Results - Kajang Hill Golf & Country Club - 22 August 2012

Cannons all.

This was a sad day. The long awaited axe falls on Kajang Hill Golf & Country Club on the 31st August, or so I was informed by the counter staff, and so this will almost certainly be our last game at this delightful destination. This is a tragedy for Malaysian golfers as Kajang Hill is certainly one of the better tracks we have had the privilege of playing. Opened in the late 90's, this M. Saito designed course has established a reputation for good management and maintenance and will be sorely missed.

RIP Kajang Hill.

We had 24 players registered but a late withdrawal saw 22 LC's and one guest; Ian Hughes, son of David, assemble on a clear morning after heavy overnight rain. We got started at 8:15 and with buggies allowed on the fairways which were surprisingly firm, most of us were round in just over 4 hours. The course was in reasonable condition considering it's imminent demise but the greens were very slow and the bunkers rather hard with little sand. The lakes too were very low which, after the recent heavy downpours, was a little surprising but didn't make them any less of a hazard. But all-in-all the course was very playable and greatly enjoyed by all.

The winner, paying us a rare visit these days was Ian Geekie with 43 points and the runner-up was Geoff McLaws with 40 points.The lowest gross was Geoff McLaws with 77 and the most golf was played by Richard Moss with 114.
Ian is cut 7 strokes and Geoff 1 stroke.

All 23 of us enjoyed lunch at the clubhouse where the food was excellent and a nice change from last weeks rip off. Plenty of amber nectar was put away and we were only just short of the amount needed for the bill. A whip round of RM10 per head left us with RM85 for the kitty which has been depleted in recent weeks from subsidising some expensive blow outs. We now have RM1192 in hand.

Photos

And finally we have a little "extra" this week with a specially edited video of Flight No 1 in action on the turf, including many useful tips, insights and instructions from these experienced pros ....... enjoy!

Alternatively you can see the video at better quality on YouTube here:

Next Game - Kajang Hill Golf & Country Club - 22nd August 2012

Since next Tuesday is a public holiday and we don't want to share our golf with the public

Golf next week will be on WEDNESDAY, 22nd August 2012 at
Kajang Hill Golf & Country Club

Be there by 07:30 LATEST

It will cost you RM130. Bring the right money. Names to Mike soonest

Results - Glenmarie Golf & Country Club - 14th August 2012

Cannons all.

This was our second visit to Glenmarie Golf & Country Club this Ramadan. We played the Garden course 2 weeks ago and found it in rather poor condition. On that day the Valley course was closed for 'maintenance' and we decided to take advantage of the Ramadan special offer to play the Valley once the 'maintenance ' was completed. And so 24 LC's teed it up on the Valley under threatening skies but in expectation of finding this superb layout in better if not best condition compared to our last experience of this "prestigious course". Alas, we were to be very disappointed.

The Valley course at Glenmarie is a challenging and picturesque track which was completely renovated by Parslow Golf 3 years ago. It should be in fine if not pristine condition but the opposite was true; the only exception being the greens which were large, true and fast. But the fairways and tee boxes......oh dear. They were a disgrace with large bare areas, a lot of fungus evident and great tracts that had been hollow tined and heavily sanded. Weed infestation was rampant throughout the fairways and the rough. The bunkers were basically OK but earlier players had left their mark....bloody great foot prints in the side slopes that you could had buried a cat in. This of course isn't the fault of the course management; it's a reflection of the extremely poor behaviour of a large number of Malaysian golfers I'm afraid.

But back to the condition of this golf course. It's a disgrace. It's a product of thoroughly bad green keeping practises and lackadaisical management. Both the Glenmarie management team and the members (who pay a hefty price for the 'privilage' of membership and should be able to exert some pressure on management), should be thoroughly ashamed. I hope they get to see this report. I played with Ted Parslow and he was quite shocked at the condition, a mere 3 years after he had handed it over in pristine condition. Let's hope that they get it back into shape otherwise we will not waste our money playing there again, even when there's an offer on green fees.

The early threat of rain passed and gave way to pleasant weather with a freshening breeze. The round was a little slow as those that started on the front nine were held up by some rather slow players ahead; those that were responsible for the graves in the bunkers no doubt!

Of course, a game of golf with the 'Cannons' isn't without it's lighter side.

As we were waiting to start at Tee Box 1 Alan Holgate appeared searching the buggies for his "little green bag". At first I thought he was talking about his caddie poor thing but no, this was a small bag that Alan carries his wallet, car keys, mobile, loose change, Viagra etc in. It was missing. No, it wasn't in any of our buggies and off he went to continue the search. Why doesn't he just put all that stuff in his pockets like everyone else? 

Well, it transpired that he had left it in the buggy that he was originally assigned to and left it there when he moved his golf bag to another buggy. 

He found it when he tracked that buggy down to another flight playing Garden. Apparently, he had reported this impending catastrophe to 'her in doors' who had immediately cancelled the credit cards. 

Are you OK Alan? Will you be allowed out to play next week unsupervised?

The winner, and about time too, was Geoff Parslow with 43 points and the runner-up was Rain Li Tan with 39 points.The lowest gross was Geoff Parslow's 75 and the most golf was played by Richard Moss with 111.
Geoff is cut 7 strokes and Richard 1 stroke.

20 players adjourned to South Sea Seafood for lunch which was notable for several things. Firstly we ended up on 2 tables 30 feet apart with a serving station between the two. Not the best arrangement for a social gathering. The food was superb but as Tony remarked "these prawns must have cost RM10 each". He wasn't far wrong. The food came to RM868 and the drinks; 25 large bottles of Carlesberg & 2 Asahi plus a load of juices came to RM732 and with the ++ the total bill came to whopping RM1775, the best part of RM90 per head!!! Too bloody much. Next week we will return to normality.

