more testing "C" nines. Overall scores indicated the difference in the two tracks more than anywhere else and two players used the easier "B" nine option to amass a large nine-hole total. In division one Andy Parkinson's 22 points on the "B" half gave him a total of 34 points which was good enough for a share of runner-up spot with those two fine antipodean golfers David Thomas and Tim Douglas. Leading the flight was the consistent Harry Riley who took his second successive victory of the week with a hard-working level par 36 points. In the second flight Denis Smith found himself on the podium for the second time in two days with his 28 points matching those of Ian Kidd and both took a well-earned share of the runners-up place. The best score of the day was posted by Len Jones whose 37 points not only won the day but also gave the group its only sub-par round of the week. Needless to say his "B" nine score of 22 points contributed greatly to his cause. It was also his second successive victory during the week. The day's only birdie two came on "B" six where the charming Swiss golfer Freddie Braun dropped his tee shot within two yards of the hole and sank the testing putt with aplomb. He returns to Switzerland with happy memories and a full wallet! Jim Parkinson picked up the Booby Bevy because he had forgotten to pick up his golf shoes from the OK and had to tackle a hard walking course with borrowed training shoes with a flapping sole! Poor flipping soul! But, at the end of the day, it was all about congratulations to Harry Riley and Len Jones on their double successes, rarely achieved. It had indeed been another good week with the PGS.

On Tuesday, 21st March, the Pattaya Golf Society braved the potential thunderstorms and travelled to Khao Kheow for their weekly medal event, which was held under heavily overcast skies in steamy, sultry conditions. Generally the course was in good "nick" and the "A" and "B" nines were to prove very long on a day when there was no run. The field was cut at twenty and under and in the second flight the notorious Island Hole was again the "undoing" for Len Jones, but his net 81 held out for third place! Andy Haycox went one better securing second place with a net 80. The flight winner was Jim Parkinson who makes a habit of winning just before he returns to UK. His net 78 was a fine return for some strong commitment. In the top flight Les Hall and Dale Shier tied for runner-up with excellent net 77's and it was gratifying to see Dale's hard work and application bearing fruit again in the shape of the day's best gross. Lording it over the field was Harry Riley, currently so much in form, and his net 76 brought him his third consecutive victory with the group. There were no birdie twos but there was no escape for Phil Burton as he found his misadventurous net 91 was earmarked for the Booby Bevy. Back at the OK Corral the odds were shortening on Harry Riley winning through to the final of the PGS Matchplay Championship later in the week. He is very much the man in form.

The Pattaya Golf Society revisited the scrumptious course at Bangpakong Riverside on Thursday, 23rd March, after an absence of almost two years, to play a stableford competition. Nothing had changed. The course was in excellent condition and for those on top of their game there were good scores waiting. The track can be a very forgiving one and the wide fairways, good lies and consistent greens all contributed to a fine golfing day for the majority of the twenty-five golfers. The field was cut at twenty and under and in the second flight Jim Bell and Rob Heath, the latter distracted by his PGS Matchplay semi-final, posted good scores of 37 points each to share third place. Les Winch returned to form with a vengeance firing 39 points to grab second place, his first podium finish for a long while. Winning the flight was Jim Parkinson, the elder of two brothers playing the competition and his 40 point total was a fine reward on his first visit to the course. In a tight top flight Dale Shier and Les Hall returned scores of 39 to take a share of third place, only one point behind Saranya Chaiyanont who had played the first nine in gross 37, her best ever nine-hole haul. Sitting proudly on top of the leaderboard was Parkinson junior, Andy, and his score of 41 points will leave him with a warm memory of the day as he was soon to return to UK, this being his final round. The day's only birdie two was bagged by David Thomas on the fourth hole and the rolled over pot brought a tear to his new "super sighted" eyes! There were others not so "au fait" with their game and of the seven players who failed to make the magic thirty-point mark big Robert Knutsson had the honour of receiving the Booby Bevy. In the simultaneous Matchplay ties Rob Heath shaded Harry Riley, 2 & 1, to reach the Final round and he will be joined there by Saranya Chaiyanont who blew away the challenge of Len Jones with a blistering first nine show which saw her opponent finally surrender on the thirteenth. The return to the Riverside had been an enjoyable one.

The day dawned hot and bright on Tuesday, 28th March, as the Pattaya Golf Society headed out of Soi Rungland for Eastern Star to play their weekly medal event. The large field was surprised to see an empty course before them and a fine day's golf lay in store. The field was cut at seventeen and under and both flights pursued their rounds under cloudless skies with only the drone of occasional aircraft breaking their concentration. The greens were not at their best, being uncut and slow, and in division two Pat Murphy and Masashi Iizumi managed to record scores of net 80 to share third place. Having better luck, except in the bunkers, was Len Jones whose net 76 took second place, two behind a consistent Andy Haycox whose two-over round of 74 was a good return on the day. In division one Harry Riley's net 75 gave him third place, one behind his ever improving partner, Saranya, whose net 74 again gave her a podium place. The hero of the day was canny Bill Hewitt and his net 69 was an excellent return for the accurate Yorkshireman. His gross 83 was the best gross of the day also. Both Bill and Ya shared the twos pot with Mikael Andersson whilst on a day where more than a few cards bore "double-figure" holes Jim Parkinson's total of 22 shots on two holes took the Booby Bevy. And this from the current PGS "Player of the Week". Never think that you've "made it" in golf!

The final fixture for the PGS month was held at Khao Kheow on Thursday, 30th March, as the group took to the track for its weekly stableford event. The "B" and "C" nines were played and it was the first opportunity to play the tough latter nine for many a month. Much work has been done and golfers will be surprised at the relaid final green with its new "crown". The field was cut at 22 and under and in a tight division two Pat Murphy grafted out 30 points for the third berth, one behind Andy Haycox whose 31 was not quite enough to match that of the winner, Jim Parkinson's 32 points. In division one David Thomas, Ben Findon and Tim Douglas all assembled 31 points to share third place whilst a newly promoted Masashi Iizumi marked the occasion with a fine 33 points for second place. It was an excellent reward for the personable Japanese golfer. The day's best round was that of Les Hall and his 38 points was all the more special as he declared before the event that the course was the least of his favourites! The day's twos pot was shared by Ben Findon, David Thomas and Denis Smith, whose birdie on B3 was his first "twos" win. John Mason almost birdied the final hole but by that time he knew that his paltry score would be worth nothing more than the Booby Bevy. In an exciting climax to the annual Matchplay Championship Saranya Chaiyanont took victory at the last over Rob Heath whilst Harry Riley defeated Len Jones 2 & 1 for the minor place. Finally, at the presentation, the Player of the Month award went to a thoroughly deserving Len Jones, having enjoyed his best month for a long, long time. March had been quite a month at the OK.

The Pattaya Golf Society's first event of the month is always something different. Forget the rigours of medal or stableford play and just have fun! So it was on Tuesday, 4th April when the golfing troop left the OK Corral for Eastern Star and a two-person better-ball tournament. The teams took their place on the tee high in optimism for a good day and they were not to be disappointed. The windy conditions were a big leveller and picking a pre-match favourite was fraught with problems. Surely the in-form pairing of Riley ad Chaiyanont? What about the low handicapped team of Andersson and Hancock? Who were the dark horses? As the day panned out it became clear that it might not be going to form. Sure, five teams had already broken par or better, but the locker room was abuzz with rumours of a low score for the team of Dale Shier and John Mason. Their net 67 had to be the standard others should match. Indeed, it was matched, nay bettered, by that of Joe McArdle and Gerry Hannon and their net 65 stood proud at the top of the leaderboard. The day's best kept secret was about to be revealed as Len Jones and Masashi Iizumi presented their card, bearing a score of 63. Their golf had been solid and accurate, making a mockery of their status in the group and had the hallmark of good pairs play. If a partner is having a bad hole keep your poise and consolidate. Don't play the course, play golf! So it was then that Masashi and Len astounded the field to take an excellent victory. Spice was added with the absence of a birdie two and the Booby Bevy was enjoyed by the high scoring duo of Dave Corrigan and Kris Pinyoun, for whom the day had begun badly with a two flight fall in his condo. Kris was not the only one who came down to earth with a bump that day.

On the hottest day of the year so far, Thursday, 6th April, the Pattaya Golf Society left Soi Rungland for a stableford competition at distant Noble Place. Being a holiday the journey was refreshingly stress-free and the relatively empty course was well turned out for the tournament. The large field was cut at twenty-two and under, taking on the challenge of the "A" and "B" nines. All players found the oppressive humidity a problem and in division one Bill Hewitt and Tony Duthie perspired to 32 points each to share third place, whilst a relaxed Basil Foley continued his consistent game scoring 34 points for second place. New Zealander David Thomas chose the occasion to mark his first victory with the PGS, firing a quality gross 79 to give him 36 points and the top flight prize. In division two Rob Dolan returned after an absence of a few weeks to hit the podium again with a grafted 33 points, one behind the score of Tony Kitchen, who was obviously cooking with gas in the middle of his fine round, as he posted a score of 34 to take second place. Lording it on the day was chirpy Jim Parkinson, the celebrity's chauffeur, who cruised to yet another win with the day's best score of 37 points. His five point haul on "B"4, a tough par five, was the secret to his round. It is such a shame that by the time he reads this he will be on his way back to UK, only dreaming of golf here with the PGS! Bill Hewitt nabbed the day's pair of birdie twos to take a handsome rolled-over pot and newbie Ray Thirtle played his first round of golf in Thailand with a generous beam on his face throughout and thoroughly deserved the Booby Bevy after posting the highest gross of the day. It had been another excellent week with the Pattaya Golf Society.

On Tuesday, 11th April, the Pattaya Golf Socety from the OK Corral had the immense pleasure of revisiting the beautiful track at Bangpra for its weekly medal event, on a hot and humid day and they found a wonderfully prepared course. Ok, some of the greens were lightly dressed but this did not detract from an excellent tournament. The field was cut at twenty and under and an empty course allowed them to begin on time. In division two Masashi Iizumi, playing his penultimate competition before his imminent return to the Land of the Rising Sun, marked the day wth a fine net 77 to grab third place, two shots behind a resurgent Rob Dolan for whom the pleasure of the day was merely being on the course. The flight winner was the ebullient Anglo/Irish/Aussie Pat Murphy whose hours of daily practice bore fruit with a net 73 for a good victory in unspectacular style. The top flight was a much tighter affair with Ben Findon, Bill Hewitt and John Cunningham all posting scores of 76 for third place, the latter shooting the day's best gross of 84. There was nothing to separate the top two golfers with Sam Fitzsimmons and Joe McArdle both hitting the magic par figure with net 72. Playing together, Pat Murphy and Len Jones shared the pleasure of the twos pot with fine birdies on the second hole, Pat leaving his tee shot tantalisingly short of the cup. The Booby Bevy found a suitable recipient in Andy Haycox, normally very consistent, whose round was nothing short of embarrasing. Congratulations to all winners and thanks to Bangpra for another fine day's golf with the PGS.

The Pattaya Golf Society spent the Songkhran week as best as they could, trying to keep dry, and found that the only real solace was to be found on the golf course. On Tuesday, 17th April they chose to visit Mountain Shadow for a medal competition and there were two very fine performances from both Chris Holmes and John Cunningham and their near faultless rounds of net 73 and net 72 respectively gave them the victory on the day they were pursued, albeit at a leisurely pace, by Tony Kitchen and Noel O'Brien. John Cunningham shot the day's best gross with 80 and he also added a two to his excellent card, sharing the pot with playing partner Chris Holmes who birdied the fifth and eighth. The Booby Bevy's destination was assured when Daz Martindale announced he had left his change of golf gear back at the OK and a lift home was denied to the perspiring player until he had invested in some new gear from the Pro Shop.

On Thursday, 19th, the large group withdrew to the nearby Emerald course at Ban Chang and were disappointed to find such an attractive course in such poor shape as a result of all the renovations that are ongoing. Once again it proved to be a John Cunningham "masterclass". The canny Scot, bearing four half fingers and a dicey thumb on the grip hand, played through the pain barrier to record the week's second successive best gross, this time an excellent 78, and he managed his habitual birdie two as well. He finished his round with thirty-eight stableford points, one ahead of Paweena's Rob Heath and his 37, and James Moyser's 36. The other twos were recorded by Don Nellis and an amazing eagle two on the second by David Thomas. At the other end of the listings was poor Tony Kitchen, so often running on gas, and proof that golf can take you from hero to zero in a very short time indeed!

On Tuesday, 25th April, the Pattaya Golf Society left the OK Corral for the joys of a medal round competition at Green Valley. The field had a strange look about it with the enforced absence of stalwarts Len Jones and Denis Smith, both enduring the sterile boredom of hospitalisation, but there were enough good golfers involved to shake a good fist at the usual stiff challenge the course could throw up. As usual on the testing track it was the lower handicappers who held sway but for Keith Barr it was to be his best round for a long time as he belied his twenty-something ranking to post a fine net 75 to almost make the breakthrough to the podium. He was to be denied by the skill of Ya Chaiyanont and Steve Bugden who posted 74's to grab the second best scores of the day. Local member Mike Allidi is always a force to be reckoned with at Green Valley but this time it was left to Trevor "Sam" Fitzsimmons to haul him back and rein him in with net 73. For once Mike's habitual best gross of the day was not good enough for an outright win. He had the pleasure of sharing the twos, however, this time with Steve Bugden and Jan Eriksen. Further down the field the pressures of acting as "backstop" for the day may well have distracted Andy Haycox but the value of his service to the PGS was worth far more than his mediocre score. Thanks Andy and well done golfers.

