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  1. Monday, November 15th Greenvalley 1st Mashi Kaneta (19) 38 points 2nd Geoff Parker (20) 36 points 3rd Kob Glover (24) 35 points 4th Neil Harvey (8) 35 points Near pins Jimmy Carr & Paul Smith X 2. Despite missing a couple of regulars today we had the equal biggest field of the year so far with seventeen in attendance. The course was in remarkably good condition despite recent rain but some of the greens were not up to the standard we expect at Greenvalley. We were informed that the greens at St Andrew's were much worse so our booking for later in the month was canceled and instead we make a return to Chee Chan. An all-in fee of eleven hundred and fifty baht was decent value in what is normally high season. Making another of his rare appearances at the Bunker Boys Mashi Kaneta took the honors today with a fine score of thirty-eight points. Continuing on with his recent good form Geoff Parker took second place with thirty-six points, how much longer can his twenty handicap last?. Another in good form in recent games Kob Glover took third place with thirty-five beating Neil Harvey into fourth on countback. Jimmy Carr got his usual near pin with the newly arrived Paul Smith taking two. About two weeks ago we were celebrating the end of monsoon season and the prospect of months of rain-free golf. Whilst we were lucky today and got through dry, the rain came tumbling down shortly after we finished. It's been a long wetter than usual monsoon season this year and it seems we are not done with it yet. Wednesday, November 17th. Greenwood. B & C 1st Jay Babin (20) 36 points 2nd Geoff Parker (20) 34 points 3rd Jimmy Carr (17) 33 points Near pins. Kevin LeBar, Jay Babin, & Paul Smith The Greenwood course was a little soft underfoot for today's game with mudballs common, otherwise, it was nice as usual. With it being soft underfoot there was absolutely no run on the fairways today so the course played long. We would be remiss without a mention of the greenkeeper who must have had a bad night as the pin placements were amongst the most challenging we have seen for some time, there was hardly one flag on a flat piece of green. As a result, only one player covered himself in glory, with all the low handicap players playing below their best. The day was hot and sunny, in fact by the end of play it became uncomfortably hot. A nice cool breeze would have been very welcome. Jay Babin was the man in the driving seat today taking first place with thirty-six points, a very good score under the circumstances, no five puts today. Geoff Parker was again steady in second place with thirty-four points with Jimmy Carr bringing up the rear a stroke adrift. For the second game in a row, Paul Smith got two near pins, very consistent from him with Jay Babin and Kevin LeBar taking one each. As is most often the case Kevin somehow managed to get the cutest caddie, no wonder people like playing in his fourball. Friday, November 19th Treasure Hill 1st Tony Robbins (24) 34 points 2nd Bob Innes (31) 33 points 3rd Geoff Atwell (22) 33 points Near pins Dave Ashman, Steve Durey, & Michael Brett. Treasure Hill was the venue for the last game of the week. This is a course that is never in any danger of being called a classic layout with trees in all sorts of inappropriate places, consequently, it plays difficult with low scores the norm as was the case again today. A lucky escape weatherwise with a downpour just after we finished play much the same as happened on Monday. Despite recent rain, the playing surface was excellent, the weather warm and sunny so no excuses apart from all the trees. Tony Robbins took the honors today with a modest thirty-four, it's very rare anyone posts a high score at this course. Four players finished on thirty-three with Bob Innes and Geoff Atwell taking the chocolates on countback in that order, with Les Cobban and Kevin LeBar missing out. Once again the high handicappers were the ones to claim the prizes. Three near pins were taken going to Dave Ashman, Steve Durey & Michael Brett. Remarkably Dave Ashman's ball just crept onto the green by a whisker but a very long way from the pin. We offer our congratulations to Bob Innes who on Wednesday did the dastardly deed and tied the knot, we wish him and his new bride a long and happy life together. Mashi Kaneta winner at Greenvalley. Jay Babin, winner at Greenwood. Tony Robbins, winner at Treasure Hill.
