GOLF NEWS
Hua Hin Golf Society
Annual Singles Matchplay
This years finals will be at Lake View on 21st November. The results will be published in next month’s issue. The Shield Final will be between Dickie Bird and Karl Westerholm. The Shield Final will be between Tip Gouldby and Don Horton.
Charity Golf and Gala Dinner Tuesday 18th December.
The golf competition will be played at Lake View, it will be a 2 ball Texas scramble, it will be limited to the first 100 entrants, so keep a look out for the entrants sheet which will be on the notice board at Berny’s Inn. Announcements will be made and information will be on the web site.
The gala dinner will be at the Dusit Hua Hin. Tickets will be on sale from 1st December at Berny’s Inn, arrangements can be made to make a booking via our email address.
Recent Results
17th November - Lake View. Semi Finals of the Matchplay (Shield & Plate) were played on this day.
Shield: Dickie Bird beat Mick Evans 1 up. Karl Westerholm beat Mike Pritchard 3/2.
Plate: Tip Gouldby beat Monta 3/2. Don Horton beat Usko 1 up.
The finals: Shield Dickie Bird vs Karl Westerholm. Plate: Tip Goulgby vs Don Horton. To be played Wednesday 21st November at Lake View. 34 Entrants to the competitions.
A Group. Stableford. 1st John Anstee 40 pts 18 hcp. 2nd Jari (g) 37 pts 8 hcp. 3rd Alan Rawson 36 pts 17 hcp.
B Group. Stableford. 1st Pailin Humphrey 39 pts 22 hcp. 2nd Rolf Johannson 39 pts 31 hcp. 3rd Lek (g) 37 pts 35 hcp.
13th November - Majestic Creek. 40 Entrants to the competitions.
A Group. Stableford. 1st Usko 42 pts 10 hcp. 2nd Graeme Pearson 40 pts 12 hcp. 3rd Bjorn Byman 40 pts 18 hcp.
B Group. Stableford. 1st Winfried 40 pts 35 hcp. 2nd Roland Van Dalen 38 pts 20 hcp. 3rd Lek (g) 38 pts 36 hcp.
9th November - Kaengkrachan.
A match was played against the Domino golf society (UK) 12 players each side.
The result: 7 pts to the Dominoes and 5 pts for HHGS.
35 Entrants to the Stableford Competition.
1st Kjell Herbertson (Herbie) 37 pts 12 hcp. 2nd Sheila Bird 36 pts 22 hcp. 3rd Andy (Domino guest) 36 pts 12 hcp. 4th Bjorn Byman 34 pts 18 hcp. 5th Tim Green (Domino guest 34 pts 17 hcp. 6th Usko 34 pts 10 hcp. 7th Kari Matti 34 pts 7 hcp.
6th November - Springfield. 36 Entrants to the competition. 1st Boom Schroeder 35 pts 15 hcp. 2nd Pawn McBurney 34 pts 9 hcp. 3rd Kari Matti 34 pts 7 hcp.
2nd November - Palm Hills. 45 Entrants to the competitions.
A Group. Strokeplay. 1st Karl Westerholm 68 net 9 hcp. 2nd Dickie Bird 71 net 11 hcp. 3rd Brian Herbert 73 net 16 hcp.
B Group. Stableford. 1st Pailin Humphrey 36 pts 22 hcp. 2nd Hans Rouppe 36 pts 28 hcp. 3rd Sheila Bird 31 pts 22 hcp.
30th October - Lake View. 62 People - 30 players in the Singles Matchplay Shield and Plate Competitions. 32 Entrants to the Stableford Competition.
1st Kari Matti 36 pts 7 hcp. 2nd Tomas Eriksson 35 pts 10 hcp. 3rd Steve Milton (g) 35 pts 14 hcp.
26th October - Majestic Creek. 30 Entrants to the competition.
1st Ann Buasri 41 pts 36 hcp. 2nd Steve Milton (g) 39 pts 16 hcp. 3rd Peter Tydeman 38 pts 18 hcp.
