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 question in the headline came up in the most recent on-line edition Links Magazine and it prompted me to try to answer the question.

Here is my list, though it was hard to limit the size of the list. In some cases, the courses are ones I have played previously, but want to show up again. Others are new.

ROYAL DORNOCH, SCOTLAND: Royal Dornoch is first up. I have had the privilege of playing it three times on my trips to Scotland. For me, it is the most memorable course in the world.

THE OLD COURSE AT ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND: I have had the privilege of playing the course in the past and there is nothing like standing on the first tee and hitting your first shot in front of spectators who may not be there to see you specifically, but love golf – and, I hope, love your first shot of a glorious round.

CASTLE STUART, SCOTLAND: This is a relatively new course in Scotland, one I’ve played several times. But the traditional Scottish links-style golf calls me back again.

AUGUSTA NATIONAL: I know I’ll never get a chance to tee it up on this course, which every year hosts the Master’s Golf Tournament. But dreaming is allowed.

PINE VALLEY: The unique character of this famous course is forged from the sandy pine barrens of southwest New Jersey. Pine Valley blends three schools of golf design—penal, heroic and strategic—often times on a single hole.

PINEHURST: This area is North Carolina is the location of the Pinehurst Resort, venue for a number of major championships — the 1936 PGA Championship, the 1951 Ryder Cup, the 1999, 2005 and 2014 U.S. Open Golf Championships, the 2008 U.S. Amateur, the 2007 and women’s U.S. Open Golf Tournament. As I understand it, there are at least eight courses at Pinehurst that are worth playing.

CAPE KIDNAPPERS IN NEW ZEALAND: It seems like a good idea to spend a day in one of the most unique locations in New Zealand, the Cape Kidnappers Golf Course. It is perched on a cliff top, and offers sweeping coastline views and dramatic landscapes. Not to mention topography that I understand is is much like Oregon.

WHISTLING STRAIGHTS: The Straits at Whistling Straits has hosted the 2004, 2010 and 2015 PGA Championships and the 2007 U.S. Senior Open, and it is the future site of the 2020 Ryder Cup. Whistling Straits offers two courses of dynamic contrast and world-class prestige. Open, rugged and windswept terrain defines The Straits, which is sculpted along two miles of Lake Michigan shoreline. Borrowing influences from Irish links courses, The Straits has fescue fairways and massive sand dune bunkers. Just inland, interspersed by four meandering streams, the grassland and dunes aspect of The Irish is a deceiving tranquil landscape.

For Links, here is the writer, Graylin Loomis’s bucket list in his own words.

ASKERNISH: This ancient course is located in the Outer Hebrides, which are a series of remote islands off the west coast of Scotland. Askernish is an Old Tom Morris course on the isle of South Uist that at some point was forgotten and left to grow back into grassy dunesland. In the last decade the course has been “rediscovered” and these days the grass is cut, the greens roll true, and there are meandering sheep and cows grazing everywhere you look (other than the greens, which are surrounded by electric fences).

CABOT CLIFFS/LINKS: Isn’t this supposed to be a list of five courses? I’m cheating slightly here by including both Cabot Cliffs and Cabot Links, but how could you visit the resort and not play both? The Nova Scotia resort has one course designed by Rod Whitman and another from Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.

ROYAL COUNTY DOWN: On my only visit to Northern Ireland, Royal County Down was closed for a multi-day tournament. We tried to wrangle our way onto the course but were politely told that we’d have to visit another time. It’s one of the greatest links courses in the world and having lived and played golf all over Scotland for four years, I want to see the best of what the Emerald Isle has to offer! Architects from Old Tom Morris to Harry Colt and Harry Vardon have all added to this course and I occasionally dream about following in their footsteps at County Down… literally.

SAND HILLS: I love road trips and one day I plan to drive across the U.S. with my wife, winding through local towns and down back roads. When we look at potential routes, the Sand Hills region of Nebraska always makes the cut. It’s essentially a massive area of beautiful meadows and sand dunes, and it’s also home to Sand Hills Golf Club. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw designed the course in the early 1990s and they famously moved almost no soil or sand to create the course. pumping as a golfer, something’s wrong.

SUNNINGDALE: Old UK golf clubs tap into my favorite aspects of the game. The traditions, history, and often the courses at those places could never be replicated elsewhere, no matter how hard a modern developer tries. One traditional English club that I’ve never visited is Sunningdale and it’s been at the top of my list for some time. The club embodies the best of England’s heathland golf and its rolling terrain makes for some of the most beautiful inland golf you’ll find.

Sounds like a couple golf trips in the making.