HILLY

Tom sorry you are going to miss it and get well quick.

I have always wanted to try this and so has A.M. If I am here then you are on.

Callum. I have to be a doubtful for anything in November for the time being. The meeting is set for 8th November and I need to be back a few days before that if it goes ahead. There is however a reasonable chance that it might be put off for a week or so and that is what I am hoping for. Will let you know as soon as I do. Whenever it is I will stay in the UK for about 10 days so The Kwii trip is an almost dead certain no. Sorry for the uncerainty but this opportunity was too good to miss.

Although it is not going make a scrap of difference to the result I am keeping my fingers crossed that I do not have to go to the bloody UK for a week at the same time as the Rideher Cup is on. At the moment it is 50/50 and doing my damnedest to get out of the trip. A.M. will not be going even if I do and will let you know Callum as soon as I know. Just a bit of warning in case.

There are some good guys in for this year and pleased to see you are making it Rick and Hub. Any Rideher players who fancy a practise round on the chosen course the week before just let me know. Wonder what the hire clubs are like. Hehehe.

OK thanks guys and lots to think about there. As for the lessons I know they help and had two a week for months the year before last here. Got better but it was still with the old Wilson clubs. Reckon I am now more confused but have a direction. Phoenix and the hire clubs is a deffinate for this week. Oversize perimeter irons and big woods sounds like a plan as well. Deuce dont worry about my game partner. Callum is keeping score. hehehehe

Cheers guys and bit of food for thought there. Unfortunatelly no time to do them justice this morning as we are now off to Bkk for a stag night. Poor old Shaun. Thanks for that offer Hub and if I have not already done the deed I will take you up on it. On another board it has been sugested that oversized irons might help and that does sound good to me. Tally ho I am outa here.

OK lets see if you guys can shed some light on my problems. My history as a golfer is as follows. Club golf in the UK for 20 years but never took the game seriously. Handicap went down to 20 many years ago but gradually crept back up to 27 a few years later as the only time I ever seemed to pick up a club was in competitions. The odd flash of brilliance (well for me that is) every now and then but nowadays they happen once in a blue moon. My biggest problem all through my golfing career was hitting the ball any reasonable distance. Even with good contact my drives rarely got much over 160 yards and to be honest I feel more comfortable taking a five iron off the tee as I can hit this more consistently and further than I can my driver. In fact my driver and 3 wood which Petrons are in nearly new condition. OK I am not expecting to get a quick fix from anyone but I do think it is time to buy some new clubs to see if that might have so meting to do with it. Yes I know you can not buy your game but I might have had this wrong for years. I have only ever owned one set of clubs that I purchased from the pro shop at Orange County Lake golf course near Orlando in Florida when on holiday in about 1985. They were cheap and cheerful and are a full set of Wilson GE's heel and toe steel shafts. The pro recommended them to me as good beginner clubs. The woods long since fell to pieces and hence the 2 Petrons were added. Anyone who has seen the Petron will know it is a tiny headed club. My irons are now rattling with the accumulated rust inside the shafts although one of them was repaired a few years ago after the club head traveled further than the ball one day. The once sparkling chrome plated shafts are now pitted with rust also. Ok I hear you all ask why the fuck have I not invested in some new ones. Well it is because I was scared that I would not be able to hit the ball even as badly as I do now with my old ones. I have tried a few taped up clubs on the driving range but always decided I was better off with the devil I knew. I might have been wrong here. At Laem Chabang the other day we were stood on the 18th tee after I had just had one of the worst rounds in years. To say that I did not get one drive properly away would not be untrue. The 18th is the ravine hole with a 140 yard drive to reach the fairway and a very narrow opening onto the fairway through the trees on the other side of the ravine. I had about as much hope of making the carry as fly in the air. Rappongi had been using Brian's driver through the round. Its a Calloway Big Bertha and I asked to try it just for a laugh. As my ball was going to be lost anyway what the fuck. I even suggested 100 Baht a corner for the hole which was gratefully accepted by the other three. I was driving last. Callum smashed his ball into the trees. Hehehehe Brian's ball went violently to the left although he made the carry straight into more trees on the side of the fairway. Rappongi hit a cracker well up the fairway. I stood looking at this huge hunk of steel and thought what the fuck as I took a big poke at the ball. Then there was the sweet sound of metal on the ball and a beautiful reverberation as the club made contact. The ball soared straight as a die through the middle of the opening to the fairway ending up a few yards from Rappongi's. That feeling of elation welled up inside me as I received praise from my mentors. I had not hit the ball so far for a long time and never have I hit a driver straight or without massive fade. (OK I know that is an in to out thing) I wont bore you with the rest of the hole but suffice to say I was happy with a 6 and Rappongi won the dosh. Now the point of this rambling is that it set me thinking that maybe the time has come to make the change. Wilson GE's are not around in Pty so I have to change to something else. The whole point is what do I change to and still keep fairly safe that I am not going to ruin what little game I still have left. Going down the range with taped up clubs does not appeal to much. I want to just go out and buy a set from the shops. Any advice will be gratefully received and thanks.

