Once more we had a terrific field with 38 golfers signed up for the day and this time there were no annoying “no shows” as we assembled at Café Kronborg in readiness for the trip to the challenging Mountain Shadow Golf Course.

We welcomed Gordon Uvanile from Canada, Alan Dornan from New Zealand and Eddie Glinsek from the U.S.A. We also wished bon voyage to Scott (Chun) Lobenwein who was returning to Australia.

We left the Kronny on time at 0815 hrs in four minivans, but one of the vans had a new driver who somehow got lost on the way, so what should have been a 45 minute trip turned into a 60 minute one. We arrived with plenty of time to spare, however, and as the course was not busy the first of our 10 groups got away 20 minutes ahead of schedule in fabulous golfing weather conditions. The sun was shining but not too hot and a gentle breeze made things very pleasant throughout the round.

Unfortunately, after four holes one of our group, Elias, was taken ill and returned to the clubhouse, then  to hospital by ambulance. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him  playing with us soon. Our thanks to Dr Paul Cardwell for his expert assistance. Our now a threesome continued in very brisk fashion and after a couple of drink stops we completed our round in the very good time of three hours and 50 minutes. The course was in great condition with the greens as well maintained and slick as ever.

There were 2 flights with A Flight for handicaps 0 to 19 and B Flight for 20 and over. There were rewards for nearest the pin on all four par threes and longest first putts on the ninth and eighteenth greens.

In sharp contrast to Tuesday’s game at Pleasant Valley there were no runaway scores which accentuates the difference in degree of difficulty of the two courses. A Flight was won in a count back by Don Richardson (19 point back nine) ahead of Richard Kubicki (17 point back nine) in second place, both having 37 points. In third place came Aussie Paul Avery on 36 points with Scot Rob Brown fourth on 34 points. Another count back was necessary to decide fifth and sixth places and Dr Paul Cardwell (17 point back nine) edged out Niels Hansen (15 point back nine), both with 33 points.

Celebrating his last game in style, Scott (Chun) Lobenwein (21 point back nine) won B Flight with 38 points in a three way count back from Daryl Evans (19 point back nine, 15 points last 6 holes) and Hugh O’Donnell (19 point back nine, 14 points last 6 holes). In fourth spot was The Admiral with 37 points and yet another count back was necessary to decide fifth and sixth places. In a very tight one Mike Winfield (13 point back nine, 8 points last 6 holes, 6 points last 3 holes and 8 for 1 on the 14th hole) just scraped home from Urs Zwicky (same last 9 hole stats but with no score on hole no. 14). Both golfers had 34 points for the round.

Mountain Shadow:

A Flight – 0 to 19

1st – Don Richardson (12) – 37 points

2nd – Richard Kubicki (15) – 37 points

3rd – Paul Avery (10) – 36 points

4th – Rob Brown (8) – 34 points

5th – Paul Cardwell (16) – 33 points

6th – Niels Hansen (13) – 33 points

B Flight – 20 and over

1st – Scott Lobenwein (32) – 38 points

2nd – Daryl Evans (20) – 38 points

3rd – Hugh O’Donnell (25) – 38 points

4th – Dave Richardson (24) – 37 points

5th – Mike Winfield (21) – 34 points

6th – Urs Zwicky (23) – 34 points

NTP’s

5th – Mashi Kaneta

8th – Graham Buckingham

15th – Alan Dornan

17th – Dave Richardson

Longest First Putts

9th – Rob Brown

18th – Scott Lobenwein

The Compass Cap (worst score on the day) was easily won by Eddie Glinsek with a record low score (not for publication) and Deefa the Dog was paraded by his master, Hunter, and collected many donations to charity from our generous Café Kronborg group.

Royal Lakeside
Everybody agreed that it was well worth the journey to play this course as it is in excellent condition and the facilities are first rate. We also virtually had the course to ourselves, which was surprising given it is such good value for money.
Pier Cere carried on with his fine run of form to take the A flight with 40 pts from Karl Flood in second spot on 36 pts while Shane Ruddle limped in with 34 pts to fill third place. Bob Poole ran away with the B flight on 37 pts from Ken Meek 34 pts while Tony Duthie just pipped Toby O.Niel for third place on a back nine count back of 15-14. Near pins went to Pier Cere, Jon Lay, Tony Duthie and Karl Flood.
The Fairways Golf Society & Driving Range is located at the top of Pattaya Klang on Sukhumvit Road and plays every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Anyone wishing to play with us can call the clubhouse and put their names down, or call Scott  084 389 2379. Breakfast and transport are provided if required.