  2. The 3rd Take 5 Charity Golf Challenge 2021 in collaboration with the Holiday Inn Vana Nava is going ahead on the 11th and 12th December 2021 at the two World renowned Black Mountain and Banyan Golf Clubs. It would be great if you could join us. To join you just have to follow this link and register online. https://bit.ly/3AoNj72 Please download the Golf Citizen Events app by clicking the link below. The Event will be run on the Golf Citizen Events app which is free and your live scoring and all updates will be done here. iOS App : https://apple.co/2YsJWyI Android: shorturl.at/uwDO3 Look forward to welcoming you to our third and what has become the biggest event in the golfing calendar of Hua Hin over the last 3 years. Individual Stableford Competition - 3 divisions by handicap - Champion, Runner Up and 2nd Runner up in each division. Best Gross Winner Men & Best Gross Winner Ladies recognizing the best golf played Daily Best Stableford Winners Technical Prizes - Close to Pins, Close to Pins in 2 shots, Close to Pin in 3 shots, Long Drive Ladies & Gents, Beat The Pro and other fun competitions. The price is Baht. 9000/- (Early Bird Discount B. 7900/- if booked before the end of October) Banyan or Black Mountain Members receive an additional Baht. 1250/- discount Price includes: 2 rounds of golf at the award winning Black Mountain and Banyan Golf Clubs Caddie fees on both days 2 Fenix Golf Shirts and a cap Meet & Greet Dinner at Take 5 Sports Bar with free flow beer Dinner and Charity Auction at the Holiday Inn Vana Nava with free flow wine and beer Prize Giving Lunch with free flow beer at Banyan Holiday Inn Vana Nava hospitality tent on both days at the 2 golf courses serving breakfast and all day finger food and beer throughout the game. Banyan or Black Mountain Members receive an additional Baht. 1250/- discount Holiday Inn Vana Nava are offering participants a special rate even though that is the long weekend. The offer below includes Breakfast for 2 and complimentary access to the water park so it would be well worth bringing the family over as well. Room Type Friday/Saturday 10 & 11 Dec Pre/Post Stay Vana Nava Room 3300 ++ 2700++ Ocean View Room 3800++ 3100++ You can contact reservations directly and mention Take 5 Charity Golf Challenge to make your booking: T. +66 32 809 999 F. +66 32 809 900 E. [email protected] Last year we raised over 830,000 Baht that was handed over to two charities. Jungle Aid and The Beaumont Partnership Foundation. Both excellent charities doing a lot of good for the old, children and the needy in Thailand. Let's get together again this year and help raise money while having a wonderful two days of golf and lots of fun.
  3. According to recent research, one in six adults suffer from a common mental disorder such as anxiety or depression on a weekly basis. Amid worrisome and overwhelming circumstances such as the Covid-19 pandemic, it is inevitable that people may be afflicted by increased feelings of depression, frustration, anxiety, and impatience. Fleeting negative feelings are normal, but there are many ways they can be combatted. One of those ways is through playing sports. Syngenta Growing Golf has highlighted two people who consider golf played a crucial part in their recovery from depression and bereavement. At the age of nine, Sam Gerry took up the game after his father bought him his first set of clubs. Within four years he had progressed to the point where he started playing competitively. As a 14-year-old, however, depression struck. His first episode lasted for seven months, during which he considered taking his own life. A trip to the Masters Tournament with his grandfather proved to be a turning point. While at Augusta National, he felt a sense of joy he had not experienced for a while. After that trip, he went to the course again and played golf. According to Gerry: “I was not necessarily worrying too much about how I was playing at first, but just trying to enjoy the game as much as I could. That really helped immensely. “It was great while I was out on the course to have that escape, for sure. Because I played regularly, it definitely built up to create a longer-term effect on my recovery.” Playing on the course, spending time with friends and family were also factors in his recovery from depression. He said: “I just think about everything this game has given back to me. I really appreciate what it has done. You really could say golf saved my life, and that’s not an exaggeration.” Jan Fawdry also found solace in golf while she was going through grief. Growing up on a farm in Suffolk, England, she spent most of her time working indoors, inside a windowless office. She envisioned a peaceful retirement with her husband. Then suddenly, she lost him to cancer. She decided to spend time on the golf course and meet like-minded women who eventually helped her boost her social life and self-confidence. “The women I’ve met have been truly inspiring, and a fantastic source of support and encouragement, both on and off the golf course.” According to Professor Jenny Roe, an environmental psychologist from the University of Virginia, going out to a green space brings physiological and psychological benefits. She said: “You literally manage stress more efficiently when you are around green space. We know it helps relieve depression, anxiety, and anger. We know it helps performance, relieving brain fog and mental fatigue.” She recommends playing golf to ‘help manage mental health in a very holistic way’ by backing it up with four reasons: · It is a social sport that can be played alone or with other people. · It improves one’s physical activity. · It challenges players in terms of practice and technique. · It provides positive effects to one’s psychological well-being through exposure to nature. Syngenta is an Executive Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation. *By Jordan Fuller, golf coach and mental health advocate.
