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.

Another indication that I sometimes have too much time on my hands is that I think about this question: What would I have wanted to be if not a lobbyist?

First, it doesn’t make much sense to look back at your life and wonder what if. Second, I enjoyed my years as a lobbyist, in part because I had a great list of clients. I was never embarrassed about representing them. Well, in truth, there were a couple that, upon reflection, I would have turned down, but, in the main, nearly all of them were reputable, honest participants in Oregon’s public policy process.

But, back to the question.

Here is my list of other pursuits for me.

1. Be a TV golf commentator

Listening to those currently on the tube leads me to believe that I could do as well as most of them do.

Consider typical phrases. “He or she has a lot of work left to do.” “If he or she would have hit it harder, it would have gone farther.”

Or, consider the phrase that has given commentator Gary Koch almost endless praise. In talking about a putt from golfer Tiger Woods on the tough 17^th green at Sawgrass in Florida, Koch said, “Better than most.”

Well, I guess not a bad turn of phrase in the moment, but, if you look at it for long enough, you are not sure what it means.

Or, finally on the heels of Masters’ tournament week, the phrase uttered by golf TV host Jim Nantz still echoes through the magnolias at Augusta – “a tradition unlike any other.”

2. Be a groundskeeper at Augusta National Golf Course

With Masters’ week in the rear-view mirror, my thoughts continue to go to the iconic course in Augusta, Georgia.

I have been there once for the Masters’ tournament (see my past blog on Masters’ memories), and I would gladly go again to the hallowed grounds in the south.

On one hand, as I reflect on the Masters’, I would be happy to play in the tournament – or at least on the course during non-tournament time. But, since that won’t happen, I have another vocational goal. It is to be a groundskeeper on the course.

That won’t happen either.

3. Be the person at the Masters’ who announces the names of players on the tee

This occurs with only a few words. “Fore, please. (name) now driving.”

I often function as a starter for Oregon Golf Association events, so it is easy to imagine myself at the Masters’, though getting to that position would be a substantial leap.

Still, if I were to make it, standing on the 1^st tee at Augusta Natiional would be a huge thrill.

4. Be a rules official for the United States Golf Association

Writing about goals that won’t occur, I cite this as another aspiration.

I have taken the golf rules test, after a three-day seminar, and it – the test – is incredibly difficult.

The rules are complex, but the problem with the test is that it is does not provide a solid assessment of your knowledge of golf rules. Questions are written in such a way as to be confusing on their face, which makes the rules even more opaque than they are.

Still, if I could master the rules test, I could function as, at least, a local rules official for tournaments run in the state and the region by the Oregon Golf Association, a very competent local association where I currently serve as a volunteer.

If optional jobs for me appear to revolve around golf, that is because they do. Call it my small mind.