GOLF NEWS
Hua Hin Golf Society
Sad News: Sorry to inform you the Jack Leopold, commonly known to many as ‘Taxi Jack’ passed away peacefully in Ealing, London, on the 29th June, he was 79 years old. Jack was one of ouroriginal society members and served on the Societies Committee, we send our condolences to his family and friends. Monthly Competition: This competition is being played funnily enough once a month, for those wishing to play from one tee box back from our normal tee boxes, (entrants are limited to group ‘A’ players), and on that day there is also a Stableford competition as well, off of the normal tee boxes. Pattaya Trip: The trip was a huge success and everyone survived and returned in one piece. The Golf Courses we played were Phoenix, Laemchabang and Siam Plantation where we had a buffet meal and held our prize giving. The results are below. Autumn Trip: 1st September to the 4th September. The sign up Sheet is now available at Bernys Inn. We are arranging a trip back to Ratchaburi; staying at the Western Grand Hotel which is a different hotel to previous visits. The golf courses being played are: Monday 1st September - Dragon Hills. Tuesday 2nd September - Suwan (Note: Not Sawang). Wednesday 3rd September - Royal Ratchaburi. Information will be on the Societies Notice Board and the web site. Members will be given priority. August 3rd Bernys Birthday: Khun Berny will 70 years young on the 3rd August. He would like you to celebrate his birthday with a party at Bernys Inn on that day. Matchplay: First/Preliminary Round 17th October Strokeplay: 28th November & 2nd
December Scratchplay: Open to Category 1 & 2 players (handicap 12 & under) 9th & 12th December. Recent Results 15th July - Springfield - 2 Groups Stableford 36 entrants to the competitions + 2 Summer Pairs matches played on this day. Group A - For players handicapped from the White Tee Boxes 1st Eddie Madsalaeh 41 points 28 hcp. 2nd Roger Donaldson 39 points 6 hcp. 3rd Chris Davidson 38 points 19 hcp. 4th
Graeme Pearson 36 points 14 hcp, Group B - For players handicapped from the Red Tee Boxes 1st Sheila Bird 40 points 22 hcp. 2nd Boom Schroeder 37 points 13 hcp. 3rd Maryke Van Der Tuin 35 points 13 hcp. 4th Judith Thomson 34 points 35 hcp. 11th July - Majestic Creek - One Group Only Stableford - John Withers played as a guest. 1st Berny Morgan 40 points 20 hcp. 2nd Pailin Humphrey 40 points 14 hcp. 3rd Roger Donaldson 39 points 7 hcp. 4th Mike Staples 39 points 11 hcp, 8th July - Black Mountain - One Group Only Stableford + Summer pairs also played on this day Colin Devonshire 44 points 12 hcp. 2nd Luciano 41 points 14 hcp. 3rd Mike Zimmerman 39 points 7 hcp. 4th Joe Sims 39 points 5 hcp, Pattaya Trip - Individual Competition
over 3 Days 1st Ulf Sparvman 107 points 3 hcp. 2nd Luciano 105 points 16/14 hcp. 3rd Russell Beard 102 points 6 hcp. 4th Laurence Garrett 101 points 4 hcp. 5th Dickie Bird 99 points 8 hcp. 6th John Withers 98 points +1 hcp. 7th Hans Roupe 97 points 28 hcp. 8th Mike Zimmerman 97 pionts 7 hcp. 9th Wij 95 points 12 hcp. 10th Alan Rawson 95 points 16 hcp. 11th Jim Dale 95 points 17 hcp. 12th Kari Matti 94 points 7 hcp. 13th Eric Taylor 94 points 16 hcp. Thank you to John Withers, who donated a wedge plus several shirts. Thank you to Johnny Walker (Hot Properties) who donated several Umbrellas. And also thank you to Winfried who donated a very nice bottle of wine from the Ernie Ells vineyard in South Africa. 2nd July - Siam Plantation - Pattaya Trip Aggregate Stableford 1st Laurence Garrett & Hans Roupe 65 points.
2nd Adrian Salt & Alan Rawson 61 points. Individual Stableford 1st Hans Roupe 36 points 28 hcp. 2nd Ulf Sparvman 34 points 3 hcp. 1st July - Laemchabang - Pattaya Trip Aggregate Stableford Joint 1st Joe Sims & Jim Dale 72 points. Joint 1st Wij & Luciano 72 points. Individual Stableford 1st Luciano 41 points 16 hcp. 2nd Laurence Garrett 40 points 4 hcp. 30th June - Phoenix - Pattaya Trip Aggregate Stableford
1st John Rouhiala & Peter Oosterbaan 74 points. 2nd Phil Rylands & Robert Baker 68 points. Individual Stableford 1st John Rouhiala 40 points 14 hcp.
