THE Saturday Swingers of Tenby GC recently embarked on their annual tour. This year the base was Cardiff and the tour was shorter than usual.

The two courses were both parkland and in view of the considerable rain in the past few weeks, they were generally in an excellent overall condition.

At Grove GC on the Saturday, Graham Waring and Gary McKeown both had 31pts. Neil Proctor was runner up with 32pts. However, the best card of the day was handed in by Owen James. He scored a very creditable 33pts.

The forecast for the Sunday was horrendous and the Swingers fully expected to play no golf. However, the weather was better than predicted and it remained dry until the last couple of holes on the Button course at Cottrell Park GC.

Darren Thomas and Dean Rossiter were joint third with 29pts each. Richard Ormond claimed second place with 31pts. In very difficult conditions, Neil Proctor finished his round with a birdie and par to post the winning score of 32pts.

Consequently, Neil was crowned Tour Champion. His aggregate of 64pts was seven better than the field. By virtue of a better second 18 holes, Richard was second and Graham came third.

Best 36 Hole Aggregates: Neil Proctor, 32+32=64pts; Richard Ormond, 26+31=57pts; Graham Waring, 31+26=57pts; Darren Thomas, 26+29=55pts; Chris Evans, 26+28=54pts; Neil Webb, 29+24=53pts; Owen James, 33+20=53pts.

Nearest the Pin: Grove GC – No one and Cottrell Park GC – Darren Thomas.

Nearest the Pin in Two: Grove GC – Gary McKeown and Cottrell Park GC –Spencer Harries.

Longest Drives: Grove GC – Darren Thomas and Cottrell Park GC – Dean Rossiter.

The tour was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended. Next year’s trip will be based in Cirencester.

Tenby is the oldest golf club in Wales and both clubs were inaugural members of the Welsh Golfing Union (now Wales Golf) which first met in 1895.

The Tenby versus Ashburnham fixture is the oldest inter-club match in Wales and possibly the whole of United Kingdom.

The first match was in 1896 and it has been played every year since including during both world wars. The teams compete for The Putter.

Despite being five up with five to play, Tenby GC Captain Mick Seal and his partner John Ball managed to collapse and were lucky to get away with a half against Ashburnham skipper Tony Evans and Wynne Eynon.

Ben Childs and Neil Thomas were comfortable winners by 3 & 2. Andrew Cope and Paul Northam were never behind and won 4 & 3. Roger Schooling and Phil Young won by the narrowest of margins – one up.

Consequently, Tenby claimed three of the first four games. However, the next two pairs both lost i.e. Wyndam Collins and Simon Cumbley by just one down but Austin Davies and Brian Jones were hammered 5 & 4.

Richard Ormond and Ted Buckett were three up after 14 holes but managed to lose all three over the railway line. However, they claimed a nervous half. In the final and very important game, Ross James and Tony Andrews were 4 & 3 winners.

Thus, the home side were victorious by five games to three meaning that The Putter will stay in Tenby for the next 12 months at least.