This month's golf news and features

Horses for Courses!

You will notice in our results section, that on 17th February at Palm Hills, two members James and Vivienne, scored 51 pts on their own course. Walter and Laurence achieved a great 49 pts and got nothing.
OUR TWO ANNUAL AWAY TRIPS
The two away trips are coming up, in April for the families to Kanchanaburi and the gentlemen will be testing the Pattaya golf courses in July.
TAXI JACK
Only one sighting, Sainsburys in Hoddesdon, a few months ago.

RECENT RESULTS:
20th January at Panurangsi (Ratchaburi Military Course) 40 players. A group 1st Larry English 43 pts, 6 hcp, 2nd Sonmat (guest) 40 pts, 15 hcp, B group 1st Peter Newman 41 pts 32 hcp, 2nd Tim Holland 40 pts 36 hcp.
23rd January at Kaeng Krachan 54 players. A group 1st Steve Ross 37 pts, 20 hcp, 2nd James Barber 37 pts, 27 hcp.
27th January at Palm Hills, 48 pleyers (24 teams of 2) Better Ball Stableford. 1st Dave Buchan / Mark Finnegan 45 pts, 2nd James and Vivienne Barber 44 pts.
30th January at Lake View 63 players A group Canada Bob (guest) 1st 67 net 13 hcp, 2nd Robert Hepburn 69 net 11 hcp (guest), B group 1st Richard Heath 43 pts 36 hcp, 2nd Paul Frampton 39 pts 24 hcp.
3rd February at Hua Hin Seoul Country Club (ex Milford) 4 ball better ball (Stableford), 46 players 23 teams of 2. 1st Kjell Herbertson / Bjorn N (guests), 2nd Garcia / Per (guests) 44 pts.
6th February at Royal Ratchaburi 22 players (one group), 1st Clive Bruce 40 pts 8 hcp, 2nd Peter Elury 35 pts 20 hcp, 3 Gigs 33 pts 36 hcp.
10th February at Royal Hua Hin, 46 players A group 1st Bill Battell 33 pts 18 hcp, 2nd Laurence Garrett 33 pts, 14 hcp, B group 1st Alan Rawson 36 pts 25 hcp, 2nd Eva (guest) 34 pts 21 hcp.
13th February at Lake View 57 players A group 1st Mark Finnegan 69 net 13 hcp, 2nd Jon 70 net 15 hcp, B group 1st Barbara Anstee 40 pts 25 hcp, 2nd John Anstee 37 pts 20 hcp.
17th February at Palm Hills 44 players 4 ball better ball (Stableford) 22 teams of 2. 1st Vivienne and James Barber 51 pts, 2nd John Anstee / Alan Rawson 50 pts, 3rd Mark Finnegan / Sam Sheriff 49 pts.

MARCH FIXTURES

Tuesday 2nd Palm Hills
Friday 5th Public Holiday fixture to be booked for the 4th
Tuesday 9th Dragon Hills
Friday 12th Springfield
Tuesday 16th Lake View
Friday 19th Palm Hills
Tuesday 23rd Lake View
Friday 26th Sawang
Tuesday 30th T.B.N.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Family trip to Kanchanaburi
18th - 21st April
Gentleman’s Outing to Pattaya
4th to 8th July

The Hua Hin Golf Players Club

Here are the latest results from the 10th, 11th and 12th tournaments on the new "GPC's Tour". The only way to keep your game sharp is to play competitive golf, and it's also the most fun, rewarding, nervous, exhilarating and frustrating way to play this game. What more can you ask for?!

Dragon Hills: Tuesday the 30 of December.
Place Name Score
1 Mikael Detterberg 69
2 Henrik Botha 72
3 John McKenzie 73
4 Mark Monroe 74
5 Herbert Wey 78
Shot of the day: Mikael D. Managed to hit the green in two on Dragon Hills 572 yards par 5 hole #15, with driver + 4 iron. The 4 iron landed at the back of the green, half a club too much.

Springfield: Tuesday the 27 of January.
Place Name Score
1 Corey Harris 70
2 John McKenzie 71
3 Christopher Longbottom 72
4 Lee Chul Joo 73
4 Thonghai Tima 73
6 Jeon Yeong Sam 74
Shot of the day: Let's change it to finish of the season, Corey H. finish with birdie, birdie, eagle to beat John Mc. with one shot.

Royal Hua Hin: Tuesday the 10 of February.
Place Name Score
1 Joakim Kristiansson (70+2) 72
2 Jorgen Persson 80
3 Suwit Pahulo 82
Shot of the day: This time it has to be a shot by a non competitor. An unknown lady playing the 15th hole at the same time as Sam was getting ready to tee off on the 13th hits her shot slightly to the right (towards 13th tee box) hitting Sam straight on, no bounce. Lucky for Sam the ball hit him just above the elbow missing more fragile parts, hopefully nothing broken we haven't heard from the doctor yet. Sam; bad luck, we all hope you get well soon.
After 12 events we have now attracted 65 different players to join our tournaments, and more to come. If you want to give Jaruek a challenge in the run for the "Order of Merit" title you need to put some good scores on the board for the remaining tournaments.
Hope to see you all at our tournaments, all the best.