On Thursday, 27th April, the Pattaya Golf Society revisited the Royal Thai Navy course at Plutaluang for the first time in six months, following the refurbishment of the locker rooms after the recent fire They found the North and West nines in good shape and perfect for their weekly stableford competition. The field was cut at 21 and under and division one proved to be a tight affair with David Thomas and Sunny Khanna tying third place with hard won scores of 33 points, one behind runner-up Brian Wilkinson, 34, and eventual flight winner Mark Wood whose 35 points represented a fine return for the low handicapped golfer, being the day's best gross as well. In division two Ian Kidd again made the podium, this time with a moderate card bearing 32 points as he continues to find his level, two points behind a currently in-form Keith Barr, having his best week for a long time, and his 33 points took second place. Tony Kitchen is a good golfer who either runs hot or cold but on this day he was cooking with gas as he turned up the heat on his flight rivals and produced the day's only sub-par round, an excellent score of 38 points to take the day's honours. There was one birdie two on each of the par threes and the lucky marksmen were Les Hall, Ron West, Sunny Khanna and Keith Barr. For all it had been a happy return to the Navy course at Plutaluang.

The Pattaya Golf Society's first fixture each month is always a fun format tournament and so it was on Tuesday, 2nd May, when Khao Kheow's "A" and "B" nines formed the backdrop to a pairs scramble competition which drew a large field. The course was in excellent condition under a hot sky as the field set out. There were to be few surprises as Richard Kings and Chris Holmes, thrown together for the first time, carried themselves well to post a score of 69.8 for third place. Stuart Thompson and David Thomas, bearing the day's lowest combined handicap of 2.4 returned a fine score of 69.6 for second place, but a long way behind the pre-tournament favourites Dannie Larsen and Sunny Khanna and they brought all their "nouse" to bear during their fine round of net 63.4 to win by a relatively large margin in scamble terms. The day's only birdie two was achieved by Paul Quodomine as he drove he par-three "A" fifth and sank the putt with ease, leaving partner Denis Smith as nothing more than a spectator. Ian Kidd and Tony Kitchen received the Booby Bevvy for turning up at the presentation and bearing the highest scoring card. After an excellent day at Khao Kheow here's to the next fun day out with the Pattaya Golf Society, a "two from three" better-ball event at Phoenix at the start of June.

The Pattaya Gofl Society made its monthly call at Green Valley on Thursday, 4th May, to play a stableford event on one of the hottest days of the year so far. Both flights wilted in the heat and high scoring was at a premium. With the cut at nineteen and under those in the second flight found the course challenging and scores reflected this with Tony Kitchen returning a meagre score of 28 points which took third place. John Mason finally came good after four months of intensive and enjoyable golf with a score of thirty points and it was good enough to share the top spot with Dannie Larsen. It was also to be John's swansong with the PGS as he was to soon to return to UK. For Dannie it was his second succesive victory of the week. In the top flight Sunny Khanna and Jesper Hensen, playing together, both posted scores of 33 points for a share of second place but they were ultimately undone by the absolute quality of Mike Allidi's round. Mike shot a gross 70 to give him a staggering forty points and bring his ambition of being a scratch golfer a touch closer. Amazingly his round failed to register a birdie two and thus the pot was carried over to the following week. The Booby Bevy should have gone to master-of-ceremonies Denis Smith for signing a card which bore a handicap of 3 and would have given him a score of two points, but his embarrassment was saved when he recalled that Stuart Thompson had left his golf bag at the OK and was only able to compete when the Good Samaritan, Denis, had seen it and picked it up. Thus Stuart was able to enjoy his round, but no as much as Mike Allidi, whose golf shone with quality at Green Valley.

The Pattaya Golf Society's first May OM event was a medal competition at Eastern Star on Tuesday, 9th May, and whilst Pattaya suffered heavy downpours the skies over Ban Chang remained friendly even if the atmosphere was exceptionally humid. The course at the moment is not at its best with scarring on all the green fringes and a compulsory local rule bans shots from the fringe, necessitating a drop, usually into the semi-rough. This is hardly conducive to good scoring but the group made a good fist of their task. Keith Barr played consistently again and presented a card bearing a fine net 75 to share third place with Arthur Hancock, whose triple bogey on the last robbed him of a higher place. In second was Mikael Andersson and his net 74 was a good score under the circumstances. At the top of the leaderboard was the elusive Saranya Chaiyanont, who is in the best form of her short career at the moment and she will yet again test the handicapper's mathematics with her stunning four-under round of 68. Other highlights of the day included a brace of birdies by Arthur Hancock and he took the rolled over twos pot with glee. The event also saw the return to the golf course of Len Jones, following doctors' orders and "giving it a go" when he felt his recent pulmonary problems had eased. Fourteen holes served as fine mental therapy, the final four being better consigned to "experience". However in admitting to a four-putt on the seventeenth he joined a similarly "putting challenged" Denis Smith and celebrated the day with the Booby Bevy. It had certainly been a day to remember, especially for Saranya.

On Thursday, 11th May, the Pattaya Golf Society travelled to the Emerald course at Ban Chang for their weekly stableford event and on National Ploughing Day they found what they expected, a course with fairways resembling a newly ploughed field. Preferred lies were the order of the day as declared by leader Denis Smith, who also happened to be celebrating his birthday that day. That spice added the day was set fair for an excellent competition and the large field was cut at 19 and under. In division two the golfers found the going tough and it was left to Mick Moore to set the benchmark on only his second round with the PGS as he posted a score of 29 points to take third place. There were joint winners of the flight and Paul Quodomine celebrated his imminent return "stateside" with a good 32 points card which tied with that of Tony Duthie to share the honours for the flight. It was also Tony's first win with the PGS in more than a year. The top flight saw the real action with the top nine places on the day's full leaderboard occupied by golfers on nineteen or less. It was therefore fitting that the podium places went to those who had broken par on the tough course. Jan Eriksen and Stuart Thompson recorded scores of 37 points to take third place whilst Chris Holmes, a professional caddy of some twenty years standing, read the course well to post a score of 38 points and take the runner-up spot. What can you say about the winning score? Once again Mike Allidi turns up, having seen his handicap recently cut and again plays one of the rounds of the year in carding a gross 70, representing a three-under score of 39 points. Not only did it give him the divisional but also the warm glow of knowing that he was inching still towards the magic "scratch" mark in the handicap list. Well done, Mike, here's to a hattrick of seventies next time out at Phoenix! Back at the OK Corral the presentation and birthday party saw the twos pot presented to Chris Holmes, Ya Chaiyanont and Mike Allidi (two) for their fine birdies and the special booby prizes went to Colin Reaney for the shortest drive of the day off the first, whilst the low score prize in division one went to Les Hall (30) and in division two the recipient was Nick Cardy whose 23 points score won on countback from Ian Kidd and Mr. Denis. It had certainly been a happy birthday for the gaffer!

After a break of seven months the Pattaya Golf Society chose Tuesday, 16th May, as the day when a large mixed group would desert the OK Corral and return to reacquaint themselves with the course. The Lakes and Ocean nines were the assigned track for the medal event and the return was to be celebrated with an average score of level par net 72 for the whole field! This was helped in part by the excellent course conditions. The field was cut at 20 and in a tight division one Howard Stanley at last played his way into the honours, after a year of trying, and fired an excellent net 74 to take third place. Incidentally this was one behind the score of his wife Jill, who easily posted the best ladies' score of the day! Well done both. Second in the fight was the ubiquitous Mike Allidi whose gross 73 was an excellent effort but his handicap of one only gave him a level par return for some fine golf. The flight winner was the PGS' old friend, Basil Foley, who returned after a break to set a splendid standard of net 71. The second flight threw up some remarkable scores, as often happens at Phoenix, with Paul Scully nabbing third place with a well-deserved net 69, one shot behind Rob Heath from Paweena's bar in Jomtien, whose net 68 was a similarly fine reward for some good golf. One of the founder-members of the Pattaya Golf Society, Les Winch found everything on the day to his liking and his score of net 64 will live long in his memory on a rare day in golf when everything went right! It was an excellent return from this senior golfer, playing like a junior, and he more than merited the fine victory. The two birdie twos on the day meant that Tony Duthie and Mike Allidi had some consolation for earlier disappointments and new member Carl Lovatt celebrated his first round with the PGS with the welcome Booby Bevy. However the taste of the Heineken will not have been as sweet as that of the victory of Les Winch.

Bangpra International Golf Club hosted the Pattaya Golf Society's weekly stableford event on Thursday, 18th May, under brooding skies which later fulfilled their foreboding with very heavy showers which had the inevitable cooling and delaying affect on everyone's round. However the two playing divisions, cut at nineteen and under, set off in the hopes of another enjoyable day's golf, and none were disappointed. In division two Keith Barr maintained his current hot run with another fine round, this time his 37 points proving too much for the chasing pack, led by Ian Kidd and Pat Murphy, and their 27 point scores were enough for second place, a country mile behind the winner. In division one things were much tighter with Jan Eriksen recording a level par 36 points, only to be usurped by the quality of Mike Allidi and Simon Kendall's 37 point hauls. Yet again Mike had recorded the day's best gross with a splendid 72 "off the sticks". Howard Stanley drew the curtains on a fine week by winning the twos pot with the day's sole birdie on the eighth hole, but the smiles on the face of Alan Freeman were no less broad when it was announced that his miserable efforts merited no more than the Booby Bevy. As usual at Bangpra the golf had been enjoyable, even though the weather could have been better.

On Tuesday, 23rd May, the Pattaya Golf Society travelled to be best "vfm" course in the province, Noble Place, to play their weekly medal event and found an empty course, peaceful surroundings and a heavily burdened sky. The fairways were very damp and soft after a deluge prior to the day's play and thus there was very little run but the greens were as good as any, anywhere. With the "A" and "C" nines set to play very long Aussie Stuart Thompson was immediately installed as favourite and even he stuttered to produce anything of merit on the first nine, dropping six shots on the first half dozen holes. His back nine however was a different "kettle of fish" and an excellent in-round of 37 shots helped him to a total of gross 79, net 71, easily eclipsing the otherwise sound rounds of Micky Moore (77) and Tony Kitchen (78). Carl Lovatt had the day's only birdie two, his debut birdie with the PGS, and he enjoyed his first taste of success at the OK Corral later. Not so "newbie" Davy Wallace who had inexplicably picked up a set of left-handed clubs and only found out his error on the first tee. He hastily hired his second set of the day and found the Booby Bevy was there to console him later!

Thursday, 25th May dawned very hot as the Pattaya Golf Society left the shade of Soi Rungland to exercise themselves in a stableford event at the beautifully testing Mountain Shadow course, near Bangpra. The track was well presented and the monstrous, undulating greens lay in wait for the less than intrepid golfer. The day began badly as the starter allowed an unbooked Thai five-ball to intercede, including an off-duty policeman clad in jeans! But who are we mere mortals (read "farangs") to protest at the five-hour round that ensued! Newcomer Brian Vale patiently followed the offending group, taking lengthy breaks at the same time in the absence of invitations to play through, and yet survived to record 30 points and earn a well-deserved third place. Micky Moore made it two second places in a row recording a score of 31 points, but the day's best performance saw Mark Wood return the best gross of 82 to give him victory with 32 points. This was helped by birdies on the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth holes and as two of these were "twos" he took the pot in style. The Booby Bevy was not awarded as being escorted to jail by an improperly dressed golfer would have been a bad way to end a good day!

At this time of year numbers are always down and the combination of home visits, sickness and visa runs all conspired to reduce the numbers of Pattaya Golf Society members who were tempted to take on Crystal Bay's "A" and "B" nines in the Society's weekly medal event on Tuesday, 30th May. The course was in excellent condition, showing no signs of the cloudburst which had struck in the early morning hours and the day was set fair for some fine golf. Perennial pre-event favourite Mike Allidi lost four shots on the third hole and ultimately this, his only blemish, left him on net 76, and in an unaccustomed third place. Playing partner Jan Eriksen ground out a good round of net 73 to take second place whilst debutant Irishman Owen McSweeney put aside all thoughts of an imminent return to his adopted Australia and masterfully crafted a level-par round to take the day. Juhani Pylkkanen and Mike Allidi both had the honour of sharing the twos pot whilst Ray Underwood tried twice, but failed by one shot each time, to match his playing partner's twelve on a par three, and thoroughly enjoyed the Booby Bevy on this, only his second OK appearance. The Crystal Bay club had once again been the perfect host for a fine day's golf.

Thursday, 1st June saw the Pattaya Golf Society make a very happy return to Phoenix after a barren high "season", which saw the usual Asian invasion and inflated fees. The Mountain and Lake nines were in good condition but the greens were fatigued with four-day-old pin spots and more than the usual number of stud scuffs. The format for the day was stableford in 3 player teams with the best two scores counting on each hole. The seven teams set out in good form and high spirits and early inroads were being made by Ben Findon, Les Hall and Emmet White and their 42 points on the front nine led the field at the turn. The wheels were later to come off the wagon with the addition of a mere 35 on the back nine giving them a total of 77 points, a score good enough for third place. After nine holes the teams of Harry Riley, Ya Chaiyanont and Mark Campbell and David Thomas, Barry McIntosh and Mike Etheridge were handily placed on 40 points each, and this was especially creditable for Harry as it was his first round since a multiple arm fracture had put a stop to his golf a few months previously. David, Barry and Mike had been thrown together at a day's notice but found a gel of skill and team spirit which was to be successful. At the end of the day these two outfits could not be separated and a repeat of their first nine returns gave them a share of the win with 80 points each. The day's only two came on Lakes 7 and it was Ya Chaiyanont whose accuracy won the pot for her team. At the other end of the leaderboard the Australian pairing of Stuart Thompson and Ian Kidd, augmented by Englishman Carl Lovatt, struggled from the start and posted a score of 60 points which gave them the enviable Booby Bevy. The PGS' first fixture of the month had held its reputation for fun and a return to Phoenix had added a touch of spice to the occasion.

