1 – Lost my focus

It was bad enough that my putt to try and save par was a twisting, 30-footer with 3 feet of break. What I didn’t need was to discover as I bent down to read the line that I had missed a belt loop. That wardrobe misfunction weighed heavily on my mind, which explains leaving the putt 8 feet short.

2 – Let’s be honest, it’s a mystery

Honestly, the huge majority of amateur golfers have no idea how far they actually hit the golf ball with their particular clubs. Consistently, that is.

3 – We are providing entertainment, I guess

Saturday’s round was over at about 12:35 p.m., score was entered into the GHIN system at about 12:42 and by 12:45 I got a text with a laughing emoji and these words: “Good gracious, what happened on 11?” Great, even the computers are laughing at me.

4 – Old guard rules

Generally speaking, modern links courses (think Renaissance) lose to classic links (think Birkdale) courses by about 6 and 5.

5 – Choo-Choo, a golden sound

Speaking of Birkdale, site of this week’s Open Championship in Southport, Merseyside on England’s northwest coast, it has what is almost a prerequisite for the purest of links – train tracks. They run pretty much parallel to Nos. 12 and 13 and you can expect TV to show the trains rolling by. Brilliant stuff.

GOLF COURSE PHOTO – When your trip to Cape Cod includes a round of golf at Highland Links in Truro, well, you’ve met the spirit of the game face-to-face. That delight taken care of, Samuel Stone, an avid reader of “Power Fades,” remembered my fondness for “golf” signs and was tickled to find this one in another part of the Cape. It’s impossible to miss the humor – you could read it to mean that golfers have the right of way so funeral-goers should beware, or maybe it’s a twin-bill, meaning that first you golf then you attend a funeral for your golf game. Either way, methinks it’s quite cool. A round of applause for Samuel, and a reminder to keep those photos coming. Send to jim@powerfades.com

6 – Let’s run through the checklist

Appointments with dentists, doctors, hairdressers, realtors, business associates, builders, landscapers, zoom session organizers, masons, arborists, tax preparers, accountants, lawyers, auto mechanics and board members always take a back seat to a round of golf that pops onto your radar at the last minute. Reschedule ‘em all, you’re playing. Now if it’s your wedding day, it’s a bit dicey. I mean, what time is your wedding?

7 – Blue, pink, doesn’t matter; it’s a delay

Where there’s smoke, there’s a gender reveal holding up the first tee.

8 – A good walk unspoiled

I’m walking a little slower these days. That’s a tribute to the crispy, golden-brown grass. When you feel the crinkling beneath your feet it’s exhilarating.

9 – Because that’s a good thing

It’s going on a T-shirt when I get around to making them: “I’m dormie.” Simple. Dignified.