Thursday, March 28th: Eggert Leads the Pack (+4), 75 !!!

NOTE:   Closest to the holes for March are #5 & #11.

Conditions:  On Thursday, nine golfers participated on a very nice, late March, sunny day, 57-66 degrees, 7-12 mph winds, 40% humidity, moist fairways and mid- speed greens.

Team Winners:  Clark, Dunlavy & Eggert swept the front (€), back +4) and total (€).

Individual Winners:  Eggert won the front (+3).  Clark, Dunlavy, Johnson & Meyer tied the back (+2).  Eggert won the total (+4).

Closest to the Holes:  Eggert won #5 & Kavanaugh took #11.

Even/Plus Points Club: Eggert (+4), Johnson (+2), Dunlavy & Meyer (+1) and Clark (€).

75 & Below Score Club:  Clark (73) and Eggert (75).

Golf Quote: “You swing your best when you have the fewest things to think about.” – Bobby Jones

Quota Increases:   All (+1):  None

Quota Decreases:   All (-1):  Clark,  Eichelberger and Kavanaugh

Quotas: Aholt 31 * Alferman 34 * Bean 33 * Blackwell 28 * Clark 33 * Coleman 30 * Cozzo 26 * Crow 33 * Curran 27 * Curtis 31 (White Tees) * Dister 25 * Dunlavy 25 * Eckelkamp 36 * Eggert 28 * Eichelberger 31 * Fortner 27 * Gildehaus 29 * Hall 26 * Herrick 24 * Hoemann 33 * Johnson 27 * Kavanaugh 24 * Kossmann 26 * Lindhoff 31 * Loyd 23 * Miller 20 * Mitchell 27 * Moosman 29 * Morris 25  * Meyer 28 * Nealis 24 * Palumbo 31 *  Parmentier 32 * Purschke 20 * Scheer 20 * Scheidegger 33 * Schrader 33 * Sharma 28 *  Stapp 33 * Stoehner 25 * Tiefenbrunn 27 * Triplett 30 * Viox 27 * Voss, Chas 25 * Voss, Colby 32 * Voss, Dean 34 * Zastrow, Owen 21 *  Zastrow, Josh 36

Tuesday, March 26th: Meyer Beats the Wind (+4), 76 !!!

NOTE:   Closest to the holes for March are #5 & #11.

Conditions:  On Tuesday, six golfers participated on a very windy and cold day, 40-43 degrees, 13-25 mph winds, 65% humidity, wet fairways and mid- speed greens.

Team Winners:  Dunlavy, Eggert & Meyer swept the front (+4), back (-4) and total (€).

Individual Winners:  Owen Zastrow won the front (+3).  Meyer won the back (+2) and total (+4).

Closest to the Holes:  Eggert won #5 & Johnson snuggled #11.

Even/Plus Points Club: Meyer (+4) and Dunlavy (+1).

75 & Below Score Club:  None

Golf Quote: “I don’t let birdies and pars get in the way of having a good time” – Angelo Spagnolo

Quota Increases:   All (+1):  Dunlavy & Meyer

Quota Decreases:   Owen Zastrow (-2)….All (-1):  Hall & Johnson

Quotas: Aholt 31 * Alferman 34 * Bean 33 * Blackwell 28 * Clark 34 * Coleman 30 * Cozzo 26 * Crow 33 * Curran 27 * Curtis 31 (White Tees) * Dister 28 * Dunlavy 25 * Eckelkamp 36 * Eggert 28 * Eichelberger 32 * Fortner 27 * Gildehaus 29 * Hall 26 * Herrick 24 * Hoemann 33 * Johnson 27 * Kavanaugh 25 * Kossmann 26 * Lindhoff 31 * Loyd 23 * Miller 20 * Mitchell 27 * Moosman 29 * Morris 25  * Meyer 28 * Nealis 24 * Palumbo 31 *  Parmentier 32 * Purschke 20 * Scheer 20 * Scheidegger 33 * Schrader 33 * Sharma 28 *  Stapp 33 * Stoehner 25 * Tiefenbrunn 27 * Triplett 30 * Viox 27 * Voss, Chas 25 * Voss, Colby 32 * Voss, Dean 34 * Zastrow, Owen 23 *  Zastrow, Josh 36