A number of welcome members are returning to these shores after various mid-year breaks in Europe and elsewhere, and such was the case at the OK Corral on Tuesday, 6th June, as the Pattaya Golf Society ventured to Crystal Bay to play a weekly medal event over the "B" and "A" nines. The course is always a pleasurable challenge with its wide fairways and expanses of water and the greens, though not as pacy as on the previous recent visit, still held surprises for the party. Under a cloudless sky battle commenced and before long it became apparent that the "cream" would rise to the top. The antipodean pair of Stuart Thompson and David Thomas were going head-to-head, with New Zealander David holding all the aces after nine holes but a sparkling in-run saw Stuart post a gross 39 to record a total of net 78 equaling his partner for a share of second place. In the previous six weeks the vagaries of the Scottish summer had restricted John Cunningham to a mere nine holes but his return, with the sun on his back, worked the oracle. He quickly entered his PGS mode and produced yet another fine round, the only blemishes being "rusty" dropped shots on the first nine. He finished the day, as so often, at the top of the table and his net 77 marked a fine return to his adopted homeland. Rob Dolan achieved the day's only birdie two, from off the green on "A"8 and his joy signalled one of the few occasions when he has managed to cross the water on the picturesque hole! Tony Duthie, recently hospitalised with pneumonia, found rehabilitation tough, losing all his balls by the seventeenth but his caddy came to the rescue with one she had kept for a special occasion and Tony proceeded to immerse this as well on the final hole. His return was thus marked by the Booby Bevy. But for him, as with the other players, the highlight of the day was merely being on a beautiful course with fine friends.

Far off Noble Place gets better with every visit and this was no exception on Thursday, 8th June, as the Pattaya Golf Society chose to call to play a stableford event. The continued work on the course is turning an already fine golf track into something special and, as communications improve, the course is destined to become a Pattaya favourite. The "A" and "C" nines formed the backcloth to proceedings as the four groups set out on an empty course. After nine holes the field was buzzing with the exploits of diminutive Aussie Stuart Thompson, who had completed the front nine in a superb gross 35 giving him a staggering 23 points off his 8 handicap. For some, putting on the repairing greens was a test but not for Stuart whose eyes and hands stayed true. Inevitably he was to stutter slightly on the in-run but he retained his composure to return a score of 42 points to win the day in immaculate style. John Cunningham completed a fine week with a score of 37 points for second place and Len Jones showed the tablets are working well as he posted a creditable 35 points for third place, and another step on the road to recovery after his recent health problems. There were no birdie twos and a substantial rollover was expected at Green Valley next time out. The prime candidates for the Booby Bevy were the two competitors who had chosen to compete for the fashion highlight of the day with their trousers but as Jim Wilson seemed hell bent on matching Bill Hewitt's Heineken intake record on the course all bets were off! As the day progressed his short putts became longer and "tap-ins" became "top-ups". It had been a seriously good golf day indeed.

On Tuesday, 13th June, the Pattaya Golf Society forsook the bustle of Pattaya "on holiday" and took to the popular course at Green Valley for their weekly medal event on yet another steamy hot day. The welcome return of three old golfing friends helped make the occasion more enjoyable. As the day developed it soon became clear that the early starting group of Harry Riley, Mark Campbell and Ya Chaiyanont would have the advantage of the cooler conditions and less worn greens and their scores were to merit this, with Ya posting net 76 for a share of third place with the previous week's "Wizard of Oz", Stuart Thompson, whose card was marred only by two double bogeys. Ahead of them was the consistent Scot John Cunningham, back in the Kingdom with a vengeance, and his card of net 75 bore an uncharacteristic triple bogey on the thirteenth. Maybe he is superstitious! Heading the pack was Kiwi David Thomas whose golf held together well and his back nine return of 37 gross helped him set a splendid target of net 71. His win is more than merited for his performances are always "there or thereabouts". Harry Riley and Mark Campbell both birdied the ninth from at least twenty feet to share the rolled over twos pot but one three-ball was less fortunate, recording a total of 350 shots for the round and as the majority were taken by Ray Underwood he was duly awarded the Booby Bevy back at the OK Corral.

On Thursday, 15th June, the Pattaya Golf Society travelled to the very testing course at Mountain Shadow to play a stableford event. On this occasion the course was to be tougher than many could remember with the greens running very fast and some of the pin placements, in true Thai style, being almost impossible to reach. Three and even four-putting became the norm and it could easily have spoilt the day. After all, Winged Foot it aint! Nevertheless the field stuck to its task and things became very tight for the minor placings with Brian Wilkinson, Stuart Thompson and David Thomas all sharing third place with 29 points. Two points ahead, and winning in fine style, was Denmark's Jan Eriksen, and his 31 points took the day's major honour. Strangely there were no twos and everyone was looking forward to the rollover at Eastern Star the next time for some putting relief. The Booby Bevy was awarded to Sam Fitzsimmons, who put two balls in the water on the par-three fifteenth, the second one going in as he was walking off the green having made four putts! Times were certainly tough at Mountain Shadow.

A dismally drizzly Tuesday, 20th June saw the Pattaya Golf Society undertake the short trip to the enigmatic Eastern Star. The Resort's decision to ban buggies for the day had resulted in the withdrawal of one group of players but the rest of the field took on the rain-damaged fairways and painfully slow greens to play out their weekly medal event. Understandably the course was empty on a day when thunder crashed all about and as a result scores were destined to be very high, indeed an average of net 82 was the order of the day. Local member Dave Stockman returned net 80 for a share of third place with Nora Haugsjordet whilst a despairing John Cunningham fired an embarrassing 79 for second. Another local member, Arthur Hancock, took on his home course with application but even he found that a net 78 was probably not good enough. But he was wrong, it had won the day. The rest of the field were all within ten shots of the leader and there was some consolation for Sam Fitzsimmons as his birdie two on the thirteenth matched that of Arthur, who had the bonus of another on the sixth, and they both shared the rolled over twos pot. Chris Walsh had newly arrived for his annual golf holiday and found his three OB shots on the fourth contributed greatly to his net 88 and had certainly won him a spot on the Booby Bevy board. Better times lie ahead for Eastern Star.

Khao Kheow was the Pattaya Golf Society's choice of venue for its weekly stableford event on Thursday, 22nd June, and an eager group took to the links pondering what the latest Order of Merit event would hold in store. The weather held fine, even if a little overcast, and the course was in excellent condition over the "B" and "C" nines. As the course was empty the five groups had no impediment to their round and it soon became clear that the lower handicappers would have the day as the course was playing long off rear placed yellow tees. Ben Findon's score of 33 points matched that of David Thomas, soon to be crowned "Player of the Month", and took a share of third place but the top two golfers had good reason to smile. The consistent "Wizard of Oz", Stuart Thompson, played nine holes before losing a shot to par and finished with 37 points for a creditable second place. However, six-handicapper Paul Smith, playing for the first time with the PGS, showed everyone what he is capable of with a near faultless round of gross 73 giving him a monstrous 41 points for an emphatic victory. He was helped in part by the birdie two on B3 and he was to share the twos pot with Brian Bellis and Saranya Chaiyanont. Confusion reigned at the end of the round as the only one of the group with an insect allergy was "buzzed" by a hornet on the final green and emergency treatment was necessary. For that we are very grateful to Harry and Ya Riley and their efforts ensured the presentation went on as normal. All in a day's golf at the OK Corral!

The Pattaya Golf Society shrugged of the effects of late night football and visited beautiful Bangpra International Golf Club on Tuesday, 27th June, for their weekly medal event and found the course damp after heavy rains but in otherwise excellent condition, with the exception of the bunkers, which always seem unsatisfactory here. The course was to play long and it was anticipated that the lower handicappers in the field would hold all the aces. Even the legendary monkeys were keeping their heads down as the first group returned to the clubhouse bearing nothing better than a net 78 and it was only later that the better cards arrived. Aussie Stuart Thompson, manfully overcoming his disappointment at the previous evening's football, posted a net 75 to join playing partner Dave Thomas at the top of the leaderboard and two groups later another fine card was returned as Ben Findon, playing the course for the second consecutive day, found that local knowledge worked to his advantage in also posting 75. Stuart and the returning Yasuo Suzuki shared the two's pot for their excellent efforts on the immaculate par-three eighth and those at the presentation found great amusement in the "ball-by-ball" description of one of Carl Lovatt's holes as he savoured the Booby Bevy with his customary good humour and infectious smile. The golf had again been enjoyable and after that it was back to the football!

On Thursday, 29th June, it was the turn of Burapha Golf Club to host the Pattaya Golf Society for its weekly stableford event, this time over the picturesque and shorter "A" and "B" nines. As usual the golfers resorted to the longer blue tees and found that these were placed at their furthest extent, thereby making the exquisitely manicured course a tough challenge on a cloudy and humid day. The two flights were cut at nineteen and under and in division two "newbie" Ray Underwood nailed his first podium place with the PGS with a hard won 29 stableford points. He was pipped for second by Len Jones' 30 points but was a long way behind the flight winner, Tom McCarthy, playing his first PGC round for a year, on this, his annual holiday from teaching in Florida. His 37 points signalled his arrival in style. A quality division one field had Stuart Thompson in third place with 31 points, Harry Riley in second with 34 points and Ben Findon taking the honours with an excellent 38 points to conform his current status as a player very much in form. There were no winners of the twos pot and amongst the "also rans" there were a clutch of players vying for the Booby Bevy but it found its way into the hands of Andy Haycox whose points score marked the low point of his PGS career so far. Burapha is a quality track and the day had been a good one for the Pattaya Golf Society.

On the eve of the annual Independence Day/Richard's Birthday event at Phoenix the Pattaya Golf Society held a hastily rearranged fixture at the same course, where ten teams turned out for a pairs combined medal event. It was the first time the format had been tried and it proved to be pleasantly successful. The chosen track was the Lakes and Ocean combination and forward tees made the course extremely forgiving. In defiance of public opinion the low handicappers did not have things all their own way as half the top six teams had a team handicap of thirty or more. Battle was now set. In third place, posting an excellent two-over net 146, was the team of Tom McCarthy and Ben Findon, Tom shooting three-under par for the team's cause. In second place, on net 144, came the redoubtable pairing of Mikael Andersson and Yasuo Suzuki, Mikael's gross 74 being the highlight of the team's day. Predictably, way out in front was the invincible ANZAC pair of Stuart Thompson and David Thomas - the "Two Tommies" - and both fired subpar rounds for a fine total of 137, representing seven under par. The best round of the day was that posted by Paul Scully whose net 64 was the best of his short PGS career. There were two birdie twos and David Thomas and Masashi Iizumi had the pleasure of sharing a large rolled-over pot for their accuracy on Ocean 5. The Booby Bevy went, amazingly, to Paul Scully as his score was the best of the day but it won for him nothing! It was some consolation for the quiet Scottish golfer at least. Everyone had shared a fine day at Phoenix with the Pattaya Golf Society.

The absence of England from the World Cup semi finals in the early hours of the morning of Thursday, 6th July, encouraged the Pattaya Golf Society's largest field for three months to enjoy the luxury of a good night's sleep before turning out at Green Valley for a stableford tourney. The day dawned hot and the course was in its usual good condition, except for green maintenance work on the final two holes. The cut for the two divisions was at an amazingly low thirteen and with some ladies in the field it was to be a challenge throughout. In division two local member Bob Lindborg strutted his stuff to record 32 points and take third place whilst Tony Kitchen took advantage of a lift to the course to boost his fortunes and his 33 points drew to an end a dismal run. His score was enough to share the top place with lady member Trudi Chadbourn whose regular faultless play left her in no danger at all on the course. In division one current Player of the Month David Thomas once again thrust himself towards the top with a third placed 33 points, one behind Barry Traynor's creditable 34 point scorecard. The best score by a long way was that returned by Pattaya's "soon-to-be" leading lady golfer, Saranya Chaiyanont and once again she dazzled her peers with an incredible 41 points off her ever decreasing handicap. Excuses could be made for playing off the red tees but there is nothing to be said when witnessing golf of that quality and her gross 78 represents her best ever round. The day's substantial twos pot was shared by Paul Smith, Harry Riley, Gary Bingham and Liam Horgan and the Booby Bevy went to an absent golfer who had almost thrown the day into chaos before it had started. Some advice for those gentlemen hoping to defeat the ladies at Green Valley - pop along and see Doctor Snippit in Soi Yodsak and a few minor alterations will have you playing off the red tees in no time!

Tuesday, 11th July was Buddhist Lent Day and therefore it was the turn of Noble Place to host the Pattaya Golf Society for its weekly medal event. The club offers outstanding value for money and the course and clubhouse facilities are being constantly upgraded. As a result a large field turned out to enjoy the day over the "A" and "C" nines. The "Two Tommies", David Thomas and Stuart Thompson soon found their way towards the top of the leader board again with a pair of net 73's but this time they were joined by Len Jones and the trio were destined to take third place. Currently running hot is Ben Findon and another subpar round saw him post net 70 for a deserved second place. Good as this round was it was not enough to rein in Masashi Iizumi, the personable and popular Japanese golfer, who played his best round in the Kingdom recording a score of net 69, which even included a nine and an eight! His golf was "quality" from start to finish and marked him as the player to beat over the next few weeks. The day's only two was recorded by Stuart Thompson, on the long par three A2 and at the end of an extremely fine day Denis Smith received the Booby Bevy for a round which could have been so much better had putts gone in, trees been avoided and water hazards shunned. Well done Denis, well done all.

On Thursday, 13th July, the Pattaya Golf Society went to nearby Phoenix to play a stableford event over the Lakes and Ocean nines and found the course crowded, making long rounds in prospect. The course had been toughened up since the visit the previous week, with some teasing pin positions and the day was to be a testing one for the two flights, cut at twenty and under. In a tightly contested division one Harry Riley and Stuart Thompson both returned cards bearing 34 points and they took a share of third place, one behind Mikael Andersson whose 79 (35 points) was also the best gross of the day. The flight winner was Bill Hewitt with a level par 36 points. In division two the return of two ladies after a long while had tongues wagging as Margaret Cunningham returned twenty points off the front nine and husband John was taking a keen interest in his protegé's progress. Inexperience, however, caused Margaret to falter and she was joined on 29 points by Masashi Iizumi and Ray Underwood for a share of third place. Len Jones plodded to a level par score of 36 points to take runner-up place whilst the day's only sub par round was recorded by Ian Kidd and his 38 points total was a just reward for his efforts. Stuart Thompson and David Thomas shared the twos pot with their birdies on the Ocean par threes. The organiser had a dilemma in deciding the choice of the Booby Bevy winner, seriously considering awarding it to the golfer whose round over the same track merely a week before had been a net 64, this one bearing only 17 points, but Margaret's difference of 11 points between the two nines was the excuse that was needed to award the Bevy to a lady. After all the PGS' proud boast is one of equality!