2nd Luciano 39 points 16 hcp. 27th June - Lake View - C & D Courses Stableford + 2nd round of a 2 round Eclectic Competition Eclectic - over 2 rounds
A Group - 0-15 hcp. 1st Wij 44 points 13 hcp. 2nd Deano 41 points 12 hcp.
3rd Dickie Bird 41 points 8 hcp. 4th Colin Devonshire 41 points 11 hcp. B Group - 16-36 hcp. 1st Alan Rawson 44 points 16 hcp. 2nd Ooi 43 points 31 hcp.
3rd Rod Gretton 42 points 21 hcp. Stableford Competition Group A (0 - 15 hcp) 1st Dickie Bird 35 points 8 hcp. 2nd Wij 35 points 11 hcp. 3rd Colin Devonshire 34 points 11 hcp. 4th Alan wright (g) 34 points 6 hcp, Group B (16 - 36 hcp) - 26 entrants 1st Brian Brook 37 points 19 hcp. 2nd Ooi 36 points 31 hcp. 3rd Steve Aristodemou 33 points 19 hcp. 4th Alan Rawson 33 points 16 hcp. 24th June – Lake View - C & D Courses Stableford + 1st round of a 2 round Eclectic Competition
Group A (0 - 18 hcp) 1st Wij 37 points 13 hcp. 2nd Terry Burge 35 points 16 hcp.
3rd Boom Schroeder 34 points 13 hcp. 4th Peter Tucker 33 points 8 hcp, Group B (19 - 36 hcp) - 14 entrants 1st Rod Gretton 32 points 21 hcp. 2nd Hans Roupe 31 points 28 hcp. 3rd Berny Morgan 31 points 19 hcp. 20th June - Palm Hills One Group Only Stableford + Summer pairs also played on this day 1st Nueng Chuenil 41 points 13 hcp. 2nd Tomas Chuenil 38 points 14 hcp. 3rd Tip Gouldby 36 points 12 hcp. 4th Trevor Firth 34 points 13 hcp, 17th June - Majestic Creek Two groups - A group 0-18 hcp. Competition played from one tee box back from our normal tee boxes Strokeplay. B group 0 - 36 hcp. Stableford. A Group. Strokeplay 1st Robert Laminit 71 net 9 hcp. 2nd Colin Devonshire 79 net 11 hcp. B Group. Stableford 1st Peter Oosterbann 41 points 19 hcp. 2nd Hans Rouppe 39 points 28 hcp. 3rd Pailin Humphrey 35 points 14 hcp. 4th Judith Thomson 34 points 35 hcp. Fixtures for August 2008 Friday 1st Black Mountain Tuesday 5th Royal Hua Hin - 2 Competitions on this day. Competition one is for group ‘A’ players who wish to play from the back tee boxes. The second competition will be for the group ‘A’ players and group ‘B’ players who wish to play from the normal tee boxes. Friday 8th Springfield - Stableford + 8th Round of the Summer Pairs Tuesday 12th Lake View
Friday 15th Palm Hills - Stableford + 9th Round of the Summer Pairs Tuesday 19th
Springfield Friday 22n Lake View - Stableford + 10th Round of the Summer Pairs
Tuesday 26th Black Mountain Friday 29th
Majestic Creek For updated information visit our website: www.huahingolfsociety.com Contact us by email: huahingolfsociety@hotmail.com
Fit for Golf
The feet stay in the same position, more or les, through the full range of the golf swing. That is to say they don’t, or shouldn’t leave the ground. The exercises that have been prescribed in earlier articles have focused on keeping the feet in one place as the movement is executed. Now it will be raised up to the next level where movement of the feet will be added. Though these exercises are not similar to a golf swing they still bring in control and balance that is needed to make good contact when hitting the ball.
