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Welcome to the 1st edition in 2008 of the Portmore newsletter. I hope you all had a merry Christmas and have managed to get rid of your New Year hangover. As you are aware the weather has not been to kind to us through the last few weeks but as I sit here writing this I am looking out at blue skies and sunshine, hopefully a sign of things to come !!

I like many more have watched the golf on television with a great deal of envy, firstly at the nice warm climate that they are playing in and secondly at the sheer brilliance of a certain Mr Woods who has come out of the starting blocks this year with two wins in his first two events.

We shouldn't be surprised at this I suppose but you just think that at the start of each new season that the motivation might wane slightly and that could give a glimmer of hope to the rest, not a chance !!

In my mind we are seeing the greatest player to ever play the game continuing to set the standard for the rest to try and follow. We can all learn so much from him in many different ways but one thing in particular stands out, his work ethic.

His view is that you get out of golf as much as you put in. Wise words indeed, how can we mere mortals expect to go out once a week and put in the round of our life without the ground work needed to see it through?

With the start of the golf season fast approaching we should all be looking to the driving range and short game areas as the place to spend most of our time. This is where we can work hard on sharpening up our techniques ready to hit the ground running when the season starts.

When we talk about practice inevitably the phrase " practice makes perfect" is heard around the club, for me this is incorrect as in my eyes " perfect practice makes perfect, practice just makes permanent ". In other words it is of no benefit to you to practice for the sake of it if you are not practicing the right things to improve your game as all you will do is ingrain bad habits.

If you would like to benefit more from your practice and improve your golf this season then please do not hesitate to contact me to book a lesson.

Tip of the month

This is the ideal time of year to check the condition of your grips. If your grips are getting worn you will notice a tendency to hold the club tighter to stop the club from slipping in your hands, if the grip pressure increases to much then this can lead to a quick swing without correct hand action leading to poor ball striking and loss of direction. Try washing your grips with hot soapy water and a stiff brush to try and get some tackiness back in to them, if this fails then consider having the grips changed before you start dropping too many shots. If you are a once a week player then you should be changing your grips every 8 or 9 months.

Rule Of The Month

Rule 18 - 2 b
Ball moving after address

If a players ball moves after he has addressed it (other than the result of a stroke) the player is deemed to have moved the ball and incurs a penalty of one stroke. The ball must be replaced, unless the movement of the ball occurs after the player has begun the stroke or the backward movement and the stroke is made.

Penalty for breach of rule:
Match play - loss of hole
Stroke play - 2 shot penalty