Sri Racha Revisited

On Tuesday, 18th July, the Pattaya Golf Society chose to visit Sri Racha International Golf Club for the first time in three years, as recent reports indicated that the condition of the course was improving. Fairways are now reasonably good and, even though there is still a need for some more remedial work on the greens, the course is perfectly acceptable and is better than some others currently being visited. The scene was set then for a medal event and the large, high quality field was divided into two flights at 16 and under. In a tensely fought division two Markku Tynell shook off the cobwebs of his previous day's adventure on day one of the annual IPGC Championship to find his form again with a net 73 which was good enough for third place, one shot behind the joint winners on level par, Masashi Iizumi and Len Jones, jostling for the top places as they had been the previous week. The standard of play in division one was an indication of the quality of the field with all three principles breaking par. John Cunningham, recently struggling in the doldrums, fired a welcome net 69 for third place on a course he had played only a few times before, whilst Mikael Andersson shot the day's best gross of 74, giving him an excellent net 68 on a day when his prodigious drives all found the "short stuff" on the course's generous fairways. His second place was one shot behind newcomer Kris Kritsnajootha who played some fine golf in a round of net 67 to win the day. The day's twos pot was shared by Jeff Wiggins and Markku Tynell and the PGS' newest member, ebullient Texan Bob Martin, enjoyed the Booby Bevy for his round of gross 77, including a birdie two. Sadly he was still qualifying for an initial CONGU handicap and was not entered for the competition! He will be seeking retribution later, no doubt. The return to Sri Racha had brought back happy memories to some of the golfers but for those playing there for the first time the day had been a pleasant surprise.

KK Doubles Up at KK

Thursday, 20th July, was the sad occasion of the funeral of one of the Pattaya Golf Society's favourite members, John Preddy, and with many members wishing to pay their final respects a smaller than usual field turned out at Khao Kheow for the society's weekly stableford event. The "A" and "C" nines were the order for the day and the course was quite difficult in a strong breeze which blew throughout. David Thomas overcame the embarrassment of a disastrous first hole to post a final score of 32 points and this was to be good enough for third place. Ben Findon and new member, Thai-American Kris Kritsnajootha went three better to post winning scores of 35 points each and take the event. It was the second successive win for Kris in his first week with the group. Tony Kitchen had the honour of the day's only birdie two and his smiles did much to hide the imbalance of his card which bore a paltry seven points on the first nine, with three times as many on the back nine. He was spared the Booby Bevy however because of the aforementioned disaster on the first hole by current Player of the Month, seven-handicapper David Thomas, and the whole field at the presentation loved Mr. Denis' stroke by stroke description. It would not be a surprise that somewhere John Preddy was also watching and enjoying it .

On a hot, breezy day, Tuesday, 25th July, the Pattaya Golf Society took the short trip to the popular course at Eastern Star to play a medal competition. The course has long been a favourite for many of the field and was in good condition for the event. The greens however were surprisingly slow in comparison with other courses played recently and many golfers found that putting was to be the key to their rounds. The star of the day was to Mikael Andersson, a local member of the course, and he brought all his course management skills to bear in a round of supreme touch, where he struck seventeen greens in regulation or better, only missing the par-three third by a whisker. On this form he is almost invincible and his round of gross 77 gave him net 71 for a fine victory. Eating his dust a long way back were John Cunningham who tutted, not putted, to a score of net 76 and Barry McIntosh and Ben Findon who turned in cards bearing net 78's for a share of third place. Elsewhere the field toiled manfully throughout the day and only Bill Hewitt found a modicum of success when he chipped in for a birdie two on the seventeenth. Carl Lovatt left a new ProV1 up a tree on the first and his hopes nosedived from that point; Jan Eriksen joined the ranks of the disbelievers when he lost eleven balls in his round, whilst the usual favourites, Dave Thomas and Stuart Thompson, also found the day a chore. Indeed Stuart's card was his poorest for a while and he accepted the Booby Bevy in his usual stoic fashion. But such things only drive one to do better and all golfers know better days lie ahead. They do, don't they?

On Thursday, 27th July, one of the remaining few "breakfast-free" golf groups, the Pattaya Golf Society, set course from the OK Corral for the beautiful Bangpra International Golf Club to play their weekly stableford event. The course did not disappoint with its well maintained fairways and consistently quick greens and the large field was divided into two flights with the cut at fifteen and under, an indication of yet another quality field. In the second flight Ray Underwood posted his second podium place in three weeks with his 32 point score and announced that better things are to come. Aussie Ian Kidd is now achieving a measure of consistency with his second placed 34 points but the flight was led home by Keith Barr and his 35 point score gave no indication of the haste with which he had entered the event. The top flight saw some excellent performances with Stuart Thompson forgetting his Booby Bevy from his previous outing and recording a consistent 36 points to share third place with the returning John Hughes, whilst Paul Smith fired another fine round with his 37 points giving him second place. The day's winner, for the third successive round, was Kris Kritsnajootha and his 39 points will see his handicap reduced yet again very soon. He put his victory down to the nourishing fried rice breakfast he had consumed at the OK before venturing out. The twos pot was shared by Paul Smith, Steve Nowell, Mike Allidi and Keith Barr whilst a hungry monkey deprived Ben Findon of a beef sandwich on the fourth hole and led to Ben receiving the "Booby Butty" by way of consolation. The same monkey had also relieved himself on Len Jones' ball from the safety of a tree and mugged a caddy, running of with a bag containing her motorbike keys. It had been another eventful round with the PGS.

On Tuesday, 1st August, the Pattaya Golf Society left the OK Corral for the long trip to Noble Place for a pairs better ball event at the very friendly course. The skies were heavy all day and the "C" Course was played in heavy rain leaving the "A" course sodden underfoot for the back nine. It was a tough day and the ten teams performed well in the conditions with only five shots covering the whole field. Paul Scully and Keith Barr joined Ray Underwood and Tony Kitchen in third place with creditable scores of net 70 and these were only one behind the score of second-placed Ian Kidd and Carl Lovatt. These three teams were composed of high handicappers which lends the lie to the rumour that team events only benefit the "better" golfers, but the top team was indeed one of quality. John Cunningham, partnered by Bill Hewitt, proceeded to post a score of four-under, net 68, to take the day's main award. Surprisingly it was one of the first occasions when the pairing had been successful and more is now anticipated from them. There were no birdie twos on the saturated greens and Alan Freeman and Mike Benton took the Booby Bevy, after a tense countback with two other teams, for their otherwise good score of 73. The next PGS team golf experience will be at Green Valley on 22nd August when Mr. Len celebrates a major milestone on his birthday with a four-man team scramble. Entry forms and full details are available at the OK Corral and all IPGC venues.

Mountain Shadow Golf Club is always a fine challenge for golfers with its many trees, water hazards and large, rolling and racing greens and this was the stage for the Pattaya Golf Society's weekly stableford event on Thursday, 3rd August. The skies remained overcast throughout but thankfully they gave nothing more than a refreshing breeze to the field, which was cut at nineteen and under. In a taut division two scores were low as Tony Kitchen took third place with 28 stableford points, and Keith Barr established himself in second with 32 points. Ian Kidd had the flight in his pocket with an excellent 35 points and all three are to be congratulated for making the podium for the second successive event. Division one golfers fared better with Joop Medze, playing with the group for only the second time, posting a splendid 34 points for a share of second place, his round owing much to his accuracy off the tee. Joining him was the astute Aussie, Stuart Thompson, who rose from his sickbed to record 34 points as well and banish all thoughts of the food poisoning which had laid him low earlier in the week. So much for ß99 buffets! Lording it over the flight was Phil Page who used the occasion to post the day's only level-par round, 36 points, on his first round with the Pattaya Golf Society. Well done, Phil, and welcome. There were no birdie twos for the second successive round meaning a large field would be eagerly anticipating Laem Chabang the next time out. The Booby Bevy went to Len Jones for his attempt to steal the honour on the seventh claiming that his decision to "scratch" the sixth before his playing partners also did so, gave him the right. The presentation at the OK Corral gave Mr. Denis the opportunity to award Mikael Andersson with the PGS "Player of the Month" trophy for July and his month's Order of Merit efforts were suitably rewarded. Congratulations Mikael, it is thoroughly deserved.

Mills Thrills at Laem Chabang

On Tuesday, 8th August, the Pattaya Golf Society gave itself a real treat by visiting the exquisite Laem Chabang International Golf Club for its weekly medal test and found the "A" and "B" courses in their usual magnificent condition. The large field struck fifty tee shots off the first tee, some almost professional, some certainly provisional, and they heralded a day of fine competitive golf. The two flights were cut at nineteen and under and the second flight saw Ian Kidd retain his current consistency by posting a net 74 for third place. One shot ahead was Brian Tully whilst Dannie Larsen fulfilled his pre-round boast of a cut in handicap by taking the flight in style with an immodest net 69. It was an excellent round by any standards. The top flight was awash with quality and Ben Findon rediscovered his touch with net 71 to take third place. Harry Riley was second with a splendid net 70, which could have been better if his putting touch had been more accurate. The round of the day was that posted by Andy Mills. His net 66, gross 74, was a class act and his 37 - 37 split showed his consistency on the tough course. He also shared the obscenely large rolled-over twos pot with Harry Riley and Chang Suh, the latter birdieing both the par threes on the back nine. The Booby Bevy was awarded to Austin Langton, one of two nil-returns, winning it by virtue of his lower handicap. What a day it had been at Laem and a return next month is certainly a mouth watering prospect. Chabang.

Tully Tops at Sri Racha

The popular Pattaya Golf Society once again took a large group from the OK Corral for a day's competitive golf at Sri Racha on Thursday 10th August. The course is now becoming dry again and there was plenty of run on the hard fairways to help the golfers but the track is still much better than a year ago when golfers shunned the course in droves. The two stableford flights were cut at 20 and under and by the end of the day a third of the field had posted scores of par or better. In a friendly yet competitive second flight Ray Underwood played his first par round since joining the group a month or so ago, his 36 points giving him third place and no doubt it will inspire him to better things. There were joint winners of the flight with soulmates Paul Quodomine and Len Jones playing their best rounds for a long while, recording 37 points each to share a popular victory. In division one Harry Riley, Bill Hewitt and Kris Kritsnajootha all recorded level par scores of 36 points to share third place whilst Stuart Thompson pulled out another plum with a sugar-sweet 39 points for second place. The day however belonged to Brian Tully and his 42 points was a haul almost as tall as the man himself! Paul Quodomine chipped in from the rough on the third for a two to join Alan Freeman who had ricocheted his tee shot off the crocodile enclosure on the twelfth to within eight feet and sunk the putt. Brian Tully took a more orthodox approach on the same hole and the three golfers shared the twos pot. John Cunningham was less lucky as he stood on his bag trolley for a better view of his tee shot on the ninth, thus shearing off the wheel and incurring the wrath of the Caddy Master. The Booby Bevy went some way to reimburse the Scotsman for his 300 baht fine! It was his first booby experience and served as a reminder that what goes around comes around. Except, of course, the wheel on a particular golf trolley!

On Tuesday, 15th August, the Pattaya Golf Society took itself off to Crystal Bay for the first of its monthly Order of Merit events, a medal round over the C and A courses, which were in their usual excellent condition. A bonus was the wonderfully receptive greens as opposed to the hard, flying surfaces many courses provide. The two flights were cut at twenty and under. In division two Ian Kidd continued his improvement with a sound net 73 and found himself in third place, two shots behind Dannie Larsen whose net 71 was his second successive sub-par round with the group. The flight winner was Ray Underwood and his maiden victory with net 69 had come sooner than many had prophesied. It even included his first Thai birdie as he chipped in from more than 130 yards on C2. Well done Ray! In division one John Cunningham toiled, away playing excellent golf, but a putting malaise prevented him from carding a much better score than his eventual net 73. In second place was Simon Kendall whose total of net 70 was a fine return on this course. Lording it over the field was Phil Page and his winning score of net 67 marked his second victory in three weeks at the PGS. The day's only two was recorded by Dannie Larsen and the Booby Bevy was shared by Len Jones and Tony Duthie for their aberration on a par three on the back nine. As the day ended the bells were ringing in the OK Corral as Dannie and Phil showed their generosity by inviting the field to join them with a beer to celebrate another fine days' golf with the PGS.

With a popular birthday Scramble event at Green Valley looming on the horizon the Pattaya Golf Society chose the club as the venue for its weekly stableford event on Thursday, 17th August, and a good job they did too! They found the course playing very long with distant tees and unmarked GUR and furrowed fairways on the last few holes. Apart from that the course was impeccably turned out as usual and a fine feast of golf lay before the two large groups. With the cut at seventeen and under the second division toiled all day under a hot sun to produce Masashi Iizumi and Len Jones as joint runners-up scoring 34 points each in a tight flight. The winning score of 35 points was recorded by a very welcome Emiel van der Wiele, playing with the group for the first time. In division one the competition was no less fierce but a distinct winner was to emerge. Bill Hewitt and Don Nellis tied for the minor honours on 32 points whilst the day's best score, 38 points was amassed by Ian Grout, playing his first round with the group for more than a year. The Economics teacher was obviously delivering a very frugal lesson about speculation and accumulation! The day's only birdie two was recorded by Kris Kritsnajootha on the par-three sixteenth and the Booby Bevy was shared by Ricky Smith, whose pitching wedge lost an argument with a tree, and Ben Findon who had to negotiate the round with great care after finding he had only two balls to play with! Now that's a tough test for any caddy. Once again Green Valley had not disappointed.

