1 – Spot on with the wedge

Likely it doesn’t matter to many of you, but I’m riding a hot streak. On each of my last 17 visits to a bunker, I’ve exited and successfully banged the sand off of both my left and right golf shoes without missing and slamming the wedge into my ankle bone. That’s 17 straight, a PR and whether you congratulate me or not, my ankles thank me profoundly.

2 – The proper sequence

And always you bang the sand off of your left foot first, then the right.

3 – We’re on the same page, I hope

Please tell me you know what I’m talking about with this banter about bunkers and removing sand from golf shoes.

4 – At least, my thinking before the Nor’easter

Oh, if we could only bottle mid-September to mid-October weather and have it 10 months a year.

5 – Moving closer

So, if you have been offering the excuse that Bandon Dunes is just too far to go, being way out there on the Oregon coast, there’s good news for you. Bandon Dunes has given birth to Rodeo Dunes, another resort blessed with hundreds of thousands of acres of sandy soil, only this one is near Denver, an easier commute from the East Coast. The Keiser family will open one course in ’26, a second in ’27, and four others are planned.

GOLF COURSE SIGNS -- Sometimes words are not needed. A simple arrow for direction and colored dots indicating the tee box desired. Understated and unpretentious, the sign is vintage Bandon Dunes and it remains one of my favorite images from that playground of aura. As always, should you have a favorite golf course sign that tickles your fancy, feel free to send it to jim@powerfades.

6 – Deep breath, now find a coin

Personal phobia: When paired with golfers I’ve never met, it’s my biggest fear that I’ll walk toward my ball, which I’ve lagged to 2 ½ feet, and start fumbling around in my right pocket for a coin or marker. To delay in pulling out a coin is awkward, makes you look like a golfer who lives to hear, “that’s good,” and it’s not a way to meet new golfers.

7 – Why so unfair?

As if our treatment during the recent Ryder Cup wasn’t unhospitable enough to British visitors, in back-to-back weeks we’ve sent the Browns and Jets to Tottenham for NFL games. We just won’t give the Brits a break.

8 – Make them feel welcomed

With frost upon us, that’s a sure signal to be kind to your golf clubs – get them out of your trunk. And put them where? Well, the basement is a popular place, but I like to keep them in view, like the living room or dining room. Basements are for discarded toys and broken-down appliances, items that are no longer part of your world. But golf clubs? They are your world. They deserve prime real estate.

9 – Sorry, but the numbers don’t add up

Congratulations to all those securing PGA Tour cards for 2026. If only the PGA Tour could accommodate you. Stay loose; you won't play a lot early.