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Robert Bicknell
Source: Vietnam News
Another year, another Club Championship…
The 2005 King’s Island Club Championship will have finished by the time
this column goes to press and it promises to be a very interesting contest
as the Mountainview Course is in great shape and the greens should be very
fast on the weekend.
Club Championships are different from all the other tournaments a club
can hold each year in that it is for the members only. Sure, guests can
attend as well, but only the members can win the championship.
At Kings’ Island, the staff look forward to this event because it gives
everyone a chance to show-off a little bit. They know it’s important to
the members so everyone makes an extra effort to get things done
correctly.
One group of employees who always seem to get over-looked are the golf
course maintenance staff…the guys and gals who ride the mowers, dig the
ditches and keep the golf courses in good playing condition. Without them,
the courses would be virtually unplayable.
The new Superintendent has been fussing like crazy over the conditions
of the greens, which included spraying a vile concoction earlier this week
which stunk up the place pretty badly. Luckily, the smell only lasted a
few days and the greens are much healthier because of the treatment.
Superintendents get a reputation for being evil, this is due to their
bizarre choice of pin placements, but if truth be known, they strive for
balance in each round. It should have six easy placements, six medium
placements and six hard placements.
Its funny how players only remember the diabolical placements.
We can only hope the members appreciate the efforts.
It was fun seeing David Duval in the headlines again as the poor guy
went through a very tough period. It cannot be easy being number one in
the world one day, then falling off the planet to the bottom of the
rankings, all in a matter of weeks.
In golf, it’s easy to self-destruct, all you have to do is make a few
swing changes, buy new clubs, change your ball or even change the way you
dress.
Golf is a game which is played mostly in the head. If you rattle
yourself, it is difficult to put things back on an even keel. Duval is a
perfect example of that. Granted, he claims to have been going through
health problems as well, but the fact of the matter is that if your
confidence is gone, then so is your game.
Johnnie Walker held its Vietnam Series tournament at Vietnam Golf &
Country Club a few weeks ago and it was a sell out.
In addition to the tournament itself, everyone was looking forward to
the lucky draw where they gave away one VIP trip to Perth Australia for
the Johnnie Walker Classic, which includes a playing spot in the pro-am
for a chance to play along side such golf stars as Adam Scott (Australian
and ranked 7th in the world), Michael Campbell (New Zealand and
2005 Masters Champion), Thomas Bjorn (Denmark), Colin Montgomerie
(Scotland) and Nick Faldo (England) whom everyone knows as he was the
designer of Ocean Dunes Golf Club in Phan Thiet, Vietnam.
Andrew Hung Pham took the top honors in the Gross Division with a score
of 75, just barely eeking out Tran Tuan Khanh and Bui The Hung who both
shot 76.
In the A Division, Nguyen Huu Tho and Huynh Hung both shot Net 67’s and
Phan Trung Hoai took third with a Net 68.
In Division B action, Phan To Hong Nam shot a net 65 to beat Lai Van
Ngoc Son (66) and Tran Van Long (67).
Ms. Lim Young Bok was the best gross for the ladies with a score of 79,
followed by Ms. Park Sang Hee who shot 84.
Ms Trinh Thi Kiem was the Ladies Best net with a score of 68, barely
edging out Ms. Tran Thi Hue who posted a 69.
The next event is scheduled for December 10th at Chi Linh
Star.
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