CHAMPION golf course Player Mick Shopland recently visited Monmouthshire Golf Club and the wandering putter teed off on his 1102nd course.

Shopland, an ex-international rugby referee who took up golf at the tender young age of 56, discovered in only a few years that playing the same course all the time soon wore thin, and so he started visiting others.

In 2009, 19 years after taking a swing at his first golf ball, Shopland had played on a staggering 999 courses. The 2010 Course at the Celtic Manor, became his thousandth.

During his visit to the Monmouthshire, Shopland regaled everyone with his many entertaining stories of his golf and rugby exploits from around the world, including playing in a six ball match with a former President of the Phillipines.

Before he left, Shopland said how much he enjoyed his visit to the Abergavenny course, commenting on the welcome he received and the lovely views of the countryside he enjoyed whilst playing.