Jorgen Persson Suwit Pahulo
PGA of Sweden Thai PGA

Ex PM Honours Par Three Course

The owners of Tavimook Par Three Golf Course, were greatly honoured at their grand opening as H.E. Mr. Banharn Silapaarcha former Prime Minister was guest of honour. Tavimook Par Three Golf Course staged a very elaborate grand opening party on Saturday 7 February 2004, which started at 10.30 am, and with various events during the day which came to a conclusion with an fun filled evening party.
Dr. Putsadee Jitchum, K. Ruja Hlaojinda, K. Jutamas Jitchum, K. Pattama Leeviset and K. Wattanawech Jitchum the management of the project also welcomed The Mayor of Hua Hin K. Jira Pongpaiboon along with community leaders and some famous celebrities including movie star K. Naowarat Yuktanan.
There was fun and games, singing and dancing and plenty of prizes on offer for the invited guests as they took a chance to see Hua Hin’s latest leisure facility.
Tavimook Par Three Golf Course is much more than the name implies offering people who love the golf, sport, and keeping fit, the chance to use the well equipped fitness gym, sauna room, swimming pool, they can take advantage of the spa oil massage, foot massage, and Thai massage.
For those who can’t get enough golf in the day time, you can always play at night using the specially constructed floodlights.
There are some houses on the project which went on sale at special prices for the grand opening. More information on 032-522 570-72
Tavimook is on about 27 rai of land on Petchkasem Road just north of town, the owners invested approximatel 400 milion baht in the project.

Rule by Rule

Rule 4. Clubs

What It's About: Tells us we must play with conforming clubs, how many clubs we may carry, and what to do when a club becomes damaged.
Up to this point, the Rules of Golf have given us some general principles and covered the two major forms of play. The logical progression is to tell us next about the implements needed to play the game, starting with clubs.
First, certain standards must be met for a golf club to conform with the Rules. These "provisions, specifications, and interpretations" are spelled out in Appendix II, covering 71/2 pages in the back of the book. Rule 4 also has a preamble, which states a manufacturer should submit to the USGA a sample of a club that is to be made so it may be tested for conformance with the Rules.
This Rule has been the center of many debates recently. But the game's governing bodies -- the Royal and Ancient Golf Club and the USGA -- have been legislating equipment since the beginning of the last century.
The serious nature of this Rule is evidenced by the substantial penalty for playing with non-conforming equipment: disqualification. But for those who have found a special set of clubs they will never part with, there is a provision for wear and tear. A golf club that conformed when new is still deemed to conform even though wear through normal use over time has led to potentially non-conforming properties, such as grooves that have become too wide.
Rule 4-2 tells us that we are not allowed to change the playing characteristics of a club during a stipulated round. The old saying "Dance with the one you brought" applies in golf, too. This Rule also prohibits foreign material from being applied to the clubface for the purpose of influencing the movement of the ball.
Rule 4-3 covers damaged clubs. If a club is damaged in the normal course of play -- which means through actions related to making a stroke -- a player has three options: 1) Use the club in its damaged state; 2) repair the club; 3) if the club is unfit for play, replace it. When a club becomes damaged other than in the normal course of play, rendering it non-conforming or changing its playing characteristics, none of those options apply. The player cannot use the club for the remainder of the stipulated round and he cannot replace it. This might make you think twice about taking out your frustration over an errant shot by slamming your club or by seeing how well it flies. Again, the dreaded DQ penalty applies if you use the club.
The final section, Rule 4-4, states that the player must start the round with no more than 14 clubs, a limit first introduced in 1938 in response to players of that era who were using upwards of 20 clubs. He is limited to those clubs except that if he starts with fewer than 14, he can add a club or clubs to bring the total up to the maximum. A unique aspect of this Rule is that it sets a limit on the penalty. If a player starts a round with more than 14 clubs and this breach is discovered at any point after teeing off at the second hole, he is penalized for only two holes. In stroke play, it's a two-stroke penalty on each of the first two holes where the breach occurred. In match play, the state of the match is adjusted by a maximum of two holes at the conclusion of the hole at which the breach is discovered.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS

Frustration is a feeling all too familiar to golfers, and sometimes it bubbles over into anger. We've learned above that the Rules have little sympathy for angry golfers, at least when it comes to their breaking equipment. A player who snaps his putter in two in a fit of temper after missing a putt is not allowed to replace this club because it was broken other than in the normal course of play. Decision 4-3/8 addresses a special case in which the club-breaker started his round with 13 clubs. Now that his putter is in pieces, he would like to get a new putter rather than trying to figure out which other club to use on the greens for the rest of the round. The catch is that he started his round with 13 clubs, one under the limit, so he is entitled to add another club while not technically replacing the broken one. Once he adds the club, he must finish the round with only 13 clubs (the 12 remaining unbroken clubs plus the new putter). Also, in obtaining a new putter, he is subject to penalty under Rule 6-7 if he unduly delays play.

For the complete Rules of Golf and Decisions on the Rules, visit the USGA's site.

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