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 a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

It makes sense, at least for a few minutes, to take a break from commenting in the worst presidential race ever to think about something more important: Golf.

Golf is one of my passions, so I thought about several notions that, if followed, would improve the game for all those who play.

Develop a routine

This is something that should be done before every shot, not just on the putting green. If you watch pro golfers – and goodness knows most of us will never be that good – they have a routine before every shot.

When they are under substantial pressure, they rely on the routine to move forward.

Golf teacher Hank Haney wrote in Golf Digest recently that one good routine before every shot from the tee or the fairway is to stand behind your golf ball and develop an idea about where you want it to go. The shot might go where you intend, but the discipline to imagine it is a good thing.

So, develop a routine. It doesn’t matter what it is – just develop it.

The “next shot”

There is an old question in golf: What’s the most important shot? The next one.

That is an axiom that, if followed, would allow golfers to avoid dwelling on a recent bad shot, but to focus on the next one.

Call this being “appropriately forgetful.”

It’s a solid ambition, but difficult to follow, as I attest from personal experience.

Perseverance

This is a word that involves focusing on the next shot and persevering to have that view – the next shot view — over an 18-hole round.

I have found that, if you focus on each shot, you’ll play better and have more fun.

So, using these admonitions and others you find helpful, go out to the golf course and have fun.

If nothing else, it will take your mind off the current presidential campaign, which is one worth forgetting.