Last weekend, Tenby Golf Club's Saturday Swingers embarked on their annual tour. This year the venue was Edinburgh and the party of 23 was based at the conveniently positioned Rothesay Hotel in the West End of the beautiful Scottish capital city. On Friday, the first round was played over the magnificent Gullane No.1 links. The village of Gullane is about 18 miles out of the city centre along the East Lothian Coast, an area littered with superb links, including Britain's premier course, the illustrious, Muirfield. Gullane No.1 hosts the final qualifying for the Open. This year, the Scottish Amateur and the British Ladies were held at Gullane. The course is absolutely immaculate, the tees, fairways, bunkers and greens. The rough is fearsome. Unfortunately, although dry, the weather was not good enough for the party to enjoy the views over the adjacent Muirfield and the Firth of Forth. The Swingers were joined by friendly and local members, Andy, Charlie, Colin and John, plus two labradors, one black and one golden. Winner on the day was Mike Wainwright, with an excellent 39 points, the best score of the weekend. Mike had his handicap promptly cut by three shots to 16 for the final two days. Berry Frayne's 35 points was good enough for second place and on one point less were the quintet of Peter Rossi, Gary McNeilly, Neil Webb, Martin Morris and Dave Merritt. The highly esteemed city centre Bruntsfield Links course was the choice for the second day. This is the fourth oldest golf club in the world having been formed in 1761. Unlike its name suggests, it is a mature parkland layout with some huge trees. The course was again in wonderful condition and a real test. Viv John's 31 points gained him fifth spot, Martin Morris and Garry McKeown had 32 points and Mike Anthony scored a fine 34 points. However, Neil Webb's very creditable 35 points, not only made him the day's winner, but also gave him an overall lead of three points going into the final day. Dai Thomas' score of 25 points was remarkable as he had to play in slippery conditions in his ordinary shoes as he room mate Jeff Haley had accidentally 'borrowed' his golf shoes in the morning without realising until both had finished their rounds! The last leg of the Swingers ninth tour was the elevated Braid's Hill No.1 Municipal, which is recognised as the best public course in Scotland. It is hard to imagine a more neutral piece of golfing country. The panoramic outlooks over Edinburgh from this volcanic outcrop are fabulous and a high proportion of the city's 30 golf courses are visible. Some of the tee shots on this wonderful undulating heartland course are very intimidating and the extent of force is terrifying. Although the rain held off for most of the round, the wind blew strongly and thus John Stenson's 35 points was a great effort. Richard Ormond was runner-up on the day with 32 points and both Paul Hoyland and Viv John ran up 31 points. In the final group, the battle for top places was tremendous. Despite walking the course for two hours during the night to check the pin positions, Neil Webb managed just five points on the front nine and there his chances had gone. Mike Wainwright's 28 points included seven 'blobs'. He was a point ahead of the field after the 16th, but failed to scored on the last two holes. John Bowhay's missed putt on the tough last hole meant that the very consistent Martin Morris was Swingers Tour Champion for 2004. John, nowadays a member at Clevedon Golf Club, and Martin were the only players to score least 30 points each day. There has never been a tighter finish on a Swingers' tour. Following the tour dinner and presentations, the party flew back to Cardiff Airport in the Sunday evening gales, with some enjoying the flight more than others. The aggregate scores were as follows: Martin Morris 96 pts; John Bowhay 95 pts; Mike Wainwright 94 pts; Gary McNeilly 93 pts; Richard Ormond 91 pts; Paul Hoyland and Garry Mckeown 90 pts; Peter Rossi 89 pts; John Stenson and Viv John 87 pts; Neil Webb 86 pts; Barry Frayne 83 pts; Dave Merritt, Matt Evans and Paul Heywood 82 pts; Phil Goodridge 80 pts; Dai Cope and Mike Anthony 79 pts; Simon Toy and Tony Rogers 78 pts; Jeff Haley 77 pts; Dai Thomas 75 pts; Tony Upham 63 pts. FOOTNOTE: How much does it cost for a taxi from London to Cardiff with no passengers? Seniors' joy at Tenby win

