People who haven't seen the old Face Rock Golf Course in a while might be surprised by the changes in the past several months.

Since Troy Russell and his wife, Kim, started leasing the course from owners Margaret Miller and Jerry Brown nearly a year ago and changed the name to Old Bandon Golf Links, they've made several improvements.

Troy and Kim Russell have made running Old Bandon Golf Links into a family affair.

Since the couple began leasing the course from owners Jerry Brown and Margaret Miller, they have gotten the entire family involved.

My biggest problem on the golf course has always been consistency.

It doesn't matter if I'm playing at one of the 6,000-yard resort courses at Bandon Dunes or any of the smaller municipal or executive courses I've played over the past 15 years, I just haven't been able to string a series of good shots together, much less do it for nine holes.

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.