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 (Les AuCoin), 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.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

As the pandemic rages on – and as the first vaccines are being distributed – I have taken a look back at the year in junior golf in Oregon.

I do so for at least two reasons.

First, the course where I am a member, Illahe Hills Golf and Country Club, has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to building golf among junior players.

This commitment existed back about 35 years ago when we joined Illahe and the Club became a site for activities by our now-grown children, Eric and Lissy.  Both learned golf, so much so that Eric earned a golf scholarship at Oregon State University and Lissy started what has been a lifetime interest in the sport.

Second, the Oregon Golf Association (OGA), where I serve as member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors, posted one of the best years ever in junior golf, if that is measured only by the group of young people learning to play golf by signing up for OGA tournaments.

So, even during the pandemic, junior golf has thrived.

What follows – a summary of junior golf achievements through the OGA – is based on a report prepared by the OGA’s junior golf intern, Tianna Brown, a graduate of George Fox University.  She worked all season long in junior golf and was good enough to prepare the following summary.

• The numbers of young people signed up for OGA junior golf programs grew markedly – 2,7872 by the end of the year, way up from 1,890 in the previous year.

• Two juniors – Graham Moody from Vancouver, Washington, and Kyra Ly from Portland – were named Junior Players of the Year, each for the second year in a row.

• Over the run of junior tournaments this year, there were:

         +  94 eagles

         +  5 holes-in-one

         +  2 albatrosses

• Illahe got a warranted dose of credit for hosting the annual OGA Junior Tournament of Champions.  Illahe’s head pro, Steve Bowen, worked well with the OGA to adjust the tournament several times for reasons related to the pandemic, as well as the effects of smoke from forest fires.

Kudos to Bowen, his pro shop staff and Illahe overall for being willing to host junior and regular amateur tournaments for the OGA.

What could be said about junior golf is what can be said about golf in general – the pandemic, amplified by the good work of golf administrators, is making golf these days more popular than ever.

For evidence, look no farther than a recent Wall Street Journal story that appeared under this headline:

Coronavirus shutdowns are making golf courses an oasis for stir-crazy Americans eager to get out and tee it up

With few alternatives for outdoor activities, the golf business hopes built-in social distancing can draw new participants