Not a large group today, but we could not use the weather as an excuse as golfing conditions at the Pattaya Country Club were ideal. A few started off while it was barely light out. The course was in fairly good condition with some brown spots on a few greens. Coming into Caddy Shack II with a nice 38 was Dale Murphy. Hopefully waiting at the Shack was Paul Kraft with a 36 (close, Paul, but no cigar). Paul seems to be getting his game back, five pars in the back nine.  It was good for second place. In third place with a 35–just one short of Paul was–was Don Goins.  Herbie, Jim, and Larry carded 34s. The rollover does not seem to have affected Herbie’s game. Food, drink, and a fair amount of BS was plentiful as usual.

Treasure Hill G.C. Stableford

A field of 16 golfers set off to Treasure Hill to blow away the cobwebs following the New Year celebrations. The course has undergone extensive renovations over the past few months, most of which are now completed, and only one temporary tee was still in operation.

There was a stiff breeze blowing as we teed off, which only added to the difficulty of what is always one of the harder courses we play. No one managed to better their handicap on the day, and most agreed that once again the course came out the winner.

The best performance of the day came from newcomer Stephen Roche who showed the old hands how to do it. William Macey scored a creditable 21 points on the back nine (but what happened on the front nine, William?) to take third place on a count- back from the unlucky Reg Smart.

Results:

A Flight

1st   Stephen Roche (hcp 12) 35 points

2nd  Mike Grasser (hcp 10) 34 points

3rd   William Macey (hcp 17) 31 points

Near-pin winners: Daryl White, Mike Grasser and Colin Greig (2)

Emerald G.C. Stableford

24 golfers today for the visit to the ever popular Bang Chang course, which is excellent value for money following the recent introduction of the group discount. The course was in fine condition and relatively quiet for the time of year, the first group finishing their round comfortably in 4 hours. There were no outstanding scores on the day with both flights being won on 36 points. Ex-Bunker champion, John Hughes had the best score of the day on his first game since returning to Pattaya–we wonder if he’ll be still on form for next month’s championship to try and regain his crown from defending champion Tony Berry.

Results:

A. Flight

1st  John Hughes (hcp 16) 36 points

2nd  Rab McDonald (hcp 12) 34 ponts

3rd  Ken Ellmore (hcp 16) 34 points

B. Flight

1st  Mike Corner (hcp 20) 35 points

2nd Tom Jones (hcp 25) 34 points

3rd  Neil Griffin (hcp 28) 33 points

Near-pin winners: Geoff Hart, Paul Smith, Tom Jones and Ken Ellmore

Bangphra G.C.  Stableford

The largest field of the week turned out to play at Bangphra, and the first group headed off 20 minutes earlier than our allotted tee-time. The course was in excellent condition, but just beginning to show signs of drying up in places. Mashi and William shared the best score of the day on 38 points to win the A and B flights respectively. A monitor lizard made an appearance on the 12th hole, but the star attraction of the day was William scoring 21 points on the front nine (with 2 “blobs”), and sinking two outrageously long putts on the treacherous greens. Mashi continued his run of good form (winning 4 of his last 5 games) to take the honours in the A flight.

Results:

A Flight

1st  Mashi Kaneta (hcp 12) 38 points

2nd Paul Smith (hcp 2) 37 points

3rd  Barry Murnin (hcp 12) 34 points

B Flight

1st  William Macey (hcp 17) 38 points

2nd Mike Corner (hcp 20) 31 points 3rd  Jack Robertson (hcp 27) 31 points

Near pin winners: Neal Bramley, William Macey, Reg Smart and Geoff Parker

Following the recent demise of the Bunker Bar, the Bunker Boys now play out of the Bowling Green on Soi X-Zyte between Pattaya 3rd Road and Soi Buakhaow. We play three times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so if you enjoy a fun day out, and a friendly but competitive golf competition, come join us. We meet at the Bowling Green at 9 a.m. for breakfast and transportation. New players with valid handicaps are always welcome. For more information call Dave on 087 1469978, or email dave.evelyn18@yahoo.co.uk.

I think I am correct in saying that it is the first time Goort (pronounced Hoort) from Holland has won a Tuesday competition. After struggling with his turn on the backswing, he has now corrected it (for a while that is) and is hitting the ball a lot straighter. (It won’t last.)

