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.

390

390

390

1,170

What do these numbers mean?

Well, glad you asked.

They refer to the number of golf balls hit by 130 young players between the ages of seven and 15 who were at my home golf course, Illahe Hills Golf and Country Club yesterday for the regional Drive, Chip and Putt competition, which is sponsored jointly by the United States Golf Association and the national Professional Golfers Association.

Yes, 130 players were on hand.

Here’s what they did:

• Each of the 130 players hit drives on our range – and, if you add that up, it comes to 390 drives.

• Each of the 130 players hit chip shots on our chipping green – and, if you add that up, it comes to 390 chips.
• Each of the 130 players hit putts on our putting green – and, if you add that up, it comes to 390 putts.
• In all, that means 1,170 shots were hit by junior players during the six-hour event at our golf course.

At Illahe, we were glad to host these junior golfers because, to put a significant point on it, they are the future of the game we love.

The main purpose of the event was to create a fun atmosphere for kids.  But, of course, there were winners who will now go on to regional and sectional events, which, for some of them, will lead to the national Drive, Chip and Putt competition held in conjunction with the Masters Golf Tournament in Georgia next spring.

All of this comes on top of what Illahe Hills already does to support junior golf.

About 75 young people are involved in junior golf every week at the course.  They get instruction from Illahe pros and get to play three, six, or nine holes, depending on their ages.

At Illahe, junior golf matters.  And, I hope it does at all other courses.

Mr. Google puts it this way:

“Kids can benefit from the sport mentally, physically, and emotionally.  The sport can set them up for success as they get older.  Many of the skills learned on the course translate to real life.”

As a volunteer for junior golf programs in my home state, Oregon, I have seen the benefits first-hand.  The vast majority of junior golfers I have seen have used golf to prepare them for life.