Day 21: Mike Clark in Thailand

Today finds me with mixed emotions as my whirlwind Thailand adventure comes to a close.  I am excited to get home, but it’s been quite nice having my clubs handed to me shot by shot and being chased around by a polyester clad nymph with an umbrella….  A service I’m certain is not available at home.

As usual, I arrive at Thana City Cc in plenty of time to get loose and warm up.  This is a Greg Norman design and facility and the range and practice areas are fitting of a first class club.  Shaded hitting stations with fans, nice mats, quality balls and well marked targets.

I take full advantage of the opportunity today and hit the first tee loose, already soaked and ready to play.  My caddie today is Bo… a nice gal, but about as helpful as Bo Diddly, Bo Jackson or Bo Peep….its all me from this point on.

Today, I’m paired with two nice Japanese guys in their 50s and introductions and bows are made.  A quick glance at their equipment reveals all new quality sticks and I’m hoping they can play.  That’s when I notice it… the better player of the two is wearing pants that clearly say “Master Bunny Edition”.  It’s plastered all over his bag as well…..

Master Bunny hits it well in the form of a controlled cut and is surprisingly long.  After several holes, it’s quite clear that this guy is a good amateur player.  He’s fast, hits it where he’s looking and he’s a good putter.  I’m getting outdriven on most holes but I’m not missing many greens, making all pars till #9.

On #9, the Master Bunny has split the fairway and I’m just in the trees, on the right, after a slightly flared tee shot finds me in the mown monkey grass but with a clear window under and through the tree canopy and over a canal to the green.  It’s not a hard shot by any means and I catch it crispy.  The ball jumps out off the club face, arching on the intended line to the green, until it hits the one hanging bean pod in my line.  The pod explodes to bits as if I’ve shot it with a load of 12ga bird shot, and my golf ball falls limply with a small splash into the canal.  Double…. Plus 2 for the side and I’m a little warm to say the least as I compliment Master Bunny on a nice up and down par.

As we pull up to the 10 tee box, Master Bunny is gleaming happy and exclaims “we even!”  I doubt that…. However, I never knew we were playing each other on the front…. But that being said, you can bet your bunny ass it’s ON now.  I can’t face my countrymen if I loose to a guy wearing bunny pants.

We match each other with pars on 10 and 11 and on the par 5 12th he splits the fairway again with his well controlled fade.  Bo says “aim at Bunker on left“ which I do…. And hit it 6” from going in.  When I arrive at my ball, I see I have no stance whatsoever and have to climb into the sand with my pitching wedge, in an attempt to hit it with a baseball swing, as the ball is chest high above me on the turf….. I manage to make contact and advance it about 80 yards.  Master Bunny smoothly hits a perfect layup, short of the canal, in front of the green and is looking at an easy wedge shot and potential birdie.  I’ve got 186, over water, to a front pin and into the wind as well.  Let’s just say, I hit the best 4 hybrid of my trip on a high arching soft falling cut shot that stops less than a foot from the hole.  The Bunny is visibly shaken.  He fats his wedge with a splash into the drink and then blades a second into the water and the game is over.

The round ends with a bogey here or there for each of us but our national pride remains intact and I can carry my head high back to FCCC.

Reflections on my trip:
1. The Thai people are some of the friendliest nicest people on earth.
2. Always do your best to smile and be kind to others despite what’s going on with you or behind the scenes.
3. Substandard chipping and or putting knows no boundaries.
See you all soon !

