Tenby Dyfed League golfing team made it three wins out of three starts at the commencement of their 2012 campaign to win the division three trophy.

They played hosts to a very formidable Glyn Abbey team who had also won their opening round and were looking for victory over a determined Tenby side.

The pairings were well matched for handicap and the course was behaving at its best, with little or no wind and the greens running slick and true. Standing on the first tee and watching the opening group fire off their drives made one realise that there would be no quarter asked and none given either. The whole event would be determined by the pair that managed the greens best as the second shots were accurately peppering the pins with regularity.

Chris Thompson and his partner Dai Cope led the way and after a hard fought battle they emerged victors by one hole, the narrowest of winning margins in this format of matchplay.

Dan Cope and Darren Thomas were more emphatic in their victory by six and five, to be followed by Steve Sutcliffe and Garry McNeilly, who won by two holes.

Rob Wilcox and his ever-reliable partner Loz Phillips came in as victors by one hole, with the team captain Chris Beecher and his partner Paul Jenkins taking the spoils by four and two. This gave the home team an unassailable lead of five matches to nil, with only the tailend players to finish.

Both matches were taken to the final hole, with Neil Thomas and John Stenson gaining an honourable half and the final pair of Peter Rossi and Tony Key losing to the final putt of the day, making the final result Tenby five-and-half points to Glyn Abbey one-and-a-half points, with a bonus of three points going to the home team victors.

Although the winning passions are shown on the course and the competitors are anxious not to let their team down, when the game is over and the result decided upon, the friendships through sport come to the fore and the social activities take over.

The competitive edge is not only shown on the course, but also in the clubhouse and with so many excellent players vying for a position in the Tenby DGU team, one mistake can see you 'rested' and another club member given an opportunity to prove their value to the cause.

Once again the staff at Tenby Golf Club provided excellent conditions both on the course and in the clubhouse, with the greens and the general presentation receiving compliments from the visitors and equal praise being voiced in respect of a meal of quality provided by the catering staff - well done to all concerned.

Abbey gain revenge in Return Fixture

After their victory over Glyn Abbey the previous week, the Tenby players set off on their team coach to the Cardigan countryside to face the opposition on their home territory, having made five changes to the side in an attempt to give as many enthusiastic members as possible an opportunity to play competitive golf.

The relatively new golf club sits in the beautiful Trimsaran countryside overlooking the well-manicured course and facing the ancient Abbey that gives the club its name.

Sitting out on the first floor balcony with its glass fascia is an ideal spot to view the 18th green and watch the matches reach their conclusion. If you combine this with warm, balmy conditions, little or no wind and a glass of chilled wine, you can forgive the author of this report for not being too disappointed for missing out on selection on this occasion.

The flags outside the clubhouse were limp, but the club motto could still be made out as 'Nil Desperandum', which translates into 'do not despair', a quotation that suited the mood of the Tenby team as they were put to the sword by their hosts.

The opening pair of Dan Cope and Darren Thomas were all-square after 10 holes, but a burst of five consecutive gross birdies by their opponents saw them lose by 4 and 3.

Nic Thomas and Garry McNeilly took their match all the way to the 18th, but failed to recover from their deficit and lost by two holes.

Chris Hughes and Idwal David gave the Tenby visitors a glimmer of hope by winning their match with the last putt of the round and walking off one up.

The euphoria was short-lived as the next two pairs of Martin Morris and Dai Cope lost one down and the pairing of Jim Moffatt and Loz Phillips went down by 3 and 1.

Paul Jenkins and the team captain Chris Beecher reduced the deficit by winning their match by one hole, with the 'coup de grace' for the team being delivered when the final pair of Roger Schooling and John Stenson was defeated by 2 and 1.

The home team had run out winners on this occasion by five games to two, which was a complete reversal to that achieved at the Burrows the previous week, with the Tenby side gaining a slight advantage of being half-a-point to the good over the two legs of the competition.

The next fixture will be against our near neighbours at Trefloyne Golf Club tomorrow (Saturday) and the captain has taken the bold step of changing nine of the team in a deliberate effort to offer the privilege of playing for Tenby Golf Club to as many of the club members as possible who have offered their services by indicating their availability on the clubhouse chart.

Please check the selection team sheet in the clubhouse and in the event of you not being available to play, please contact one of the organisers, Chris Beecher or Tony Key, as there are others only too eager to take your place.

Thank you to all the loyal members who have shown extreme patience and understanding in respect of the selection process being adopted.

Open Week starts tomorrow

Next week Tenby stages its 32nd Open Week in succession. In 1980 you could have played all six days for £12. Interestingly, the first Open Week was held in Easter 1892 so visitors will be taking part in and enjoying a fine Tenby tradition. Whilst we are looking at dates and the history of the club, in 2013 Tenby Golf Club will be 125-years-old, the first club in Wales to be so.

What a year to come and enjoy Open Week at the Tenby Links. The Queen has just celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, the Olympic Games come to London. The British Girls Championships will be staged in August and the Tenby course features in the Rolex Top 1000 courses in the world, ranking it as number two in Wales.

The course is playing well and the membership of all ages and abilities is enjoying tremendous golf the whole year round.