A panoramic view of Barry Cousins in action 

John Laidley drives off

Barry Cousins at the helm

Our flight comprised Stuart Taylor, Barry Cousins, Geoff McLaws and John Laidley.

Barry (Baza) Cousins posing

The greens were in pretty good condition overall on the Valley Course

The Valley Course, Glenmarie

Geoff McLaws using some fancy optical sighting device to get a distance to the green

Mike - do we have a Cannons ruling on the use of such devices .... I guess being the Loose Cannons of nautical heritage it could be regarded as some form of sextant!

The Valley Course has a beautiful layout but sadly let down by poor fairways and bunkers.

You can't see the faces for the upturned glasses at the South Seas Restaurant but this is Bob Simpson and John Laidley

Next Game - Glenmarie Golf & Country Club - 14th August 2012

Golf next Tuesday, 14th August 2012 will be at 
Glenmarie Golf & Country Club

(where we have 4 green fee GF vouchers and are promissed to be able to play the Valley)

Lunch will be at South Sea Seafood Restoran, Subang.

Be there by 07:30 LATEST

Names to Mike Smith soonest

Results - The Mines Resort & Golf Club - 7th August 2012

Cannons all,

 

The Mines Resort & Golf Club is one of the top golf clubs in the region having hosted the World Cup of Golf, LPGA events and the USGA tour event, The CIMB Classic and so we were privileged to be able to play this superb facility thanks to the kind invitation of member Anthony Hastings and the co-operation of the GM Jean Daniels as Anthony (the member) was unable to join us.

 

15 of the 16 LC's arrived in good time, mostly without a problem, although the sign posting to such a prestigious destination was rather poor and caused Glen some problems, but perhaps the members like it that way. Keeps the riffraff away. You know you are in a rich mans playground once you set foot in the place. The clubhouse oozes class. Registration took but a few minutes and I received one small chit for the 16 of us. In fact the lady at registration had told me that we could pay when we were finished, before leaving the club. You won't find that anywhere else.

 

The course has matured and improved since I last played here in the mid 90's; especially the back nine which was almost unrecognisable, and the whole 18 was in superb condition. The only minor exception being the scarifying of some of the fairways on the approach to the greens in preparation for the CIMB Classic in October. This is a USPGA tour event and Tiger Woods will be competing. I wonder how much that's costing them?

 

The buggies were top class as too were the caddies several of whom were low handicap golfers and read the greens spot on. A pity then that their golfers couldn't putt the ball where they were told to!

 

With hardly a cloud in the sky we teed off just after 8 and were the only players on the course. Mercifully a strong breeze developed by mid morning resulting in near perfect conditions. With buggies allowed on the fairways we should have been round in double quick time but alas the 2 flights who teed off on the back nine made rather heavy work of it and finished well after the first 2 flights. 

 

Hopefully we will play here again.

The winner, returning after 5 weeks in the frozen north, was Andrew Robinson with 44 points and the runner-up was Ray Funnell with 38 points.The lowest gross was a modest 83 by Geoff McLaws and the most golf was played by Alan Holgate with 117.
Andrew is cut 8 strokes and Ray 1 stroke.
 
Lunch was at taken at the club with all 16 attending and the food was excellent as you would expect. The beer flowed freely and we were later joined by Jean Daniels who updated us on the plans for Bukit Beruntung which is now owned by The Mines and is to be redeveloped into a 54 hole layout. When I left the hardcore were planning a continuation at another venue........it all sounded rather dangerous!!!!  I wonder what time it finished?

Next Game - The Mines Resort & Golf Club - 7th August 2012

We have been invited to play The Mines by Anthony Hastings. This is one of the most prestigious golf courses in the country, host of The World Cup of Golf and the USGA tournament the CIMB Asia Pacific Golf Classic and so this is an opportunity not to be missed. Unfortunately Anthony will not be able to join us. We are limited to 16 players at the members guest rate of RM680 nett per flight. I will take registration for the 16 slots available giving preference to regular players. And so:-

 

Golf next Tuesday, 7th August 2012 will be at 
The Mines Resort & Golf Club
Limited to 4 flights

Be there by 07:30 LATEST
Names to Mike Smith soonest

Results - KGSAAS - 31st July 2012

Cannons all,

 

16 LC's mustered at KGSAAS on an overcast Tuesday for the July Trophy Game. At 7:45 the darkness was broken by flashes of lightning and claps of thunder as the heavens opened. Soon after the siren sounded; a little late we thought as there were some early starters on the course. Not a promising start.

 

Yours truly held back from registering until play seemed probable but the storm was short lived and we were able to make our way to the starters hut at 8:30 and we were off by 8:45, all from the same tee box as the other tee was occupied by some very slow flights. We played the Alam Shah and Presidents nines.

 

After the storm the weather was almost perfect and with the course in excellent condition from tee to green and no hold ups and we were all round in good time.
KGSAAS really is an excellent golf course and fears for it's future after the demise of it's previous owners seem unfounded as the new owners are investing in continued improvements to the club facilities in their entirety. As Ted Parslow remarked, 'I've never seen this course in such good condition." Lets hope it stays that way.

The winner of the JULY TROPHY with 39 points off the stick plus 3 bonus points for 42 points was Tony Morris. The runner-up was Barry Cousins with 39 + 2 for 41 points.The lowest gross was 77 by Geoff McLaws and the most golf was played by Richard Moss with 113.
Tony is cut 4 strokes and Barry 1 stroke.
 
Lunch was at taken at the club who had a simple menu of local fare this Ramadan. All 16 players were present and there was good camaraderie and lively conversation.