23rd October - Springfield. 56 People - 32 players in the 1st Round of the Singles Matchplay Shield. 26 Entrants to the Stableford Competition.
1st Roy Woodward (g) 39 pts 16 hcp. 2nd Robert Baker 37 pts 14 hcp. 3rd Joe Sims 36 pts 6 hcp.
Fixtures December
Tuesday 4th Milford (2 ball scramble)
Friday 7th Majestic Creek
Tuesday 11th Springfield
Friday 14th Kaeng Krachan
Tuesday 18th Lake View - CHARITY
GOLF TOURNAMENT
Friday 21st Majestic Creek
Tuesday 25th Black Mountain
Friday 28th Panurangsi
Forthcoming Events
Strokeplay – net score (after handicap)
1st Round Tuesday 27th November Lake View – White/Red Tees
2nd Round Friday 7th December Majestic Creek – White/Red Tees
Scratchplay – gross score
(Final Round)
Top 16 gross scores plus ties carried forward from the Strokeplay Competition.
Tuesday 11th December – Springfield Blue/White/Red Tees.
Players handicapped from the White Tees will play off of the Blue Tees, players handicapped from the Red Tees will play a compilation of White and Red Tees.
December 18th Annual Charity Dinner and Golf Tournament at the Dusit Hua Hin and Lake View Golf Club respectively.
Provisional Date for the AGM at Lake View January 22nd 2008.
For updated information visit our
Web Site: www.huahingolfsociety.com
Contact us by email:
huahingolfsociety@hotmail.com
Fit for Golf
If there is a common injury that the golfer picks up it must be lower back pain. You don’t have to be a golfer to get back pain though, so this article is beneficial to everyone. There are a lot of reasons why pain can occur in the back region and preventing it is the most important thing to do. In earlier pieces the focus has been on strengthening the inner abdominal, core, muscles. Here the shift is to the lower back area and the muscles there.
The first exercise is called the Prone Cobra. This may be familiar to those who practice yoga. Lie face down on something padded, like a carpet, with the arms down by the side. Bring the torso up and squeeze the shoulder blades together. Make sure the head doesn’t tilt back and the toes should remain on the floor throughout the movement. Hold the posture for up to 30 seconds. If there is back discomfort, contract your buttock and not the back muscles at first and work up to lower back tightening.
All of the area around the trunk has to be strong to take the rigours of playing golf and accomplishing our everyday tasks. This next exercise will strengthen the muscles that move the body in a frontal plane. That is to say, bend to the side. This is easy to perform and very effective. The important thing is that the back is in a neutral position. The knees are slightly bent and the belly button is lightly pulled into the spine. To add extra resistance, hold something that weighs 2-5 kg in the hands. Bend to one side while keeping the feet and hips still. You can work one side or alternate sides. Repeat 15-20 times each side. Always maintain the upright position throughout the movement.
For those of you who have had no back pain in the past this next exercise will improve the power of the swing as well as strengthen the back. Adopt the posture as in the previous exercise, neutral. Hold something that weighs up to 5 kg and start by turning to one side. With controlled force, turn to the opposite side. Do not turn too fast or too far. Breathe out as you turn to the side and in as you return to the centre. Rotate 10-15 times on each side.
Try the above exercises and protect your back. For all your golf fitness needs call Terry on 081 0096588 or visit the website
www.fit-foregolf.com
Butterfly Rock Golf Club
The Christmas season now looms large and the town and golf courses are getting very busy with many more visitors yet to come. Still, it is always pleasant to see the “snow birds’ again and hear the grim tales of life “back home’. How very lucky we long-term residents are to be able to enjoy even a wet summer here and to play golf throughout the year.
The competitions over the last month threw up some new arrivals in the winner’s circle and a few familiar faces. Mike Lord has enjoyed a good month and won at Palm Hills with 37 points beating Kevin Dwyer and Bill Henderson into 2nd and 3rd places respectively. Kevin was again unlucky at Majestic Creek in coming second once more, this time to the relentless Bryan McLeod who registered 40 points The man who “can’t play off 11” is now comfortably handicapped at 10! Kevin’s 37 points was matched by our “steady Eddie”, Phil Simons who also makes progress in the Matchplay event which is reaching the late stages. The Stableford competition held at Lake View (C & D) on the 7th November was comfortably won by Paul “Beau” Williams who has been playing some quite superb golf. His 41 points off a handicap of 4 was too much for John Anstee (38) and the still improving Kevin Dwyer (36).
