Anyone in the vicinity of Tenby Golf Club between Wednesday, October 5 and Friday, October 7, could have be forgiven for thinking they were abroad. The weather was warm and sunny, foreign flags were flying outside the clubhouse and French, Spanish, Portuguese and English could be heard amongst the usual Welsh accents.

The occasion was the 16th Hamilton Cup, hosted this year by Tenby. Teams from Bordeaux and Pau (France), La Toja (Spain), Oporto (Portugal) and Kirby Muxloe (England) had arrived for the annual fixture. Unfortunately, teams from Estoril (Portugal) and Castiello (Spain) were unable to attend and had sent their apologies.

Wednesday is traditionally the practice day, although some players had arrived earlier in the week and some were delayed due to air traffic strikes. Nevertheless, the determination to take part wins through and the camaraderie of all concerned makes this a social occasion as well as a fiercely fought competition.

Wednesday dawned as the calmest golfing day Tenby has seen for years. Fine weather and a short eighth gave the visitors a view of Tenby at its best. Buoyed up by a good day the mood at Wednesday evening's reception was relaxed and cheerful. David Leeke, club captain, welcomed everyone to Tenby and gave his best wishes for a successful event. Beneath the flags of the participating countries, old friendships were renewed, new friendships made and a finger buffet was enjoyed by all.

The competition started on an overcast Thursday morning with a four ball better ball format and handicap. Played over a longer course as marshalling made the eighth a par 4 and the 18th was played from the top rock, the best three out of four scores counted. At the end of day one, Tenby were leading with 110 points, Kirby Muxloe were close with 106 points and the others were not far behind.

Friday, day two, is the real test and is often affected by who had been out the previous night, who was in the best form and were the team selections correct. The singles stableford competition with full handicap was played in overcast and windy conditions and, for the men, from the white tees pushed as far back as possible. Six out of the eight scores counted and every point was vital. With scores ranging from 35 points to eight points rapid calculations were made as players returned to the clubhouse but everyone was kept guessing the results until later in the evening.

To round off the proceedings Friday evening's event brought together over 100 players and guests, including the club captain and president.

Following a sit down buffet, speeches were made thanking Chris Jenkins for the high standard of the course and the catering and bar staff for their work and tolerance of foreign customs. Thanks were also given to Linda Evans and Heather Morgan for checking the cards and collating the scores, Andrew Morton whose semaphore on the eighth hole ensured safety for golfers and pedestrians, and Don Sigsworth, Maurice Lewis and David Ayers, who provided caddying for the Oporto team. To maintain tradition, a rousing rendition of Steve's anthem, 'Why was he born so beautiful,' was sung before David Leeke presented medals to all those who had taken part. Presentations were made to the club captain and president by the visiting team captains. The results were finally announced and the presentation of the Hamilton Cup was made by last year's winning captain, Nuno Carneiro, of Oporto. The winning team, by a margin of fourteen points was Tenby.

Steve Evans, a founder member of the Hamilton Cup, was Tenby's non-playing captain, first tee photographer and King of the Rock. It was rumoured that he was duplicated as he seemed to be everywhere but, as we all know, there is only one Steve.

The Tenby team was made up of stalwarts Linda Evans, Allan Morton and Mike Nesbitt-Hawes, more recent Hamilton cuppers Nigel Ayers, Heather Morgan, Ken Gouldsbrough and Richard Reed, and the newest members who have all played on the twinned courses abroad Tony Key, Chris Beecher and Iain Thomas. Bob Harris and Howell Probert played for the Oporto team who had travelled with only seven members.

Throughout the days, mementos had been exchanged, friendships cemented and visits made to local restaurants and places of interest. The friendliness of Welsh people and Tenby, in particular, was commented on many times.

Everyone had thoroughly enjoyed their stay and their golf and this time the visitors could return home knowing that Tenby does have sunshine as well as the 'sideways' rain they remember from their previous visit in 1998.

The Hamilton Cup 2006 will take place at the newest member club, Real Club de Golf de Castiello, Gijon, Spain, in June 2006. We look forward to this and hope to bring the cup back to Tenby. If that is not possible we have the consolation that it is the taking part which is important but, this year, we won the cup. Well done everyone.