The course is holding up remarkably well, given the recent mix of conditions. We are particularly pleased with the way it is draining, not least in front of the 18th tee.

Members may have noticed a marked improvement following the green staff's work there a month ago. This time last year that area was something of a bog.

Meanwhile the greens are playing wonderfully well for winter, and members have been very complimentary. Martin Smith and his team have been rolling down the worst of the vehicle tracks left from the work of the bunker contractors. At the same time they have been pressing on with the winter programme. This has included pruning the last of the hawthorns along the brook between the 5th and 14th. These looked very ragged and the cutting will give members a better view of the various trees along the way.

We are also turning our attention to tree planting, with some reference to Neil Coles's recommendations. More on this next month.

The area left of the 5th green has been particularly badly affected by tracks. We can't realistically expect to rectify this before the spring, so I do urge members: find a decent spot, however far back you have to go (there are a few islands in the area which are OK), and take a drop.

Our top young players are spreading their wings... and flying to America.

On New Year's Day, Nick Pate-man, our amateur course record holder (the card of his round of 65 is to be framed and displayed in the spike bar), was due to join fellow Porters Park member Jason Mitchell at Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Both have been accepted on golfing scholarships at Nova South Eastern, a university where achievement on the academic front is rated at least as important as making the golf squad.

Jason, 19, and a winner of our Richmond Cup and several junior opens, is embarked on a four-year course studying sports management. Nick, also 19, will be studying for what he hopes will be a career in film production.

Competition at Nova is intense both on and off the course. Since he arrived last September, Jason, who in his last full year at Porters Park was county junior captain and back-to-back winner of the Herts Junior Order of Merit, has had his university golf somewhat disrupted by the hurricane season which closed many courses. However, he has made the squad and this year has high hopes of playing in team events as far afield as California and Hawaii.

Come September, if all goes well, Nick and Jason will be joined by 20-year-old Michael Moore who has won a similar scholarship. Michael, a runner-up in the Herts Boys Championship and last year one of our scratch team players, will combine golf with one of the sciences.

Meanwhile he is already gaining valuable tournament experience. Last October, he headed east to acquit himself respectably in the Hong Kong Open Amateur. In this, his first major international event, he returned opening rounds of 73, 76 and knew he had to shoot a sub-par third round to make the cut. He managed a very creditable 68 and followed it with a par 71 to finish tied 25th in a field of 95.

We wish all three all well in their academic and golfing futures.

Two hugely successful social evenings saw members say an exuberant goodbye to the Old Year and an even more exuberant hello to the New, writes Malcolm Field.

First, and as well attended as ever, came the Christmas Carol Evening. This featured Shades of Blue, who rendered their own Christmas specials and led guests in the singing of a number of traditional carol favourites.

Julie Talbot's table made the most of a successful bid on Charity Day for the right to sing Five Gold Rings in The Twelve Days of Christmas.

And so to the big one - the New Year's Eve Party, popularly acclaimed at the end of the evening to be the best the club has ever staged. Once again, the occasion was fully subscribed and 140 members and guests enjoyed Tim McRae's excellent buffet followed by a cabaret and dancing to a live band provided by Kevin O'Donnell and John May's Con-Fusion.

Warm thanks to all bar and kitchen staff for giving up their own festive season plans to make both events possible.

Coming soon:
Tuesday, 14 February: Valentines Night. Candlelit Italian cuisine accompanied by romantic swing jazz from Bruce Ordman's Jazz Quintet.
Friday, 10 March: Grand Cabaret Evening featuring the fabulous Fore Balls. International comedy and variety with a golfing theme.
Friday, 14 April: Fish supper.

Although the Charity Day on Saturday, September 9 seems a long way off, the Captain's fund-raising and organising team have already had three meetings to make plans for an enjoyable and successful day. Sponsorship and donations are being organised by David and Julie Talbot, so please contact them if you are able to contribute, have any ideas or would like more details.

The aeration programme is now in full swing. Greens and aprons have been verti-drained and this will continue monthly until spring. This operation will be extended to all walkways and compacted areas around greens. The slitting of greens will continue as per usual on a weekly basis.

