A party of 25 Saturday Swingers from Tenby Golf Club returned earlier this week from their sixth annual long weekend tour.

This year the venue was south-east Ireland. The three courses played were the links at Rosslare and the parkland layouts at Waterford and Waterford Castle.

All three courses were in immaculate condition and the greens were fast and true. Waterford Castle is unique amongst Irish golf courses as it is located on an island in the River Suir and the only way to get to it is via a small ferry.

At Rosslare, Steve Amos took the honours with an excellent 36 points. Gary McNeilly and Dai Thomas shared second with 35 points. Simon Toy scored 34 points and both Dai Cope and Steve Sharma finished with 33 points.

Martin Smith, who has not played much golf this year, managed just 20 points and thus had to wear the dreaded sky blue shorts the following day. Micky Barrett claimed the longest drive at 305 yards and Dave Llewellyn won nearest the pin with 20 feet 45 inches (not 23 feet nine inches).

The scoring at Waterford was generally lower and so Micky Barrett's magnificent 36 points was really the round of the weekend. Peter Rossi was second with 31 points and Bill Davies, Neil Webb and the much improved Martin Smith were joint third on 29 points.

It became John Stenson's turn for the shorts as he lost out to Graham Shand on the back nine when they both scored only 18 points. Big boy Micky Barrett was again the longest hitter with 315 yards and Dai Thomas' class with a hooded wedge won him the prize when he was just 20 feet from the pin, although he did three putt.

Fatigue began to take its toll on the final day at the beautiful Waterford Castle course where there are views of the river from most holes and a number of shots have to be played over water. The winner was Neil Webb with 34 points. Dai Thomas and fellow butcher Paul Heywood both scored 33 points, but for Paul it was a case of too little, too late.

Dai Cope's 17 points was the lowest of the day. Steve Amos hit a 310-yard drive splitting the centre of a fairway just 18 paces wide and Gary McNeilly's eight-iron to just 12 feet was only beaten by the bus driver.

Dai Thomas's consistency over the 54 holes meant he claimed the overall winner's prize by a full six shots, averaging 32 points per round. Peter Rossi was second, Micky Barrett third, Bill Davies fourth, Steve Amos fifth and Neil Webb sixth.

John Gillespie also had a consistent tour, all his scores were poor. He finished six shots behind the field and at the end of tour meeting it was agreed that John had to wear the shorts on the first day of next year's tour when the Swingers hope to return to Ireland.

Almost every aspect of the trip went well, although Peter Jenkins and Bill Davies may have difficulty in remembering much. The weather was excellent, as was the accommodation, despite the fact that the hotel in Waterford was rather noisy - not due to the late entertainment in the bar or the heavy traffic outside, but rather Simon Toy's snoring (room mate Steve Amos had to lock himself in the bathroom to get some sleep).

Dai was a very popular winner of the Saturday Swimmers Shield. He is a founder member of the society and is its unofficial president, chairman and captain.

Dai, along with Dave Llewellyn and Phil Keating, were the party's main singers and they were ably assisted by the sweet voice of Katie.

Dai also claimed this year's World Butchers' Championship trophy (skilfully made and donated by Micky Barrett) and the margin of victory was so great that Paul is thinking of selling up and going back to hairdressing.

The overall aggregate scores were as follows: Dai Thomas 96 pts; Peter Rossi 90; Micky Barrett 89; Bill Davies, Steve Amos 87; Neil Webb, Gary McNeilly 85; Richard Ormond 84; Gary McKeown 82; Simon Toy 81; Martin Smith 80; Paul Heywood and Steve Sharma 78; Brian Diment 77; John Stenson, Viv John 76; Dave Llewellyn, Peter Jenkins, Dai Cope 75; Jeremy Morris, Tony Upham, Phil Keating 74; Graham Shand 70; Ross James 69; John Gillespie 63. Bus driver Steve Watkins played each day and scored well, especially on Saturday.