The movements are better performed without any resistance to start with. When they are comfortable to do then increase the intensity by either holding something that weight up to 10 kg, progress to this don’t start at 10 kg! Resistance bands are a useful tool as well. If you can’t find purpose made ones in the shops then an old bike inner-tube will suffice. There have been a few rotation exercises mentioned before so that part of it should be familiar. To help improve balance and work the stabilizing muscles of the body a lateral step is introduced. Start with the weight on the right side and the arms over the right hip. Bring the weight over to the left and swing the arms out infront until they are over the left hip. If you are holding something to increase the resistance then just reverse the movement and end with that and body weight on the right. Those of you that are using a band will have to do one side and then turn around for the other side. Repeat this about 15 times on each side. As with all the exercises prescribed make sure the back is neutral and the belly button is pulled lightly into the spine. For a different movement but still good for postural control start by facing forwards with the feet pointing to the front also. Turn the feet to face right and lift the arms over the head but slightly in-front of the body. Drop the arms and turn to the front and then turn to the left and lift the arms over the head and slightly in-front of the body. Don’t lean too far forward as you might lose your balance. Take time to move to the opposite side as going too fast may lead to dizziness. To advance the exercise hold a weight in the hands or tie your band low down to something that won’t move. As mentioned above keep good posture. Contact Terry on 081-009 6588 or visit www.fit-foregolf.com for more information.
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 2007/8. 26-May Springfield Place N ame S core OoM Baht
1 K enny Walker 71 37 2050 1 Jo rgen Persson 71 37 2050 3 S imon Yates 75 27 550 3 E ric Hudson 75 27 550 26-May Springfield ‘Seniors Flight’ Place N ame S core OoM Baht 1 J eff Chapin 77 20 900 2 S uwit Pahulo 78 17 600 9-Jun L ake View (A+B) Place N ame S core OoM Baht 1 K enny Walker 69 37 21501 Jo hn MacKenzie 69 37 2150 3 S iriwiwat Meesawat 70 27 1100 3 C . Longbottom 70 27 1100 9-Jun L ake View (A+B) ‘Seniors Flight’ Place N ame S core OoM Baht 1 S uwit Pahulo 71 10 1100 2 C . Cham Chemn 76 7 800 23-Jun Black Mountain
Place N ame S core OoM Baht 1 S uwit Pahulo 73 37 1700 1 So mchai Saiwong 73 37 1700 23-Jun Black Mountain ‘Seniors Flight’ Place N ame S core OoM Baht
1 S uwit Pahulo 73 10 1100 Order of Merit 5th Season Place N ame OoM M oney
1 K enny Walker 686.8 17,000 Baht 2 S uwit Pahulo 520.3 13,200 Baht 3 Jo rgen Persson 414 9,300 Baht 4 J eff Chapin 320.8 7,700 Baht 5 C . Longbottom 287.3 7,000 Baht 6 Jo hn MacKenzie 275.1 6,200 Baht 7 M arten Milling 228.1 5,400 Baht
8 C . Cham Chemn 224.3 4,600 Baht 9 S hinichi Goma 216.3 3,900 Baht 10 S imon Yates 216 3,100 Baht SENIORS Order of Merit 2nd season (2007/2008) Place N ame OoM Points 1 S uwit Pahulo 184.5 2 J eff Chapin 117.5 3 L arry Kitt 88 4 C hoompol Cham Chemn 80 5 C hris Woo llams 30 6 D ave Allgaier 25 7 Ro ger Donaldson 23 8 Jo nathan Davis 14 9 Ro ddy Watkins 10 10 K emo 7 First of all a big thanks to all the players (over a 100 of them!) who have supported our Tour during last season. And to all the golf courses - Lake View, Palm Hills, Springfield, Black Mountain, Royal Hua Hin, and Dragon Hills for givingus discounted green fees, many thanks. Thanks also to ‘Cobra’ for the winners’caps. Thank you Saga Tailor for sponsoring our Hua Hin mini tour. Also thanks to Dusit, Alila, San Miguel, Black Mountain Golf Club & Restaurant and to Simon Yates for sponsoring our final event of the season. Tournaments coming up: Start of the 6th season of the Saga Tailor Tour Mon, 4 Aug Dusit Masters 8.00 Royal Hua Hin Mon, 18 Aug 3rd STT tournament 8.00 Lake View (A+B) Mon, 1 Sep Marriott Invitational 8.00 SpringfieldTo 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 Christopher Longbottom PGA of Australia 081-014 5032
On The Green
The Hua Hin - Cha Am Golf Festival, now in its sixth year, kicks off on 1 August. Once again, visiting golfers can enjoy special rates of 800 – 1,000 baht green fees for the entire month. The Hua Hin Hoteliers Club, the Hua Hin Cha Am Golf Course Association, the Hua Hin-Cha Am Tourist Association and the Tourism Authority of Thailand have once again joined together to get the region firmly established as the premier golfing resort in Asia. Here is a listing of the golf courses in the Hua Hin, Cha-Am and Pranburi area including some details of facilities on offer at each venue. BANYAN GOLF CLUB Designed by Pirapon Namatra; opened in 2008. 18 holes, par 72. Membership is individual and corporate. Facilities: Accommodation; Driving range; Equipment rental; Pro shop; Resident professional; Restaurant and pub. Telephone: +66 (032) 3261 9085. Website: www.bayanestatehuahin.com E-mail: club@banyanestatehuahin.com