The Annual Matchplay competition for the J & B Putter has reached the semi-final stage (bar one) with Timo Rapatti matched against Bill Henderson, the conqueror of last year’s winner, Sven Wermelin. The “dark horse” is Phil Simon’s who awaits the winner of the last quarter –final between Pat Curran and Robin Heath. It promises to be an exciting finish.
The Monday and Friday roll-ups are becoming busier as had to be expected and members are urged to ensure their places are reserved by booking online (or at The Limelight Bar) by 6pm on the previous Saturday for Mondays and by contacting Robin Heath and the Vice Captain for the Friday Palm Hills and Lake View meetings respectively. Members are given priority over our guests but must make sure of their own bookings. Still on the subject of the roll-ups, an “honourable” mention must be made of our Treasurer, Paul Frampton, who scored a creditable 42 points to win the event at Lake View. Paul was so overwhelmed with his success that he forgot to share his happiness with his fellow members by the usual purchase of copious quantities of beer and, instead, took himself off to buy a new set of clubs. This odd behaviour is still under enquiry and will be the subject of a further report.
Looking forward to the Christmas Social calendar, mention must be made of our Christmas Dinner to be held at the Sailom Hotel on Friday the 21st December at 7:30 for 8pm. Tickets have been on sale for some time now and Member’s and their guests should ensure that they do not leave their bookings to the last moment. It is to be hoped that the event will be well supported as it does give us all an opportunity to gather socially and to honour the Trophy winners.
BRGC RESULTS
15th -18th Oct (away trip to Nichigo)
15th Oct – Stableford – 1st Pat Curran (25) – 36 pts
16th Oct – Stableford - 1st Paul Frampton (22) and Mike Henry (24) – 33 pts
18th Oct – Stableford – Bil Henderson (8) – 34 pts
Three day Winner :1st Bill Henderson 100 pts, 2nd Pat Curran 99 pts, 3rd Derek Lindsay 91 pts
24th Oct – Palm Hills, Stableford
1st Mike Lord (15) 37 pts, 2nd Kevin Dwyer (16) 36 pts, 3rd Bill Henderson (7) 35 pts
31st Oct - Majestic Creek, Stableford
1st Bryan McLeod (11) 40 pts, 2nd Kevin Dwyer (16) 37 pts, 3rd Phil Simons (26) 37 pts
7th Nov – Lake View (C & D), Stableford
1st Paul Williams (4) 41 pts, 2nd John Anstee (19) 38 pts, 3rd Kevin Dwyer (15) 36 pts
14th Nov – Black Mountain, Medal
1st Paul Williams 76 gross - (4 hcp) - 72 net, 2nd Bob Munro 77 gross - (1 hcp) - 76 net, 3rd Alan Rawson 93 gross - (17 hcp) - 76 net
BRGC FIXTURES FOR DECEMBER
5th Lake View – 12:00 - Bogey
12th Palm Hills – 11:00 - Medal
19th Lake View – 12:00 - Stableford
26th Majestic Creek – 11:00 – Better Ball
The Saga Tailor Tour
The 5th season - New for this season is that we will be running a separate Seniors flight parallel to the main event. The Senior flight will have its own order of merit (OoM). To qualify for the senior flight you have to be 50 years young or going to be 50 during 2007.
