BWGC HISTORY

The following BWGC Handbook is available as a printed pocket-sized book and was produced by member Mark Grygiel. Ask a Committee member for a copy at any event.

The Bangkok Wanderers Golf Club
Handbook of Information

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. The History of the Bangkok Wanderers Golf Club

II. Competitions & Outings: General Information on Participation

III. Handicapping

IV. General Information on Golfing in Thailand

1st edition
Copyright 2004 Mark J. Grygiel

I. The History of the Bangkok Wanderers Golf Club

The Early Years: 1986 Onward

The Bangkok Wanderers Golf Club (BWGC) was founded in 1986 by a small group of golf-loving expatriates who were constantly coming into and out of Thailand for business and/or R&R. The original founding members (golf-nuts all) were: Doc Bowden (Chairman), Barry Cable, Brian Cousen, Ian Kane, Ian McArthur, Alistair McManus, David Stewart (Captain) and Fred Theobald.

This group of golfing gypsies all used to meet up in what was then, Doc Bowdens' pub, the George and Dragon (now the Ship Inn, owned by Barry Cable) on Sukhumvit Soi 23 to no doubt exchange tall tales over long glasses of cold beer, as well as to agree upon what unsuspecting golf course would be subjected to their dubious skills next. Doc Bowden, who was a former nurse on the offshore drilling rigs in the Gulf of Thailand, is credited with giving the Club it's name - Wanderers - based on the transitory nature of the original group's occupation of the Land of Smiles.
The First Games

The Wanderers' original "home" course was the Thai Country Club - way before "Tiger-mania" and way before it became the fine facility that it is today. In those days, playing there didn't require any bookings, so they would just turn up after a grueling, two-hour plus journey from the center of town due to the horrific infrastructure (So what's changed you may ask!). By comparison to today's 'expected' situations of big business running golf courses that are relative models of efficiency and service, at that time, the course was owned by a former mama-san from Pat Pong named Khun Ladda, and was a far cry from the manicured fairways and grounds of today's golf, and could only be realistically played on the days when they did actually cut the grass!

Golf for the Wanderers at that time was obviously a real lottery (You mean it isn't today!) because, as retold, in summer, the Thai Country Club had enormous cracks on the course for the balls to fall into as the sun baked the earth, and in winter the balls would plug so deeply into the un-drained land that they were often never to be seen again.
One of the first BWGC 'local rules' ever introduced was that of allowing players the option of a standing automatic two-putt once on the green. Or if you opted not to take it, putting out as normal - and if you took that second choice it could, it's said, prove to be quite costly as green-keeping was, at best, an inexact science in those days.

After the games - in contrast to the air-conditioned five-star paradise of today - the clubhouse in those days was nothing more than a shack with beer (sometimes) and, in what served as the showers, you could often find yourself bathing with frogs and snakes that would come in through the cracks in the walls - eco-friendly golfing in every sense.

Theses monthly games were played for a trophy that contained the ashes of a man named Don Collins, and it is said that his ashes still supposedly rest at the bottom of the trophy, which can be seen, to this day, in the Ship Inn.

Despite these hardships - or maybe because of them - the course became firmly established as the place to play with the group, and it became the practice to play every third Sunday of the month with tee-offs at 11:00. Green fees were the princely sum of 75 baht, with caddy tips of 30 to 40 baht, and Wanderer match fees were 100 baht. Oh, those were the days! Apparently the standard of caddying left a little to be desired with a famous tale being of when a new caddy, fresh from the paddy field next door, was asked, "How far to the hole from here?" gave the answer, "A two- baht bus ride".

The Middle Years: 1990 Onward

In the early 90's, expat golfing in Thailand took a bit of a downturn with economic re-positioning of many companies meaning relocations and falling numbers of players (Ian McArthur was singularly responsible for keeping the club going - sometimes only four players, so he must be commended for his stamina). This enforced change took its toll not only on the BWGC, but also on another local group operating under the banner of the International Tok Nam Club (ITNC), so much so that the two groups agreed to merge under the BWGC 'flag' to be able to continue meaningful fun and competitions on the courses. This merger gave the BWGC the now famous first Saturday of the month event - currently held at Bangsai - to supplement the established third Sunday game, as the ITNC had always played this first Saturday game and everyone involved was only too willing to continue the tradition - and find another excuse for a boozy day on the links no doubt.

Whilst in the early 90's, the numbers involved remained small; the mid-90's resurgence of the economy and international business interest in Thailand, particularly the telecommunications boom, brought in a plethora of fresh, golf-hungry farang to the shores of the kingdom, all looking for that mythical golfer's paradise - and finding it with the BWGC.

