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.

This is one of three departments I run with complete authority to manage as I see fit.  The others are the Department of Pet Peeves and the Department of Good Quotes Worth Remembering.

So, the Department of “Just Saying” is open again.

ALL DOGS MATTER:  Have you ever wondered how and why the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals films its TV commercials?  I have.

The “why” is to raise money and I have no problems with that.  But the “how” raises questions.

I hate to watch because the commercials often feature dogs suffering in the cold while chained up.

So “JUST SAYING:”  Why don’t those filming the commercials rescue the dogs?  Better than continuing to film their plight!

ALL WIVES MATTER:  That is the title of a group of guys with whom I play golf several times a week at The Palms, a great course in La Quinta in the California desert.

We arrived at the name because all of us know “All Wives Matter.”  And so, several times during the winter, we gather for a great dinner at The Palms and, with our wives, recount our golf exploits, which, as you might imagine, doesn’t take very long.

All of this came to mind this morning as I thought of two cases on the professional golf tour where wives were reported to have given their golfer husbands great advice.

Case #1 occurred on the morning of the final round of The Masters’ golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia. 

Leading by several strokes, Scottie Scheffler had trouble in the morning (he had a late tee time) imagining himself playing the final round successfully.  He told his wife he felt he wasn’t up to the task.  However, his wife intervened and told him that he was a good player and to focus on his work. 

If it was his time to win, she said he would win.  If not, she said his win might come later.  Just play golf, she said.

Scheffler and his wife are Christians and, so, they believe God is in charge of their lives.  If it’s God’s timing, great.  If not, also great.

Buoyed by his wife’s advice, Scheffler went out and played a great round to win.

Case #2 involved Jordan Spieth as he sought to win the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina, the tournament that always follows The Masters. 

At the end of his third round, Spieth had a 20-foot putt on the last green for a birdie.  He missed it, but only by about 18 inches.  Then, apparently without thinking too much, he tried to rake the ball into the hall from 18 inches away.  He missed, thus settling for a bogey.

As he tried to forget his blunder, his wife reportedly had great advice for him.  Not necessarily a golfer herself, she told her husband, “before hitting any short putt, always take about five seconds” to get your mind around the quick task ahead.

In the fourth round, Spieth practiced the “five-second rule,” didn’t miss any short putts, and went on to win the tournament.

So, “JUST SAYING,” All Wives Matter!

And this footnote:  James Achenbach – a wily, funny and clever golf writer who worked full-time for Golfweek for 24 years – passed away Friday, April 15.  He was 78.  I knew Jim for two reasons:  First, I read his golf articles, and, second, he was a member at The Palms where I play in La Quinta, California. 

I would see him on the range and we would talk about golf, including one of his aspirations, which was to play a round at one of the oldest golf courses in the country, Gearhart Links on the Oregon Coast.

Legend has it that the course in Gearhart began life in about 1888, starting out as three holes of true links-style golf amongst the seaside meadows that characterize the North Oregon coast.

No wonder Jim wanted to play the course.  So do I.  We never got together for the round.

But, JUSY SAYING, happy trails to Jim!