Sadly the first Tuesday of the month we do not have a sponsored prize, so Goort would have been better off waiting until next week when we will have the KPK Food Services voucher as the main prize. Ah well, some you win, some you don’t.
Goort scored a very respectable 38 points; the ever-consistent Stuart Gordon, with 36 points, claimed second prize, and Big John Bartley scored 34 points to take third place.
Near pins went to Patrick Browne, Mike Gerrard, Stuart Gordon and Bob Neylon.
It was no wonder Bob Neylon won a near pin. Today was another first. Bob Neylon on a cart. Never been known before.
With all of the above names ineligible for the lucky draw, the following names were the lucky recipients:
The donated massage from the Relax Bar went to newcomer Gerry McCarthy, with his friend and another newcomer Andy Galvin winning the free drink–also donated by The Relax Bar. Third consolation lucky draw prize went to our own David Czernie.

Ellis’s Endeavour Emulates Everyone
E, by gum. It’s all the Es.
With an ever-increasing field of players each week we were subjected to the Thai way of dis-organisation. It seemed that because a tour group had called late for tee times the regular members got pushed back. It is little wonder when you realise that the late-booking group will pay megga bucks for club hire, carts and green fees, as apposed to our member’s rate.
So not only teeing off some 20 minutes later than booked, we had to endure the caddies being allotted to the tour company as well, and we had to wait for caddies. Pity the poor caddies at this time of the year.
Because of financial problems it seems that the courses have laid off a lot of labour this year, including caddies, and most of them are subjected to having to work from 5 a.m. and caddy for the early birds. When they have finished they are made to go round again to caddy for the afternoon players. Just imagine walking 18 holes pulling the heavy carts and then having to go and do it all again in the heat of the day. Strong girls, eh?
So Graham Ellis managed to overpower everyone else with a fantastic 34 points. Yes, folks, it was that sort of day. In second place was Peter Harris with 33 points and, amazingly, yours truly Mike Gerrard in third place with 32 points. Consolation fourth place went to Mukesh Thakker with 29 points. Could not believe it.
You know it’s going to be one of them days when for the first time in a long time I asked someone else to organise the near pins. Think again McDuff.
No near pins were put by the first group out. Afterwards at the inquest it became clear that Denis Dixon should never ever apply for any managerial position.
Never mind, by investigation and honesty for the player we manage to work out who won the near pin prizes. They were Mukesh Thakker, Minere Khan and Peter Harris. With one not claimed that went into the lucky draw. The winners of the lucky draw prizes were Angel Matamala, Denis Dixon (whom we did not want to give it to, but we did) Don Decosta and Goort Gelten.
Much merriment was had by all until we drifted off home (or to someone else’s home) looking forward to the next encounter with the Fairways of Phoenix. The fairways are okay; it’s the greens that are the tricky bit now.
Finally.
A man and his wife go out Christmas shopping and after a while the man disappears. The wife starts to get very agitated and calls him on his mobile phone. When he answers she gives him a lengthy moaning at for not staying with her. He replies, “Hang on a minute love. You know that jewellery shop where you saw that beautiful diamond ring encased in 18 carat gold?” At this she calmed down and started to melt a little and tell her husband she was sorry for shouting. He then went on to say, “Well I am in the bar next door having a beer.”
For information on golf at Phoenix and sea fishing call me on 087 091 7565.
Happy hooking.

by John Lindgren

Editor-in-chief:

carsanook.com

A cool SUV machine with Swedish DNA labeled XC 90 D5 AWD. Translated: XC Cross Country (the vehicle type), 90 (the model) and D5 (5 cylinder Diesel) and it’s a Volvo.
The known design cues are there from the Volvo sedans and wagons: the egg crate grill, the v-shaped hood, the prominent high shoulder line and the tall, red vertical taillights. They call it “a proud, statuesque styling. Athleticism combined with elegance.” I’d say VOLVO = (luxury) lKEA on wheels with All Wheel Drive.
Climb inside. Luscious, soft leather upholstery, sanded silver aluminum trim. Polished and elegant ambiance. Three rows of seats. This is a seven-seater. Or rather 5 + 2. Five seats plus two small seats, jump seats. And with all seats folded you’ll have 2.9 meters cargo space. Or 900 liters. That’s a lot of flat pack furniture from I-K-E-A  (pronounced “EEE-Ke-a!” ). And for those cool mornings there is an electrically operated moon roof with a built-in sunshade. And safety. You bet. That’s why you see the “VOLVO FOR LIFE” sticker slogan. Well, it was a Volvo engineer who invented the safety belt, after all. And the XC 90 comes with ABS, WHIPS, SIPS, IC RCS. The alphabet soup. Everything included: super brakes, whiplash, protection, air bags galore, and inflatable curtains, roll stability control, blind spot information system… da works.
In the engine room lurks a powerful 185 horsepower, 2.4 liter, 6-speed turbo diesel with tons of torque, swift acceleration 0-100 in 11.5 seconds. The average fuel consumption is 11.8 km per liter.
Driving  impressions. The commanding view is what hits you – especially if you’ve never been up in an SUV driver’s seat before. Up here you really feel that you’re driving the vehicle. Our test took us down to Prahchab Khirikhan to Cha Am and Hua Hin seaside resorts. Across the grand, tall Rama Rama IX bridge. Here a little kick-down is needed to feel the raw torque power down in your spine. Onwards to the long and winding Phetkasem road. Overtaking, braking, accelerating. XC90 is fun to drive!
With Miles Davis, Bitches Brew as in-car entertainment with the 8-speaker high-performance sound system. Groovy! Suddenly it starts to rain and we’re doin’ 95 km/h. The rain turns into a torrential downpour. The rain sensors turn on the wipers automatically as the first raindrops hit the windscreen.  And I turn on the powerful bi-xenon headlights. It’s like driving in a thick fog!
But we feel safe. The AWD provides maximum traction on the rain-soaked tarmac. Come hell or high water this is the vehicle to drive. The rain stops and outside Cha-Am a 1.5 km the long stretch. A top speed test. Ops! 190 clicks on the clock. Enough! Says my navigator/co-driver. And I take my foot off the gas pedal. I feel like driving all the way to Surat Thani /Koh Samui in the South. Oh, yes.
Through Hua Hin town at a leisurely 35 kmph, direction Chopstick mountain “Khao Takiet”.  After Chiva Som, a left turn and where better to finish a fulfilling test-drive than at the posh, verdant, seaside Hyatt Regency Resort & Spa which recently celebrated it’s 10th anniversary.
Our statuesque ember black metallic Volvo XC90 was parked right in front of the hotel & spa entrance. Scandinavian Volvo design and luxury seaside resort architecture side by side.

VOLVO CX90 D5

Retail price: 3,699,000 THB

www.volvocars.co.th

Pleasant Valley – Stableford

This was our first outing of 2012 and we had 39 golfers signed up to take on the popular Pleasant Valley. Unfortunately there were two no shows, which cut the field down to 37 but it was still a  good start to the year and there was a buzz in Café Kronborg as we prepared for the day’s competition.

We welcomed Urs Zwicky from Switzerland, Peter Hall from Canada/Japan, and Rune Aasheim and Per Brandsrod from Norway.

Departing the Kronny right on time at 8:15, it was just a 42-minute trip and we were there. Being another Thai public holiday, the course was busy as expected but we managed to get our first group away 15 minutes ahead of schedule at 9:15. We had encountered some light rain during our trip to the course and indeed it was that way for brief periods of the day but never at any stage heavy enough to get the brolly up. The course was in fine shape and the greens were excellent although a touch slower than those we have been playing for the last couple of weeks.

The one negative was the bunkers which need work. We are hopeful this will be done before the PSC Monthly Medal next month. It was an enjoyable and leisurely round of golf which was completed in four hours and 25 minutes, a good time considering there were 216 golfers on the course on the day.

There were two flights with A Flight for handicaps 0 to 18 and B Flight for 19 and over. There were rewards for nearest the pin on all four par threes and longest first putts on the ninth and eighteenth greens.

When we played here last month there were two golfers with 45 points and a host of others with 40 plus but this time for some the course was even less difficult. Getting back into the swing of things after not much golf over the past month or so and sporting a brand new number two haircut, my old mate San Miguel Stu Rifkin won the A Flight with a massive 48 points! Six points further back but still with a great score was Niels Hansen in second place; Alain Taddei finished third with 41 points. Jean Morel’s 39 points earned him fourth place and Richard Kubicki finished fifth on 38 points. A five-way count back for sixth spot saw Walter Baechli (20-point back nine, 14 points last 6 holes) finish sixth ahead of Mike Gosden (20-point back nine, 11 points last 6 holes) with both players on 37 points. Also on the same score were Ted Morris, Rob Brown and Kris Helgason. The Admiral himself had a day out and won the B Flight with 41 points, just 1 point in front of Graham Buckingham in second place. A count back saw Bjarne Kjaer (22-point back nine) finish third from Urs Zwicky (18-point back nine) in fourth place, both having 39 points. Wendy Bernek finished fifth on 38 points and Per Brandsrod was sixth with 37 points.