29-Oct Lake View (A+B)
Place Name Score OoM Baht
1 Kenny Walker 69 40 2600
2 A. Ruengthub 73 31.5 1700
2 Shinichi Goma 73 31.5 1700
4 Suwit Pahulo 75 25 1100
5 Jeff Chapin 76 22 500
29-Oct Lake View (A+B) “Senior Flight”
Place Name Score OoM Baht
1 Suwit Pahulo 75 10 1100
2 Jeff Chapin 76 7 800
12-Nov Black Mountain
Place Name Score OoM Baht
1 Kenny Walker 74 37 2275
1 Marten Milling 74 37 2275
3 Jeff Chapin 76 29 1500
4 Suwit Pahulo 78 25 1150
5 John MacKenzie 79 22 800
12-Nov Black Mountain “Senior Flight”
Place Name Score OoM Baht
1 Jeff Chapin 76 10 1000
2 Suwit Pahulo 78 7 700
3 C. Cham Chemn 84 5 500
Order of Merit 5th Season
Place Name Total OOM
1 Kenny Walker 292
2 Suwit Pahulo 247.5
3 Jorgen Persson 149
4 Shinichi Goma 146.8
5 Jeff Chapin 146.3
6 S. Tainsomboon 143.5
7 Larry Kitt 91
8 Tanin Nim-Oat 80
9 V. Chotikapanich 79
10 John MacKenzie 78
SENIORS Order of Merit 2nd season (07/08)
Place Name Total OOM
1 Suwit Pahulo 84
2 Jeff Chapin 48
3 Larry Kitt 40
Tournaments coming up:
Start of the 5th season of
the SAGA TAILOR Tour
Mon, 17 Dec 12th STT Tournament
11.00 Lake View (C+D)
To stay updated visit our web-site:
www.golfhuahin.net
Hope to see you all at our tournaments.
Jorgen Persson Suwit Pahulo
PGA of Sweden Thai PGA
081-434 6540 081-856 4509
State of the game – Part 1
By Tom Duzanica
There is something new, something really big, and something that I’ve thought Hua Hin has been seriously lacking.
I just returned from 4 months in the US, much too long and longer than my usual 6 weeks to California via the Silicon Valley, Mexico, Lake Tahoe and Palm Springs. At least the weather had cooled down when I arrived in Palm Springs for our 26th annual friendly golf tourney and was only 116 degrees (47C) as we walked off Palmer’s new “Silver Rock” course of nearly 7600 yards. I didn’t know what new changes would await me upon returning to Hua Hin.
There always has been something new and interesting happening here for the last couple of years and a half, as we have seen this sleepy little fishing/resort town explode onto the world map in such a short time and golf has been the major reason. Well there is something new, something really big, and something that I’ve thought Hua Hin has been seriously lacking on the golf scene and it has finally arrived and I believe, no, I’ll stand up and say, I KNOW, this is going to be MAGIC (if you remember my other annual “State of the Game” articles I successfully predicted Hua Hin teenager Prom’s breakout year and told everybody to expect to see our own long time resident Simon Yates to be around the top ten in the Asian Tour Order of Merit for many years to come, he’s #5 this year. I warned the US PGA Senior Tour to watch out for a guy from Thailand by the name of Boonchu when he turns 50. He was the #1 qualifier for the Senior Tour this year).
Sometimes magic is timing, sometimes it requires a large amount of work, insight and experience to achieve, sometimes it’s just plain luck, this time I think luck had very little to do with it. I’ll let time and everyone else be the judge. How do you spell magic in Hua Hin? It is spelled M-O-N-G-K-O-L. Well for now let’s leave it at that and I’ll give you the full spelling later, but for now shall I digress, you betchya.
I’m in the Silicon Valley, in California, at my hometown local driving range, there is this tall girl? Woman? who hits golf balls just beautifully, it was just simply pathetic. It was Michele Wie. The Stanford University driving range is divided into three sections, the fence on the far right divides the section that has mats and turf-grass for the professionals to teach. The middle section is all mats and is open to the general public. The fence on the far left side separates the rest of the facility from a enormous practice area of bunkers and greens and meticulously mown grass that the golf team and coaches are allowed to use. NCAA College rules forbid others, including Michele to be able to interact with the team practice. That is the same place where Tiger used to beat balls to his heart’s content enjoying the camaraderie and the fun of competing with and against his other team mates and enjoying some fantastic experiences before turning pro. He loves to tell stories of his days at Stanford.