What a day! From a grim view early in the morning of a grey raining outlook, that had the Cardigan seniors 'phoning Mark Hawkey, the Tenby pro, for a weather update, to big patches of blue sky later in the afternoon. What a difference a few hours makes in this part of the world. Ken Gouldsbrough, our doughty captain, and his partner for the day, Owen Monaghan, were up against it with the Cardigan captain Tony Simpkin and Richard Staggs. Owen of course, was out to impress and wore the suit to do so, and the brief flash of red lining was as provocative as the glimpse of a suffragette ladies ankle! Someone mentioned that a Liverpudlian in a suit was usually called 'the accused', but that could be a tale for another day. But suffice it to say, that Owen and Ken were on a roll, and there was nothing that the Cardigan duo could do to stop the inevitable result. This made captain Ken smile as broadly as the mouth of the Mersey, as he recorded yet another win. Having had several close encounters over the years, and not all of them positive, Cardigan's Mike King and I were pleased to be drawn against one another again, and this time had partners who were raring to go. Mike Evans had discarded the woods, thankfully, in favour of his trusted irons and was wielding them to good effect. This didn't deter Hugh Lewis as he was as determined as anyone to come good on his own terms. We quickly went into a two up lead, only to watch it whittled away to a one down situation. But Mike played his stroke holes to perfection to keep us in touch. His superb 10-foot swinging putt on the 17th kept us all square, and again on the last, his putting ability saved our blushes for a well earned half. Mike King incidentally, still plays for the Cardigan Tigers, has a handicap of eight, and is 80-years-old this month! He does confess now, that when he bends down to put his socks on, he wonders if there's anything else he can do while he's down there. Roy Gundry, not seen playing in the senior's side since May, was back to his best, as he and Derek Bath put it over on Iori Parry and Ieuan Davies. Looking leaner and meaner than the last time he was seen, Roy was in good form as he and Derek shook hands with the Cardigan pair on the 15th. Derek played his usual steady up the middle way of golf, and blended well with Roy. With a good lead now on the board, and a good pairing to follow, it looked as though it was going to be a walk over for Vince Shaw and Brian Waters against Roger Mould and Keith Lewis. How wrong can you be? Vince said he played like a 'Dirrick'. This being a reference to a certain Penally gentleman, who sometimes frequents the Crown Inn when he's not at home being fed with all the delights imaginable by 'her indoors!' "Brian won the game for us," said Vince, after a three up lead was eroded away to a one down situ. Roger was out driving all, but winning the 16th and 17th was a bonus for Vince and Brian, and they held on for a halved 18th to take the game. Roy Morgan enjoyed his walk around the Tenby course, as his partner Bob Parsons turned up the heat against Mike Snow and Glyn Davies. "He was in a class of his own," said Roy, "my own contribution was quite modest in comparison." An unusual statement from Roy someone said. First loss for Tenby came from Tony Morris and Alan Keating against Brian Preston and Peter Ward. Over the back nine, Tony and Alan tried to make a remarkable comeback, but Cardigan scuppered that idea and this despite Peter's ball being stolen by a seagull that was impressed with his game. (Peter's not the seagull).This was the first time that we had seen a seagull pinch a ball. It's usually the crows that do this, but this particular bird had been hanging about with the wrong crowd obviously. Paul Bradley and Malcolm Arlott took the same downward path against Ken Robinson and Elgan Davies, as the putting skills that are normally a strong part of Tenby's game got up and left them defenceless. But up to that point in the game, everything else was fairly well matched. John D. R. Williams and Newman Vincent almost did the trick against Bill Frost and Tom Jenkins. This was another game that went to the final green, but both John and Newman admitted that they just didn't play good enough to win, although they had their chances to do so. Putting the match in Tenby's favour, were Hywel Probert and Brian Morgan, who made hard work of their win against Hywel Richards and Nick Busk. But they concentrated their efforts over the last few holes to win by 2 up. Finally, Maurice Lewis along with Bob Harris fought back bravely from being 4 down against Alan Wonfor and Denis Ludgate, but had to succumb on the last green. Bob could find no comment to make, as "I am a spent force," he said. We know the feeling well. Ken Gouldsbrough and Cardigan's Tony Simpkin, said that he and Owen Monaghan had thoroughly enjoyed their game, and equally had enjoyed the superb match meal provided by stewardess, Lynne Jenkins. Appreciation was shown by all present on that. Tony replied by thanking Ken and Tenby for the warm welcome, and was sad that this would be his last game as captain of Cardigan seniors. This comment brought a mixed reaction from his team! He rounded off with a well told but old joke that had ex jockey Vince Shaw slapping his thighs. Well, that's what it sounded like! Results: K. Gouldsbrough and O. Monaghan bt T. Simpkin and R. Staggs 6 and 5; J. Hancock and M. Evans halved with M. King and H. Lewis; R. Gundry and D. Bath bt I. Parry and I. Davis 4 and 3; V. Shaw and B. Waters bt R. Mould and K. Lewis 1 up; B. Parsons and R. Morgan bt M. Snow and G. Davies 2 up; T. Morris and A. Keating lost to B. Preston and P. Ward 3 and 1; P. Bradley and M. Arlott lost to K. Robinson and E. Davies 4 and 3; J. D. R. Williams and N. Vincent lost to B. Frost and T. Jenkins 1 up; H. Probert and B. Morgan bt H. Richards and N. Busk 2 up; M. Lewis and B. Harris lost to A. Wonfor and D. Ludgate 1 up.

