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 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.

A few days ago, Links Magazine emerged with its list of what it labeled “the toughest greens in golf.”

Arbitrary?  Yes.

But, nonetheless, interesting, especially for me, when I added to the list on the courses where I play most of my golf — Illahe Hills in Salem, Oregon, and The Palms in La Quinta, California.

Now, Links has followed up with a list of what it calls “the scariest watery graves.”

And, of course, with nothing much better to do, I thought of “watery graves” at Illahe and The Palms. 

Here is how the writer, David DeSmith, started his Links story:

“Whether you call them water hazards or penalty areas, golf’s lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans often become final resting places for our errant shots. You can recover from deep rough or a bunker.  But there’s no coming back from a water hazard unless it’s a very shallow one and you’re feeling especially courageous.”

So, at Illahe and The Palms, here are my comments:

• Illahe:  Depending on how you count them, there are water penalty areas on seven holes.  The toughest – scariest – for me?  It’s #16, a tough par 5 where water comes into play on at least two shots, perhaps more.  If you get a par on the hole, great.
• The Palms:  If you don’t count a creek which runs along several holes, with two small ponds, water in the form of a large pond comes into play on only one hole, #7, a par 4.  I can attest that it’s easy to reach that water on your drive or on your second shot – or even on your third.

In the Links article, DeSmith goes on to cite his view of the 12 toughest water hazards – er, penalty areas:

Rae’s Creek—Augusta National Golf Club (Augusta, Georgia.)

Let’s get the most famous one out of the way first.  Patrons of the Masters know well the role that a nettlesome tributary of Rae’s Creek plays in guarding the front of the green at Augusta National’s famous par-three 12th hole and the fairway and green of the equally famous par-five 13th.

Mangrove Lake—Mid Ocean Club (Tucker’s Town, Bermuda)

Bermuda’s Mid Ocean Club credits C.B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor as its original designers.  At Mid Ocean’s par-4 5^th hole, they created a classic Cape hole that starts at an elevated tee and bends gently left around the edge of Mangrove Lake.  How much of the lake can you carry with your tee shot?  The lake will let you know.

Machrihanish Bay—Machrihanish Golf Club (Machrihanish, Scotland)

It’s not a lake you need to worry about when you hit your opening tee shot at Machrihanish Golf Club — it’s the Atlantic Ocean.  Here again, the par 4 sweeps gently to the left, hugging the shoreline.  There’s plenty of room to bail out to the right, but that just makes this 424-yard hole even longer. Should you hit your tee shot left, you might get lucky, though.  If the tide is out, you can play your second shot from the beach.

[NOTE:  I played this hole and managed to clear the water – the ocean — making it to the beach where my shot toward the green was like playing out of the sand.  But, you can play from the sand, not the water…usually.]

Stillwater Bay—Pebble Beach Golf Links (Pebble Beach, Calif.)

Imagine coming to the 18th tee at Pebble Beach needing a birdie or par to win the U.S. Open and seeing the vast expanse of Stillwater Bay lurking.

Victoria Cove—Cape Wickham Golf Links (King Island, Tasmania)

Here’s another 18th hole where a water hazard features prominently. In the case of Cape Wickham’s 434-yard finisher, though, the fairway bends to the right along the edge of Victoria Cove and its secluded beach. From the tee, you can’t see all of the fairway, which adds to the shot’s difficulty. And you’re not out of danger after your tee shot, either, as the beach runs right up the edge of the green.

Pacific Ocean—Cypress Point Golf Club (Pebble Beach, Calif.)

Just up the coast from Pebble Beach lies one of golf’s most demanding holes:  The 230-yard, par-three 16th at Cypress Point, which is all-carry from tee to peninsula green—usually into the prevailing wind off the sea.

Pacific Ocean—Mauna Kea Golf Course (Kohala Coast, Hawaii)

The 3rd hole at Mauna Kea is another all-carry par three — this one with black volcanic rock thrown in for good measure.

[NOTE:  I also have played this hole, though it was too long to remember much, other than the forced carry.]

17th Hole Pond—Ocean Course at Kiawah Island (Kiawah Island, South Carolina)

At 223 yards, the par-three 17th hole at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course didn’t need water to make it a tough test.  But designer Pete Dye put it there anyway.  

West Whale Bay—Port Royal Golf Course (Southampton, Bermuda)

The 16th at Port Royal in Bermuda is another all-carry par three.  In this case, it’s West Whale Bay that your tee shot will have to avoid as it travels the 227 yards from tee to green.

Pacific Ocean—Punta Mita Golf Club, Pacifico Course (Nayarit, Mexico)

Jack Nicklaus must have been drooling when he saw the coastline he’d have at his disposal when he was asked to design the Pacifico course at Mexico’s Punta Mita Golf Club.  Jack’s Pacifico course actually features 19 holes; after the par-three 3rd hole (labeled Hole 3A), you get to play a bonus hole that the club calls its 19th hole (or Hole 3B).  Its name is “Tail of the Whale,” and it’s 180 yards over rocky shoreline and water to a green perched on its own selfie-spot peninsula.

Hawke’s Bay—Cape Kidnappers (Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand)

Don’t play Tom Doak’s Cape Kidnappers on New Zealand’s North Island if you’re afraid of heights.  Several of its spectacular fairways and green sites have steep drop-offs from cliffs perched 400 feet or more above the tumultuous waters below. At the dramatic, 650-yard, par-five 15th Hole, the green is perched at what looks like the edge of the world.  Anything long or left is likely to tumble a long, long way down to the bright blue water below.

17th Hole Lake—TPC Sawgrass, Players Stadium Course (Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida)

The famous island-green, par 3, 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass is golf’s ultimate do-or-die hole.  All it demands is a high, straight shot of around 137 yards.  Easy, right?  The only problem is that the green is just 78 feet deep and 81 feet from side to side.  More than 100,000 balls are pulled out of the water there every year.

Okay.  Perhaps more information than you wanted to know or needed.  Oh well.

But, during this election season, this is another poll, probably with a high margin of error because, again, I am the pollster, with only marginal credibility.

At Illahe, what is the toughest water penalty area?  All entries accepted.

Overall, the best approach, both with bunkers and water hazards, is to avoid them. 

Sounds simple.  It isn’t.