Michele Wie has become almost a tragedy regardless of where she progresses from this point. Here was a child, who I believe, was forced to compete in an arena and a schedule only to bring glory to her father, at 13-16 years old she had no concept of what was going on in the real world and wasn’t making any of the decisions. So you have guys like Tiger and Phil and Ernie and Adam Scott and many others who go out every tourney and “believe” they are going to win. You think Trevino, Arnie, Jack and Player went out and hoped they hit the ball good? They knew that if their game was slightly “off” they could find a way to win as they had done time and time again. Ask Jacklin about Trevino at Muirfield, ask Jack about Watson at the 17th at the US Open at Pebble (funny how memories are made, I was out scrounging balls in the creek at the Stanford Golf Course many a year ago and popped up to see if any of the dreaded marshals were around when I saw Sandy McCall, the brother of my high school friend, playing a round with a couple of his college team mates. I asked him if he wanted me to lug his bag for a couple of holes before I had to head off to baseball practice and he said he could use all the help he could get. He was playing this goofy looking, smiley faced, gap toothed guy but man when he hit the ball.... ask Nicklaus about that US Open and that second shot on 17 at Pebble, it was the same funny looking kid).
I’m sorry for Michele Wie but it really is pathetic that she has to practice alone knowing she could have been having as much fun as Tiger did during his days playing and practicing with his mates and absorbing a lifetime of great youthful memories from his couple of years at school before going out into the grind of the adult world and professional golf competition.
Virada Nirapathpongporn, a very famous Thai woman’s professional, and her caddy walked into the Hua Hin Golf Tour’s Golf Centre, home of Mick Wittering’s Custom Clubmakers shop to talk to Mick about some business and do a little socializing. Virada and I talked about how she moved to the Ledbetter Golf Academy in Florida as a young teen to continue her academic schooling and try to maximize her golf training. Ariya Jutanugarn, the new Thai golf sensation, who this year at 11 years old became the youngest person to ever qualify for a US LPGA Tour Event, said she is going to follow the same route to Florida and the Ledbetter Academy. They are lucky people as it takes an enormous amount of wealth to be able to follow that route, to pursue a dream of possibly becoming one of the world’s best, and a winner, in the highly competitive game of golf.
Virada is a very pleasant young woman and everybody becomes completely enamoured with her charming “Thai” demeanour and smile. The reason I’m talking about her is that life at the Ledbetter Academy isn’t a “normal” youth lifestyle BUT it still allows you the ability to associate and compete with people (other kids) at your own level. If you are going to be a winner, or should I say, you have the ability to be a winner, then this is definitely an avenue to pursue especially if you have a few extra wheelbarrows of cash laying around (It is definitely a bit different than my youth when everybody on the “block” was lucky enough when Mike Brassea, golf course builder extraordinaire, was given an old leather gripped putter and a dozen of us kids became instant golfers with the ability to go to the local school-ground to beat a golf ball as long and far as we could. I was told a few years ago that the old “Cash-In” putter sitting in his house is worth well over a $1000 dollars now).
Tiger and his dad didn’t feel the Ledbetter Academy was the best route for him (I know there were a few skateboards around the garage of their house but I doubt those full wheelbarrows of cash were part of his pop’s tool supply). I’m going to stick my neck out again (just a little bit) and say the route they took has proved to be a rather effective and successful one.
From a pure golfing perspective Michele is a great great player. What Michele isn’t, is a proven winner. I think at the age of 12 or 13 she should have been going out and winning each and every big tournament she could. She should have learned how to win by a dozen strokes just completely blowing away the field and then also have the experience to pull every trick out of her bag, like Monty did once at Dubai to hit a driver over a lake fronted green to sink an eagle putt to win on the 72nd hole. Unfortunately for Michele her father wanted publicity much much more than he was concerned about maybe what was really best for his daughter. It was disappointing to see her miss another men’s tournament cut with a couple of mid to high 70’s and have her looking excited and smiling and saying “Gee I’m really happy about the way I hit my irons” (driver, short irons .... you fill in any word you want about why she was really excited, it was always the same story).
