29 December, 2007

H Bulang and RG Senen Dominate DGA golf...again.

Dayak Golf Association has just concluded their golf ball sweep tournament at KGS today.

Bulang exhibits his dominance again in the DGA Golf tournament today by winning the gross championship again. In his wake Bulang easily silent the likes of Albert Tanon, Fabien Marip, Hygenus Kevin, Paul Ponar, Magit Semong, Richard Ruda and Kedung Luhat to name a few.

In the other less glamourous section Ricky Guing Senen aka RGS proved his mettle on crunch putt when he survived the aggressive play from all front by emerging as champion net...but with 'bribu' handicap of ( ahem ) 21 who won't?

The other prize winners are Mr Richard Ruda, second Gross and Mr Alex for Second Net.

The tournament was organised by Mr Robert Elone, himself a hardcore golfer and great supporter of friendly golf. Each player contributed RM50 as part payment for lunch and prize money. There were 40 golfers in the event and the system was stroke play. However there was no stopping of each flight arranging their own skin game.

In a flight spearheaded by the crafty James Sinjeng aka 'Dukun' and his magic wood, RGS played well enough to win just a single skin out of possible 5. James Sinjeng who in his own word take over the leaderboard snapped 2 skins but dropped out of contention and missed the cut just after only the 4th holes with triple bogeys, a score that is sure to make driver manufacturer very unhappy.Your faithfully played just enough to protect his family name.

Here's one of the score cards, unedited.




17 December, 2007

BUNG BENGOH MAKES A CLEAN SWEEP AT BIDAYUH GOLF SET

Damai, Santubong, 16 December 2007 ( Damai Santubong Sarawak Time )

Bidayuh Golf Season-Ending Tournament ended with a clean sweep for glory by the Bung Bengoh Team yesterday. 33 under! That’s the winning margin, biggest ever in the history of golf anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere. The win makes Team Bung Bengoh champion in all categories,,,well almost, for year 2007. Bung Bengoh wins the Campion Team trophy, gross champion and nett champion. But ladies and gentlemen, the true real winners are all the golfers from both teams as it makes history of some sorts.

Prizes are given out during the dinner immediately after the event at Teo Seafood Restaurant at Buntal. Our sincere gratitude and appreciation to Mr Albert Tanon, main sponsor of the event such as Challenge Trophy, Gross and Nett Champion trophies and cash. Hey Man. You're the Man! Hyginus, have you got the pictures yet?

This is the first time in history that the two ‘rival’ groups are at ‘war’ again in modern way. There are no victims after the battle just happy faces of golf-hardened Bidayuhs each with heroic and sometimes close-encounter-type of tales and war-stories to tell.

In a game like this when the stakes are high, the only way to continue to fight the losing battles is to summon some divine intervention to help you out. Be it in the form of ‘Mr Lee’ at the cemented hill’ or be it the goodness within the soul of a dead body.

Upon reaching the cemetery hole, ocean side, James Sinjeng the dukun, at his usual-self actually talked to Uncle Lee as he calls him to help him to secure a birdie to help to resuscitate his game. On his second shot, he golf ball flew high and found the fringe…close enough to chip in for par. Birdie was denied unfortunately but he was grateful to Uncle Lee.

Mike Mangges ( often renowned for his smart-play, I call him Mickey Mouse) who does not believe in luck not does he fancy playing with lucky people, he used to bragged, took few extra strokes to reach the green. He was slapped with a double bogey.

Upon reaching the next hole he screamed, “Go to Hell Uncle Lee”. And the gullet was laid.
He teed-off and ripped his driver sending the ball high and long. That’s when divine intervention redirected his ball and dropped it on the road hard and ricochet away into the bush next to the immovable rock. He took another swipe on his next shot which only moved the ball a mere 10 feet. It took him a good ten minutes to reach the green and he double par the hole. Uncle Lee must have smiled to himself and thought, “I maybe dead but I still play golf round here too”.

On the next par three, the damaged was not done yet. MM would you believed it, took a wood nine on a shot 141 metres par three and blast the ball hard. It flew close to South China Sea deep in the hazard. Unplayable. He took a drop ball and hit it but at this time Uncle Lee must have had enough of Mike and he sent Mikes ball a mere 20 metres to rock below.

