The tournament was sponsored by Penfold Golf and was often played at coastal resorts, whose councils shared the costs.

In 1949 there were two qualifying rounds, after which the leading 32 were drawn into 16 pairs, who then played four rounds of knock-out foursomes match play to determine the winning pair.

32 professional men and 32 ladies qualified over 36 holes and were then drawn into pairs.

In 1955 Penfold combined their sponsorship with Swallow Raincoats who had supported the Swallow-Harrogate Tournament in 1953 and 1954.

Swallow dropped their sponsorship after the 1966 event but the tournament continued with £4,000 prize money in 1967.