What was REALLY exciting was to watch Tiger ready to lose his last attempt at the US Amateur title (what eventually became his third victory) being down a couple of holes or so with a couple or so to go and his opponent (who remembers him, he didn’t win) about 15 feet away and Tiger about 50 feet away, and this isn’t a Hollywood movie, but high and mighty low, the ball explodes off his putter and takes forever to reach the hole and its goes right to the bottom of the cup. The next hole with just a couple more to go and still a couple more down, the same situation, same results. Yeah the rest is history, winning makes winners.
There is nothing, and I mean nothing, more critical in any sports competition than to know and believe that you are going to win without a doubt. That’s why golf tournaments are set up for 11 year olds to compete with 11 year olds, 14 year olds to compete with their peers. Amateurs play with amateurs and pros compete with pros. There are a few exceptions; we’ve seen them all. Recently when 11-year-old Ariya decided to try to qualify to play in the LPGA tournament that was just completed here in Bangkok. I believe, and she stated, she knew she couldn’t win the tournament (she was being realistic), but she knew and believed she could win in the qualifying and she did. I’m sure she believes she can beat any Thai woman golfer, pro or amateur, any day in an 18-hole match. She’s a winner and you can only learn it one way.
There is the Ledbetter Academy and numerous other academies and schools of thought that teach their methods, through their structured curriculum and they attempt to mould players into winning players from an early age. You can’t refute the success stories that have come from the Ledbetter Academy. Virada became the US Women’s Amateur Champion, received a full scholarship to Duke University and went on to capture the US Collegiate NCAA Championship and just finished her first year of fully exempt status in the US LPGA Tour. Proof that she is and knows how to be a winner.
Magic? Yes I’ve digressed so I guess it’s time to try to pull this all together for you and see if you can find some magic in Hua Hin. Let’s look at two other people you’ll recognize, Greg Norman and Simon Yates and what they have in common. The answer is obvious, they are both great golfers! Wrong. Wrong? Well yes, they are both great golfers, but, even after their early youth Greg was just a great surfer and Simon was an Olympic skier for Scotland. Usually greatness can only be achieved through hard work, sacrifice, diligence and of course, ability. Here are just a couple of guys that weren’t born with a silver spoon in their mouth (sorry Phil Michelson) with bunkers and greens for their back yard personal playground. Their parents didn’t pathetically force them to try to achieve greatness at all costs. They took up the game at a much later time in their life than so many other top players and yet they still proved that you can be great no matter when you choose to start to devote yourself to the game.
There are a lot of ex-pat’s starting new family’s around Hua Hin. We are also now seeing this “old farts” (sorry Crutch) town have many young families come to visit and enjoy all it has to offer. What could be greater than to have their sons and daughters “want’’ to play golf and go fishing (heck if you’re not golfing or sleeping what else is there other than fishing, Hey Johnny MacKenzie, did I show you that picture of that trout I caught this year at Tahoe?) with mom and pop? I hope all of you with young children may have learned a small lesson from what I’ve written and can use it to choose the path in which you wish to allow your child to experience his youth and also get involved in the game of golf.
Again I’ll let you and time be the judge as to what is best. There is never one and only one right way to live life, in this and only this I hope that everyone who reads this article will agree, as I know some will definitely not agree with everything I say (Mick Wittering SHUT UP!!!).
Magic, sweet sweet magic. So rare yet so fine. Hua Hin and all of Thailand has quite a bit of it. It’s definitely the reason why so many times Thailand has been chosen the best place to vacation in the world. Well we just had the great fortune of having something magical happen again for us right here in Hua Hin. About four kilometres as the egret flies and about five by car from the historic and beautiful train station, on the Pala U Road, the only west bound through-road, is a brand spanking new driving range about a kilometre after the first hill-rise. It’s a beautiful design easily located on the left side of the road. There is no chance that you, or any Tuk Tuk or Taxi couldn’t find it. Once you leave the road and park in one of the more than 100 shade covered parking stalls you are in another world, the magic will start and the city of Hua Hin doesn’t exist.
PART 2 NEXT MONTH
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