The 90's and the growth of the BWGC saw the introduction of a whole series of 'special events' and 'majors', many of which continue to this day.

The Chiraprawat Cup

The Chiraprawat Cup came about in 1991 at a nine-hole course in Nakorn Sawan, whose most famous claim to fame is probably that, the famous Thai pro, Boonchu Ruangkit, used to play there on occasion. The course was 'discovered' by Doc Bowden who used to work for Nobel Explosives in the area and who, apparently, thought it would be a fantastic idea to have a tournament at the course.

The Captain's Cup

The Captain's Cup was named after Jay Privett, who initiated the event. The Captain was responsible for providing the prizes; hence the name of the event. In the early years, it was played for hand-made silk quilts from the north of Thailand that fetched up to 300 US dollars overseas; the event remains, but the prizes don't.

The Masters Championship

Doc Bowden also initiated the first Masters Championship in 1992 to celebrate the opening of his new bar in Soi 23 named, once again, the George and Dragon. The event was actually called the "George and Dragon Masters", and the first event was played at a very tight and demanding course: Krungthep Kreetha Sports Club.

The Magpie Putter

The Magpie Putter is an event that has been played against the British Club since 1990. The trophy, which is so keenly contested for even today, is a hickory-shafted putter mounted on a plinth, with the putter taken from a set of clubs owned by Doc Bowden (Boy was this chap influential!). Tradition has it that when it is won by the Wanderers, it is displayed proudly in the Ship Inn for the year, and if it is won by the British Club .... Let's face it - who cares!

Today: 2000 and Beyond

From those humble - but great - beginnings, the BWGC today has grown in size to well over three hundred members, and continues to grow with an annual influx of new members, as golfing expats locate to Thailand and learn of our existence through word of mouth as THE fun group to play golf with.

The growth has seen the first Saturday's Monthly Tankard (Don Collin's ashes now rest in dignified peace) at our adopted 'home' at Bangsai Country Club, now regularly attracting up to 70 hackers - golfers rather, and the third Sunday Stableford events, played at a variety of the many great courses in and around Bangkok, also continue to gain in popularity.

The growth of interest in golf and our membership, together with the growth of the numbers of golf courses available, has also led to the regular playing of 'ad-hoc' events on months when there are five weekends, at which members and their families can get away from the maddening crowds of Bangkok and enjoy some of the more idyllic locations that Thailand has to offer and that it is noted for.

The BWGC Membership's interests and enjoyment are looked after by a formally appointed (at the AGM each year) Committee, which includes task-dedicated individuals, as well as General Committee Members, to ensure that the BWGC ethos of "Playing for Fun" as well as "Playing to Win" is preserved and maintained. Committee meetings are held monthly in stern and sober surroundings (okay, in any bar that will have them), where all of the current and future ideas for how the BWGC can be improved are discussed.

To support the BWGC identity, various BWGC merchandise such as shirts, balls, golf caps, towels and umbrellas are sourced and can be purchased with cold, hard cash. (Please contact one of the Committee Members on any event day if you wish to support the Club by purchasing any of these items.) The growth of interest and membership has resulted in more and more events being played with some of them being sponsored by our members' companies, thus giving more and more of the members the opportunity for active involvement in our events.

II. Competitions & Outings:
General Information on Participation

Participation in BWGC competitions is open to all - guests and first-timers included, and these are always welcome.
However, in order to compete for the prizes of the specific day's event, players must satisfy several basic requirements:
* the player must be a member of the BWGC (membership forms are always available); and
* the player must have an active BWGC handicap (in general, a requirement that needs three games with the BWGC before a handicap is awarded)
All BWGC Medal and Stableford events reward overall winners, flight winners and runners-up (given numbers of players on the day) with various trophies, sleeves of BWGC logo balls, golf hats, towels and gift certificates.
In addition to these, there are always the technical prizes - birdies, long-drives, near pins etc. that are open to anyone playing on the day: guests of members, first-timers, members awaiting handicaps etc. included.

Competitions

Today's regular BWGC competitions are:

Monthly Medal: The first Saturday of every month is the Monthly Medal/Tankard standard Stroke play event at Bangsai Country Club in Ayutthaya Province. Tee-off time is established at 7:00 a.m. using a two-tee start with 15 to 17 groupings available (and often needed).

