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.

In a way, I am hesitant to write this blog because it is – let me just say it, about me.

Oh well!  I have almost nothing else to do today, so here goes.

The subject?  The role of “starter” in golf tournaments.

Interested?  Perhaps not.

But, as we have seen in many professional golf tournaments, the role of starter is important.  Before players tee off on the 1^st tee (or the 10^th tee) they are introduced by a starter.

In my favorite golf tournament, the Masters, the starter simply says this – “Fore please, now driving, __________.”

Simple and straightforward.  No list of the player’s previous winnings, even if the list includes the Masters.

In many other events, if the player won a previous version of the tournament, he or she would be introduced by name and then by recognizing the winning achievement.

So, how do I carry out the assignment as a starter volunteering at tournaments for junior and older amateurs conducted by the Oregon Golf Association (OGA)? 

For junior golfers, the idea to use a starter gives players an example of what they will encounter if they continue to play in tournaments in years to come when having a starter is standard practice.  For more experienced players, they probably already know the role of starter, but they get to see it again.

In OGA tournaments, in recognition of the important role, starters always wear a white shirt, tie, and sport coat.  It’s part of the dress code.

So here are specifics I try to follow as a starter:

• First, I welcome players to the tee.  Then, I introduce yourself.  I also ask them to introduce themselves to other players in the same group.  [Most regular amateurs do this automatically; with some junior players, especially, the youngest ones ages 8-11, not so much, so they need to learn this etiquette.]

• Second, I inform the players about the order of play off the 1^st tee.

• Third, I pass out official scorecards for the event, and, again, with the youngest players, make sure they know to fill out the cards which are specially prepared for each tournament.  It’s new for many of them because the card is unlike regular ones.

I emphasize how important it is to keep score carefully on a hole-by-hole basis.  And, I often tell players that golf is unlike any other sport where someone else keeps score; in golf, you keep score yourself.

• Fourth, I review rules for the tournament, which, at least to a degree, are different for each tournament.  [Before engaging in my role as a starter, I always meet with the tournament director to note any points he or she wants me emphasize on the 1^st tee.]

• Fifth, I ask players if they have any questions and, if they do, I answer them.  Or, if the question involves a specific golf rule, I don’t provide an answer; instead, I call for the tournament director or a rules official to come to the 1^st tee.  As a starter, I am not a rules official, so I studiously avoid giving rules advice.

• Sixth, before the tee-off time arrives, I feel free to engage in just a bit of small talk with the players, but not so much that it deflects them from doing what they most need to do, which is focus on their first shot.

• Seventh, I call players to the tee one-by-one in the order on the tee sheet – and I do so at the exact time listed on the pairings sheet.  If, for some reason, players are late teeing off late, I relay that information by radio to the tournament director, to rules officials and to what are called “checkpoint officials” spread out over the course  The latter are volunteers who take two actions – (a) monitor pace of play in an effort to avoid slow play, and (b) take and report scores for the previous holes, so tournament officials can post scores on-line friends and family can monitor results away from the tournament site.

• Eighth, after all players have teed off, I wish them well by saying something like “play well and have fun.”

So, at base, think of it this way.  Without a starter in a golf tournament, the tournament would not occur.  It’s that important.

But, for me, it’s more than that – it’s fun and purposeful.