Kanchanaburi
is Thailand's third largest province, covering an area of 19,486 square
kilometers. The provincial area is mountainous and borders Myanmar (Burma) to
the west of Bangkok. Kanchanaburi is the site of the world famous Bridge
Over the River Kwai, immortalised in books and movies, and is noted for
rugged natural beauty where mountains and river valleys have inspired
development of Hydro-Electric power and where labyrinthine reservoirs provide
further scenic elements to the province's natural beauty. Beyond the compact
provincial capital, some 130 kilometers and a comfortable two-hour drive
from Bangkok, where the Kwai Yai and Kwai Noi Rivers unite to form the
Mae Kong River, Kanchanaburi unfolds in progressively arresting scenic beauty
in a landscape characterised by several waterfalls, caves once inhabited by
Neolithic man, national parks, and tranquil riverside and reservoir settings.
The Nichigo river and mountain courses are eye-catching and challenging. The courses designs maximize the features of the spectacular natural landscape. The fairways are wide and water has been used sparingly. Playing golf here will bring your game to another level, for it is a veritable golfer's paradise. To add to the enjoyment of playing these wonderful courses, Nichigo has provided drink huts at every third hole. Clubhouse and hotel facilities are of the highest standards and family enjoyment is assured at one of the finest complexes in the country.
28th Oct 2000, 12 vivid Golf Kaki PGA
golfers
set their sights on Kanchanaburi for the first 
ever
coveted All Batang PGA Tour. What do you think can happen when 12
die-hard witchcraft’s men go to Thailand to play with clubs, balls and holes ?.
Here’s how the story when!:
Arrived in The Land of Thousand Smiles with a bottle of J W Black Label in Sidney’s hand and a packet of ice cubes on Charlie’s hand. The drinking began with 12 of us were in 2 minibuses which were chartered. Fortunately, there were 6 smokers and 6 non-smokers. It took us about 2 hours for the ride to K Buri and the bottle of 1.25 liters of Black Label was very near to it’s bottom. Reaching the famous River Kwai Hotel, checking at $35 (Saiyok members), and shoot straight to APACHE. Some of the old men are like birds out of the cage after a long while. Drinking continues as time was of no concern to us. It’s a golfing holiday. At 4 am and we are feeding our belly with lots of Thai food and about time to unpack for our golf attire for the next day.
At 7 in the morning, all of the golfers gathered at the Hotel restaurant for breakfast and waiting for the 3 mabok golfers to come down. They are the ones that finished the Johnny. Sidney, the financial controller, Bala, the debt collector and Pach, the tournament director. Some of us came down with either hangover or still drunk. Whatever it is the sunglasses was on through out. The journey to Nichigo took about 35 minutes and it takes forever for Pach as only quarter of his ass was on the pack bus and Johnny was at the edge of his throat.
Arrive
in Nichiko just like any other PGA pros on their circuit. Got a caddy each at
$5 and off we assemble to the No 1 tee box.
There are a total of 3 competitions;
Overall Thai PGA Challenge Trophy
4 prizes will be awarded to the top 4 golfers with the best-accumulated Stableford points for 3 days.
Smoker versus Non smokers
Daily dinner will be sort out by the losers of the accumulated total 6 men nett score.
Best Nett Score of the day.
Teed off for a 9-hole warm-up game before the competition begins. Weather was beautiful with the sun scorching and tearing the skin. What about the mabok Pach? He nearly died on the course. He quit after 4 holes and took a motorcycle back to the clubhouse to recuperate.
Nichiko is a beautiful course with lots of mountain and lake view. It’s long, narrow and there’s always a stupid lone tree right in the middle of the fairway just as you’re about to approach.
At the end of Day 1, Charlie, Michael and Gary shared the leader board with Wong KC and Ng HY trailing with 5 points behind and the Galistan Bros in the 3rd spot. Famous players like Frankie, Chan KK, Bala, Pach and Ho KW needless to say kaputded.
Not only that, the smokers got trashed by the non-smokers by a mere 8 strokes and that’s dinner.
It was a hot, tiring long day after 27 holes of walking. It’s time to stretch that aching muscle. First off the bus was Chan KK who said that he needed to soak in the Bathtub for 2 hours. After a good shower, we’re off to Paradise for a good cup of Black Coffee (they serve some Thailand’s best coffee) and proceed for a good Thai Traditional Massage. 2 hours of good stretch and it costs $8! Good game, good rub down with a good night sleep.
Day 2 kicks off straight with the
competition in the morning. All were dress to kill and drivers were ready to
split the fairways. The result with Michael on the leader board, follow
by Charlie, with 1 point behind, Ng HY with 6 pts behind the leader.
This time the smokers got angry and burn the fairways with determination to
succeed and the glory of the smokers’ name. Smokers won! By a pathetic 3
strokes! Who cares, because the 
makan
session today is by the River Kwai on a floating restaurant. We hantam the
non-smokers. Good and cheap makan. Another good night rests.
We are ready to set off to the epicenter of the Land of the Thousand Smiles, Bangkok. We drove to the next golfing destination, Vintage Golf Country Resort.
A friendly course with huge fairways and flat terrain. The mood was relaxed but what goes through each individual mind is totally different, anxiousness, the spirit to kick some ass and ‘this is it’ attitude. The grouping was done with the best players on the first tee and the worst on the last tee. This is the time where Thai Baht becomes cheap. Side betting all over the course. Imagine the minimum bet per player is 500 Baht. Smokers had a group discussion the night before to slaughter the non-smokers. Tonight dinner is lobster, oyster, and prawns for starters.
Well, the game went smooth, and along the way we heard a lot of the non-smokers wanted to pick up smoking. They are in lots of shit. Every time the smokers heard that, we lit another cigarette.
The game ends at about 6 pm. Back to the clubhouse, calculations begin, inter calculation for side betters and lots of exchanging of cash across the table. After a light meal, the final scores were announced. Here are their standings based on the total 3 day’s Stableford Points.
NG HONG YEW 108
MICHAEL MOH 104
CHARLIE LEONG 103
WONG KOK CHIN 93 (WON ON COUNT BACK)
GARY KOH 93
GERARD GALISTAN 91 (WON ON COUNT BACK)
SIDNEY GALISTAN 91
PACH ANG 88
FRANKIE YEE 84
HO K W 76
BALA 52
CHAN K K 49
The top 4 players were awarded a pewter golf trophy upon arrival in Singapore. Of course with the above score, needless to say, the smokers white wash the non-smokers with a 37-stroke margin. With this, the handicap will remain the same except for the Champion and the ‘Most Needed to Improve Golfer’. The handicap revision as of 31 Oct 2000.
NG HONG YEW 19 to 16
MICHAEL MOH 18
CHARLIE LEONG 14
WONG KOK CHIN 19
GARY KOH 18
GERARD GALISTAN 22
SIDNEY GALISTAN 19
PACH ANG 18
FRANKIE YEE 11
HO K W 19
BALA 24
CHAN K K 18 to 21
So much so for the Competition, it’s over. Hit straight to Choapraya for a good Thai traditional massage. Got caught in the rain storm and the vehicle was not able to pick us up. Manage to settle everything at last and off for a sumptuous dinner in Pat Pong street.
Party begins around Pat Pong crowded street and everyone splits with different intentions. It was shopping again the next day in Ma Boon Kong and off we go to the airport with lots of memories left behind on the fairways.
Till we meet again someday, SAWASDEE!.
PACH ANG.