The Competition this Month was to be held at Pattana Golf Club, and for those who do not know the Golf Club, it is about as luxurious as one can get.
Situated about 45 minutes from Pattaya, once you get onto Suhhumwit it is all Dual Carriageway, and when the repairs are completed on Route 7, you will be able to zip up there in quick time, bringing the Course into the normal days golf from Pattaya.
Being newly built, with super facilities, this is not a cheap Course, but one every serious golfer would, and should, visit. On this day P.S.C. had negotiated a special deal for the 104 players, so both Clubs were gaining, especially Pattana who had many more golfers on the Course, and of course many more golfers in their magnificent Restaurant. This Restaurant to be honest is not the cheapest around, but every now and then it is nice to sit in the best, and be pandered to. Yes they have plenty of staff, must be one each..
Normally on arriving, this is without doubt the slowest of all Courses to book in on, but on this day it was nicely streamlined. Tim and Nigel booked you in quickly in the Competition, then at the desk it was Green Fee, Caddy and Cart in a couple of minutes. Proving they can do it when they want to.
The changing rooms are nice and plush, even though we didn't warrant the V.I.P. Rooms, and from there it is only through the glass doors to the Caddy, and cart, and onto the first Tee.
The Competition for the day was Medal for the Men's A&B Flights, Stableford for the Men's C&D Flights and Medal for the Ladies. The Tees were to be White for Men and Red for Ladies, and the two Nines to be played were the A&B Nines. The players were started off A1 and B1, so of course the countbacks would be done as per the Card. That's the dry stuff done, so lets look at the Course, which was in great condition.
We played off B1 first, and for those who do not know it, it is a monster. Water left of us, water right of us, and water in front for the shot to the green. Of course this being the first Tee shot three of our players went in the drink, with the fourth slicing it straight. The water in front took it's toll also. Welcome to B1.
The Course as said is in great condition, but it does get very windy here, and on this day it was windy, maybe one or two clubs strength. Still what a pleasure to play, with wide fairways to help the big hitters, and deep rough to catch the wayward drive. The greens, as is usual here, were fast and tricky. All in all a great walk, not ruined.
All good things must come to an end, so soon, sweaty and tired, we handed out cards into Tim, and we struggled into the changing room for a nice shower, and then onto the Restaurant for some refreshment while the 'A Team' sorted out the results.
The Restaurant is really fine, white tablecloths and napkins, just what you want after a game of golf. The staff is attentive and the views from the windows excellent, it just reeks of money. Probably yours, still the food is fine and the beer cold, and this all helped pass the time until the results were ready.
Tony Oakes, The Golf Chairman, took the microphone and thanked many people. First his Starters, Nigel and Tim. Tim in particular sat at the desk all day, probably because we hid his walking stick, while Tony presented the prizes.
Talking of results, it was decided to bring back Low Gross for this day. In effect the best player of the day, and why not?, won it myself once, but there has been a World War since then, in fact Two. So the Low Gross for the day was Perry McNeely with a Gross 77, and off 11 Handicap it would have been a lot of points.
lets start with the Ladies Flight, and The winner with a net 75 off 18 Handicap was Ampham North, with Tewin Lamthong in second place with net 76.
We will begin with the A Flight, 0 to 12, in the Men's Competition. This was a tightly contested Flight, once Perry was 'Elevated', and the winner was Paul Griffiths with a net 73 ahead of a countback for second on net 74 that saw Tony Oakes in second and Bob Rasmusson in third. In fourth with a net 75 was Mick Gray.
In the B Flight, 13 to 15, the winner with a net 72 was Paul Caffrey on countback over Gerry Cooney in second. This Flight also proved tight, with Colin Greig in third with net 73 and Richard Warberg in fourth with net 74.
In the C Flight the winner was Larry Emerson with 38 points ahead of Chris Bazli in second with 35 points. Terry Curtis was third with 34 points and in fourth was Chris John with 33 points.
Probably the most contested Flight was the D Flight, with all players closely grouped. The winner however was Ian Dunkley with 38 points ahead of a countback on 37 points that saw Giles Akoum in second and Morten Gausla in third. In fourth was Hans Rehm with 36 points.
The afternoon was not yet over, now Nigel came into his own, as he did the Lucky Draw, and kept all the players minds off paying their bill. T.T.F.N.

Near Pins 0-18 Donald Hendry Dave Richardson John Hillier Brian Jacks
19-36 Graham Lemmon Sture Brisholm Giles Akoum Graham Buckingham
Ladies Mam Trayling Anphan North Nora Haugsjordet
Long Drive 0-18 Dave Arrowsmith 19-36 Barry Rothberg Ladies Nora Haugsjordet