  4. Red Mountain is the Disney of golf in the island with a lot of wow factor. Laguna Phucket is a very well maintained course mainly flatter than most. Next to Red Mountain with the same owners is Loch Palm with water elevations and is a fun course. I understand the the Canyon course has now re opened at Blue Canyon naer the airport and should be on the list. Enjoy.
  5. Torrey Pines marked the final U.S. Open for USGA CEO Mike Davis, before he passes on the reins to Mike Whan, the current LPGA Commissioner. American Mike Whan actually came to Pattaya to oversee the Honda LPGA Thailand on several occasions, at the Siam Country Old Course. Mike Whan The Honda LPGA Thailand was his very first tournament as LPGA Commissioner back in 2010. He remembers packing long sleeve shirts and ties and turned up in Pattaya in a suit and nearly lost 13 pounds in a day! Luckily in my role as editor first for Thai Golf News and then The Pattaya Golfer, I managed to meet him several times. First Interview I first met him back in 2011 when I was editor of Thai Golf News. Through the LPGA Media manager, I cheekily asked if the commissioner would grant me an interview. I was told that he was flying in on Friday from the States, and low and behold on Saturday morning I got 15 exclusive minutes with him. Even though I was just a local journalist, he had the ability to make you feel you were equal and was always fun and interesting to interview. I tried to stay away from the cliché questions, and we used to chat away about TV ratings and creating new tournaments, which I knew was Mike’s passion. Once at the end he even agreed to posing with my magazine too! In fact, over the following years it came a regular occurrence that on a Saturday we would get together and chat. It did not feel like a media room interview, just a great casual discussion. Back in 2012 Whan Predicted Thais Would do Well on Tour. Here is an extract from my second interview with him at The Old Course for Thai Golf News back in 2012. Thai Golf News: Asia now plays a big part in your schedule, especially with all the Asian players doing well. It must be an important part of the LPGA’s future? Mike Whan: Lots of sports come to this region, but not all can deliver the number of top stars say we brought to Thailand. Here we have 58 of the top sixty players in the World. Six years ago, there was nobody at Q school or on our Rookies tour for example from Thailand, now there were 5 players from Thailand. We aim to encourage youngsters to play golf. I am sure Mike will be very proud that in a small way he and his LPGA colleagues have helped the Thais players on tour prosper, and we now have two major winners and a roster of Thais doing well each week. 18th Hole Thai Soap Opera Apart from several very interesting interviews, Mike and I happened to also share a very moving moment when Ariya Jutanugarn a young teenager from Bangkok was lading the 2013 Honda LPGA Thailand coming up the 72nd hole. For those that did not make it, the excitement of the massive crowd on the 18th green was electric as Ariya came to the 18th Green with the win in sight for Thailand. The last hole at The Old Course is known for its dramas and do Thais love their soap operas. Well on that Sunday in February 2013 they got a tearful ending, as she by missing a four-foot putt on the 18th green. I happened to be standing close to Moriya Jutanugarn, Pornanong Phatlum and Mike Whan, when she missed a four-foot putt to give Inbee Park to trophy. I am sure Mike Whan would agree, that in all the years of his tenure as LPGA Commissioner, that moment at the Siam Old Course will remain in his memory bank forever. Outgoing CEO Caddies at Torre Pines. To celebrate his last week in charge outgoing USGA CEO Mike Davis—who held one of the highest positions in golf’s hierarchy, decided to travel to the other end of the pecking order, by caddying on the 3rd day of this year’s US Open. The last man in, Akshay Bhatia, would be playing solo and needed a marker, so former PGA Tour player and current USGA player-relations director Jason Gore stepped in. Mike Davis as a Caddie Gore would not actually file an official score with the tournament, but he still needed a caddie. So, he decided to keep his goodwill going by calling on Mike Davis to be his loop Saturday morning. The Future is in Great Hands. Mike Whan leaves the LPGA this month in great shape, having taken the tour around the globe, increased the prize money and TV coverage to new heights, and helped the players become great role models for the next generation. I am sure the USGA with its falagship Men's and Ladies Opens will thrive under Mike Whan's vision. On a personal note I am pleased to have met Mike professionally, and hopefully can call him a friend. I am sure the USGA will prosper under his expert eye in the years to come.