Meanwhile the Dukun’s tee-off landed hanging and was deemed unplayable. By then I could not control myself and almost died laughing, Mike made a double par and Dukun made a bogey 7! I escaped with a bogey and was quite happy with myself but some times bad fortunes just need few more victims and me was to be next. At last hole par five, I smashed my tee-off into the bush right, just like the first holes, and made a terrible bogey 8, carbon copy of all par 5s!

On the Ocean side 1st hole with ‘Beware of Crocodile’ signs everywhere, it was by no mean easy. In golf, crocodile is associated with crack and skilful golfer with high handicap that no one wants to play with, elses you'll be 'Ngapped'. Today it’s real crocodile though but fortunately nowhere to be seen so far. At the crocodile hole, Jabing suddenly found himself as the sole player left standing after Robin, Dominic and Fabian both found the watery grave. He is still stunned by his good fortune, he’ll remember every second of it.

Short Takes
Paul Ponar had to endure a long and hard golfing adventure from his play partner. Every hole is at least an 8 strokes affair but he remained as unflappable as a rock and managed to contain and control his game and shot a commendable 93 gross.

The way the course was set made it extremely difficult to find the green. Many occasion, I felt like I needed to check with the GM whether the Damai Ocean side has somewhat a good breeding ground for rodents. I swear that in many instances I saw some kind of rodent running around the fairways…but proved unfounded and totally false. Quick verification confirmed that what I saw was Mike’s strayed chip shots rolling in the grass like rat. Silly me.

Strange Sound about Damai
In golf the sound of bid driver smashing a golf ball sometimes can produce sweet sound of comfort and glory especially when the ball can find the fairway. If only that sound can be converted to winning, we might have many worthy winners the likes of Dominic, James, Mike, Albert and the latest in contention could be Joseph Jindy. Joseph Jindy quickly adapted to his new driver, Calaway Fti, square head (the only one in the possession of Bung Bratak golfer at the moment) and no nonsense. The trouble is he way only given 5 minutes coaching on how to use it and it sure head straight to the competition. How’s that JJ?

While on the opposite side of the scale, EMC2 driver in the hand of RGS produces such an unwelcome sound that Dominic score not to be near it as the sound can induce ghostly sensation…the type that makes your hair grow on end. JS summed it up most fittingly. If it sounds good, you bet the ball is just a stone throw away, but if it sounds bad, it means the ball flew quite far. Whatever it is the sound of that EMC2 is unprocessed and unedited as it a raw sound with unearthly pitch that could reach 100 decibels.

Robert Elone claimed that his wood 3 performed just the way he wanted – long and straight. Event though he had paid money to me for the wood, he still calls it ‘Ricky’s Wood’. I wonder why.

Jimson, a newbie at Golf. If a pilot’s license can be awarded by the hours of flying time, Jimson’s shot at fame through golf surely can be justified by the number of golf balls hit. For the record, just before the tournament, he had only hit about two buckets ( 100 ) of ball at the KGS driving range. After this tournament, make that 204! We will see more of him for sure.

Ik Talano promised to show his stuff by playing good golf. Every thing went well before the first hole. He took his driver and ripped the ball and next hole and next hole. Soon he found his driver was not firing. In anger he kept it neatly inside the bag and swore not to use the driver ever again.

Magit had a quiet game considering the potential of his flair. He cannot be blamed for not trying but when you have a chance to score an eagle and perhaps a gross champion, you have every right to turn tail and feel deflated. He’ll give his best every time though.

Hardest Sand On Earth!
The constant shower makes the bunkers unplayable. To some, bunker shot is a joy. With the sand so firm, I could send my ball sky-high. Not to the Dukun. He sent his bunker shot miles off course. He swore that the sand bunker has the hardest sand on earth and he is not alone. Magit is singing the same tune and during dinner, GM had to endure the remarks about how hard and bad the bunkers are. What do you expect from a flood? Only good wishes in a bottle.

There shall be many war stories next time we meet at Borneo Height come May 30 2008. Cheers.

