What I'm Chasing in 2026

The landline rings. It’s for me.

"Who calls on a landline these days?” I think to myself as I walk over to grab the phone from my father.

A gruff voice greets me on the other end. It’s my club’s resident 90 year old stick. He wants to put a tee time on the calendar following our spontaneous conversation at a dinner the other night. (We quickly bonded over our shared love of the game, and his stories of dealmaking in 1980s Washington pulled me in for a few hours.)

After we settle on a date and time, I hang up the receiver and just stand there for a moment.

I realize I don't even have his cell number, and I don't need it.

I’m not one for big “Rah Rah” new years resolutions. I think the concept is innately gimmicky, and that people commit to them for a month or two before they fizzle out.

See: “Dry January”

I’ve taken the advice of some folks and have committed to writing 3 sentences each day on what I accomplished. It’s not “journaling” as some may call it, but a simple routine to keep me accountable and working toward the right objectives.

Anyway, onto the yearly goals. I don’t have a particular order for any of them, but I will denote the objectives which I believe will be most difficult to complete.

I have a long-standing bet with my youngest brother re: hole in ones. Neither of us have ever made one. If I make one before he does, he has to quit golf, and if he makes one before me, I have to quit. That would be bad for business!

This one is going to take a monumental visualization effort on my end.

The plan is as follows: I’ve already picked out the hole where it’s going to happen. I can visualize the green, the prevailing wind, and the club I’ll hit.

Now, I’m thinking about the ideal time to make one.

In my minds eye? I’m playing in a twosome early in the morning in July or August. The best time of day and year for golf up north. It’s going to happen. I can feel it.

My favorite 2 hours on the golf course this past year were spent with my club’s resident 90 year old stick, who you met in the cold open.

Once we teed off, it didn’t take me long to see that he could still really play! I wasn’t too surprised when he revealed himself to be a college golfer way back in the day, before golf was even thought of as a sport, much less a cool and trendy one.

I was amazed at his desire to improve his game, even at his advanced age. On the 8th hole, he hit an approach shot in the green-side bunker and wouldn’t get out until he hit a bunker shot that met his standards. Aspirational. I gave him a few tips, and after about 10 attempts he got one within 15 feet. I raked the bunker for him.

It’s near the top of my list to play 9 more with him again this year.

This one is likely a multi-year project given current practice restraints and my general affinity for becoming an elite ball-striker before anything else.

With that being said, nothing strikes fear like seeing an opponent with a putter that looks like the one above. If you’re on the first green and a guy with this putter has an 8 footer for birdie? Pull the scorecard out, write down the number 3, and walk to the next tee. You’re 1 down.

This one is fairly simple. I’ve built a website (I am not a technical person. Do with that info what you will) to track elite amateur and mid amateur golf. I’ll use it mostly as a personal tool to keep myself up to date, so I can write about it, but wanted to share it with all of you here:

This is a personal goal of mine that I hope hits home with many of you. Although I have joked in the past that getting scammed by a golf club salesman is a right of passage for all golfers, I do not wish that fate on anyone.

The antidote? Let’s find the small guys. The shops without fancy signage or a war-chest of cheap PE debt. The true golf equipment geniuses who, up to this point, have only advertised via word of mouth.

The ultimate goal is to create a club-maker directory as an antidote to folks seeking out Club Champion, but I need your help. If you know of a shop that builds golf clubs, or does any sort of equipment work, (and wants free advertising) shoot me an email. All I need is the name of the shop and the location.

[email protected]

I shot 69 twice this year. Perhaps the best summer of golf I’ve played in my life. I’m looking to build on that momentum in 2026. We’ll see how it goes.

A staple of New England Prep Americana, the Oxford Cloth Button Down is due for a revival. I’ll be leading the charge here. Nothing beats a crisp cotton dress shirt. It’s versatile and timeless.

I’m buying from Sid.

Now, I know what you’re probably thinking:

“BTG, that’s obvious, of course we want to make more 2s”.

What I’m saying is this: the psychological impact of writing “2” on a scorecard is actually under-indexed, even in today’s data heavy golf landscape. It’s the lowest realistic score you can write on a scorecard (semi) consistently, and par 3s are my favorite type of golf hole. I’m laser-focused on making more of them for the mental benefits alone. I hope you’ll join me.

I logged 31 rounds this past year which was by far the most I’ve played since my college days. Starting this publication certainly helped. I enjoyed following along with folks posting their GHIN year in reviews, and am still trying to work out how some guys can log 180+ rounds in a year. Impressive stuff. I’ve settled on 50 this year as I can now use this publication as an excuse to go play.

“It’s for work” etc etc. We’ll see how long that holds up in the BTG household.

The Etiquette Book (working title) will be completed this year. As of this sending, I’ve completed the prologue, and have mapped out the narrative voice, story, and chapter structure. With any luck, it will be an effective spin-off of The Preppy Handbook with a satirical narrative focused on private golf club culture, attire, and etiquette.

I’m in contact with an illustrator, which will bring the pages to life and add a little color to my drier sense of satire. Updates to come.

Inspired by my goal to wear more OCBDs.

I’m headed down to Florida for a few days. I’ve been invited to play at a few clubs down there which shall remain nameless.

With a few rounds as a guest queued up, I started thinking about how to be a proper guest, and the traits of a guy you’d want to invite back. I thought for a few minutes before recalling one of my first ever posts: How to be a Proper Guest at a Country Club

Rough formatting, but what I wrote back in June still rings true!

A few additional thoughts on top of that post.

A final bit of advice: Go with the flow of the day. You are a passenger in car; you’re not driving. Leave the phone in the bag and be present.

Don’t give up on Christmas just yet!

Ninety miles southeast of Dallas, past the last strip mall and the final chain restaurant, the road narrows and the pines close in. You're nowhere near the coast. You're in Frankston, Texas, and you're about to play the best public course in the state.

Pine Dunes doesn't look like much when you pull up. The curb appeal won't remind you of Bandon or Streamsong. But the Golf Channel didn't name it "America's #1 Hidden Gem" for the welcome signage. They named it for the 18 holes carved through century-old longleaf pines that feel transplanted from the Sandhills of North Carolina.

Owner Jodi Lutz bought a forgotten 9-hole track in 1994 without ever having played golf. A chance meeting with PGA Tour pro David Frost changed everything. Frost walked the property, saw what could be, and connected her with architects Jay and Carter Morrish. By 2001, Pine Dunes had opened. By 2002, Golf Digest ranked it #6 among America's Best New Upscale Public Courses. Golfweek has since crowned it #1 in Texas.

The value proposition borders on absurd. Weekday rounds start at $89 with cart and range balls. Stay-and-play packages let groups of up to 80 book condos right off the 18th green.

Hey BTG,

I’m looking to upgrade the putter this winter, and currently playing an odyssey white hot blade. Thinking Scottie [sic] Cameron but not sure where to look for one/best routes to go in your opinion.

I’m going to make an analogy here, and a nerdy one, at that.

In the Harry Potter books, the Wand chooses the Wizard, not the other way around. While putters don’t necessarily have mythical powers (up for debate, see Tiger’s putter above) I do believe that the putter chooses the player.

The only way to allow a putter to choose you is to try as many of them as you can. And while I am partial to blades, sometimes a mallet is the one that calls your name.

My advice would be to keep an open mind and remain brand-agnostic for as long as possible. With enough effort and attention the right wand will appear.

Talk soon,

BTG

Email me: [email protected]