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.

The golf course in Salem where I have been a member for more than 30 years – Illahe Hills Golf and Country Club — just completed a major renovation of its bunkers…all 44 of them.

The result? A far better golf course, both from playability and aesthetic standpoints.

Some months ago, Illahe management leaders set out to re-design and re-build bunkers, which can be a reality for many courses in the Northwest. With all the rain we get, bunkers just don’t last long – perhaps in the range of 10 years.

It was time for this project at Illahe, so the Board undertook it, without I add, imposing a special financial assessment on members. It was done within the operating and capital improvement budgets.

To accomplish this, the Board made the good-sense decision to engage a golf course architect, Dan Hixson, who has a lot of experience in the region, having worked at one point as the head pro at Columbia Edgewater, one of the best courses in the state. With his help, Illahe also hired a construction firm to do the work of taking out the old bunkers and building the new ones, with specific help from a “shaper” who used power equipment at the direction of Hixson to develop ground for the new bunkers.

It was a pleasure for me to watch the shaper at work…an obvious professional.

When the ground was ready – first, of course, workers had to move the old sand – we had new sand (white sand, which helped with aesthetics) delivered from Idaho. Then, the immediate areas around bunkers were planted either with grass seed or turf to make sure the bunkers were appropriately protected.

Finally, golfers at Illahe, me included, were told – again appropriately – that we could not play out of the bunkers for at least six months or so to let them weather in. Our very capable head golf pro, Steve Bowen, bought about 24 ball retrievers and laid them out on the course so we could retrieve balls from the bunkers without stepping in them. He also said that, if we could not get a ball out, he would give us a replacement at the end of the round.

Credit for the project also should go to Illahe’s long-time golf superintendent, Bill Swancutt. He and his maintenance crew displayed their normal great work ethic to supervise the project to successful completion. This major project at Illahe may be his last as I think Swancutt is contemplating retirement after about 35 years on the job serving as one of the premier golf course superintendents in the Northwest.

When a non-profit, member-driven operation enters into a project such as this, including with regard to cost, one never knows what the outcome will be. My sense is that the Board and Club management took an appropriate risk and the result proves the worth of their decision.

Illahe is a much better club for the investment of time, energy and money in this project.