1 – Slow starts aren’t unusual

Before you speculate on how this bad cut in his right hand will get Scottie Scheffler out of the starting games with a crawl in 2025, consider this: He failed to capture any of his first five starts in 2024 and was winless until March. From which point he went on to win seven of his next 14 starts.

2 – One of us is not like the other

Unlike Hideki Matsuyama, who doesn’t like his great shots, hates his good shots, and rarely hits a bad shot, I sort of like my bad shots, adore my good shots, and rarely hit a great shot.

3 – Easy money

Organizers of TGL, the simulator golf league that features many of the elite PGA Tour names, concede they are using “paid sitters” to fill out the indoor venue in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Further research is being done by yours truly to see if these “paid sitters” get stipends for hot dogs, popcorn, and beers, in which case I’m all for it.

4 – Could it get easier?

If these “sitters” sit nicely, cheer passionately, and pick up after themselves, are they eligible for PIP money?

5 – Nuts, try ‘em

Here’s a strategy that’s employed when it’s time to sit and type: Keep two small bowls close by, one filled with pistachios, the other for the shells to be discarded. You’re welcome.

6 – An eagle is -2, a double-eagle would be -4

Should you call it a “double-eagle” and refuse to correct yourself (it’s an albatross), shame on you. Consider yourself on suspension, though I’m not quite sure from what.

7 – Melancholy

It’s a hollow feeling, this act of tossing your Christmas tree to the curb. Only thing I can compare it to is playing the 18th with a deft par then realizing it might not be for another year that I close out my round so nicely.

8 – Hey, it’s new to this year

So an old friend greeted me with a “What’s new?” the other day and I promptly answered, “Viktor Hovland’s double-pump at the top of his swing is back.” He shot me a quizzical look, but what the heck, he asked and I answered.

9 – Well, which is it?

Years of flying and it’s still befuddling. I’ve been told it’s a “full flight” and a “very full flight” and an “extremely full flight” and a “totally full flight” and a “100 percent full flight.” Which level represents the most crowded?