For the record, here is the BISAPUG TROPHY - RESULTS
BUNG BRATAK NETT
Robin Tigai 76
Robert Elone - 78
Jabing Bujing - 79
Ik Talano - 80
Andrew Peter - 81
Ik Pahon Joyik - 83
Johnny Peter - 85
Dominic Siron - 88
Joseph Jindy- 88
Lusus Runan - 89
TOTAL SCORE 827


BUNG BENGOH NETT with the Biggest Winning Margin of 33 Strokes! Congratulations to Bung Bengoh.
Fabian Marip 68
Albert Tanon 71
Ahkim Sarok 73
Magit Semong 73
Paul Ponar 76
Hygines Kavin 81
Ricky Guing 81
James Sinjeng 83
Mike Mangges 84
Jimson 104
TOTAL SCORE 794

Winning Strokes - 33

FINAL POSITION / MOUN/OCEAN/GROSS/HDCAP/NETT

1. Fabian Marip 45 36 81 13 68 ( Nett Champion )
2. Albert Tanon 41 38 79 8 71 ( Gross Champion )
3. Ahkim Sarok 46 46 92 19 73
3. Magit Semong 40 41 81 8 73
5. Robin Tigai 47 41 88 12 76
5. Paul Ponar 43 50 93 17 76
7. Robert Elone 50 43 93 15 78
7. Jabing Bujing 47 46 93 14 79
9. Ik Talano 55 49 104 24 80
10. Andrew Peter 45 50 95 14 81
10. Hygines Kavin 46 50 96 15 81
10. Ricky Guing 51 49 100 19 81
13. Ik Pahon Joyik 49 55 104 21 83
13. James Sinjeng 47 52 99 16 83
15. Mike Mangges 52 56 108 24 84
16. Johnny Peter 49 51 49 15 85
17. Dominic Siron 49 53 102 14 88
17. Joseph Jindy 58 54 112 24 88
19. Lusus Runan 57 51 108 19 89
20. Walter Dior 56 67 123 24 99
21. Jimson 63 65 128 24 104

13 December, 2007

Fees, Formats, Flights and Prizes

Tournament Fees
Each golfer shall pay RM85.00 green fee. This fee is inclusive of buddy and drinks ( exclusive of beer Pa ) at stopover hut. I must stress here that this is a very special rate as put forward by the new DGCC general manager as this is way lower than than usual fees of RM160++. Thank you GM.

Prizes
Bisapug Challenge Trophy, as the name suggested, donated by a Bisapug. To be challenged every year. Winning team shall have the Team Name immortalised and engraved on the trophy.

One trophy for Gross Champion and one trophy for Nett Champion. ( Winner can keep this trophy).
Cash prize shall be awarded to the Champion Team ( to be shared among them).
The prizes for this Bidayuh Golf SET is sponsored ( he insisted to remain anonymous but I must insist too) by Albert Tanon.

Bung Bengoh vs Bung Bratak
Two teams are slogging it out for the challenge trophy. The red team is Team Bung Bratak. 'Bung' mean top as you all know. The Black team is Team Bung Bengoh. As the names suggest, they are both top teams.

---
Flight 1 - Mountain Nine, 12.30 pm
Robert Elone
Dominic Siron Rujin
Albert Tanon

Flight 2 - Ocean Nine, 12.30 pm
Ik Pahon Joyik
Andrew Peter
Magit Semong

Flight 3 - Mountain Nine, 12.36 pm
Jabing Bujing
Sipol Ambun
Robin Tigai
Hyginus Kevin

Flight 4 - Ocean Nine, 12.36 pm
Joseph Jindy
Lusus
Edwin
Walter Dior

Flight 5 - Mountain Nine, 12.42 pm
Ik Talano
Fabian Marip
Ahkim Sarok
Paul Ponar Sinjeng

Flight 6 - Ocean Nine, 12.42 pm
Johnny Peter
Mike Mangges
James Sinjeng
Ricky Guing Senen

11 December, 2007

Bidayuh Golf Season Ending Tournament ( GOLF SET )

Format of Play and Predictions
Team winner shall be decided by total strokes after deduction from handicap. All strokes from each team member shall be counted to ensure that every member contributes to the winning score or the downfall of his team. ( ahem! ) This shall be a team event. There are two teams. Do not get me wrong. The idea is not to split the Bidayuh but to consolidate and play to its strength and weaknesses.

