BANDON - When Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw set about designing Bandon Trails, they had a lot to live up to.

Not only did the course have to stand up well to its older siblings at the famed Bandon Dunes Golf Resort - Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes - but it also would be compared to Coore and Crenshaw's other designs, including highly touted Sand Hills in Nebraska and Friar's Head on Long Island.

Before our round at Bandon Trails started, John and I got a chance to talk to Resort Head Golf Professional Jeff Simonds about the changes that have taken place at the course in the last year or so.

We have all felt the anguish of three-putting a green after hitting a very good approach shot. Not only do we have to deal with the inner voice shouting quietly at ourselves, but we might have to endure the feeling of letting down a partner, or unwillingly accept those infamous ribbings from playing companions, or worse, maybe the loss of a few dollars.

Stop to think for a moment, when was the last time you had new grips put on your clubs? Have the grips ever been changed?

How about the last time you cleaned your clubs? When you did clean them, did you clean the grips as well as the club heads?

In golf, whenever a player intends to make a full swing the rule of thumb is that you should stand with your feet, knees, hips and shoulders on a line that is parallel to the line of shot - a position described as being "square" to the target.

Bunker play is an important part of scoring on the golf course. Better players would rather be in the sand than in the rough, because it is easier to judge a bunker shot than the thickness of the rough.