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.

It’s Masters’ week!

Nothing more needs to be said.

But here I go anyway.

As I anticipate watching my favorite professional golf tournament of the year next week, two unusual questions are being asked this year.

They are:

• Will Phil Mickelson, who has won three times, change his mind and decide he wants to play this year after fomenting so much controversy over his dalliance with the budding rival golf league involving a terrorist state – Saudi Arabia?

The answer is “no.”

• Will several-time champion Tiger Woods decide to play, even though he says he has not fully recovered from a horrific automobile accident a couple years ago?

The possible answer is “yes.”

The fact that Mickelson will not play is good for the Masters.  If he was on site, he would become a focal point, at least for the media, and that would end up detracting from a golf tournament which makes headlines on good play from those who participate, as well as on how well it organizes one of golf’s crown jewels.

As for Woods, he has said previously that he does not yet have the physical capacity or endurance to walk four full rounds on a golf course, including Augusta National.

But this story appeared on-line from the Southern California Golf Association:

“Tiger Woods is set to take a trip down to Augusta National in the coming days to walk the course before deciding whether to play at The Masters.

“As things stand, the 15-time major champion is still in the field for the famous tournament which he sensationally won in 2019.  As per the official Masters’ website, his name and picture are still on the list.”

And, yesterday, Woods, in fact, did walk the course and said his decision on whether to play would be made at game-time.

For my part, I decline to focus on each of the questions listed above.  Instead, I will get ready for this great tournament by:

• Getting my official Masters’ chair (at least I will do so in my mind because the chair is back home in Salem, Oregon while I am in La Quinta, California)
• Getting get my official Masters’ coffee mug (same issue; the mug is back in Oregon)
• Calling back and forth with my daughter as she watches the tournament in Woodinville, Washington, and I watch in La Quinta

It’s a great father-daughter experience no matter how far away geographically we are from each other. 

We love to share the Masters’ experience, which we were fortunate enough to have on-site in 2015 and now repeat each year from our homes in the Northwest.

Back in 2015, we arrived in Augusta on a Wednesday to watch the par 3 contest and a few other practice-round shots.  In the stands for the par 3 contest on hole #6, we watched Masters’ member Condolezza Rice welcome players to that tee.

And, from afar, we heard the cheers when Jack Nicklaus made a hole-in-one on hole #4.

Many pros walked over from several holes away to congratulate Nicklaus on his feat.  [By the way, he has announced that age will deflect from playing any more in the par 3 contest.]

After the first round, we made it home to watch the final two rounds in TV.

The Masters is my favorite tournament to watch all year long.  Every other year, the Ryder Cup might come close.  But the Masters’ remains.

Great memories for a lifetime!