This year's Hamilton Cup was hosted by the wonderful French golf club, Pau, which nestles in the foothills of the Pyrenees and which is the birth place of Henry IV. This magnificent venue did not disappoint any of the travelling golfers from the Tenby Golf Club, who were treated to hospitality of the highest quality by their hosts, and the evening celebrations at the end of the first day were to be a special occasion for all, with a surprise presentation being bestowed upon the visiting captains.

To those of you who are not familiar with the Hamilton Cup, a brief summary of its purpose is one of friendship and camaraderie throughout Europe via the common sporting theme of golf. The competition was conceived by three clubs in 1989, with Tenby being one of the inaugural clubs led by Mr. Steve Evans, who still remains the Captain of Captains for the Hamilton Cup. There are golf clubs representing Spain, Portugal, France and England featured in the cup, with two new entries from Holland and Scotland due to be introduced into next year's competition.

This annual competitive encounter between these clubs rotates throughout Europe and this year, Pau, the oldest golf club in Europe, was the host. Seven teams participated, with England being represented by Royal North Devon, the oldest course in England and Kirby Muxloe from Leicestershire.

The French teams were led by Pau, who were joined by their colleagues from the Bordelaise Club in Bordeaux. Spain was represented by Rias Baixas, who play at the Mondaritz golf course, and Castiello, from the northern coastal town of Gijon.

The format of the competition is one of better ball foursomes on day one and singles on day two, with the accumulated scores by the teams deciding the winner. A practice day is set aside prior to the competition, with a social evening being used for teams to meet each other and old friendships rekindled.

This year, the competition took place between September 7 and 9, in weather conditions that were warm and calm, on a course at the peak of its condition.

The Tenby players, to paraphrase a line from the Max Boyce classic, ' they all travelled by plane and by car and when the fruits of the grapes stopped flowing, they all played 'a round' in the bar'. Some set off by minibus and drove down to Pau, some went by plane to Bordeaux and picked up a hire vehicle and others took their time and ambled down through the French countryside, sampling the food and wine en route.

They all arrived at the venue on the Tuesday, September 6, and were booked into a hotel which was shared by all; this made for team bonding and a friendly atmosphere.

The first day of competition was on the Thursday and at the end of the round the leading team was Royal North Devon, with Tenby in third place some nine points behind. The main difference in the score came from the pairing of two of the oldest players in Royal North Devon team, who carded a combined stableford better ball score of 50 points, an outstanding achievement on a course not familiar to them.

Tenby team members names for day one - Paul and Ros Jenkins, Tony Key and Nigel Ayers, Jim Moffatt and Ken Gouldsbrough, Chris and Carol Beecher.

That evening saw an organised tour of the Juracon Wine Distillery and wine distribution centre, culminating in the captains of the visiting teams being introduced into the brotherhood of the Juracon Wines in a spectacular ceremony. The Tenby captain, Mrs. Linda Evans, emulated her husband Steve, who received the same honour some 20 years earlier when the Hamilton Cup was in its infancy.

After sampling the wines the gathering received a buffet consisting of a variety of foods from the region, including fois gras, scallops, an abundance of cold meats and tapas, concluding with gateaux made from a customary Basque recipe. The party continued well into the night, concluding at the Chez Pierre restaurant in the centre of Pau City in the company of our French hosts: superb, magnifique, formidable and all the other French adjectives you can think of.

The final day's competition was played in typical Hamilton Cup tradition, hung-over, but still with the competitive edge. The eventual winners were Royal North Devon, with the Tenby team in a respectable mid-table position of fourth place.

The team members names for day two - Linda Evans, Anita Davies, Ros Jenkins, Paul Jenkins, Derek Bath, Tony Key, Jim Moffatt, Nigel Ayers.

The evening presentation dinner was held out on the patio in the warm evening air when all the teams gathered together for the pleasure of each other's company before bidding a fond 'au revoir' until the next year. The selected venue for the Hamilton Cup 2012 is Castiello in Northern Spain, near the fabulous resort of Gijon, another wonderful location as provided by the Hamilton Cup formula.

A contingent of the Tenby team continued on tour in France to play golf in the wonderful area of coastal beauty known as the Cote Savage in the Biarritz and Capbreton area. The Tenby Tour Trophy was contested on two wonderful golf courses, Seignosse, voted the 15th best course in Europe by Golf World magazine and Moliets, selected by the European golf tour to host qualifying cards. The competition involved mixed pairs, with their combined partnership scores over the three days determining who would be the overall winners.

In third place were Tony and Jen Key, who were narrowly defeated by Paul and Ros Jenkins, taking the runner-up spot. The winners of the Tenby Tourist Trophy and champions for 2011 are Chris and Carol Beecher, who received a commemorative plate of the region depicting all of the popular scenes of the Biarritz area.

Taking the name of Tenby Golf Club and promoting it throughout Europe can only be good for South Wales tourism, especially as the Hamilton Cup and all of its European partners will be brought to Pembrokeshire in 2013, which coincides with the 125th anniversary of Tenby Golf Club, the oldest course in Wales.