Thanks for the testimonial Callum. Spot on you fucking bandit. Sure you are not related to the biggest bandit of all time??? GP2002. Seriously I am not an authority on golf courses as you might have guessed but I would have said that the fairways are absolutely crap. They consist of mud from which is growing the odd wisp of something just about resembling grass. The greens are inconsistent but in reasonable fettle. Despite this all the holes seem about half the regulation size. The semi rough grabs your club like a vice and the rough is so deep that the ball play hide and seek with you. The water hazards are now a better source of revenue for the locals than the banks. Virtually every one had a Thai guy wading chest deep in them. The whole course seems to be out of bounds. Well it was every time Rappongi hit a drive. I never hit the ball far enough to go out of bounds so had to be grateful for small Mercy's.

Match report. Callum & Brian V HILLY and Rappongi. Well guys I think that Lam Chabang (spelt wrong but who fucking cares) is the worst fucking course in Thailand. Reasons as follows. We lost by 6 on the front nine. We lost by 5 on the back nine. We lost dormy 9 by the 13th. There is no grass on the fairways which are all now covered in bloody great big pot holes after I dug the course up. The water hazards (about 18 of them) have all overflowed thanks to having all my balls now in them. It takes 6 hours to go around and that makes it too late to even get pissed in the clubhouse. The mini busses leak but hey we cant blame the course for that. Yes we fucking can. The sky leaks also. So all in all it was a fucking great day and I am never going back there again. PS My caddies name was Chun and she was so sweet that on second thoughts I might.

Pedro. I have a feeling I know what is going on but just in case I am wrong I have just tried to get into my album to post some pics and none of it is there any more. I can not log in to the album where the page has changed from the link either. Assistance required please especially as I had some value left on the old site. Cheers mate.

Hey Doggie. Have you decided on the venue for the Rideher? Cant seem to see it confirmed yet. If it is where I think it might be then I need to nobble all the caddies in the next month or so and need a bit of notice to fulfil this huge task ahead of me.

OK Callum. We get in on the 18th and will need a couple of recovery days but will try for 21st. Speak to you when we get in and assume you still have the same cell number? You would not believe how ready we are to come home.

ff we will look forward to seeing the pair of you and lightning never strikes twice. Does it? Take care and dont drink the water. Heheheh.

Deal done then Doggie. And the customary tip for a caddie is 300 Baht. Hehehe

Hey Doggie we have just had to change our flights to arrive 18th Sept. Ben told me you would be in by then so lets try and get a practise round in at the venue. 777 and out.

And of course we are both in Callum. Dont forget a small one for A.M.. Hehehe. Back home to Pty in three weeks with the expected event now being over so not much to hold us here now apart from this glorious fucking UK summer weather.

Thumper it s not if they do but where you when and where to do it. In my experience most of them are doing the job for the extras that they pick up along the way. You might hit the odd one that is different but generally if they like you they are up for it. Just be nice and ask them if they want to go out. Main problem is that a lot have kids and have problems staying out late but take my word for it they mostly will respond to much the same as a BG. In fact a lot of them are ex bar girls trying to go straight and some just suplementing their income with a day job. Take care as generally they are strictly not allowed to fuck the punters and prefer to meet guys off the course just in case they are spotted. Doghouse is the expert on this subject. Done any good shopping lately Callum? LOL

Pete I keep logging out at home and when I get to the office find my works PC will already be logged in when I open the forums. This has happened every day this week even though I am clicking on the do not stay logged in box at home. Can you fix this, as for me and others it could be a problem. If I am out of the office then my chair can be used by any director and its too easy to find the FLB site even for them. Thanks.

Thanks men. Missed that post as was away for this month last year. Request made to Pete now.

Ok and put me and the missus down for a 2 for Europe. Callum I will try to repeat that superb birdie on a par 3.

Good episode Pete, that made enjoyable reading. Have you been taking lessons from Oscar.LOL. Most of us regulars know about the 30 drink and other rules and it was time to blow the lid off the myth that the girls are only thinking of themselves when asking punters for libation.LOL. Paris agogo, like other mongers, is one of my favourite bars as well. Lou seems to have an eye for the mamories and in my experience it's always hard to get out of the place without him serving the odd free shooter. Personally I never get hastled for ladydrinks but I have noticed that the girls leave the regulars alone. Maybe Lou is behind this. I see that you were still getting time to break off from the holiday activities and reckon we will be seeing you soon. P.S. Your Beamer looks a funny shade of white after Songkan. Only joking.

Me and A.M. will fit in with the rest.

Sorry for putting this here and in the members section but as the notice given is short wanted to get to any interested member fast. The event is being held by Classroom Agogo Pattayland Soi 2 and is at Green Valley ( Near Rayong). Plenty of sponsored holes and lots of teams so should be a good day. Looking for a team/teams to represent the FLB so if any members either living or visiting are able to come then either PM me or reply here. Cost a very reasonable 1500 Baht for the day.

Nice one Joop and you wouldn't beleive how difficult it was keeping A.M.'s mouth shut every time someone mentioned the theft of our trophy. It was a lovely wedding day by the way and please make sure you see us after Samuii. Give us a call when you get back and have a good honeymoon.