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 use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as 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.

If you know me, it won’t be a surprise that a Top 10 List of My Favorite Places in the World includes a few golf courses.

But I leave those courses for the last half of the list in favor of more general favorites.

So, here’s the list:

My home in Salem, Oregon: My wife Nancy and I have created a great place to live in Oregon’s capitol, Salem. Nancy deserves much of the credit for creating a welcome “nest.” We live a few houses away from our son and his family, have a great church which has been “home” for us for more than 30 years, have created great work places for those years, have a lot of friends, and love the community.

To use a trite phrase, great “when your home can be your castle.”

St. Andrews, Scotland: We have been in St. Andrews several times and it always is a great experience. One reason, of course, is the golf, which features the Old Course, plus several other venues that are part of the St. Andrews Links Trust (see below).

On sunny days – yes, there are such days in Scotland – the beach adjacent to the Old Course, as well as the course itself, accommodates walkers and waders because the course is closed. Plus, the town itself, with the St. Andrews University and many shops downtown, is a great place to walk, including seeing the coffee shop where Wills proposed to his bride.

The Plaza at the old La Quinta Hotel: We have been going to La Quinta in the California desert for many years and, on a couple of our trips, stayed at the old hotel. We fell in love with it. One of the main reasons is the absolutely incredible array of colorful flowers in the Old Hotel Plaza that creates vistas for the senses, including sight and smell.

Having a drink at The Plaza always is a great pleasure with the flowers as your guardian. Music provided by the Inca Kings adds to the pleasure.

Black Butte, Oregon: Back in Oregon, we have been heading over to Black Butte in Central Oregon for more than 30 years. A two-hour trip east from Salem, we always find a sense of rest and relaxation when we arrive at the front gate.

Great vistas with six or seven mountains standing guard over the central meadow. Great bike paths. Great weather – usually. Great relaxation.

Kapalua, Hawaii: The West End of the Island of Maui is one of our favorite places to visit. We have proved it for many years. One of the reasons is there are great golf courses in the area. They are not only good for golf, but also for vistas of the blue Pacific looking across to Lanai.

Often, you are able to see whales breaching in the ocean.

One of our favorite restaurants in the world is the Gazebo, which offers a great array of macadamia nut pancakes. We can’t miss this restaurant when we are in Maui, but, to get a table in the small establishment, you have to arrive early.

The same with Merriman’s at a point where you can watch the sun set with a cold glass of white wine and a great look across to Lanai.

Illahe Hills Golf Course in Salem, Oregon: Okay, now for golf. My home course in Salem is a great venue for the sport.

We have been members for more than 30 years and playing the course never gets old. Our kids grew up with access to golf, tennis and swimming, plus the camaraderie of a private country club where they made many friends.

The Palms Golf Course in La Quinta, California: I also have been fortunate enough to be able to join this golf course, which brands itself as being “for golf purists.” It was designed by pro golfer Fred Couples, along with pro, J.D. Ebersberger, who remains the director golf and chief operating officer at The Palms.

If you play The Palms, you must complete 18 holes in 3 hours and 50 minutes. Plus, there are no tee times there; the pros are very good at working you in to play the great 18-hole track, which is marked by greens with undulations and elevations that make them very challenging.

The Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland: While in St. Andrews, there is no better experience than to play the Old Course, which is familiar to many Americans, at least based on television viewing. It is a links-style course in true Scottish tradition.

The last time we arrived in St. Andrews, we did so on a Sunday when, as noted above, the Old Course becomes a park where citizens and visitors walk hard by the North Sea, which borders the course. You also are able to walk across the famous Swilcan Bridge, taking the “required” photos to capture the moment of a lifetime.

On our last trip, we were not able to secure a tee time before we arrived, so, on that Sunday, we participated in what’s called “the ballot,” which essentially is a lottery to determine who gets a limited number of available tee times during the week.

Wonder of wonders, as my daughter, Lissy, and son-in-law, Tim, and I were playing the New Course – it dates to the 1860s – my wife, Nancy, got a call saying that we would have a time on the Old Course the following day.

It was a supreme experience, again which will be remembered for a lifetime, including on the first tee when many visitors to St. Andrews line up to watch whomever is hitting. It makes for a few jitters on that tee, but the good news is that first fairway joins the 18^th, so there is a lot of fairway ground.

Royal Dornoch Golf Course in Dornoch, Scotland: Other than my home track in Salem, Oregon, Illahe Hills, my favorite golf course in all the world is Royal Dornoch located in the small town of Dornoch in far north Scotland.

It was the setting for one of my favorite golf books, A Season in Dornoch, by Lorne Rubenstein.   It chronicled his four-month stay in Dornoch to write a book, which captured very well the captivating nature of this place.

In one section of the book, Rubenstein wrote about what it felt like to play the course alone in the late afternoon, noting with typical writing skill, the sounds and feel of his footfalls on the venerable track.