AS a former holder of the lowest score on the European Ladies Tour with a nine-under-par 64 Caroline Griffiths has been there and done it at the highest level of golf.

However after a lengthy gap of more than 10 years the Vale Golf and Country Club professional is set to do it all over again after qualifying for the Wales Open at Royal Porthcawl in three weeks time.

For six years between 1984 and 1990 Griffiths was a successful member of the Tour along with peers like Laura Davies, Alison Nicholls and Trish Johnson.

Her highlights included the 64 at Stoke Poges and at one point she did not miss a cut for a year-and-a-half.

Ability

Ten top 10 finishes including a best position of second are a testimony to her ability as a golfer which saw her reach scratch by 17, plus one by 18 and turn professional at 20.

Her career took a change of direction when a bout of glandular fever put her out of the game for a year during which she took her PGA exams.

Plans to work for a year as an assistant professional before a return to the professional ranks were abolished as the prospect of travelling and living out of a suitcase once more lost their appeal.

For the last 11 years she has been head professional at the Vale, near Evesham, and has not regretted swapping life on tour for that of a club pro.

"When you've been on Tour you take it for granted a bit but it was a very fortunate experience and a really good thing to do but I'm really glad I stopped when I did," she said.

"The best thing was doing it and stopping when I did. I do worry about people like Alison and Laura who are still out there playing all the time because there is more to life than living out of a suitcase because they are missing out on a lot of things."

However the competitive spirit still burns brightly and the prospect of playing one of her favourite courses at Porthcawl was enough to lure Griffiths to qualifying at both Lytham and the Kendleshire where she had third and fourth finishes.

"I haven't thought about going back on Tour at all and the only reason I wanted to qualify for the Wales Open is because I really like the course at Porthcawl," she said.

She still has fond memories of that period of her life when she toured Europe with some of the best women golfers in the world and Laura Davies and Alison Nicholls remain good friends.

"It was a great experience, playing and travelling across 11 or 12 European countries," she recalls.

"I had a great time and in my last year I was chairman of the Tour and helped set up the Solheim Cup which was a good experience."

Now Griffiths has a different role, managing the 27 hole Vale club and passing on her expertise - a task she clearly relishes.

"I do enjoy teaching especially those just starting out in the game and I get a lot of satisfaction out of it," she said.

"The Vale is an ideal set up because we've got the driving range where we can start people off, then they can play on the nine hole and get into the game a bit and then move on the 18 holes - there is a nice progression."

For the next few weeks though Griffiths can be forgiven for concentrating more on her own game as she retakes her place among the golfing elite at Porthcawl and pits her wits once more against old rivals.

"It's been seven or eight years since I last played a Tour event but I'm really looking forward to it," she added.