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 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 press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon, as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as 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.

For this idea, during my “stay at home” due to the coronavirus pandemic, I am indebted to my friends at Links Magazine.

A reporter at Links, Al Lunsford, asked his colleagues this question — if you were playing one course for the rest of your life, what would it be — as one way to pass the time sequestered at home instead of out on the golf course.

Good question.

For me, I decline to limit myself to just one.  I have three.

ILLAHE HILLS GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB:  The first is my home track in Salem, Oregon, where I have been privileged to be a member for more than 30 years.  It has been a time of both good and bad golf, as would be the case anywhere, but a place to start and build lasting personal friendships.

The course itself is a standard parkland-type track characteristic of the Pacific Northwest.  I don’t use the word “standard” with any negative implications, for playing the course effectively requires a combination of skill and luck.  The greens often run down hard from back to front, so, if there is an adage to playing Illahe, it is this — always remain below the hole.

There also are trees galore, at last count more than 1,000.  Perhaps too many – yes, too many – but it is a challenge to cut back on the number for several reasons:  Some members have a love of trees and hate to see any go; and, once a tree is cut down, the hard work begins – removing the stump and bringing the ground up to standard.  And, the trees add dimensions to how to play course from any of four tees, so removing one or more has to be the product of a clear-cut (pardon the pun) consensus.

As designed by a Northwest architect Billy Bell, about 60 years ago, Illahe has stood the test of time.  Efforts to build more water-tolerant fairways started about 15 years ago and have raised many fairways by four or five inches.  Greens were re-built about 10 years ago or so because, with as much water as we get in the winter, we came close to losing several greens each year.  Now, our greens are known as some of the best in the region.  Then, a couple years ago, we set out to re-build all of our 80-some bunkers, providing more effective drainage and better sand.

At all times, it is possible to walk the course, with reasonable distances between greens and the next tees.  Plus, the hills are tolerable, even for an old person like me.

The phrase I have used about Illahe over the 30-plus years of membership is this:  I never get tired of playing it.

ROYAL DORNOCH IN SCOTLAND:  My second all-time favorite course is one I have had the privilege of playing three times and, on each occasion, it was a pure pleasure to walk the historic links-land hard by the North Sea.  On each trip, my guide was my wife whose parents emigrated to the U.S. from Scotland, so the country is, in fact, my wife’s homeland and she knows a lot about the colorful and hardy history of the Scots who have received credit for starting golf, though some would say the credit goes elsewhere.  In every small Scottish town, including Dornoch, there is at least one course and sometimes more than one.

One of the times I played Dornoch was with my son, Eric, a far better golfer than I am.  It was a great father-son experience to remember forever!

I first fell in love with the place, not having been there in person, by reading a book by the acclaimed golf writer Lorne Rubenstein.  “A Season in Dornoch”” chronicled four months Rubenstein and his wife spent living in Dornoch in a flat above a bookstore.  It is still there today.

When I first read the book – I have done so numerous times – I was struck by one of the phrases Rubenstein wrote, which by my paraphrase, noted that how much he relished the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other to hear the sound of a foot-fall on the hallowed ground of Dornoch.  He played the course almost every day, falling even deeper in love with it, as well as the citizens of the community who welcomed him as if he was a long-lost friend.

Just think of this.  It is possible to join Dornoch from afar for a $1,177 initiation fee, plus $557 in annual dues, making that $1,734 first year cost the bargain of a lifetime.  Membership also includes reciprocity and discounts at a few other Scottish courses.

Returning to Dornoch is on my to-do list.

Further, imagine the joy when, on the occasion of my birthday this fall, two great friends gave me a Royal Dornoch flag.  Today, it sits prominently in my office where I can see it all the time, thus recalling what it was like to play there.

THE PALMS IN LA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA:  The Palms celebrated its 20^th anniversary this year, so it is young by comparison either to Illahe or Dornoch.

I have had the privilege of being a member for almost four years, playing the course in the California desert during the winter when the temperature is tolerable – and, of course, better than that, being in the range of 70 degrees-plus most days.

The Palms has a few distinctives:  (1) there are no tee times; the pros work you in as you arrive at the course; (2) you are required to play 18 holes in three and a half hours, which is not difficult if you set your mind to it; and (3) you face a test where the greens are the course’s best defense — when I first played there, the veterans said it was not possible to read greens well…you had to memorize the breaks.

Over its young life, The Palms has welcomed a number of golf pros as members.  One of them was Mike Weir, the Canadian golfer whose main claim to fame was that he won The Masters Tournament a few years ago.  He said he wanted to practice at The Palms because the greens gave him a test of what it would be like at Augusta.

In a design by pro golfer Fred Couples, an original member, The Palms also allows walking, which is unusual in the California desert.

Well, there’s my three-course list.  So, back to the Links Magazine article, with a list from its writers of “if I could play one course forever, what would it be:”

• Jack Purcell (President/Publisher): Secession Golf Club—Beaufort, S.C.
• George Peper (Editor): Old Course at St Andrews—St. Andrews, Scotland [First, it’s the perfect course to grow old on—dead flat with short walks from tee to green. On a mild day it’s not hard at all and on a blustery day it’s all the challenge you’d ever want. Virtually every shot calls for a bit of thought and planning, and to watch your ball bound, pitch, careen, and roll toward the hole is to know what Alistair MacKenzie called “the pleasurable excitement of links golf.”]
• Jim Frank (Senior Editor): San Francisco Golf Club—San Francisco, California
• Al Lunsford (Digital Editor): Winter Park Golf Course—Winter Park, Florida
• Tim Carr (Art Director): Tashua Knolls, Trumbull, Connecticut
• Nick Edmund (Contributing Writer): Royal County Down—Newcastle, Northern Ireland
• Ryan Asselta (Contributing Writer): Pinehurst No. 2—Pinehurst, North Carolina
• Tony Dear (Contributing Writer): Gamble Sands—Brewster, Washington [Incredible views over the Columbia River and North Cascades. Sublime, sandy, fescue turf and holes that make you blink and think and hit shots you don’t elsewhere. It’s just thrilling, unforgettable golf.]
• David DeSmith (Contributing Writer): Pebble Beach—Monterey, California
• Adam Stanley (Contributing Writer): Cabot Links—Inverness, Nova Scotia, Canada
• Erik Matuszewski (Contributing Writer): Cypress Point—Monterey, California

With all of this, here’s a challenge for you — come up with your own course to play for the rest of your life – or, as with me, don’t limit yourself to just one!