Day 20: Mike Clark in Thailand

As I finish my round today and head to the locker room, despite continually drinking Gatorade and water, I’ve gotta be down 10 pounds.  I’m completely soaked, from head to toe, as if I’ve jumped in the lake. I’ve been thru 4 all weather gloves and my hand towel is also wet and rendered useless.  I even notice my tiny caddie, Audi, has sweat beading up on the perfectly applied white makeup on her forehead.  It’s hot and humid in Missouri in late August but this heat is an ass kicker.  I later learn from my driver that it was 101 today….and I’m not the least bit surprised.

Royal Gems City is a replica course of all famous holes that you would recognize on the front and the complete back nine of Augusta National.  I think they have done a pretty good job with 11-12 of Amen corner being very picturesque and quite similar.

I’m paired today with Gerald… a nice fellow from Canada. Despite getting here early and allowing myself ample time to warm up, the starter cancels that out and rushes me to the tee to get ahead of a group of 12 Asian guys.

I’ve got nothing but time on my hands, but there sits Gerald and caddie ready to go in his cart looking eagerly in my direction. I reluctantly agree and am rewarded with a nice double bogey to start my round after I double cross my intended high cut shot from 200 into the trees…… fun factor -negative 10.  Gerald is a new golfer and chopper…. We manage a tie on number 1.

The fairways here are lush and green to be sure… they are also soaked and neither of us gets any roll on our tee shots.  The result is a very long and tough golf course. We are playing the blues but should have moved up to the whites.  I manage to get my act together and as always, I’m having fun with the caddie who’s a sweetheart. Gerald is not emotionally attached to any of his golf balls and we thankfully move it along in the smoldering heat.

A birdie on 17 eases the pain of another 3 putt on 16 for the 3rd DAY in a row but I quickly follow it up with a closing bogey on 18… which I will say is a decent score as the card says 433 uphill into the wind on a wet fairway.  To the bunker on the left…..Which Sandy Lyle, masters champ hit 2 iron into…. I measure and it’s 268.  I’m well short of it and still have 233 in to the green…the numbers don’t add up but whatever… I wedge it reasonably close on my third and miss the 10ft par putt on the edge.  76 on the card for the day.

A tip of the hat to Gerald and I’m off to the locker room worthy of Royalty… a cool shower and dry clothes.

One more chance tomorrow at under par and then I’m on the plane back home to the points game!

See you all soon!

Day 19: Mike Clark in Thailand

Well my indiscriminate night market dining choices finally caught up with me in the early morning hours.  No throwing up, but a mid section that’s telling me something is seriously wrong, gets me quickly out of bed.  I think it was the peeled mango, probably washed in a bucket of dirty water before it got to me.  I’ll never know for sure.

By the time my driver picks me up for the near 2 hour drive to Nikanti golf club… I’m feeling better but have only had liquids.

As usual he loads the sticks and I jump in the back of his Camry and away we go.  He’s a master at weaving in and out of the city traffic and when we clear downtown…… traffic becomes light.  We are on a similar route as yesterday and I recognize some landmarks we passed but need to travel about 20 minutes further to get to Nikanti.

Thats when 2 serious things happen. Traffic bottles down to a crawl, pinched in by road construction and makeshift concrete barriers framing on both sides of the highway….. and secondly my stomach starts rumbling again. We pass gas station after station and even a McDonalds, but there will be no opportunity for stopping or access as we are trapped in a concrete and traffic prison.  After what seems like an eternity, we mercifully enter the Nikanti parking lot and clubhouse access….. and mind you, not a moment too soon. I’m out of the car in a flash and headed to the locker room before my driver can even open the trunk to unload the clubs and check me in.

Nikanti is a first class operation and on par with Thai CC.  It has a sleek modern clubhouse and your round of golf includes an ample buffet brunch before and after your round.

I’m not eating a thing before I play, and make my way downstairs to meet SU, my caddie. She’s surprisingly tall for a Thai gal and she’s all smiles. For a facility this nice, I’m surprised to learn there is no driving range, but the putting green is spacious and perfect.