The well-respected Team Bung Bratak ( name in Red ) comprises of cracked and steady golfers and frequent winners with prize-money amounting to many $. Team Bibau are strengthened by golf prodigies from Salako, Singhai, Bijagoi and other surrounding areas. On paper Team Bibau is hot favourite with the likes of SA, AP ( rookie of the year), IP, JB, DS, MM ( long hitters ) and RE ( longest hitter ). However we are playing at DGCC adjacent to South China Sea which is not at all friendly to golfer who like to pull or hook their shots.

The other team is Team Bung Bengoh ( name in Black ). Team Bung Bengoh is made up of a reputable and seasoned golfers from Bengoh mountain range, ( more renowned for their tasty durians ) and its surrounding areas comprising of Biparuh / Bisapug and some renegade from Mambong region.Team Bung Bengoh also bought some players of hot calibre. It is common belief that the mountain side course is favourable to Bengoh brothers with the likes of JS, MS, PP, AT, FM and many with hole-in-one to their resumes! But in golf, reputation is nothing. It shall be a new day, new term and new year. I think the game will be balanced but all depends on the pin position on the day.

Overall it shall be a close call. In my opinion, the team that is not perturbed by crocodile at par 5 hole 11 shall prevail. We hope to garner few more names before Friday. As of now here are the flights arrangement.



10 December, 2007

Bidayuh Golf Season Ending Tournament at DGCC - 16 Dec 2007


There is absolutely no better way to live a life to the full than to play golf at Arnold Palmer Designed Damai Golf and Country Club, Damai.

For those Bidayuhs who are passionate about golf, its all good and nothing else.

Good because we all will be together at the season-ending tournament and to settle a long disputed questions of who is the best Bidayuh golfer 2007. Others may argue that the recently concluded WBGC at Bintulu was a pale indication due to absent of many big names. We can argue till we're blue and black without agreement and to set the record straight, we're at it again on 16 December 2007.

Good because this will mark the beginning our our "Apai Blues' new and challenging appointment to breathe a fresh and new life to DGCC already scenic image as 'the' golf course. On the top of it all, a special packages is being offered courtesy of the management of DGCC - RM85 per golfer inclusive of Buggy, drink at Stopover huts.

Good because the tournament promises to garner strong solidarity of Bidayuhs networking and renew friendship before we are confronted with the challenges and uncertainties of 2008. I am not a pessimist but prefer to feel prepared.

Good because this tournament will converge Simpok Champion, Alpha Champion, Borneo Height Champion, WBGC Champion, Lucky Draw champion and finally Driving Range champion to pit their skills and play for dignity and honour.

Good because this game will expose our golf team spirit and pit Bisingghai Team against bitter rival Bisapug Team or Bisitang Team against Biparuh Team...just like the old warring days. But no 'killing' please.

Good because golf is a healthy recreational activity and when you play golf on Sunday, your ever-suspicious home minister need not worry about your coordinates at any time.

To participate please send SMS (by word of mouth) to 012 8805438 before Saturday, 15 Dec 2007

As of now the following have confirmed to participate:

  1. Ahkim Sarok
  2. Andrew Peter
  3. Albert Tanon
  4. Dominic Siron
  5. Edwin
  6. Fabian Marip
  7. Jabing Bujing
  8. James Sinjeng
  9. Johnny Peter
  10. Joseph Jindy
  11. Hygines Kavin
  12. Ik Pahon Joyik
  13. Ik Talano
  14. Lusus
  15. Magit Semong
  16. Mike Mangges
  17. Paul Ponar Sinjeng
  18. Robert Elone
  19. Robin Tigai
  20. Ricky Guing Senen
  21. Sipol Ambun

The format of play shall be Stroke-play, staggered Tee-off from 12 noon onwards.

Play for dignity and honour. Protect your family names. May the best team wins.