After three months of planning the big day had arrived. On Tuesday, 22nd August, the Pattaya Golf Society at the OK Corral marked the birthday of "golf geezer", Mr. Len, in fine style with a four person team scramble at the exquisite Green Valley course, near Ban Chang. The turnout almost matched the number of years that Mr. Len has under his belt and the quality of the golf was of a high standard indeed. The fun element was still there of course and none more so than the discovery at check-in that Ricky Smith had forgotten his golf shoes and had to hire a pair! The club shop offered him one only! The round progressed incredibly quickly for a scramble and on their return to the clubhouse four and a half hours later the challenges, the agonies, the frustrations and the fun of the day were etched on the faces of the returning "troops". For Ricky the day was to end as it had begun when his team pinned their hopes on his final drive at the last, only to see it nosedive out of bounds, costing them two shots and an eventual third place. The team of John Cunningham, Bill Hewitt, Sam Fitzsimmons and Basil Foley took the honour instead with a hard earned score of 61.3, but a country mile behind the pre-tournament favourites of Sunny Khanna, Peter Blok, Emiel van der Wiele and Ian Wilson whose second placed score of 58.8 was a convincing and adept performance for a team put together at the last moment. The round of the day was a spectacular effort by Arthur Hancock and the Scandinavian trio of Mikael Andersson, Thomas Johansson and Alex Backlund and their run of nine birdies and an eagle from hole 4 to hole 14 killed off the hopes of others in the field. Their gargantuan effort had given them an unassailable total of 57.4 to win the event in style. On the day of course there were no losers and the presentation party back at the OK Corral was the happiest day in Mr. Len's Pattaya life. The friends who had sponsored holes on the day, Dale Shier, Harry Riley, Carl Lovatt and Chris, Tony Kitchen, Ray Underwood and Mr. Denis and the generosity of Andy Mills and Kris Kritsnajootha all contributed generously to the celebration and the entire proceeds of the day went to the Pattaya Orphanage. Khun Malee and the girls from the OK Corral played their part wonderfully with a sumptuous buffet and the registry team of Mary Jones and Avis Hewitt did their usual friendly and efficient job at check-in and recording. The day had been a thundering success, five dozen smiling faces showed that at the party. Mr. Len will never forget this particular birthday!

It was back to normal for the Pattaya Golf Society on Thursday, 24th August, after the hectic start to the week and the peaceful course at Bangpra was the choice of venue for the Society's weekly stableford event. It was also the stableford Order of Merit event for the month. The golfers were out in force, as was the sun and, of course, the monkeys, this time even more in evidence! The only cloud on the horizon was the imminent return to Japan of one of the PGS's most loyal members, Masashi Iizumi, and his ever present smile will be missed around the OK Corral for the next two months. The two playing flights were cut at fifteen and under and for three players high scores were on the menu for the day. In the second flight Tony Kitchen showed his true merits as he posted a score of 34 points for third place and it is good to see the personable golfer return to some semblance of his old form after a couple of substandard shows. Well ahead in the frame for the group winner were "newbie" Ian Wilson and old hand Len Jones and their scores of forty points apiece took the flight in style. For Len Jones it was a splendid end to the week's activities. In the top flight Kris Kritsnajootha's hard won 34 points took third place, one behind "Mr. Consistency", John Cunningham's 35 but a long way behind the day's best score of 41 points posted on his return (as always!), by Sunny Khanna. How do you do it Sunny? Texan Bob Martin had very generously sponsored two near-pin prizes and these were won by Stuart Thompson and David Thomas on holes 8 and 12, whilst the twos competition pot proper was shared by Tom Baigent, John Cunningham and Stuart Thompson. Peter Blok claimed he had mislaid his card after the round but eagle eyes spotted his score elsewhere and his paltry 26 points more than merited the Booby Bevy. It had been another sunny day with the PGS, in all senses of the word.

Tuesday, 29th August, saw the Pattaya Golf Society depart from the OK Corral for the short trip to Eastern Star to play their weekly medal event. Under overcast skies the two flights took to the tee on schedule and found the course in surprisingly good condition but with very slow greens. The cut was at 14 and under, meaning that some otherwise good golfers found themselves rubbing shoulders with lesser lights whilst a third of the field had handicaps of less than ten. It was another high quality field with the PGS. In the second flight a returning Andy Haycox re-established his reputation with a gritty net 75 to take third place whilst Don Nellis went two better and took second. Belgian golfer Emiel van der Wiele made the top of the podium for the first time with an excellent net 72, making it the first Belgian victory at the OK for more than two years, since the halcyon days of Remy Guy. In a top class division one John Cunningham tied with Stuart Thompson on net 71, John three-putting four times during his round, leaving him with dreams of what might have been. Dave Stockman took the day with a fine score of net 70 and it was a product of his local knowledge, him being a member at Eastern Star. Another member, Arthur Hancock, took the large pot for the day's only birdie two on the seventeenth. On the other hand the game had turned full circle for Andy Mills who two weeks previously at Laem Chabang had shot a gross 74, as his promiscuous gross 94, net 87, deserved nothing more than the Booby Bevy. Never mind Andy, better times still lie ahead at the Pattaya Golf Society.

The final day of August saw the Pattaya Golf Society play its tenth competitive event of the month, this time at Phoenix, over the Mountain and Lakes nines. It was also the culmination of an exciting "Player of the Month" series which saw Ray Underwood take his first ever golf trophy after some particularly fine performances all month. The Phoenix field was cut at sixteen and under and high stableford point scores were the order for the day. In division two Emiel van der Wiele continued his good form by notching third place with 37 points, just one behind Paul Quodomine, for whom the course is something of a favourite. Paul was gazumped however by Keith Hector who had only returned to Thailand the day before and he shook off his jetlag with a glorious forty points to win the flight in style. In division one Harry Riley scored 37 points for third place with Stuart Thompson amassing 39 points for second place. The day belonged to Mikael Andersson however and his round will live long in his memory. Mikael has never shot level par "off the sticks" and it remains his dearest ambition. This time he had a fifteen foot put for an eagle on the final hole, which would have given him gross 71, but nerves got the better of his attention and he three-putted to complete a still fine round of forty points. Be patient Mikael, it'll come. There were no birdie twos and the Booby Bevy went to Dave Avenell for his absence on Tuesday when he was guaranteed the award for forgetting his own birthday until it only had ten minutes left to run! Cheers Dave!

The Pattaya Golf Society revisited the Thai Royal Navy course at Plutaluang on Tuesday, 5th September after a long absence to find the course in fine fettle and the costs the best value for money in the area. The format for the day was a Pairs team Scramble and the handicap equation had been adjusted slightly to make the teams more equitable. The twelve teams found the system fairer and the North and West nines were the challenge. From the start the amended system showed that those who were on the best form were to end up in the frame. In third place was the fancied team of Harry Riley and Saranya Chaiyanont and their score of net 67.3 just held off a fine challenge by John Cunningham and Bill Hewitt by decimal point four of a shot! The second placed team was the very effective pairing of Paul Quodomine and big Bob Martin and their score of net 65 was only fractionally behind the winners, the antipodean pair of Stuart Thompson and David Thomas. How they must have rued both going into the drink from the tee on the Lighthouse hole! Stuart and David gained two birdies and sixteen pars to give them a score of net 64.7 for a well-earned, if narrow, victory. The format did not allow for a twos competition but it certainly had enough "meat" for a Booby Bevy award and the husband and wife team of Barry Pethig and Jang Salar found nowhere to hide after they had buried eight tee shots between them in the turgid waters guarding the Lighthouse Green. After all, there were two groups waiting on the third tee witnessing the comedy of errors. As always the scramble format is an enjoyable one and this day was no exception.

On Thursday, 7th September it was the turn of Crystal Bay to host a Pattaya Golf Society competition, this time the format was stableford over the "B" and "C" nines. Extensive maintenance work has been carried out over the past few months resulting in the unavailability of the "C" nine and it was good to see it now featured again on the information board. Imagine the dismay that was displayed when the golfers found the "C" nine greens heavily pitted and sanded whilst the other nine was in immaculate condition. Spirits were deflated further as thunder rolled throughout the day. The competition immediately became a lottery for the two flights cut at twenty and under. It defies logic to imagine the thought processes of the greens staff in not finishing the work before reopening. But, well...T i T. Lottery winners in the second flight included Andy Haycox with 33 points in third place, Tony Duthie with 34 in second and a "reborn" Tony Kitchen winning with 35 points. The top flight was a tighter affair with Kris Kritsnajootha and John Cunningham sharing runners-up place with 37 points and the redoubtable duo of Bill Hewitt and David Thomas topping the flight with 38 points each. The bulky twos pot was shared by Ray Atkinson and Tony Duthie and special near pin prizes generously donated by Bob Martin and Paul Quodomine were won by Tony Duthie (two), Ray Atkinson and Harry Cowling. The latter also had an eventful time on one hole where his tee shot struck a tree and his subsequent efforts struck the woodwork three more times moving him fully forty yards back towards the tee. He was consoled later with the Booby Bevy. But the day will be remembered for the "Beauty & Beast" conditions at the course and it is to be hoped the saga will have a fairytale ending before we next return to Crystal Bay.

Expecting the worst, weather-wise, the Pattaya Golf Society left the OK Corral on Tuesday, 12th September for a medal round at distant Noble Place, and found it! Three days of heavy rain had left the course sodden and during the first nine on the "A" course another storm added to the difficulties and discomfort of the large group. It would be an interesting day for the two flights, cut at eighteen and under. Understandably scores were high and in the second flight both Tony Kitchen and Paul Scully squelched their way to net 78 for a share of third place whilst a saturated Les Hall took second with a brave net 75. The best card of the day was that wrung out by flight winner Emiel van der Wiele his level par net 72 barely discernable on the paper. Emiel had certainly made a meal of the conditions! In a sopping top flight David Thomas and John Cunningham survived the deluvial conditions, both posting net 77 for a share of second place, John declaring the day to be like any other ordinary golfing day back at home in Scotland! The biggest splash in the top flight was made by Stuart Thompson and his gross 80 (net 74) was a fine example of aquatic skill and accuracy. The day's only birdie two was recorded on A6 by Rune Schau and the Booby Bevy could have fallen into many deserving hands but it finally found those of Harry Cowling as his pitifully high score even outdid that of Len Jones in the Noble Place swamp. There will be better days for the PGS at the excellent course in future, that's for sure.

The stableford OM event arranged for Phoenix on Thursday, 14th September had to be abandoned at short notice as a result of hours of torrential tropical rain, which left the course waterlogged.

After an exciting and deadlocked first round Pairs Matchplay at Eastern Star on the first day of the month it was now the turn of the PGS to host the second leg Singles Matchplay in the initial Pattaya - Jomtien "Ryder Cup" style challenge. The event was held at Green Valley on Friday, 15th September, and the host team from the OK Corral had benefited from a free day previously as heavy rains had washed out their fixture at Phoenix. From the start it was a very tight affair and after the first ten ties the score was an ominous 6 - 4 advantage to the team from Paweena's Bar in Jomtien. with both Paweena's organisers Glyn Evans and Rob Heath setting the style with fine wins. The next two results brought more of the same as both Ben Findon and Les Hall had tense final hole wins for Paweena's over Bill Hewitt and Ray Atkinson respectively. Eight - four to Jomtien ... dear me! In events such as this the match is often won or lost off the course and shrewd captaincy by Len Jones had kept back in-form and potentially strong golfers for such an emergency. Old hands Keith Hector and Harry Cowling came back to the clubhouse smiling and they were followed by an exhilarated Tony Kitchen and current PGS "Player of the Month" Ray Underwood, Ray having stretched Tony Duthie to the very last putt. Eight apiece! It was now all down to the last two ties. Andy Haycox played out of his skin to take a win against Don Head and Kris Kritsnajootha used the last round of his visit to tease a win over the courageous Russell Benton on the final hole. The result could hardly have been closer, 10 - 8 to the Pattaya Golf Society on the day and 14 - 12 over the series. In the opinion of all it had been a most enjoyable event with an exciting format and one which will certainly be repeated in a couple of months time. Glyn, Rob and the Paweena's golfers are set on revenge.

On Tuesday, 19th September, the Pattaya Golf Society left the OK Corral for a day's stableford golf at Laem Chabang and found the inclusion of the toughest nine holes in the Kingdom, the "C" course, at their disposal. The back nine was to be the relatively amenable "A" nine and the day was set for some testing golf. The two flights were cut at twenty and under and in a tough division one Stuart Thompson overcame the rigours of a sore back to post a creditable 31 points for third place. His gross 83 was also the best of the day. Ahead of him were David Thomas and Ben Findon who gained thirty-two points each for a fine win, albeit shared. In division two Tony Kitchen recovered from a nightmare front nine to record a total of thirty points for third place, one behind runner-up Paul Scully and three more behind the days best scorer Les Hall whose 34 points was an excellent performance given the circumstances and course. There were no birdie twos but the Booby Bevy was reserved for Kris Pinyoun whose day began with an embarrasing lockout at his apartment, and saw him travel to Khao Kheow before remembering we were at Laem Chabang. He was destined later to crash his golfcart and fall into a lake before the day ended. The things some people do for a beer Singh!

