BROOKINGS - I first set foot on the land that is now Salmon Run Golf Course some 15 years ago, back before I became Sports Editor at The World. Brookings resident Jim Cole, an avid golfer with a putting green in his back yard, took me out to the site where he envisioned Jack Creek Golf Course for the city's residents, so they wouldn't have to travel south across the border or north of Gold Beach to play.

It's different than at Bandon Dunes, where the panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean is the star. At Salmon Run it's the course.

Several lakes and ponds dot the course, including the one that separates the ninth and the 18th fairways and provides an interesting foreground for the course's most unusual feature - a green for both No. 9 and No. 18 that is connected by a narrow strip behind the pond.

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.