Results for Pleasant Valley:

A Flight – 0 to 18

1st – Stu Rifkin (15) – 48 points

2nd – Niels Hansen (15) – 42 points

3rd – Alain Taddei (17) – 41 points

4th – Jean Morel (18) – 39 points

5th – Richard Kubicki (15) – 38 points

6th – Walter Baechli (17) – 37 points

B Flight – 19 and over

1st – Dave Richardson (25) – 41 points

2nd – Graham Buckingham (23) – 40 points

3rd – Bjarne Kjaer (21) – 39 points

4th – Urs Zwicky (23) – 39 points

5th – Wendy Bernek (32) – 38 points

6th – Per Brandsrod (25) – 37 points

NTP’s

5th – Peter Hammond

8th – Rita Zoebeli

13th – Frank Sharratt

17th – Mike Winfield

Longest First Putts

9th – Leif Kirkgaard

18th – Stu Rifkin

The Compass Cap (worst score on the day) was won in a count back by Rita Zoebeli from Andre Van Dyk and Deefa the Dog had a walk-around with his master, Hunter, and collected many donations to charity from our generous Café Kronborg group.

Early in the 3rd quarter, the reloaded Bullets continued to get the upper-hand by controlling the tempo with the triumvirate of the “Pattaya Human Tower”–#14 Tim the Terminator, #6 Lito, and #16 Jeff. They continued to pound on points inside the paint and thru transition to stretch the Bullets lead to 46-36. Askals, sensing collapse, started to re-group with their trio of Angry Bird #1, Dalmatian #2 Alfie, and the Iron-eagle #12 Phee hitting from the outside to rally Askals to  52-58 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Finals MVP: Alfie Picadizo #2

In the 4th quarter, Dalmatian #2 and Angry Bird #1 hit dagger three-point shots to move the Askals to 60-63 in the final five minutes of the 4th quarter. Both teams traded baskets with neither giving an inch for breakaways as they got closer to the closing bell. With less than two minutes of play, Iron-eagle Phee converted a difficult hang-time shot to put Askals ahead 71-69. In the final minute, Bullets #9 Earl The Pearl was fouled earning a free-throw. With championship on the line, Earl sank both-pressure pack charities to even the score 71-71.
In their next possession, Askals #12 Phee sensed the pressure and fumbled the ball giving the Bullets a chance to win with less than 20 seconds remaining. Bullets orchestrated a pass inside the paint but Askals quickly reacted on a tight defense to force the ball to drop at the hands of #1 Bird with less than 5 seconds left. Time expired forcing an overtime. In the final OT, #2 Alfie hit back-to-back triples in what was the deciding factor, giving the Askals a commanding lead 79-71. The rest of the OT period is history giving the Pattaya Askals its first ever championship title with a score 84-72. Finally, the Pattaya Askals title drought is over.

Mythical 5: Lito E. : # 6 Bullets, Rex L.: #1 Bullets, Lowell M.:#6 Askals. Alfie P.: #2 Askals, Jomar D.: #30 Gwapings

• 13th Season Champion: Pattaya Askals
• 1st runner-up: Bullets Reloaded
• 2nd runner-up: Gwapings
• 13th season MVP: Rex Lavador#1
• Finals MVP: Alfie Picadizo #2
• Best Thai import: Phee #12
• Mythical 5:Lito E. # 6 Bullets
Rex L. #1 Bullets
Lowell M. #6 Askals
Alfie P. #2 Askals
Jomar D. #30 Gwapings

Tony Oaks, president, thanked Nigel Cannon, social chairman, for putting a great party together, then went on to announce a 50/50 draw would be split between the winner and  PSC’s flood relief fund.
One guest, well-known broadcaster and music guru Barry Upton, entertained dinner guests in place of  the choir that was unable to appear this year. Barry performed many favorite’s including ‘Save all your kisses for me’, the Eurovision hit from Brotherhood of Man, which he was part of, and his Pattaya Wonderland which he recorded with Itthiphol Kunplume, Pattaya mayor.

Returning  to the planned programme, cabaret artist Rose, her husband Marshall and daughter Swan sang for the next hour together and separately. They performed a variety of well-known songs in English and, to the delight of  the Thai guests, in Thai as well.
The Lucky draw was next, featuring prizes of use to a family member. Bee Jackson did the drawing with Nigel announcing the winners. Tony checked the numbers, while Joe and Santa handed out the prizes. Mike Coleman ensured prizes were all in the right order.
Now it was time for the big one! 50/50. Tony announced that the monies collect came to 84,500 baht, and that PSC was rounding it up to 100,000 baht. Santa picked the winner of the 50,000 baht. It went to Sakorn Pramoolchart! Clearly delighted with her luck, Sakorn then returned 10,000 baht to be added to flood relief fund.
From then until midnight it was music and dancing all the way with the Town-in Town Band. However most of the dancing was by Thai ladies whilst others simply enjoyed watching.