On a heavily overcast day, Thursday, 21st September, the Pattaya Golf Society chose Sri Racha International as the venue for its weekly stableford event, which was also to be the month's Order of Merit (stableford) round. The field was cut at fifteen and under and the course was in good condition with the heavy recent rains softening and greening up the fairways and greens. The course therefore was playing long and those in the second flight struggled manfully to make an impression on the day's events. Len Jones and Tony Kitchen managed better than most and shared the win with 32 points each. The top flight saw some excellent golf with Mikael Andersson posting his second 37 point score in two days to take second place. But no-one could touch New Zealander David Thomas, Having recently returned from a trip to his native isles he has found his game reinvigorated and this renaissance has boosted his game remarkably. So much so that his round here was his best ever in Thailand. Recording a gross 73 he amassed a total of 43 points to savage the rest of the field. But it could have been even better as three or four putts from within a yard all lipped out! It was an incredible performance and one he will remember for a long while. There was only one birdie two and Mikael Andersson accepted the bulging rolled-over pot with joy. For visitor Steve Chapman however the day was memorable for another reason. Playing off twelve he found his first round in the Kingdom a disaster and the thirteen points he scored almost matched the number of beers he had consumed the evening before, and which were the cause of his downfall! For David Thomas however the celebrations were just beginning.

A cool and overcast day dawned on Tuesday, 26th September but it was not enough to deter the twenty golfers from the Pattaya Golf Society who left to play a medal round at a deserted Eastern Star course. The round was also the second of the month's Order of Merit "tests" and with a tense battle developing between Mikael Andersson and David Thomas the day was to prove an interesting one. Mikael indeed was to post the day's best gross score of 78 on a course recovering from some over-zealous greens aeration and his net 73 was good enough to give him a share of runner-up spot. He shared the position with a currently in-form Tony Kitchen, only one place behind in the OM table. The end of the round would be illuminating surely? Only the final group was aware that table leader David Thomas had already recorded two double bogeys on both the par fives on the front nine and that he was already sliding down the list. Passing him on the way up was Belgian golfer Emiel van der Wiele, fresh after his "Ryder Cup" exploits with Lewiinski's the week before, and he posted the day's only sub-par score, a net 70 to win the day. david did, however, have the consolation of the day's only birdie two but he had to wait until the seventeenth to fulfill that dream. Partner Mod Churaiska, a new lady golfer with no little potential, struggled in her first official competition as an IPGC member and her day was honoured with the Booby Bevy, even though her round was not the worst of the day. Welcome Mod!

Until Thursday, 28th September, the only club in the area not to host a Pattaya Golf Society tournament was St. Andrew's but that situation was rectified as a result of significant golf promotion package introduced by the club for the month. So it was then that the group assembled on the first tee' full of apprehension of what they would endure, especially on the par-six fourth. The format for the day was stableford and the tournament began under scattered clouds and on an impeccably presented course sodden by heavy overnight rain. A newly positioned tee box beyond the water on the fourth helped most golfers, especially David Thomas, who proceeded to birdie the hole, on the way to an excellent front nine of 39 gross. His round was to falter later after the turn. Len Jones took third place with his best performance on the course, twenty-nine points indicating that his knowledge of the course was improving, whilst David Thomas took second place with 33 well-earned points. The day's winner was Belgian Emiel van der Wiele, on 35 points, and his win was his second successive victory with the PGS in the week. There were no birdie twos and Peter McLoughlin, who managed to finish only nine holes on his first trip with the group was awarded the Booby Bevy as consolation. In the opinion of most the course was certainly different, and posed an interesting challenge, but all were puzzled as to why a noted course designer like Desmond Muirhead should tinker with the fascinating potential that the course layout presented.

The Pattaya Golf Society's first fixture of the month is always a different format to the usual weekly medal and stableford affairs and on Tuesday, 3rd October, the group took off to Bangpra for a Pairs BB medal round. The course had been inundated the previous evening and the results were there for all to see as the fairways were sodden and the greens were very soft, almost spongy. The course was to be very long with very little run and the inevitable pauses for embedded balls and winter rule cleaning. As it turned out the competition was a tightly contested affair with all but one team recording scores of par or better. Stuart Thompson and Emiel van der Wiele combined well to record a score of net 68 for third place whilst David Thomas and Barry McIntosh rubbed shoulders with the up-and-coming duo of Carl Lovatt and Ian Kidd for a share of first place with scores of net 66. The day's only birdie two was recorded by Mikael Andersson on the picturesque eighth hole whilst the combination of Ray Underwood and Tony Kitchen proceeded to mark stableford scores in deference to the rest of the field who recorded medal totals and their lack of attention was rewarded with the Booby Bevy later. The highlight of the presentation was the award of the September "Player of the Month" trophy to David Thomas who had set a new record of 36 points for the month after some excellent displays.

After an absence of three months from the revitalised Emerald course at Ban Chang the Pattaya Golf Society chose the friendly club as the venue for its weekly stableford event on Thursday, 5th October. A very large field, representing thirteen different nationalities, turned out to mark the occasion and the cut was at 21 and under. The day was very overcast and an inevitable shower became nothing more than that, but the course was saturated after some days of heavy rain. As a result many of the field found the going tough, but as is always the case, it was an occasion when the tough got going. In a tense top flight three golfers shared the spoils with Mikael Andersson, Joop Medze and John Cunningham all posting scores of level par 36 for the win, John's including a rare eagle two on the tenth when he chipped in from 110 yards out. In the second flight the scoreboard had a surrealistic look as third-placed Alan Freeman took only his second ever podium place with 23 points, and Bob Short's 25 points took second place. The winner, posting the day's best score, was Rob Dolan, only recently returned from a long "dreamtime" in Nakhon Nowhere, and his 37 points came as a result of a startling twenty-five on the back nine. His temerity in taking a twelve shot victory was later to win him the Booby Bevy for "showing up" his flight. The twos pot was shared by John Cunningham (two) and Mikael Andersson, whose best gross of 77 was also a feature of the day. It had been another memorable day at Ban Chang and proved that golf can unite different languages and cultures in a way no other game can.

"Scrambled Eggs" was on the menu at Plutaluang on Tuesday, 10th October, hence the closure of the North and West nines, relegating the Pattaya Golf Society to the crowded alternative nines for their weekly medal event, but the players coped manfully with the countless Thai sixballs and came through unscathed after a five hour competition. On a compacted leaderboard Stuart Thompson, Ben Findon and Joop Medze contrived to share third place with their net 73's only one shot behind the ever-consistent John Cunningham and his level-par 72. The best gross figures of the day had been recorded by both Stuart Thompson and Mikael Andersson at 79. Once again the accuracy of Belgian golfer Emiel van der Wiele held sway and he took the event with a gritty net 70 despite the damp fairways and slow greens. He also had the honour of firing one of the day's two birdie twos, the other going to Stuart Thompson. At the other end of the scale winners from the previous week were all at sea and suffered a reaction, firing dismal rounds, whilst novice Bill Fenton took thirty shots off his previous PB, yet still captured the Booby Bevy for his high scoring card.

On Thursday, 12th October, the Pattaya Golf Society took off to Sri Racha International Golf Club to play a stableford event on a very hot day. The course remains in reasonable condition and represents excellent value for money but on this day the absence of golf-carts made the day a long one indeed. The field was cut at 18 and under and in the second flight a dismal rack of scores saw Rob Dolan and Roman Tomasini share third place with 26 points each, Tony Kitchen finished the day as runner-up with 30 points and Emiel van der Wiele once again completed a weekly double taking the flight with his score of 32 points. The best golf was restricted to the top flight with all the principals breaking par. Mike Allidi fired the day's best gross with his 72, giving him 37 points for third place, pipped by Joop Medze on 38 and the eventual winner, Sam Fitzsimmons, whose dash from Immigration in Jomtien to Sri Racha (via Pattana!) was the perfect warm-up for his excellent 39 points. His card was helped by a birdie two on the third hole for a share of the twos pot with Mark Allen and Mike Allidi. Amongst the many candidates for the Booby Bevy a seriously mis-handicapped Margaret Wilkinson toiled honestly all day and her paltry points total was rewarded with a cooling beer, if only for her spirit.

On Tuesday, 17th October, the PGS went to Eastern Star and abandoned its usual Tuesday medal round in favour of an experiment with a modified pairs stableford format called "South African" Stableford. This can best be described as a stableford pairs "worst ball" event where the two stableford totals for each hole are multiplied together to give a team score for the hole. This certainly means readjusting one's approach to the game in that the dreaded zero must be avoided! From the outset it proved to be a different challenge and one which was well received by the ten teams. After the first hole it was clear that there were some surprises in store, especially when the five handicap pairing of Jason Cole and "Mr. Mystery", looking uncannily like Arthur Hancock's impression of Dave Stockman, skipped off the green bearing a score of twelve points for the first hole! As the round progressed Eastern Star rang with apologies as players struggled to support their partners, sometimes failing spectacularly. At the end of the day three teams remained in touch with each other and Len Jones and Mikael Andersson played an excellent back nine of three under-par to take third place with a total of 57 points. In second place was the steady pairing of John Cunningham and Rob Dolan with 60 points, their card marred by only a single "blob". On what was to be a high handicappers' day the winners turned out to be the victors from two weeks previously, Carl Lovatt and Ian Kidd. Their score of 61 points set the standard for the future when the format will doubtless be given another runout. Jason Cole secured the day's only birdie two, this on his first round in the Kingdom, whilst Fimpen Gustafson and Denis Smith took the honours for the most numbers of "blobs" on a card, but the Booby Bevy went to Ben Findon who addressed his putt on the last green and watched in horror as his spectacles fell off his nose and onto his ball. Immediately "Mr. Honesty" declared a penalty stroke thereby pushing his pairing off the podium. A ruling is still being awaited. What is not in doubt however is that it had been another highly enjoyable day's golf with the Pattaya Golf Society.

On Thursday, 19th October, the Pattaya Golf Society visited Green Valley for an individual stableford event under clear skies and on a course well-turned out, with greens slightly slower than usual. The round began late as a result of the starter intruding a fiveball identified by the caddies as "big Thai mafia" and this was to delay the start by fifteen minutes and lead to another five-hour ordeal in the heat. But who are we to complain? After all this is Thailand! The two divisions were cut at nineteen and under and in a generally poor second flight scores were low as Les Hall posted 29 points for third, Tony Duthie gained second with a sound 31 points and Tony Kitchen again came good with an excellent 37 points to take the flight. In the top flight John Cunningham, "Mr. Consistency", shared runners-up place with Mikael Andersson on 37 points, Mikael's gross of 76 being the best of the day. The best points score of the day was returned by local member Jan Eriksen whose three-under 39 points was his best return for a while with the PGS. It gave him a deserved, if long overdue, victory. Juhanni Pulkannen, and Graham Johnson recorded birdie twos to share the pot with Mikael Andersson whose brace of birdies guaranteed him a wealth of Order off Merit bonuses and placed him comfortably at the head of the current month's table. The Booby Bevy went to frustrated event organiser, Len Jones, whose head-to-head with the starter earlier remained with him throughout this, his worse round in the Kingdom. The Land of Smiles sometimes lacks the spirit of respect but it should not be allowed to detract from the enjoyment of a day on the golf course.

After an absence of a few months the Pattaya Golf Society left the OK Corral and travelled to Pete Dye's beautiful course at Khao Kheow on Thursday, 24th October, to play its weekly medal event over the B and C nines, off the yellow tees, many of which were pushed back to their furthest extent. Fairways were very hard and the greens showed evidence of recent spiking and sanding in preparation for the impending High Season but the moderate field teed off in anticipation of another fine day's golf. The course and the very hot conditions all contrived to make the day a challenge and yet only two shots covered the top four places, with Bill Hewitt taking third with a net 78. Ahead of him were John Cunningham and Len Jones who shared the win with net 77's. John's gross of 85 was also the best of the day. Masashi Iizumi, playing his first round since his recent return to the Kingdom, took the twos pot with a magnificent eagle two on the 384 yard C5th hole, his five iron speeding unerringly into the back of the hole, unnoticed by golfer and caddy alike and nine-handicapper Kris Kritsnajootha's abysmal net 89 was more than enough to merit the Booby Bevy on his return to the province's golf scene. The most brutal part of the day came with the drive back to Pattaya as the major road construction made a five mile stretch from Khao Kheow towards Pattaya take an awesome fifty minutes in choking, stifling conditions. Little wonder then that the course is not a priority on golf schedules at the moment. The course is beautiful but the drive is a beast, far worse than the fading memories of the old 331!

Double Scotch at Phoenix

Another large multinational field represented the Pattaya Golf Society at Phoenix on Thursday, 26th October, on the occasion of its weekly stableford event, this time played over the Mountain and Lakes nines. The day was one of the hottest for months and the course was full with a large Thai tournament teeing off just before our group, thus holding us up immensely, the final PGS group coming off the course after five-thirty. The course was in reasonable condition but there was much damage on the fairways, evidence of the recent rains. Sadly it was all unmarked and playing out of a tractor rut is hardly excusable! The bunkers will also remain a problem until the management learns how to compact the sand. That being said the large field, cut at 18 and under enjoyed an exciting competition. In an improved division two Tony Duthie held his game together sufficiently to post 33 points for third place, two behind Tony Kitchen, manfully playing despite an earlier motorcycle accident on Soi 7. Ian Kidd came good again after his Tuesday nightmare and his score of 36 points took the flight in style. In the top flight it was very tight at the top with Yasuo Suzuki firing 35 points for a share of the runner-up place with Trevor "Sam" Fitzsimmons who transfered from a small, lacklustre PSC sixball, about to tee off, to the PGS only thirty minutes before the allotted tee-off time. Sam inwittingly had the honour of starting the 2000th round of the year with the PGS. He certainly knows how to make an entrance! For the second consecutive round however it was the canny Scot, John Cunningham, who stole the show and his 36 points was almost scant reward for the fine Caledonian golfer, once again posting the day's best gross score. There were two birdie twos and Chris Holmes and Tony Duthie went home smiling later after their efforts on Lakes 7. The candidates for the Booby Bevy included the Sunderland fan sporting Newcastle United socks and recently returned Liam Horgan whose score nosedived after his opening birdie. But the nosedive of the day was that of Tony Kitchen in Soi 7 on his way to the course and he was consoled with the soothing beer. That was Phoenix, but for many the thought of High Season delays and exorbitant costs may deter them from another round there until next April.