I elect to roll some putts and no sooner do I start with the Odyssey, then here comes SU with her umbrella. The sun is blazing hot and she’s absolutely intent on holding the umbrella over me to keep me shaded. I try to insist to her that in America…. Gentlemen hold the umbrella for the ladies…. But she’s having none of it.

It’s a day to be humble and swing easy and of course we lip out a six footer for an opening birdie on the par five first hole. The layout is an unusual design of 6 par fives, 6 par fours and 6 par threes. The fairways and greens are near perfect and it’s a shot makers course with elevation changes and bunkers everywhere.

I can’t go a round without being above the pin in a near impossible position and included a pic that doesn’t do the slope justice.

Things go well today with a few nice birdies to balance out a few senseless bogeys, but a heartbreaking 3 putt on 16 leaves SU and I at plus one with 2 to play. We manage a par on 17 and after 3 good shots we are looking at a slippery 10ft downhill birdie putt on 18 to go even on the day.

We give it our best effort only to watch it slide by on the exact line of our choosing. We both wince in disappointment and she exclaims “Almost!”
If she only knew.

Day 18: Mike Clark in Thailand

Today finds me writing this as we inch along Bangkok traffic at an excruciatingly slow pace to return to the hotel.  Let me just say that there are NO golf courses close to the city of Bangkok.  In an attempt to entice players, the various clubs advertise “ just a short 30 minute drive from the city center”, but whoever came up with that timeline is a bigger liar than Pinocchio.  I just ain’t true.

I would estimate that the average distance from the city to any course would be similar to driving from Washington to Jefferson City…. Some farther.  Compound that with bumper to bumper traffic and I know I’m going to spend at least 4 hours of my day sitting in the backseat of my driver's car.  If I lived here that would be all it would take to discourage me from playing. Let me tell you all that we don’t know how good we have it at our club.
It’s definitely a different world.

Today I’m at Suwan Golf and CC with BEE, a nice young gal who has been at this club as a caddie for 15 years.  That’s hard to believe as I would guess her age to be about 20.

As I’m pounding away my range balls in the blazing hot sun and soaking my shirt……BEE is guarding the cart in the shade and applying and extra coating of pasty white makeup and lipstick in preparation for the round.  Another light day of players on the links finds BEE and I navigating the course by ourselves.

Suwan is a nice course for sure with beautiful closely mown green fairways and flawless surrounds and holes that play among the Palm trees and twisting canals and lakes.  There are generous landing areas for your tee ball, but miss those by a few yards and your ball is headed for the drink. The second shots are demanding, to say the least, to well bunkered slightly elevated greens.

However, today the greens are a disappointment.  Some are quick, some are sanded, some seem very grainy and uncut. I don’t know what the reasoning behind it could be but there is no consistency.  BEE says there is an upcoming Asian tour event here and perhaps someone who knows more about greens than I do has a plan.

After being spoiled a bit yesterday at Thai CC, I’ve got a snooty attitude about it myself……which does not help my cause in route to 3 three putts today.  Pair that up with a couple bogeys from the fringe and ZERO birdies, despite several good opportunities, I card a disappointing 77.

Usually, after the round is completed, I take advantage of the nice locker facilities for a shower and fresh change of clothes, but before I do, I drag BEE back to the range for another sack of balls in the sun. While there, a Thai teaching pro is giving a younger player a lesson and I’m watching a bit between shots…. And I can see his mistake right away.

They are watching me as well. I’ve got a Sean Foley teaching aid that I use when I practice and I offer it up so the kid can try it.  Between Thai and English instruction and some hands on, we definitely help the kid out and he gets a big smile when the ball starts jumping off the face of his 7 iron.  A little good will goes a long way!

Thursday, March 21st: Herrick & Dunlavy (+4) !!!

NOTE:   Closest to the holes for March are #5 & #11.

