Wednesday The 23rd April
2008: Burapha C & D Nines ( Scramble)
'They say that from little Acorns are
Mighty Oaks Born', that is how I started
the Inaugural St Georges Day
Competition write up in 2006. This
being the third of these days, those
initial comments are coming to fruition,
and this is fast becoming not only 'The
Rose' in Bert's Crown' but one of the
best, and favourite, days of the year
for all those who manage to obtain an
invite to play. The slots could be
filled many times over and those who do
play have a really fantastic day, and
all contribute to the final tally which
goes to the Blind School. From 50,000
Baht in the first Year it continues to
rise and a projected 'Minimum Target'
will be mentioned at a later time in
this report.
This day out, that was
the 'Brain Child' of Bert, Middy, Gez,
and Derek, continues to prosper, however
it has to be said it could not be such a
success without our excellent Sponsors,
and here I have to say that Alan Bolton,
of Alan Bolton Property Consultants,
opposite Bert's, has been a staunch and
leading Main supporter, not just
Sponsor, since the very first day and as
such gives the 'Organisers' a strong
base to work from. Our other 'Main
Sponsor' this year was Gary of A.K.A.
Fine foods located in Soi Town in Town,
who came on board and as he proved with
his 'Buffet', put on the best display of
food any of us has seen at any Golf
Competition. Excellent and thanks from a
most satisfied set of golfers.
Other 'Sponsors' who
dipped into their pockets and who we are
most thankful to were, Diamond Dave,The
Pigs,Gez, Middy, and Reg and Dot all for
the third year in a row. 'Volunteered'
for the first time, but we hope not for
the last, were The Two Bobs, Tony
Shuttlewoth, Tom, Derek and Bert. It is
always important to find 'Hole Sponsors'
so to them Thanks go.
Early one morning,23rd
April, or St Georges Day, a very happy
crew gathered at Bert's to sample his
fine breakfast, and the smell of a
typical English Breakfast with hot
Coffee and Tea, filled the air. There is
something special about a bunch of
'Brits' girding their loins for the
battle ahead, and just to prove how
friendly they were they had also invited
friends from many other Nations,
including U.S.A., Iceland, Canada, and
Uncle Tom Cobbly and all. Oh, we did
have some Scottish friends who had to be
prized into their 'English' shirts.
Then off we went to
Burapha, to be told we were playing the
C & D Nines as that other bunch of
golfers, The Professionals, were playing
the A & B. Nice to know we were in good
company.
Of course seeing as how
the 'Pro's' were there, all was in top
order, and as we expected the Course was
in fine condition. Mind even with a
Scramble, playing off the Blue Tees with
strong wind proved a real test for all
the golfers, and truth to tell for some
it was a little too much. However Middy
and his group had their best round ever,
and Arthur Bailey came in wind blown but
with a big smile on his face. Truth to
tell all the players who play here are
well known to each other and we thus
know the scores when they come in will
be not only competitive but
realistic. This day would go to the
players who performed best on the day.
The scribes team, one of
the post match favourites, started like
a house on fire, and after missing a 9
foot put on the first for a birdie, then
ran off 4 straight birdies to put them
at the forefront, but 10 straight pars
threw them a wobbler. However the cheers
from the group behind kept ringing in
the air, especially at the short par 4
16th when they ran in an Eagle 2. Wow.
This was going to be tough.
The round was quite slow
as the groups ahead were backed up, but
it is always daunting to arrive at
D9, and look down the hill at a 498
yards par 4. A big drive and a superb
second shot is needed to get anywhere
near, and a par is a really fine
result. One of the 'Tests' on the day
was a 'Near The Keg' on D1 for a Case
of John Smiths, the Keg was just in
front of the water hazard and provided
plenty of balls for the scavengers when
they empty the Lake.
Round over for the first
group, it was noticeable that the
rumblings had got louder and the rain
had started falling. The first few
groups got in, but many of the later
groups were water logged, and as we sat
in the Restaurant, sinking a cold one or
two, we really felt bad for them.So we
had another cold one.
Rounds over and scores
in we all jumped into transport and
ambled back to Bert's after a fine days
golf. I say ambled as the food was to be
at 1730 hrs and we wanted to time it all
correct. Of course the really hungry
ones were waiting at Bert's with knife
and fork in hand, and as soon as Bert
declared the food ready, the rush of the
hungry got under way. I have to say
again that the food was superb, the best
most of us have seen for many a year,
and thanks must go the Gary of
A.K.A. who provided it and Bert who
planned it. Truly 'Super Nosh'.
'Super Grub' over it was
time to get down to the results for the
day, and our Emcee, Derek, started by
introducing our host, Bert himself, who
thanked all the Sponsors, all the people
who had helped him and wished all who
played a fine night. He also urged all
present to help with the collections and
Auction as all proceeds were to go to
the Blind School. Then the Emcee
declared the results, and very close
they were with the scores of the first
seven within 2 shots. A good tight
fight.
First the results of the
'Near Pins' and the 'Long Puts' were
declared and all were the winners of a
fine golf bag. Also the winner of the
.'Near Keg' was declared. All the
results of the Technical Prizes are seen
below.
Competition winners.
In fourth place with a
score of Net 60.5 was the team of Mick
O'Meara, Bob Pearce, Mashi Kenata and
Pat Morrisey.
In third place with a
Net 60.2 was the team of Dave
Richardson, Neil Skilton, Graham
Buckingham and Elias Magnusson.
In Second place with a
Net score of 59.9 was the team of Graham
Baumont, Jeff North, Keith Johnson and
Am North.
So to the winners and
the Team was presented with the Trophy
by Alan Bolton. The winners were 'The
Golf Club' with a Net 59.7 and the
players were John Emerson, Mark Reid,
Paul Greenaway and Jeff Calrow. Well
done the The Golf Club.
We then had a break, and
went onto the Lucky Draw for the non
winners, then the mike was handed over
to Diamond Dave who 'Auctioned off' two
items, all towards the amount we would
raise for the Blind School. In prime of
place was a football autographed by the
Manchester United Team and a Photo of
the hand over of the ball from
Manchester United. Thanks to them. Dave
managed to get a goodly sum for these
items. He is an excellent salesman.
The night was coming to
an end, and Bert rang the bell and
informed all that 'At Least' 100,000
Baht had been raised for the Blind
School. To sing us on our way a
contingent arrived from the School and
gave us a song, ending a fine day.
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