PAUL CORMACK'S E-MAIL FROM AMERICA

TPC SAWGRASS, FLORIDA. Left to right: Stephen Cook, Paul Cormack, Jack Douglas, Graeme Masteron on the first tee with the magnificent clubhouse in the background.

New year, new confidence:

NEW YEAR, NEW CLUBS, NEW CONFIDENCE

 By PAUL CORMACK
Former North-east golfer now based in Florida
When I sent my last E-mail to Scottishgolfview.com I was just finishing up on a short break from the end of the season. The break gave me time to reflect on what was good and what was not so good about my game last year.
The reflective period is nice but it gets you itching to get back at it and rectify your mistakes quickly, when your next real competitive tournament is a few months away.
It's easy to wear yourself out physically and mentally before you are even close to the new season. I took my time to get back in to it and slowly but surely the things I had been working on mentally and physically started to take shape.
I have had a change of clubs this off-season, 11 of 14. So that was also something I had to get to grips with. The earlier in the winter you can change these things the better and you will reap the rewards heading in that first event.
It 's nice feeling you can hit the ground running. I enter the new season, refreshed, raring to go and maybe, for the first time in a few years, enjoying the game a little more. Not that I have never enjoyed it but when you see your hard work pay off on the range and on the course in practice, you feel ready to do battle and a lot more prepared.
Turning up at tournament, in season, not 100% certain about what is going on in your swing or in your mind is obviously not ideal. Understanding the misses is a major factor. Tiger always talks about it.
You need time away from tournaments to learn those shots and understand them fully. So next week all of the preparation will be put to the test. Here's to a new season of great misses!!A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of welcoming Graeme Masterton, Gamola Golf online retailer and new shop going in on Market Street, Aberdeen (Hope he enjoys his free plug!), Jack Douglas (Inchmarlo Golf Club) and Stephen Cook (Portlethen Golf Club) over for the PGA Golf Show which is held here in Orlando every January.
Graeme and the lads were here looking for new equipment, apparel and ideas for his new shop that will be opening In Aberdeen later this year. Since the weather they left behind in Aberdeen was not so great they demanded a lot of golf.
We had the pleasure of pegging it up six of the eight days they were here, playing some great courses in the process. The highlight for the boys and myself was our round at TPC Sawgrass, home of the Players Championship.
They loved the course and enjoyed giving me some stick for missing the green at the world famous 17th (island) hole. All three of them actually found the green with their tee shots.
You can imagine the banter being thrown my way in the clubhouse afterwards. The after-round drinks and popcorn were on me after my water ball!
I'd like to thank the lads for a lot of laughs and I hope they enjoyed their eight days in the sunshine. I'd like to think the weather was slightly warmer than a North-east winter for them. Again it was a pleasure and I cannot thank them enough for letting me tag along with them.

Thursday and Friday I will be playing in a two-man event here in Orlando, one day four-ball, one day foursomes. My buddy Chris Cannon (fellow Brit, from England) and I played in a similar one-day event towards the end of last year on the West Florida Golf Tour and finished second.

So hopefully the format, which we are a little more familiar with than our American cousins, over two days can see us take home some hardware and a nice big cheque before the season even starts!
I will be sure to E-mail Scottishgolfview.com after my first set of events that start next week. I have two at Hilton Head, South Carolina on the Egolf Tour. Then two in Florida, Tallahassee and Ocala on the NGA Tour.

I will try and put up pictures and snippets from my day on my twitter @paulhcormack. It should give everyone a little insight to the day-to-day life road tripping around America. There will be plenty of entertainment for sure!

If anyone has any questions they can also they can get me there.
Regards from Florida
Paul Cormack