Conditions:  On Thursday, seven golfers participated on a windy day, 47-53 degrees, 13-20 mph winds, 30% humidity, firm fairways and slightly faster greens.

Team Winners:  Blackwell, Dunlavy, Eggert & Herrick swept the front (€), back (+6) and total (+6).

Individual Winners:  Herrick won the front (+4). Dunlavy & Eggert tied the back (+3) and Dunlavy & Herrick tied the total (+4).

Closest to the Holes:  Hall swept #5 & #11.

Even/Plus Points Club: Dunlavy (+4), Herrick (+4), Blackwell (€) and Meyer (€).

75 & Below Score Club:  None

Golf Quote: “Every shot counts.  The three-foot putt is as important as the 300-yard drive.” – Henry Cotton

Quota Increases:   All (+1):  Herrick

Quota Decreases:   All (-1):  Johnson & Meyer

Quotas: Aholt 31 * Alferman 34 * Bean 33 * Blackwell 28 * Clark 34 * Coleman 30 * Cozzo 26 * Crow 33 * Curran 27 * Curtis 31 (White Tees) * Dister 28 * Dunlavy 24 * Eckelkamp 36 * Eggert 28 * Eichelberger 32 * Fortner 27 * Gildehaus 29 * Hall 27 * Herrick 24 * Hoemann 33 * Johnson 28 * Kavanaugh 25 * Kossmann 26 * Lindhoff 31 * Loyd 23 * Miller 20 * Mitchell 27 * Moosman 29 * Morris 25  * Meyer 27 * Nealis 24 * Palumbo 31 *  Parmentier 32 * Purschke 20 * Scheer 20 * Scheidegger 33 * Schrader 33 * Sharma 28 *  Stapp 33 * Stoehner 25 * Tiefenbrunn 27 * Triplett 30 * Viox 27 * Voss, Chas 25 * Voss, Colby 32 * Voss, Dean 34 * Zastrow, Owen 25 *  Zastrow, Josh 36 

Day 17: Mike Clark in Thailand

Today I experienced some of the most perfect playing conditions I could possibly imagine.  I’ve played a lot of golf in my lifetime and at some pretty nice places, but today I’ve seen what I would consider near flawless light emerald green turf…… everywhere.  So much so that should you take a divot on your practice swing, a feeling of guilt rushes over you as you have just marred some sacred ground.

As you enter Thai Country Club you know it’s immediately special. This is where Tiger Woods won the Honda Johnny Walker Cup event in the late 90s.  The men’s locker room looks like it’s fit for royalty and I’m immediately assigned a deep mahogany full size locker with robe, towel, and accessories bag.  Pretty snappy stuff. 

After securing my dry clothes, I head outside to be greeted by PANG #170.  She’s all smiles, but a little heavy on the white pasty makeup, and together we make our way to the pristine range where I’m the only visitor.  I’ve whittled thru about half of my nice new Taylor Made range balls, “no Easter Egg basket of spray painted nuggets here”, when the starter approaches and says he would like to pair me with two others.  All good… I’m loose enough but it is what it is… an early start at golf will mean less traffic on the way back to Bangkok when we’ve finished.

After a few quick putts I’m shaking hands with brothers Randy and Dave from Australia.  Away we go and these guys can play. They have been on a similar circuit as myself,  having traveled here from Hua Hin.

Maybe it’s the darn good company or the remarkable turf, or it’s just that the layout suits my eye, but today I’m the white self professed Calvin Pete as I never missed a fairway.  It’s easy to be in a good mood when things are going your way on the golf course. PANG is right on the money with her club selection and she’s happy as a lark to collect and neatly repair my divots which seem to be headed in the general direction of the green.

The odyssey putter has cooperated to some extent today and I make my first and only bogey of the day on 16 with a three putt from the fringe…. But avoid any impending disasters on 17 and 18 to hang onto a two under par 70.

I certainly tip my cap to the superintendent and staff at Thai Country Club…. An absolutely first class course and facility!