Stableford: The third Sunday of every month is a standard Stableford event held at one of the many fine courses in and around Bangkok. Tee-off times vary depending on course availability and are, some say, more reasonable, as they are usually between 10:00 to 11:30.

Eclectic: This is a season-long accumulation of every player's best gross score for each hole during play at the Monthly Medal/Tankard at Bangsai Country Club. Each flight winner is the player with the lowest gross score for 18 holes after 11 monthly events. As handicaps rise and fall during the year, the final player-to-flight allocations are based on the handicaps after the October competition, and these are announced before tee-off at the November Bangsai Monthly Medal/Tankard. There are winners for flights A, B and C, and all Eclectic prizes are awarded at the Club Championship in December of each year.

Stableford Championship: This is a year-long Stableford points accumulation competition, sponsored by one of the member's companies, that uses the regular, scheduled, mid-month (third Sunday) games, so that members have the opportunity to also compete for prestigious overall and flight prizes to be awarded based on the best four rounds of the year average for each player. The prizes are awarded at the annual Club Championship, which is held in December.

Match Play: This is a season-long event essentially open to any member with a BWGC handicap who indicates their desire to play. It is a series of rounds of head-to-head Match play games, using a three-quarters handicap difference as the basis, with the winner of each game surviving to move on to the next round until the overall winner emerges. The first round draw is done randomly, and from there on, the ladder formatting of the draw ensures that each player's next opponent can be clearly established. Each round has a specified time period in which to be completed, and each player is responsible for contacting their opponent and arranging their match, at any course agreed on, within the round's time limits. The overall winner's trophy is presented at the annual Club Championship, which is held each year in December.

The Captain's Cup: This is one of the BWGC 'Majors' on the year's calendar, and is two-day weekend event, traditionally held in late June each year, at a variety of courses throughout Thailand, which provide accommodation as well, so that families and friends can accompany the players and enjoy the party. Using a mixed Stroke play/Stableford format over the two days, allowing all levels of handicappers to compete equally, the overall and flight winners all receive a permanent replica trophy.

The Chiraprawat Cup: This is a 'flexible' format event held, usually, as a one-day competition at times of the year that vary year-to-year, depending on the calendar's vacations and religious and national holidays. The latest format adopted for this event is a Modified Stableford scoring system.

The Club Championship: This is another one of the BWGC 'Majors', which is a two-day, weekend outing held in December of each year. Again, this is an event that is held at courses outside Bangkok and is played as a cumulative Stroke play format using full handicaps.

The Fred Wade Challenge: This is a one-day tournament, which takes place on or around the King's birthday, and usually involves a Match play format of one sort or another.

The Magpie Putter: This is our annual one-day tournament against the British Club, which is usually held in April/May using a Stroke play format with an agreed (on-the-day) number of players' scores on each side contributing to the team totals for the event.

The Masters Championship: This is, perhaps, the most prestigious BWGC one-day tournament. Open for those members who qualify by having won events and/or flights in the year between events, it is played in August each year, and the winner is awarded a tailor-made Master's Jacket with appropriate pocket stitching recognition.

The Meinhardt Cup: This is a tournament matching the BWGC, the Lighthouse and the Londoner Golf clubs in an open competition (some would say warfare) against each other for the trophy provided by one of the 'common society' member's company's and a year's worth of inter-society bragging rights.

The Order of Merit: A new event to the BWGC sponsored by one of the member's company's, this is a season long competition-within-all-competitions, with the winners being determined by league table placement based on overall points awarded as a result of placements in every BWGC event during the year. As a new format/competition, a brief overview of the way it works is:
1. Points are awarded in every competition round plus the Match play competition.
2. Other than the Match play competition, points are calculated by first making a cut at halfway in the field.
3. The field comprises all eligible players; that is, members with valid handicaps.
4. In the event that there is an odd number, the number is rounded up.
5. The number then determines the place for which one point is awarded; e.g. 31 players so 16th place gives one point, 15th two and so on up to 4th position.
6. 3rd position is two points more than 4th, 2nd four points more than 4th and first, six points more than 4th.
7. Two-day competitions are calculated as two separate rounds.
8. There are no countbacks, so two on equal first receive the same points and the next place is 3rd etc.
9. For Match play, the winner receives 20 points, runner up 16, losing semi finalists 12, losing quarter finalists 8, and the last 16 players, 4 points.
10. In the event of a tie for the Order of Merit, the player who made the most cuts is the winner.

