She is a familiar face to many at St Pierre golf club, both on the fairways and behind the counter in the Pro Shop, but Rhiannon Thomas has ambitions to make it to the very top of the game.

The 19-year-old is a student at Tournament Golf College in Plymouth and dreams of making it as a professional golfer.

"The course shows you how to be a pro – the business side, nutrition, fitness, media sponsorship – it really opens up so many doors," said Rhiannon, who was introduced to the sport aged seven by dad Mark and hasn't looked back since.

The life of an aspiring young pro-golfer is certainly a busy one.

Now playing off a handicap of five, Rhiannon's time is split between college, working in the shop at St Pierre, practising and entering as many competitions as possible.

"At college, we do a lot of gym and classroom work from September to December, then it's off to Portugal for three months in January so our season starts a bit earlier than it would staying here.

"Being over there and playing on those courses, it is easy to see why a lot of professionals base themselves in the US – they are playing all year round.

"The plan after leaving college is to do a year of full amateur and then apply to qualifying school."

Rhiannon, from Caldicot, became the first girl to win the Welsh Under 16s golf championship in 2009 but knows success doesn't always come immediately.

The following year she missed out on retaining her crown on count-back and there are numerous tales of near-misses in this sport.

"Liam Bond, the professional at St Pierre, went through Q-school 16 times before he passed and Amy Baldwin, playing off +4, missed out by one shot.

"It shows one shot can cost you, it is the same in tournaments."

Rhiannon counts Annika Sorenstam as her golfing hero for the Swede's drive and determination, and is full of admiration for Great Britain's most successful female golfer Laura Davies.

"To be like her when I'm older would be fantastic," she said.

Asked to name her favourite course, other than St Pierre, Rhinannon says she enjoyed the "tough test" that is the Vila Sol course in Portugal, but admits there is "something special" about playing on the Celtic Manor's 2010 Ryder Cup course.

To keep up with Rhiannon's career you can follow her on Twitter, @RhiThomasGolf, where she has already been in touch with top golfers including Luke Donald, or visit http://www.rhiannon">www.rhiannon

thomasgolf.com