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.

When recreational golfers are faced with shots around the green, many tend to rely on a high-loft wedge to execute such shots, regardless of whether that club is the right one for the job.  And regardless of their ability to make such a shot.

Not me.

Those with whom I play know I usually hit a 7-iron.

That’s because I want to get the ball on the ground sooner so it can roll toward the hole.

If I have to carry something, such as a bunker, then I’ll take a wedge.

I learned the 7-iron skill when I had the privilege to play golf in Scotland on five occasions.  There, given the lay of the land in what are called “links-style” courses, a 7-iron will go a short distance or even a long one.  On one end, 50 or 60 yards.  On the other, perhaps farther than 150 yards.

For me, it’s one of the attractive aspects of links-style golf, much different than target-golf on parkland courses in the U.S.  Not necessarily better; just different.

Always using a wedge for a chip shot is a mistake, says Stefanie Shaw, a teaching professional at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Florida, and Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, New York.

She wrote in a recent issue of my subscription to information from the Southern California Golf Association.

“You have to take a really big swing to hit a high-lofted club to make it go a very short distance, so there’s a lot of room for error there,” said Shaw, a GOLF Top 100 Teacher.  “I like to tell my students:  The only time I want to have a high-lofted wedge in my hand is when I need to get over an obstacle in front of me, like a bunker, thick grass, or water.

“A high-lofted club is any wedge with a 56-degree loft or more — usually a sand wedge in most players’ bags.”

So, instead of immediately reaching for a sand wedge when you’re faced with a chip, Shaw recommends using a club you can keep low to the ground instead, like a pitching wedge or, in my case, a 7-iron. 

“The lower I can keep a ball to the ground, the more control I have over it,” Shaw said.

That’s me.  Reaching for a 7.

Finally, Shaw advises:

“Next time you have a few extra minutes in the practice area, take a few balls to compare your outcomes with different clubs around the green. Once you get acquainted with the roll-out on your lower-lofted clubs, you’ll enjoy the extra control — and the lower scores.”

Makes sense to me.

That’s why I often need new grips on my 7-iron.