The Pattaya Golf Society chose Crystal Bay as the venue for a two day stableford eclectic event, day one being on Tuesday, 31st October. The start of the dry season was heralded in under cloudless skies and the golfers were refreshed by a cooling breeze which held up all day. The course was in its usual proud condition and, in true Thai-style, some initial adrenalin was injected by the Starter before the two flights took to the tee. With cut at eighteen and under a good day's golf was in prospect and the group was not to be disappointed. In an improved division two Emiel van der Wiele was joined by Ray Underwood and Malcolm Schofield on 33 points for a share of runner-up place. Carl Lovatt has often flattered to deceive but on this day everything went to order and his excellent score of 34 points took the top spot in the flight. In division one newcomer Ron Dowell - yet another Aussie! - made a fine entrance with his 34 points, and was only two points behind New Zealander David Thomas who held down the second place with some inspired par golf. The day's winner was again John Cunningham and it seems there is no stopping this "Flying Scotsman" at the moment. With a full head of steam he takes on all courses with the same vigour and skill. Whispers of "Rule 19" are beginning to be heard in darkened corners! But what can one do when a golfer consistently plays to his handicap whilst others are languishing somewhat? John also had the honour of taking sole charge of the large twos pot for his effort on A5. The Booby Bevy went to Canadian Rick Daniels, making his first appearance with the PGS, and his low score posted by the lowest handicapped golfer on the day made him more than a certain winner. Congratulations also to Scot John Cunningham for the day's best gross score. Maybe the compulsory wearing of a kilt will slow him down!

Day Two arrived on Thursday, 2nd November, under bright and cloudless skies and the greens were faster, if anything, than on Day One. Suitably refreshed after a day of leisure the large field again took on the "C" and "A" nines to decide the overall winner. In the minor event division one saw Bill Hewitt take centre stage and he did not complain when he posted a score of 39 points to win the flight from Kris Kritsnajootha and John Cunningham on 35 points each. In the second flight the thought of his final round before a return to UK sparked Tony Kitchen into life and he fired an outstanding score of 41 points to win the day from Emiel van der Wiele (38) and Carl Lovatt (34). In his fifty-six PGS tournaments over the last six months this loyal and honest golfer gained an amazing nineteen points on his first day score and this propelled him into the lead in the eclectic race, hotly pursued by Emiel van der Wiel and Carl Lovatt, who were also making superb headway. Tony eventually won the overall event by only one point from Emiel (46), who in turn was only one point ahead of Carl (45). What a popular success it was! Vince Hatton fired the day's only birdie two on C7 and brought to an end his personal battle against golf survival whilst the Booby Bevy went to the day's hero by way of thanks for all his efforts on and off the golf course since joining IPGC in March. Throughout the imminent northern English winter memories of his round on fire will keep Tony's spirits warm as he contemplates a return to the PGS at the OK Corral, hopefully not in the too distant future.

Thirteen nations yet again represented the Pattaya Golf Society in its weekly medal competition, this time at Emerald Ban Chang on Tuesday, 2nd November, and fate would decide that five countries would feature on the podium at the end of the day. The large field was cut at fifteen and under as the event began under overcast skies on a course currently being prepared for Thailand's first Asian Tour Qualifying School event being held there next month. The course played long off the extended white tees and slow greens became faster as the day progressed. In division one IPGC's newest scratch golfer, Swiss Mike Allidi, set the standard for the day with a level par 72 to tie for runner-up with in-form Yorkshireman Bill Hewitt, whilst the flight was headed by Swedish golf "addict" Mikael Andersson, his net 71 showing his power and potential on a course he loves. In the second division Englishman Carl Lovatt struggled on the greens but still managed to post a score of net 77 for third place, two behind Belgian Leo van der Haeghen and his net 75. Topping the flight, and posting the day's best score of net 70, was Aussie Jim Bell. The twos pot was shared by John Cunningham and Ali Dukony for their efforts on holes five and fifteen respectively whilst the return of a number of notable candidates meant the Booby Bevy would have to be considered at length. Eventually the claim of Roy Mann's net 111 was discarded as he would certainly win the amber liquid soon, and similarly ignored was the gaff on the first when Stuart Soloman picked up thinking the event was stableford. It was eventually awarded for an amazing performance by Ray Underwood on the sixteenth when he had four unsuccessful attempts to tap-in from six inches, eventually picking up the ball and throwing it into the hole. His blunder was compounded when the ball bounced out and almost took off his nose! It had been a day of smiles all round and none were broader that those of Mikael Andersson and Jim Bell.

A last minute fixture adjustment saw the Pattaya Golf Society visit Plutaluang on Thursday, 9th November, to play a stableford event and found the North and West courses full. The starter, pocketing a piece of coloured paper no doubt, pushed a Thai sixball in at the start of our pre booked slot and this was to lead to a horrendous five-and-a-half hour round which tested the patience of the large field. The cut was at 19 and under and in the top flight Kris Kritsnajootha and Liam Horgan were joined by Barry Horman on 29 points to share third place. Streets ahead of them were Ben Findon and Yasuo Suzuki, their scores of 35 points being the pick of the flight. In the second division Jim Bell completed a successful week by collecting 32 points for third place, three behind Les Hall's second placed 35 points. The best score of the day was recorded by Ian Kidd, his 36 points being the day's only level par round. The twos pot was shared by Les Hall, Ben Findon, Liam Horgan and Mikael Andersson and the Booby Bevy went to a bemused Mr. Denis after a day of horrors. Taking only his second shot he struck a caddy who was foolishly standing a full 120 yards ahead. A medical bill was already being prepared by the time the head came off his seven iron on the eleventh and lodged in the water hazard. Incredibly he managed to repeat the trick with his eight iron on the final hole! Beware of cheap Chinese copies, beware of foolish caddies, beware of prejudiced starters and local six balls and you may then enjoy a round at Plutaluang.

After an absence of many months the Pattaya Golf Society took the decision to play their weekly medal event at Treasure Hill on Tuesday, 14th November. Many of the large field had not played the course before and in order to appease the golfing gods those in the second flight played from the yellow tees whilst those in the top flight gritted their teeth and got on with it from the usual white tees. The course was a treat with racing greens and firm fairways and the day remained hot throughout, something which Aussie "senior" Vince Hatton regretted, choosing to forsake his usual buggy and walk a course he had not played before! In the yellow flight scores were tight and there was a smile on the face of newbie Ian Hart as he returned a score of 76 for third place, only one shot behind Freddy Braun's 75. It was also the Swiss banker's first runout at the course and it proves that one should always play the course not its reputation. The flight winner was the long-hitting Carl Lovatt and his net 74 was an excellent reward for some fine golf. In the white flight life was tough and even seasoned hands found that some of the longer than usual tees were a chore. John Cunningham struggled on the back nine and posted a score of net 79 which gave him third place and Jan Eriksen almost came to grips with the challenge finishing with net 75 for second place. The winner was Erik Anttonen and his net 73 followed the pattern of all winning scores at the course, rarely under par. There were no twos on the day and among the many candidates for the Booby Bevy the claim of Mark Phoenix's net 96 won hands down. It had been good to return to the excellent course at Treasure Hill but the yellow flight probably enjoyed the day more than those in the top flight.

The Pattaya Golf Society from the OK Corral in Soi Rungland chose the rapidly improving Emerald golf course at Ban Chang for its monthly pairs scramble on Thursday, 16th November and found the course in fine condition. The large field comprised of sixteen teams of varying quality and the day was set fair for an interesting and exciting competition. At present the PGS has decided to continue with the tried and tested team handicap system for a Texas Scramble acknowledging that it certainly favours teams with a low handicap base but we are reviewing other systems which may or may not be more equitable in the future. On this day it was evident that low handicapped teams would be successful and with only one team in the top five having a team handicap of more than five the day was made for long and accurate hitters. The exception turned out to be the pairing of Alan Freeman and Mike Benton and their third-placed return of net 67.4 was a fine reward for some focused golf. In second place was the team of old hands, John Cunningham and Bill Hewitt and with John rediscovering his putting touch their score of 65.2 was nearly enough to overturn the bandwagon of Mikael Andersson and friend "Kermit" who stretched their run of successes in the format to an amazing level. Their net 65 included only one bogey and the six birdies they acquired were just enough to take the tight win. There were eight twos on the day and the large rolled-over pot was shared by the top two teams in addition to Paul Quodomine and Bob Martin, Harry Riley and partner Saranya, Ray Underwood and Masashi Iizumi, and finally the refreshing ladies' pairing of Sharon Burton and Margaret Wilkinson. From the outset the golfing gods had decided to target the team of Mr. Denis and Roy Mann and with the former achieving a "running flush" of broken iron clubheads during the last two weeks, five through to eight, and the latter playing his final round before saying his annual adieu, there was only ever one winner of the Booby Bevy. Handicap systems apart the day had been another memorable fun experience for the Pattaya Golf Society and the prospects of more in the New Year broadened the beams on most of the faces.

On Tuesday, 21st November, another large field represented the Pattaya Golf Society in a medal event at faraway Noble Place golf club on a very hot day and on a course that is always quality and outstanding value for money. The men's field was divided into two divisions with the cut at eighteen and under whilst a refreshing decision by the organiser also meant that there was a Ladies' division on the day. Indeed in the division the day ended with a three-way tie for the top honours with Mod Churaiska, Sharon Burton and Jill Stanley all posting scores of net 84 after their rounds over the "A" and "B" nines. In the second flight Carl Lovatt, Tony Sanderson and Ray Underwood tied for third on net 74 whilst the plaudits went to Masashi Iizumi, one of the OK Corral's most popular golfers, and his score of 71 represented his best round for a while. In the top flight Erik Anttonen and John Howarth shared second place with honourable net 70's whilst the star of the day was undoubtedly the ever smiling Dane, Kenneth Andersen whose card of gross 72, net 67 was fairytale stuff on this tough track. Figures of 36 on both nines spoke volumes about his golfing ability and for his playing group it must have been a wonderful experience. Kenneth also fired two birdie twos to share the large twos pot with Aussie senior Vince Hatton, playing his final round before returning home. The Booby Bevy claims ignored Paul Quodomine's caddy who had driven his golf cart over his foot and had thus been summarily dismissed in shame and went instead to Reg Carlisle for his dismal return after his first round with the group. Things are getting better every time we visit Noble Place and it is now always first on the monthly schedule.

The Pattaya Golf Society took the short trip to the Royal Thai Navy course at Plutaluang on Thursday, 23rd November, to play its weekly stableford event under cloudless skies and on a day when the sun shone hot. The second large field in two days was divided into two flights at 21 and under and proceeded off the South and East tees simultaneously, so as to make the wait for the lower order groups less. Well done Mr. Starter! In a competitive second flight Freddy Braun took up the cudgels and posted a score of 33 points for third place whilst an in-form Ray Underwood gained his second podium place of the week with an excellent 34 points. The flight winner was Randy Haupt and his round of 37 points was a good return on the day. In the top flight Erik Anttonen and John Horwath both reappeared on the honours list, joining Mike Benton on 36 points for a share of third place whilst Les Hall continued his winning week with a round of 37 points and second place. The winner, with the best round of the day, was David Thomas and his score of thirty-nine points was a merit of his length and accuracy. It also included a near hole-in-one on the East fifth when his ball came to rest within three inches of the hole and the ensuing birdie two took a share of the winnings, along with ebullient Bob Martin whose effort on the same hole marked an equally fine return to action with the PGS. Reg Carlisle completed a comically miserable week when he stood on the first tee and took a shining Callaway driver out of his hired set and found it was left-handed, as were the rest, and the indignity of a march back to the clubhouse to hire an appropriate set was more than enough to bear. Instead the Booby Bevy went to playing partner Ian Hart who scored twenty points but signed for nineteen. Everyone had enjoyed another fine day on the golf course.

On Tuesday, 28th November, the Pattaya Golf Society travelled to Eastern Star to play their usual monthly Order of Merit medal event. The day was hot and the endless fresh breeze made some of the holes, notably the par-fives, very long indeed. This had an effect on the scores and both flights, cut at twenty and under, struggled to return good scores. In the top flight a resurgent Les Hall joined Mikael Andersson at the top of the leaderboard with a splendid level-par score of net 72, a reflection of the time he has spent on the practice range, honing his short game. For Mikael, of course, it was another best gross as he posted an unusual ten bogeys and five birdies in his round. In third place was Ben Findon with a return of net 76. In the second flight Len Jones managed a third placed finish with an embarrassingly high net score and Tom Hunsicker took second with his net eighty! The winner by a country mile was Switzerland's Freddy Braun and his accomplished golf led to a score of one-under, net 71. Tom Hunsicker took sole possession of the day's twos pot for his accuracy on the thirteenth to give him a very satisfactory day, in contrast to playing partner Paul Quodomine. Paul already holds the high score record for an single hole with the PGS and was hellbent on beating it as he shot fifteen on the watery eighth. But a beaming smile told us that his old record was still intact! Of course he also savoured the Booby Bevy back at the OK Corral.

A stableford event at Green Valley on Thursday, 30th November, drew the curtains on the Pattaya Golf Society's monthly competitions and fittingly there were new faces on the leaderboard and a new face as the society's Player of the Month. Green Valley was in fine condition and as usual at this time of year, was crowded. The insertion of a sixball representing the pride of the Province's golfing police at the front of our group did nothing to increase the pace of play and a five hour round was inevitable. The group was divided into two flights with the cut at 20 and under. In the second division Aussie newcomer Wayne Muras made his mark immediately by sharing the flight win with Paul Quodomine, both posting moderate scores of 30 points. One point behind was Carl Lovatt. In the top flight scores were better with Mike Allidi and Erik Anttonen recording thirty-threes for a share of third place, one behind Joop Medze's thirty-four. The winner was the popular Aussie golfer Stuart Thompson and his score was a reward for some accurate play and dropping shots to par on only two holes throughout his round. Mikael Andersson's otherwise disastrous day was improved by his sole win in the twos competition, his fine birdie coming on the short par-three twelfth hole. The November "Player of the Month" was Ben Findon and runner-up was Freddy Braun who had been catapulted into the frame on the back of a fine victory earlier in the week. Both golfers are new to the podium in the monthly challenge. It had indeed been a tough day on a full golf course and dealing with over-officious and ungenerous staff had taken its toll but the PGS had survived and will fight many more such days during the impending high season.