BLACK MOUNTAIN Designed by Phil Ryan; opened in 2007. 18 holes, par 72. Membership includes individual and family. Facilities: Driving range; Equipment rental; Massage; Pro shop; Resident professional; Restaurant. Telephone: +66 (032) 646400. Website: www.bmghuahin.com E-mail: info@bmghhuahin.com
DRAGON HILLS
Designed by Jim Engh; opened in 1994. 18 holes, par 72. Membership is individual, family and corporate. Facilities: Accommodation; Driving range; Equipment rental; Massage; Pro shop; Restaurant. Telephone +66 (032) 229111. Fax: +66 (032) 229178
Website: www.dragonhillsgolf.com E-mail: voravudh2004@hotmail.com
PALM HILLS Designed by Max Wexler; opened in 1992. 18 holes, par 72. Individual
membership. Facilities: Accommodation; Driving range; large Putting green; Equipment rental; Pro shop; Resident professional; Restaurant. Telephone: +66 (032) 520801 Fax: +66 (032) 520820. Website:www.palmhills-golf.com E-mail: info@palmhills-golf.com
ROYAL HUA HIN Designed by A O Robins; opened in 1924. 18 holes, par 72. Membership closed. Facilities: Accommodation; Driving range; Equipment rental; Pro shop; resident professional; Restaurant. Telephone: +66 (032) 512475. Fax: +66 (032) 513038. Website:www.santiburi.com/ RoyalHuaHinGofCourse/index.asp E-mail: royal_golf@hotmail.com
SPRINGFIELD VILLAGE GOLF & SPA Designed by Jack Nicklaus; opened in 1993. 27 holes, par 72. Membership includes individual, family and corporate. Facilities: Accommodation; Driving range; Equipment rental; Massage; Pro shop; Resident professional; Restaurant. Telephone: +66 (032) 709222. Fax: +66 (032) 709234. Website: www.springfieldresort.com E-mail: playgolf@springfieldresort.com
THE IMPERIAL LAKEVIEW Designed by Roger Packard; opened in 1993. 36 holes, par 72. Membership closed. Facilities: Accommodation; Driving range; Equipment rental; Massage; Pro shop; Restaurant. Telephone: +66 (032) 456233-40. Fax: +66 (032) 456241. Website: www.imperialhotels.com/ lakeview E-mail: lakeview@imperialhotels.com
THE MAJESTIC CREEK Designed by Dr Suktti Klangvisai; opened in 1993. 18 holes, par 72. Individual membership. Facilities: Accommodation; Driving range; Equipment rental; Massage, Pro shop; Restaurant.
Telephone: +66(032)520162 or(032) 619167. E-mail: manoo@tummabud.com
MILFORD INTERNATIONAL Designed by Robert McFarland; opened in 1993. 18 holes, par 72. Individual membership. Facilities: Accommodation; Driving range; Equipment rental; Pro shop; Restaurant. Telephone: +66 (032) 572500
Website: www.milford.co.th/golf_ huahin.htm E-mail: milfordparadise@hotmail.com
FOCUS ON THE FINISH: Many amateurs are so consumed with anxiety about the incremental parts of the golf swing (grip, alignment, posture, setup, etc.) that they lose sight of the overall objective, which is to strike the ball squarely and forcefully. Let me suggest a method to alleviate this anxiety: Focus on the finish. If you take the time to study, analyse and critique your finish position, you’ll develop an idea of where your swing needs to go - not to mention increase the likelihood of actually making it happen. Here is a drill that ingrains the feeling of a good finish position. Start with the club at address and swing it forward to the finish. Hold that pose for several seconds and then repeat the address to - finish move. Let your natural tempo dictate how slowly or quickly you swing the club. As you pose, check that the finish elements at right are in place. A golf swing without a finish position in mind is like a car trip without a destination. You’ll wind up going around in circles. Some of the benchmarks of the proper finish are: • Being in good balance • Weight forward on your left side • Knees touching • Belt buckle facing the target • Club to the left of the left shoulder • Right arm extended and right wrist flat. John Wither is a PGA Golf Professional and former Asian Tour player. He is currently head teacher at the Hua Hin Academy of Golf located at the Mongkol Driving Range, Nong Plab Road, Hua Hin. For bookings please phone 0811 426 216