Having already featured in the UK's top 100, as well as the top 10 best value courses, Tenby is now extremely proud to feature as the second highest ranked course in Wales, ahead of some great courses such as the Twenty 10 course at Celtic Manor, Royal St. David's and Aberdovey.

Next week we are looking forward to welcoming friends new and old to Tenby Golf Club. One point to watch for those playing on the Sunday, the roads around Tenby will be closed from 9.30 to 10.30 am for the Wales Marathon, so make sure you are at the club in plenty of time.

A date for your diary - next year we are reverting to our normal Open Week timings of Saturday, June 1, to Friday, June 7, so put it in your diary now, so there are no clashes with this longstanding Tenby tradition.

Nat West Cup

Sixty-six cards were taken out for the Nat West Cup on Saturday, with Stan Hudson being a clear winner, three shots ahead of his nearest rival. As a result, as well as his prizes, he also receives a two shots cut in his handicap, from 14 down to 12.

Leading scores and prize winners were as follows: 1. Stan Hudson 81-14-67 (cup and £55); 2. Simon Sweet 83-13-70 (£40); 3. Dave Morris 75-3-72 (£30); 4. Denis Slyne 89-17-72 (£20); 5. Paul Davies 93-20-73 (£13).

Twos: Donald Callnon, Stan Hudson, Richard Ormond, Michael Williams, Philip Goodridge, Desmond Stone, Paul Davies (£11.40 each, including the rollover from the Hotels Cup).

Bag draw: M. Edwards,. D. Schooling, K. Gouldsbrough, L. Lewis (£15.75 each).

Pro draw: Rob Slyne (Titleist logo pencil bag).

Handicap changes: Andrew Cope 8 to 9; Paul Davies 20 to 19; Mark Edwards 17 to 18; John Gilman 18 to 19; Stan Hudson 14 to 12; Alan E. James 12 to 13; Ralph Johns 16 to 17; Andrew P. Morton 7 to 8; David Schooling 9 to 10; Simon Sweet 13 to 12; Robert Wiseman 25 to 26.

Saturday Swingers

Swingers are reminded of the following important dates: Swingers Day - Saturday, June 30. Golf (part of the club's Monthly Medal) and Evening Dinner. Entry sheet in clubhouse - this will be removed on June 23, so members need to read the details and put their names down asap.

Swingers AGM - Wednesday, June 27. All members are urged to attend. Meeting will commence at 6 pm.

Mid-Week Medal

Twenty-seven players took part in last week's Mid-Week Medal, with leading scores and prize winners being:

1. Peter Rossi 80-10-70 (medal plus £31); 2. Gareth Phillips 84-12-72 (£22.50); 3. Gary McNeilly 82-10-72 (£8); 4. John Stenson 84-11-73 (£3).

Twos: Only one two was recorded, by Roger Schooling on the sixth hole. As a result, he earned himself a total of £37, including the rollover from May 9.

Bag draw: S. Sutcliffe, N. Webb (£13 each).

Pro draw: G. McNeilly (Titleist logo hat).

Handicap changes: Meurig Jones 23 to 24.

Seniors fail to fire on all four at Fairwood

The pleasure derived from a game of golf is not always quantified by success or failure; occasionally the occasion can be extremely enjoyable regardless of the result.

Wednesday, May 30, was a fine example of this principle. Sixteen senior golfers from Tenby made the long journey to Fairwood Park Golf Club for an away match against their seniors, and the unanimous opinion was that this was the most enjoyable outing of the season thus far.

As usual, we were made very welcome, and both teams recognised old adversaries from previous visits. After a drink and a snack, the eight fourballs were out quickly on to the first tee and battle commenced.

Fairwood Park is a parkland course - and a very fine example of its type, not too much run on the fairways and small greens, which are not outstandingly fast. It is also fairly long, and almost five hours had elapsed before the last game out was back in the clubhouse.

Once all the players were showered, bib-and-tuckered and assembled in the dining room, a splendid match meal was served. Soon nothing could be heard but the clatter of cutlery and the buzz of conversation, post-mortems were digested, anecdotes were exchanged and friendly banter flitted back and forth - a very friendly gathering indeed.

Eventually, the two captains stood to deliver the result. We were entertained by a witty and entertaining address from Fairwood senior's captain Terry Booker, who announced that the result was an honorable half. Captain Jim acknowledged Terry's generosity, but had to admit that the actual score was Fairwood 5, Tenby 3.

And so, defeated but unbowed, the well-entertained Tenby side dispersed, vowing to extract their revenge when the Fairwood seniors play the return match at Tenby in September.

See you there!

M.F.

AJO memorial

This year, the first let is at Trefloyne on June 16 and the second at Tenby on June 23, which will be followed by the evening presentation.

The tee time sheets for both legs are almost full, but there are a few vacant slots, especially early and late.

Gentlemen and lady members of both clubs are now able to enter their names on the sheets at either club, i.e. Tenby members can use the sheets at Trefloyne if they cannot find suitable times on the Tenby sheets and vice a versa. Gentlemen must play in their allocated tee times and ladies in theirs.