On the King's Birthday, Tuesday, 5th December, the Pattaya Golf Society chose Century Chonburi as the venue for its monthly "fun" opener, a 3-player, best two from three team medal event. Wish they hadn't! The course was full to the gunnels and there were no golf carts available and this fact alone led to the withdrawal of four teams, yet the remaining five teams remained stoic until fifteen minutes after the booked tee-off time and proceeded to follow an ubiquitous Thai five-ball around the course. No beer could be bought in Pattaya but these canny Thais knew they were on to a good thing as they slurped and dragged their heels around the well-used track delaying the PGS teams for as long as they could remain standing. Eventually the group came off the course within minutes of darkness at six o' clock, and older heads recognised it was all a case of deja-vu as they same thing had occurred four years previously under the leadership of the astute Harry Riley. In second place shooting a seven-over 151 was the hastily assembled team of John Mason, Keith Barr and Ian Hart whilst the winning team of Mike Allidi, Jan Eriksen and Brian Cole went five better by recording a total of 146 for the winning score. The day's only birdie two was achieved by Erik Anttonen, a matter of hours before returning to his native Finland, no doubt donning a seasonal white beard for the heavy Christmas season ahead in the legendary Land of Santa. Ho, ho ho, wasn't the day fun! Century Chonburi is definitely off the PGS' Christmas card list this year.

Thursday, 7th December, turned out to be a peaceful golf day with an empty course at Treasure Hill to welcome the Pattaya Golf Society for its weekly stableford event. The two flights, separated at 21 and under were able to utilize both the first and tenth tees and so the round got under way in quick time and those in the second flight had the luxury of playing from the yellow tees. The course was still playing long and the greens were slick so the usual challenge held up on the course. In division one John Chambers posted a creditable 30 points on his first round in the province and it was enough to take third place. One point better was the pair of Bill Hewitt and John Mason and for the latter it represented his best ever round in Pattaya. It was a fitting time to record his first win with the PGS. In the second flight scores were understandably better and Ian Hart and Keith Barr were delighted with their third placed 33's. Alan Freeman used the day to record his best ever score, a total of 34 points, and it was a sign that he is at last finding the skills necessary to play the game. The round of the day belonged to Brian Cole and he became one of the small number of PGS golfers to break par on the course and his 37 points gave him a hard-earned victory. There was a plethora of twos with Stuart Thompson and David Thomas making their marks on the seventeenth and Bill Hewitt taking his regular win on the sixth. He was joined by seven-handicapper John Chambers who had the luxury of two birdies on the sixth and thirteenth holes. The Booby Bevy went to Brian Cole fore the highest drive of the day on the seventh when his ball eventually came to rest a mere three yards off the tee yet he still proceeded to record a bogey on the tough par-five. The day had been in complete contrast to the shambles just up the road two days previously and had been enjoyed by all.

On Tuesday, 12th December, the Pattaya Golf Society visited the exquisite course at Crystal Bay for a medal tournament over the "A" and "B" nines and found the course in fine condition on a very hot day. The greens were their customary fast pace and some of the pin positions made putting a real challenge, but it all added to the joy of a round on this fine track. Japanese golfer Takeshi Hakozaki enjoyed a good round posting a score of 73 net for third place whilst the day's best gross of 77 was recorded by David Thomas, giving him an excellent second-placed total of net 70. A dozen or so rounds in February and March had flagged up the potential of Andy Parkinson and his return to UK saw him invest heavily in a set of custom-made and fitted clubs and his game immediately improved. On this, his first round since his return, he pulverised the course with a spectacular round of net 68, which included a best-ever nine hole total of 41 for the "A" nine. Nobody thought of telling him that 21 handicappers are not supposed to do that but we are sure that the handicapper will drop a large hint at the weekend! It was an excellent return for some clinical golf. Surprisingly there were no birdie twos and the pot was held over. Seven handicapper John "JC" Chambers received the Booby Bevy for his dismal efforts, and he was considered to have let his flight down, but in his defence it must be said that a heavy night the previous evening had taken its toll. His final words before leaving the OK Corral to travel to the course were, "A quality course eh? I'm going to play some quality golf then!" JC was "talking the talk" but it was Andy Parkinson who "walked the walk".

On Thursday, 14th December, the Pattaya Golf Society returned to beautiful Bangpra to play their weekly medal competition on a fine hot day and on a course well presented with tricky and slick greens. The large field that had come to share in the coincidental celebration of member Carl Lovatt's birthday were divided at 20 and under and the many sponsored technical prizes meant that even more "tasty" golf was anticipated. In division two the "birthday boy", Carl, took a share of third place with Len Jones for his score of 32 points and lady golfer Mod Churaiska took her first step on the podium with an excellent 33 points. John Mason continued his current fine form with a flight winning score of 35 points, a scratched final hole undoing his hopes for breaking par for the first time in a long while in Thailand. In division one Stuart Thompson, Bill Hewitt and Emiel van der Wiele all shared the runner-up place with good returns of 34 points whilst it was left to David Thomas to sweep the board with his level par 36 points giving him the best gross for the day yet again. It also included the day's sole birdie two and he was delighted with the substantial rolled-over twos pot. The Booby Bevy was sponsored by Ray Underwood and the "cock-up of the day" prize went to Stuart Thompson for disclosing some very suspicious clothing items in his shoes bag. The special technical prizes were won by Mikael Andersson, John "JC" Chambers and Bill Hewitt for their near-pin shots on the par threes and similar awards went to David Thomas and Stuart Thompson for their second and third shot accuracy on holes 5, 10 and 16. Mr. Denis' prize for the best points total on the par threes went to Mod Churaiska (13) and John Mason's best par-five total prize went to Andy Parkinson (11), who beat Paul Quodomine and the sponsor himself on countback. Carl's birthday had been celebrated in style and David Thomas had ended the week as he had begun it, a winner.

On Tuesday, 19th December, all the Pattaya Golf Society were looking forward to was a relaxing pre-festive season medal competition at the revamped Emerald course at Ban Chang. Instead they found the course still wearing its Asian Tour Qualifier "dress" and a very stiff breeze blowing. The day would be no picnic! The rough was thick, the fairways firm and the greens were relentlessly hard and running at a pace no-one had ever experienced before. The two flights were cut at nineteen and under and in the top flight the best single figure handicap score was that posted by Stuart Thompson, his gross 85 giving him net 79 and third place. He was headed by Emiel van der Wiele who took second place with net 78 whilst long-hitting Andy Parkinson took the honours for his excellent round of net 73. In the second flight Jim Ferris came third with a hard won net 79, whilst Ray Underwood equalled the day's second-best net score with his fine 73 which more than merited second place. The round of the day was that recorded by Ian Kidd and his net 70 was a mind-boggling score considering the conditions, and he took the honours with his usual self-effacing smile. Unsurprisingly there were no birdie twos, three and four putts being the order of the day, and the rolled over pot would be well contested two days later at Green Valley. Emerald had been more than a test of golf, it had been a severe jolt to the system. The course has always been recognised as a fine challenge but on this day it had served as a reminder of what the game is all about at the moderately high levels of a major tour qualifying school, and the realisation of just how good the best players in the world are. Maybe we should all just play the game for fun?

On Thursday, 21st December, the Pattaya Golf Society managed to find a peaceful course at Green Valley, bereft of the usual Asian hordes, and a hassle-free stableford competition was in prospect for all. Bolstered by the return of several old friends, and the presence of some new ones, the large field was cut at 21 and under for the event and the course was splendidly set up with firm fairways and challenging fast greens. The only downside was the constant strong breeze which was to add a little spice the the mixture and ensure that all the golfers put the emphasis on control rather than length. In the second flight the minor honours were shared by Len Jones and Paul Quodomine, their scores of 27 points coming a distant second to lady rookie Mod Churaiska whose round of 33 points was the best of her very short career to date. Having hit her first golf ball a mere six months ago, and played her first tournament three months ago she managed to keep her game in hand throughout and returned an excellent back nine total of twenty points to bolster her front nine score, and take the victory. In the top flight things were much tighter. Fine golf helped Jan Eriksen post a total of 32 points for third place whilst "old hands" Harry Riley and John Cunningham tied at the top with 33 points. the substantial rolled-over twos purse was shared by Jan Eriksen and Adrian Bullock and the presentation party enjoyed the tales of woe on the course, what with "JC" John Chamber's shanking problems, and the incredible low scores of a few top flight golfers, but the Booby Bevy eventually went to Phil Gann whose back nine total of a mere four points stood out like a beacon amongst the other cards. The "Tiger" in his tank was certainly a warm welcome to the OK Corral for Phil! The day had been a good one and golf at Green Valley had certainly been a fine way to start the festive season.

On Tuesday, 26th December, the Pattaya Golf Society based at the OK Corral in Soi Rungland enjoyed a traditional Boxing Day with a medal round over the North and West nines at the Royal Thai Navy course at Plutaluang. Full of festive spirits the large group found themselves cut into two flights at nineteen and under and under the excellent stewardship of David Thomas and Paul Quodomine began proceedings on time but behind the expected Thai sixball. In the top flight things were tight on the lower rung of the podium as David Thomas, Joop Medze and Emiel van der Wiele all posted scores of net 73 for a share of third place. In second was the day's best gross score of 79, giving Stuart Thompson the runner-up place with a net 73. The winner was the consistent Andy Parkinson whose custom built clubs are certainly made-to-measure for his game. In the second flight Paul Quodomine, whose round should have been better, tied with the ever-improving Mod Churaiska and took a share of third place on net 76, tone behind Carl Lovatt, his net 75 marking his best round for a while. The flight winner was the recently returned Steve Cranston whose net 71 was the only sub-par round of the day. A brace of birdie twos gave a share of the twos pot to David Thomas and Dave Cadwallader. Paul Quodomine's physical condition requires him to wear a built up shoe and in his rush to go to Plutaluang he picked up a new pair of Nikes which had not yet been adapted and as a result found his stance unusually awkward. Denied the relief of carrying a small stone around to stand on - "improving a stance" - he manfully continued and after the first four holes he found a suitable adjustment. For his pains he was rewarded with the legendary Booby Bevy. Another first at the OK! It had been another Boxing Day to remember for the Pattaya Golf Society.

On Thursday, 28th December, the Pattaya Golf Society visited Eastern Star for a stableford event which was to be the curtain raiser for the society's seventh annual OK Corral team scramble the following day. The day was fine and the course was superbly set up and the scene was set for a showdown for the "Player of the Month" award between canny New Zealander David Thomas and the scourge of Scunthorpe, Andy Parkinson. The festively large field was cut at 20 and under and things could not have been more tense in the second flight as there was a three-way tie for the win with Hashimoto Shinobu and Mark Brenton, both making their PGS debuts, joining an elated lady golfer Mod Churaiska on top of the podium. It was Mod's first ever level par score and her maiden victory. She is certainly one to watch for the future. In the top flight Mikael Andersson took third with a fine 35 point haul on a course where he is a member but all eyes were on the top two, Thomas and Parkinson, as they finished the day all square on 38 points each. It would be left to higher mathematics and a sliderule to separate these two fine golfing gladiators at the end of the month. David Thomas enhanced his bank account with two birdie twos, the third one going to Belgian Emiel van der Wiele. All the candidates for the Booby Bevy hid from the presentation in fear of embarrassment and consequently the wrinkled brow of the golf organiser was soothed by an ice-cold draught. It had been a hectic festive week and there was more to come the following day.

Friday, 29th December, was the day many PGS golfers had been looking forward to for months. It was the day of the seventh PGS OK Corral Annual Team Scramble, being held at Eastern Star Golf Resort in Ban Chang. The day had dawned very warm and a refreshing breeze helped to cool the 34 teams as they tackled the well prepared course. This year generous sponsorship had been received from the popular brewers "San Miguel" and their input was an essential part in keeping entry costs down, thus ensuring the popularity of the annual event. The four-player teams represented the various IPGC venues, with one glaring exception, and the rest of Pattaya's golfing community were also well in attendance. The essentially "fun" day was enjoyed by all participants none more so than one of the host's representative teams, the "Mixed Bag" of Aussies Stuart Thompson and Alex Sala, New Zealander David Thomas and England's Carl Lovatt. Their length and accuracy helped them to a creditable total of 60.3 net for third place, after a countback with teams led by Bob Patterson and Darren Smith. In second place, less than a shot better, was the "Van Man" outfit, starring Gareth Gill, Colin Davis, Nick Strasshine and the indomitable George "One Ball"Jackson. Their score of 58.3 was greeted with warm applause and unrestricted glee! The day's winners were the team of "Lucky Stars" comprised of Jeremy Masse, Stan Dismuke, Jan Eriksen and Thai lady Nat Meesuk. Their total of 57.4 gave them a relatively huge victory in Scramble terms and was thoroughly deserved after a round of eight pars and ten birdies. Technical prizes were up for grabs in the form of near-pins, long drives, straightest drives and accuracy near the beer case and the results of these can be seen elsewhere on this website. At a packed presentation reception the players heard warm words of thanks for Mary Jones, Khun Phen and Khun Taen, her reception helpers, Khun Malee and the girls of the OK Corral who had prepared the sumptuous buffet, generous sponsors Mike Benton and "San Miguel", special guest Richard Livingstone and not least the organisers of the day Len Jones and Denis Smith whose efforts over the past four months have again provided Pattaya's golfers with a fitting way of ending their year on the course. Here's to the next one, again at Eastern Star on Monday, 31st December, 2007. Well done, one and all, and have a Happy golfing New Year!