The Day

Golfing in Jakarta can legitimately be compared to a lucky draw – with each imposing heavy limits on one’s ability to control the outcome.

Bad weather for example is the primary killer of golf outings and the one we are least able to control, with or without our resident Pawang Hujan. Over booking tee times has been known to keep us away from courses such as JABABEKA, the course “Starter” slotting flights of slow playing Koreans between Tee Set groups has been known to absent us from Pangkalan Jati as well, while poor course maintenance currently has us  looking for an alternative monthly medal location.

Buddy, can you spare a cart?

One course that has however never let us down in the past is the normally Tee Set friendly Palm Hill  – but they were to try exceptionally hard on Sunday. At our allotted tee time of 12:16 there were 38 enthusiastic Tee Setter ready to do battle off two allocated tee boxes – but golf carts were nowhere to be seen. The morning golfers returned two carts every 10 minutes, so it was a good hour before we all got away – and then only to be held up on every tee box. Three hours for the first 9 holes was asking a little much and there were some early retirements.

For those that hung in there, the back nine opened up and, on a miraculously rain-free day, the clouds came over to cool down the afternoon and some frayed tempers. Just over two hours to complete the back nine in near perfect golfing conditions and this, coupled with the beautiful waitresses at the 19th hole, helped to mellow those who had found the earlier part of the day such a trial. But there’s the rub, golf in Jakarta, it’s a lucky draw. 

A warm welcome to our new Tee Setters today, Carolyn and Paul Taylor, Arnold Bulley, Douglas Barnes and Peter Masters. A promise from your scribe that snafus like today are a rare bird at Tee Set events, so we hope to see you again next week to pick up your custom made Tee Set shirts.

The Play

In the battle for Low Gross Mark Blake shot an excellent 73 off the stick to turn the tables after last week on a Sam Westen clearly affected by the pace of play (and being asked by his caddy if she could take a photo of him), though Sam rarely leaves without a prize and this week it was for an unflattering but still commercial first sandy par.

The slow round also allowed Oddvar Knardal to consume a few more Bintang cans then normal and, with an unprecedentedly high level of aiming fluid on board contributing to some steady golf, was to take a deserved Low Net award.

In the continued absence of Ivan Byriel, Renny Sperry was also in the money taking 1st par for a 30 or over handicapper while Mel Meeds is another regular winner – and he didn’t hang around this week in securing his share of the money with a 1st Birdie on the very first hole.

The unbelievable distances between some of the red and blue tees at Palm Hill meant that an exceptionally rich crop of Skirts was to bring a twinkle to the Treasurer’s eyes; very possibly a record at 7 unfortunates and we thank you on his behalf! Arnold Bulley, briefly visiting from Bangkok, was to make it a double header with an exceptional 47 blows with the blade to take Monster Putter. 

Fuller. player by player results can be found here.

Next Week

We haven’t played that very fine course, Riverside, in more than a year and, thanks to Wina’s acute commercial acumen driving their price down from the stratosphere, we are happily back.

Green fees this Sunday, including cart, of 745,000, so long as at least 30 Tee Setters turn up, another 50,000 if we fall short of that number, so please register as soon as possible so that we can give an indication to the course.

This will be the last round before Xmas and there are already indications that there will be something of a party after the playing action at Riverside’s attractive clubhouse; so, please, if you have one, bring your Christmas hat just in case Geoff “Santa Claus” Thwaites’ stock proves insufficient.

See yah Sunday! …. Tee Set