Last Friday, the captain of Tenby Golf Club, Mrs. Mary Rowell, and members of the committee held an evening reception to honour Tenby golfers who have excelled themselves both at home and further afield. The reception was attended by a number of golfers who have represented the club and their country at the highest levels over recent years.

Oliver Duckett, the youngest of those assembled, was the first to be mentioned. Oliver has been a county player since 1996, and has represented the county schools team between 2000 and 2002. He was placed third in the Welsh Boys stroke play championship in 2001 and was a semi-finalist in the Welsh Boys matchplay competition.

In 2002, Oliver represented Wales at a schoolboy international at Birmingham and as also the winner of the Dyfed Junior Order of Merit. Oliver will lose his amateur status in March next year when he turns professional. All the members of Tenby Golf Club wish Oliver well in his new career.

Over three decades, one player has dominated Tenby Golf Club's most prestigious competition for low handicapped players, the Scratch Cup. Between 1962 and 1989 Barry Smith won the Scratch Cup no less than nine times. Barry also won the Welsh Victory Foursomes in 1963 with his partner David Howells. This was followed in 1967 by another victory in the same competition, this time with partner John Dinsdale.

Ian Duffy is a living legend at Tenby Golf Club. Born locally in 1952, Ian is the son of the late Eddy Duffy, another Tenby stalwart. By the time he was 16, Ian was playing off a handicap of six and had already won the Three Counties Boys championship three times.

At the age of 19, Ian, with his younger partner Kim Beynon, won the Daily Mail National Team Foursomes on the Princes Course at Sandwich. The following year, Ian won the prestigious Carmarthenshire Open at Ashburnham, beating a number of top golfers in Wales in a strong field.

These fine performances brought him to the notice of the Welsh Golfing Union selectors and Ian was chosen to represent Wales in the Junior Nations Tournament at St. Cloud in Paris. His international career continued when he was selected to play for the Welsh Senior team in the home championships at Portmarnock in 1974.

Ian produced many fine performances in top competitions and was also a force to be reckoned with in domestic competitions, appearing in five Scratch Cup finals, winning three of them. Latterly, Ian has been a member of the board of selectors for the Senior Welsh Team.

The youngest winner of the Scratch Cup, Kim Beynon, could not unfortunately attend the presentation. Kim was also the youngest winner of the Three Counties Championship, a member of the South Wales Boys Team, a Welsh Boys International and, as mentioned earlier, partnered Ian Duffy to win the Daily Mail National Foursomes Championship at Sandwich in 1972.

This year, lady golfer Gillian Roberts travelled to the home of golf at St. Andrew's in Scotland to qualify as a golfing referee. The three-day course held by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club is very difficult, but Gillian came through with flying colours. She is now a fully qualified golfing referee and can officiate in any professional or amateur golfing tournament throughout the British Isles.

In August this year, Tenby's famous links course was host for the Welsh Team Championships. Tenby's team, captained by John Gottwaltz, with John Morris, Brian Cramb, Mark Poole, Paul Hayley and Gavin Scotcher, played a gruelling five rounds in the three days to reach the finals.

Having beaten Rhondda in the first round, followed by wins over Holyhead, Langland Bay and Pyle and Kenfig, Tenby faced Monmouthshire in the final. The match was very closely contested, and very exciting to watch. In the closing stages, the game was finely poised at two games all, with the last match all square going down the 18th. Unfortunately, Tenby lost on the last green and had to be content with the runners-up prize. Even so the team were a credit to Tenby and were congratulated at the presentation on a very fine performance.

Since 1978, when he won the RAF Championships at Fulford, Brian Cramb has been winning competitions. This year, Brian added the Welsh Seniors Championship Cup to his trophy cupboard. Playing three rounds against fierce opposition at Aberdovey in June, Brian shot 221 to win the championship.

Brian's name has featured on the club's honours board since winning the Scratch Cup back in 1979. This year he was once again competing for honours on Finals Day, this time in the President's Cup, which he lost on the 19th hole in a hard fought match.

Brian's success in the Welsh Seniors Championship no doubt contributed to his selection for the Welsh Seniors team which competed against other home international teams recently in Scotland.

John Gottwaltz was also selected to play for his country as a member of the Welsh Seniors team in the same competition. In July this year, John won the Dyfed County Scratch championships, heading a strong field of over 60 players all anxious to impress the Welsh Senior Team selectors. John is also the County Seniors captain, as well as the Tenby team and Super Six captain.

Tenby Golf Club currently has an abundance of playing talent at all levels, with Brian Cramb, John Gottwaltz, Paul Haley, John Morris, Gavin Scotcher and Oliver Duckett, to name but a few. It also has an active junior training programme with a number of players displaying great promise. It surely won't be long before further honours will be bestowed on Tenby's elite golfers.