Tees and fairways have also been slit and this will continue as conditions permit.

The tree programme is underway with the coppicing of the hawthorns along the brook. This will give the mature trees room to grow and allow more open views across the course. Other scrub areas will be cleared as time permits.
Several members have asked if there will be a trolley ban this year. At present I see no need for this.

Turfing is taking place in several areas - bunker banks, aprons and drainage runs - and will finish shortly.

There seems some confusion regarding the rule of relief from the areas around the new bunkers. To simplify this, a white line specifies the extent of GUR.

The A compressed-air shoe cleaner, similar to the one by the first tee, has been presented to the club by the Commandos at a cost of some £3,000. It has been fitted with a commemorative brass plaque and installed at the club's expense adjacent to the greenkeepers' quarters, handy for those finishing their golf on the ninth.

The board in the spike bar bearing the names of club captains from 1955-2005 is to be removed and replaced by an extended board with space to record all captains from 1955-2055. In future, a photo of the current captain will be displayed above the bar.

If you are on email you are invited to email jan@ porterspark.com. The office wishes to compile an up-to-date list of as many members' email addresses as possible. The aim is to use this most efficient and cheap form of communication to keep members abreast of club affairs including, possibly, in the longer term sending Tee Times via the internet.

Bring the children and grandchildren along to Sunday lunch at the club. So well did the family Christmas lunch go that it is hoped to turn regular Sunday lunches at the club into similarly enjoyable occasions. Book by entering your name on the list in Palm Court, or by phoning the kitchen direct on 01923 856262.

Club diaries: If you have not already collected your club diary for 2006, please do so as soon as possible from Palm Court. This will save the club either the expense of posting it to you or the inconvenience of having it litter the office for months.

At the well attended and very enjoyable Commandos annual dinner this month, retiring Captain Peter Johns revealed long-standing member Keith Jenkin as his successor for the coming season. Speeches from both were well received, as was one from Captain Ken Hannah who thanked the Commandos for their gift to the club of a shoe-cleaner (see 'This and That') and for their very welcome contribution to golfing events by acting as starters and ball-spotters.

Prizes were presented as follows: Reg Radcliffe winter foursomes: Keith Jenkin & Rod Kirkland. Tony Randall summer foursomes: Ron Culnane & Rod Kirkland. John van Gelder Over-70s trophy: Eric Holt. Barrett Salver: Peter Johns.

The married couples league is to return this year in its traditional form, with one notable change - members of all categories will be welcome to play, writes Lionel Cooper.

Over the past few years the popularity of this event - for so long part of the club's history and culture - waned to such an extent that last year the league system was scrapped and replaced by a one-day foursome event.

A combination of changing lifestyles and an ageing membership doubtless played a part in the decline of what was for many years a very successful part of the golf and social calendar, mixing couples together in a friendly yet competitive environment. Notably, Eric and Moira Stanbury won the trophy (and organised the end-of-season annual dinner) on at least six occasions.

The competition was previously restricted to full members but the committee has now agreed that this should be changed and it should be open to all married couples, irrespective of category.

So come on all you marrieds, whatever your age - enter for this year's revival competition and make this event as vibrant and successful as it used to be and enjoy the competitive spirit and camaraderie of previous years.

The format will be foursomes via four drawn leagues, with the winners of each league moving into semi-final and final play-offs. Matches will be played over the spring and summer months, with semi-finals completed by the end of August and final by end of September. There will then be a dinner in October for all who played (or have played in the past), with the prize presentation and maybe the odd speech!

Please watch the notice board for details early February.

Nick Hampton who won the December stableford with 41pts from Tony Smith who was runner-up on 36 (last nine) and Alan Pountney

Andrew Poupart who won the December midweek stableford with 38pts from Gerard Elliott with 37

Malcolm Pattinson who won the January midweek stableford with 39pts (last nine) from Jai Raja

Pam Cohen who won the ladies five-clubs-and-putter competition (silver) with 34pts from Rosemary Watters with 32. Gail Ralph won the bronze division with 36pts from Stella Carr with 32.