The massage parlour, bar-girl image stopped many males from getting a ‘Pink Ticket’ from the wife to visit the land of smiles and it was certainly not the kind of place you would bring her on holiday! How things have changed since then. Thailand is now an established golfing holiday destination on a par with most of the World’s best locations. A wonderful backdrop of non-golfing activities to entertain the family, friendly locals, great food,...the marketing clichés can run and run nowadays... But has Golf in Thailand really changed that much? For the majority, Golf in Thailand still means Hua Hin, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and expensive Phuket. Kanchanaburi is now O.B. (unless you are Korean) and Bangkok’s courses continue to play second fiddle to the shopping outlets and that awful day trip to Damneon Saduak. There is so much more to Thailand, a country roughly the size of France and with a fantastic infrastructure of roads, with English sign posts, that it is easy to get around and discover the REAL Thailand; one where your dollars are not the priority but rural ways of life, spectacular scenery and aslow, easygoing ‘Thainess’ that welcomes the occasional Farang who dares to adventure away from the overly touristy areas is the norm. More importantly, there’s great golf out there “On-the- Road”. Whether you are here on holiday, a 3 year posting for a multi-national or actually live here but never find the time to escape the city, the point of these articles is to get you out and enjoying what Thailand has to offer, and play a bit of golf. Plus, the choices available today are not just restricted to Thailand anymore as most regional destinations now offer excellent golfing facilities alongside their own unique tourist attractions. Welcome to the Alternative Golfer who hopes to take you on unique travelling experiences around the region that includes the opportunity to play some of the best golf on the Planet! This month, we stay close to Bangkok with a great journey around the ‘Top of the Elephants Trunk’. You have probably read in the guide books that Thailand does indeed have the shape of an Elephants head with the ‘Trunk’ being the thin strip of land linking Bangkok to the South. However, the people of Chiang Mai think it’s the shape of a Chicken with Chiang Mai the head; the trunk just mentioned is in fact the legs which makes Bangkok the backside! On a short journey to the west of Bangkok the mountains rise
up and jungle takes over. Leaving downtown around 7.30 in the morning, within an hour you are teeing up at Best Ocean, a million miles from nowhere enjoying Bangkok’s only ‘Links- Style’ course. It’s a tight, unforgiving layout (a good alternative for the more average golfer would be Royal Gems, a very pretty Parkland course and about the same travelling distance from town) but, if you like a challenge then Best Ocean is a mustplay! A 15 minute drive after the golf and you are in Maha Chai, a fishing port with a lively market and some excellent seafood, perfect for lunch. Moving on and heading south on the Petchkasem highway, within 11/2 hours you find yourself at Thailand’s second largest National Park - Kaeng Krachan. There’s a small selection of resorts from basic Thai to some rather expensive Thai-style accommodation. The highlight is a memorable evening with the amazing sounds of the jungle and a spectacular canopy of stars. In the morning the non-golfers can explore the National Park while only a short drive from the parks main entrance is Kaeng Krachan Golf Course. It’s not a championship standard layout but it is well looked after with great scenery. Green fee-wise, you realise the value for money of being out in the countryside! The next day, head back north going past the turn for Bangkok just south of Ratchaburi and off to the left you’ll find the Royal Ratchaburi Golf Club. There’s a very comfortable, low rise resort and yet another fantastic round of golf waiting, occasionally in the company of a group of monkeys! In the late afternoon, take a drive around the countryside, an area of many limestone outcrops dotted with temples and statues of Buddha, one of which is recommended just before the sunset when thousands of bats leave their caves - an unforgettable sight! After another round the following morning you head back to Bangkok, a simple journey and such an easy escape from the Concrete Jungle, with near empty golf courses, all in excellent condition and plenty of off-course things to do as well. This journey is also an excellent add-on to include in a golfing holiday to Hua Hin and is a great start to a ‘Downthe- Elephants-Trunk’ alternative, overland journey between Bangkok and tropical Phuket Island which will be covered here in a future article.
EXOTIC GOLF HOLIDAYS For more information on this golfing adventure and others
see our web site at: exoticgolfholidays.com or contact the Alternative Golfer by emailing: exotic@exoticgolfholidays. Com The Alternative Golfer, Simon Higgins is Director of Golf & Touring Operations for Exotic Golf Holidays, a Bangkok-based golfing adventure company offering holidays around the entire Indian Ocean Rim.
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