III. Handicaps

BWGC Handicapping
As part of the BWGC Constitution, every BWGC member is encouraged/required to establish and maintain a handicap within the BWGC system. The BWGC has adopted and operates the CONGU system of handicap establishment and maintenance. CONGU (Council of National Golf Unions) is a body established by the English Golf Union, Golfing Union of Ireland, Scottish Golf Union, Welsh Golfing Union, English Ladies Golf Association, Irish Ladies Golf Union, Scottish Ladies Golfing Association, Welsh Ladies Golf Union, Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews and the Ladies' Golf Union. The Unified Handicapping System has been developed to achieve a uniformity and equity in handicapping throughout Great Britain and Ireland and other countries adopting the same system. The nature of the game of golf, with its varying playing conditions (drunk and sober being a consideration in the case of the BWGC - and other societies), makes handicapping a relatively inexact operation. Nevertheless, if the same principles are sensibly and universally applied by handicap committees, then a high degree of uniformity in handicapping can be achieved; this is the purpose behind our adoption of the CONGU system. For any 'technical' questions you may have regarding this handicap system, please log on to www.congu.com, where you will find a wealth of information on such things as:
* Definitions
* The golf course and standard scratch score
* Handicapping
* Appendices
* Decisions
* Congu Council
* Constitution

CONGU in Thailand
Because of the growing number of serious, but fun-focused, golfing groups in Thailand there are, equally, a growing number of inter-society games and competitions occurring each year. In the past, the BWGC, together with our fellow significant expat golf club, "The Londoners" essentially 'pioneered' adoption of the CONGU system, whilst the majority of the other societies adopted the USGA handicapping system, a well established system in its own right. However, the presence of two systems within the same competitive groups has led to some minor issues arising on occasion. In recent times, the CONGU system has now become, and is continuing to become, much more widely adopted; therefore, giving greater and greater consistency of comparison of abilities.

BWGC Handicap Certificates
If any members require a handicap certificate for playing courses outside Thailand, or if any member has questions regarding handicaps in general, or their own in particular, these can be addressed to the current Handicap Secretary.

IV. General Information on Golfing in Thailand

Playing golf in Thailand is an absolute pleasure, as the kingdom is a sunny tropical paradise where you can play golf all year round without having to carry your own bag!

Golf has been played in Thailand for almost 100 years, with games reported at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club as early as 1905. The first recognized 18-hole course is Royal Hua Hin, popularly known as "The Railway Course", which was built by a Scottish engineer named A. O. Robbins in 1924 in the aristocratic seaside resort of Hua Hin - home to one of the King's palaces.

For decades after that, golf was enjoyed by the privileged few; the golf explosion is fairly recent. About 80% of Thailand's golf courses were built in the 1990s during the kingdom's great economic boom. Wealthy entrepreneurs invested in first-class layouts, inviting some of the greatest names in golf to add their design skills: Jack Nicklaus, Robert Trent Jones Jr., Pete Dye, Gary Player just to name a few.

The result is some of the most attractive courses in Asia, with excellent facilities, memorable signature holes, regular maintenance to keep them in top-class condition, and huge, ornate clubhouses ensure you begin and end your game in "grandeur".

In these clubhouses, you will find air-conditioned changing facilities, restaurants, bars and rooms for post-tournament functions. Some offer massage and sauna, while others have accommodation for really keen golfers. Many courses have practice areas, usually with a pro to tune up your game. You can rent a golf cart, hire clubs and shoes, and buy a souvenir in the pro shop.

Most importantly, every course has caddies, and it's mandatory to employ one for your round. These brightly clad ladies, in smart uniforms and big hats, sometimes actually reveal lots about the course, smile almost all the time, and can often read putts far better than the golfer himself/herself. Tipping should be standard as the caddies do work hard for, what we may consider to be, a small wage, and tips make a big difference.

Many of these wonderful courses are located close to Thailand's major tourism destinations, ensuring you can enjoy your golf and have a good holiday at the same time. So, if you want to bring your family along, they are assured of lots of activities and interesting places to visit.

Bangkok has many great courses spread throughout the city and its suburbs, mostly within 30-60 minutes' drive. The popular seaside resorts of Pattaya, Hua Hin and Phuket have a superb array of layouts, many with views of the ocean. If you prefer greenery and mountains, then the cities of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in the north, Nakhon Ratchasima in the northeast, and Kanchanaburi in the west are excellent alternatives.

It is so easy to play golf in Thailand and affordable as well. In fact, it is probably less expensive to play here than it is in your own country. So play golf in Thailand - the golfing paradise of Asia!

This general information courtesy of thaigolfer.com