  6. According to Google, a normal golf hole will, on average, take a group of professional golfers around 10 minutes and a group of average amateurs around 15 minutes. This equates to an 18-hole round of golf taking anywhere from 3 to 4 1/2 hours. They state that a round of golf, on average, is expected to take about four hours to play for a group of four golfers. Even with just 73 players in the field at a PGA Tournament, the circuit average for a player to hit a shot is 38 seconds, although that number varies for specific shots (42 seconds to hit a tee shot, 32 seconds for a putt). Can We be a Bit More Realistic For starters, let us assume we have an empty golf course, and it is just you in your foursome, playing in the first group out. Let us forget about the slope and rating of the course, which have been shown to have a negligible impact on how quickly players get around. When we say that you are an average golfer, we mean “average” according to the numbers: a 15-handicap, destined to take around 90 shots over 18 holes. As an average golfer, you drive it an average of 208 yards (that is according to a 2017 USGA study). Given the distance you hit the ball, you should be playing a 5,400-yard course (that is according to PGA of America recommendations). But knowing your ego, we recognize that you are probably not going to tee it that far forward. So, let us assume you are playing from 6,000 yards instead. Still with us? Off we go. Six-thousand yards = 18,000 feet = 3.4 miles. That is how long your golf course measures, assuming that you walk it in a straight line. But since we cannot assume that (you are going to miss some shots), let us increase that number by 50 percent to account for all the zigzagging you are going to do. With that adjustment, we expect you to walk about 5 miles over 18 holes. Assuming a gentle walking pace of 3 miles per hour, that is a distance you should cover in 1 hour and 40 minutes. Along the way, you will be taking 90 shots. Once you’ve gauged the distance and chosen a club (which is something you should be doing while you’re playing partners are assessing and hitting their shots), you’re going to need some time to play your shot. But not too much time. Dallying over your ball is not just bad etiquette. It is bad strategy. The longer you take, the more you scrutinize a shot, the worse you are going to hit it. Do not believe us? Play a round of speed golf and see how dramatically your ball-striking improves. Anyway, 15 seconds is plenty of time to waggle and swing. That is how long Brooks Koepka says he takes over his shots, and it seems to be working well for him. So, 90 shots at 15 seconds per shot. Over the course of your round, that amounts to 1,350 seconds, or 22 minutes and 30 seconds. But since we are feeling generous, we will give you extra time and round that number up to 25 minutes. That is nearly half an hour! You can watch a sit-com in that span. It is plenty of time to hit 90 shots. So, 25 minutes per player, and four players in your group. That is 1 hour and 40 minutes in shot-preparation. Add that to the 1 hour and 40 minutes it takes to walk the course, and we are now at 3 hours and 20 minutes. Allow for Extra Activities We understand that you are not robots. You will be doing other things aside from walking and swinging. You’ll be taking bathroom breaks (we’ll allow 1 minute per player per round for that); watching the wild animals, lighting cigars (15 seconds per player per round); and telling bad jokes (30 seconds per player per round; if it takes you longer than that to tell your jokes, you should not be telling them). Which gives us: —4 additional minutes for bathroom breaks; —1 additional minute for cigar-lighting; —2 additional minutes for joke-telling. Add that to our total, and we are at 3 hours and 27 minutes. Where is my Ball? You are also going to lose some balls. Studies have shown, in fact, that the average golfer loses 1.3 balls per round. So, we will give you time to ball-hawk: 5 minutes per player per round should do it. Tack on another 20 minutes. Which brings us to our grand total. It should take your foursome 3 hours and 47 minutes to play 18 holes. Without rushing. And if we are playing behind you, we are probably going to ask you to pick it up. Now all this does not take into consideration you are playing behind a group of six Thais gambling and eating their way round the course. Under these situations you should get back to the clubhouse in the dark!!! Please tell us about your average or longest round of golf?
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