Tenby 5.5, Cardigan 4.5. J.B.H.

Junior golf

In very difficult conditions last Sunday, Greg Palin and Dave Webb triumphed off their respective tees in the junior stableford competition. It was extremely windy and congratulations are due to all the players who turned out to play. Could all players please check their current handicaps in the Junior Room before playing, as some handicaps have changed and some players are now off the yellow tees and not the black. This Sunday there will be another competition starting at the usual time of 10.26 am. Please turn up early and sign in at the shop. I.P.W.D.

Ladies' section

On the first Thursday in September, the ladies played a Texas Scramble for which the teams were drawn. For the last four years this competition has been most generously sponsored by Colin and Julie Jenkins of JOP, Pembroke, who presented the original trophy and who each year provide vouchers for the three leading teams and also match any charity donations made by the ladies playing the competition. This year, the charity was Macmillan Nurses and £75 was raised by the ladies for this most worthwhile and sadly very necessary charity. The trophy and the vouchers were presented to the winning teams by Mrs. Peggy Best, Julie's mother. Results: 1. Pam Cole, Lyn Bonar, Nesta Hart, gross 70, nett 63.6; 2. Heather Morgan, Ann Marsden, Margaret Williams, gross 76, nett 69.1 on back three from; 3. Toni Lucas, Val Goodwin, Pat Lehane.

B. M. S.

Club Report

The R. A. Cup was held on Wednesday, September 1, and the monthly medal was held last Saturday, September 11.

R. A. Cup

This was held on a balmy evening and was a shot-gun start. The winners were N. Thomas and J. Rees with 41 points, second were J. Gillespie and P. Goodridge with 39 points, and third were R. and A. Morton. Three pairs had twos. They were M. Anthony and I. Thomas, R. and A. Morton and N. Lovatt and R. Johns. Monthly medal

The monthly medal was held on Saturday. The winner was Richard Reed with a net 66 and a better back nine, second was Rob Hall also with a net 66, third was Ken Goldsborough, and joint fourth were John Charnock and Peter Ellis with net 69s. There were 52 competitors and of those three had twos. They were Stephen Davies, Richard Morton and Huw Roberts.

Next week

This Sunday is Finals Day and members are encouraged to support the finalists. The club AGM is on Tuesday at 7.30 pm, again members are encouraged to attend.