[PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was a reporter for the Daily Astorian (in Astoria, Oregon) and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as an Oregon state government manager and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing pubic policy – to what I write. If you are reading this, thanks for doing so and please don’t hesitate to respond so we can engage in a dialogue, not just a monologue.]

One of the headaches for those who hope golf, as a sport, can claim a larger audience is the fact that the game can be so slow.

That, plus the hours it takes to get in 18 holes – often four hours, if not more – makes it difficult to attract new devotees.

With this background, I was interested to read a piece by James Achenbach, who is retiring after many years as a writer for Golf Week magazine.

“Show play is one of golf’s biggest enemies,” he wrote, “but two club pros in the western United States deserve mention for leading the campaign to rid it from golf as if it were a malignant weed.”

Achenbach proceeded to highlight the efforts of the two club pros. One, Dick Hyland, head professional at The Country Club in DC Ranch in Scottsdale, Arizona, says fast golf is a way of life. He likes to play an 18-hole round each week with a different member of his club. As a twosome, they ride, are the first out on a given day and get around 18 holes in under two hours.

The other club pro, J.D. Ebersberger, co-founder of The Palms Golf Club in La Quinta, California, established three hours and 15 minutes as the target time for completing 18 holes.

As these two stories indicate, there are a number of ways to speed up golf, even if, as I do, you often walk 18 holes, which translates into about five miles. Always be ready to play when it is your turn. Figure out your yardage before it is your turn. When you get over your ball, take no more 15 seconds to hit a shot.

All of this argues against mimicking golf on the PGA Tour where players take much longer to play than they should. Slow play can become pattern for new players. Of course, the pros are playing for a lot of money, but, still, their example is not one to follow.

Golf can be a pastime for a lifetime, as it is for me. Good to be outdoors, getting exercise and playing a game that can tax your physical and mental strength. Just play faster.

And this footnote: It also is possible play golf too fast, thus ignoring the beauty of the surroundings and the pace of the game played well. To use a hackneyed phrase, stop and smell the roses.

In sum, play at a good pace, neither too slow nor too fast and enjoy the pastime that has captured the imagination of players for the ages.