I should first apologize for missing the deadline for articles in last month’s Saddlebag Notes. You see, I was in Thailand vacationing when I should have been home writing another captivating article about the MPMGA. Sadly, during this trip, I didn’t even set foot on a golf course, let alone play a round. However, I did come across a phenomenon that I didn’t expect to see: a golf course between the two runways of the Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok. When my flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai took off, I found myself lazily looking out the window. “Wait, what?” I said to myself as I spied golfers, caddies, carts, and greens below me, seemingly threading the needle between takeoffs and landings and taxiing airplanes. On my return trip, I made sure my eyes hadn’t deceived me earlier. Nope, there was that golf course just where it had been before. Since I now knew that I hadn’t hallucinated the existence of the course, I set out to learn more about it. The actual name is the Kantarat Golf Course, and it was built by, and still owned by the Royal Thai Air Force. (go figure) This isn’t a pitch and putt course, either. At 6366 yards, it plays about like Mountainview. Fifty-five takeoffs and landings per hour make noise a constant, so you can forget about yelling “fore” to warn golfers (or pilots) of an errant shot. One last feature; the course is also known as the Snake. You have to look up for planes and down for snakes!
Back to Saddlebrooke and a quick recap of MPMGA happenings. Bill Bender, John Anderson, Peter Valen, Grant Stewart, Rick Cole, Dan Schroeder, and Tony Blunt were the flight winners of the exalted Club Championship. Late in February, the two-day major event named The Stampede was held. I finally understood the name of the event, as my team was “stampeded” by the entire field. The first flight winners were Dan Nordhill, Tom Winch, Ron Siniscalchi, and Roger Gann. Special recognition goes out to Messrs. Cole, Erickson, Jones and Messick for keeping the competition close before only losing by 30 strokes. Second flight was won by Rick Fernandez, Dick Helms, Ted Olsen and Peter Valen. The third flight was won by Harry Clausen, George Kaplan, Joe Oczak, and Dave Quesnell.
MPMGA’s Presidents Cup was held on March 23 and 26. The tournament is held every year to honor the club’s past and present presidents. Those lucky gentlemen can enter the tournament if they like, but they’re more enticed by the free lunch after the second round. Tomorrow, (April 9), is day one of the Desperado, our member-guest tournament. It looks to be a great time with excellent weather and lots of goodies for the golfers. Results will be posted here next month.
Lake Mead's drops raise prospect of unaffordable Hoover Dam electricity
