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.

I suspect my friend who gave me a present for my birthday knew what I would do immediately:

Go to the Internet to seek more information or find another way to do research, as if there is another way.

The present was this:  An actual contestant badge for the 1967 Oregon Golf Open Tournament, which was played at my home course here in Salem, Oregon, long before I became a member.  It came framed and ready to mount on my golf-themed wall.

Yes, 1967. 

It was only six years after Illahe Hills Golof and Country Club opened as the only private golf course in Salem.  The winner that year – see below – helped to cement the golf course as a solid one so soon after its opening.

So, armed with only that much information, I decided to write a blog about the contestant badge and its context.  Why?  Writing helps me remember what I found out.  Plus, it was a fascinating journey into the past, made via the Internet and few other contacts – a journey that allowed to reflect again on how lucky my family and I are to be involved at Illahe.

In 1967, I didn’t know a thing about Illahe – not the name, not the location, not the nature of the golf course.  I was in my first year of college in Seattle, Washington, preparing in four years to enter the work-a-day world.

A lot happened after that, but it was not until 1979 that I moved to Salem with my family – wife, Nancy; son, Eric; and daughter, Lissy.  Three years later we joined Illahe.  It was a great decision.  Our two kids had a great time at the Club in their growing-up years in Salem.  Eric became – and still is – one of the top golfers at the Club where he is now a member on his own.  Daughter Lissy loved the Club, too, especially the swimming pool.

Back to 1967.

Frankly, information is a little sketchy that far back, but I did learn that the Oregon Open winner that year was Bob Duden, arguably one the best golfers ever in Oregon – and some would say perhaps even the greatest, though that might spark an argument about other contenders such as Peter Jacobsen, Bob Gilder, and a few others.

The 1967 event turned out to be the only time Illahe hosted the Oregon Open, so it remains an important milestone.

To illustrate his stature, Duden won the Oregon Open eight times – his fifth was the one at Illahe — to leave his mark on the Pacific Northwest golf scene.

He played the Professional Golfers’ Association Tour periodically in the 1950s and 1960s.  He won a 54-hole tournament event in Las Vegas one year and tied for the second in three tour tournaments between 1959 and 1964.

But it was in Pacific Northwest regional competitions that Duden was at his best.

He was a consistent title contender for more than four decades.  His playing record encompassed 23 major tournament titles, including the eight victories I mentioned in the Oregon Open.  He also won the Northwest Open three times, the Oregon PGA three times, the Washington Open three times, the British Columbia Open twice,

Beyond tournaments, Duden also is given credit for inventing the croquet- style putter, which he named “The Dude,” and for which he got a patent.  Eventually, Sam Snead used that putter.

I wish there was someone around at Illahe who could recall the 1967 tournament, including the field for the event — Duden and others.  But all the founders have gone on to their reward.  The simple fact that Duden played and won will have to be enough.

The current Illahe golf pro, Steve Bowen, himself a golf memorabilia collector, knew about Duden’s win and told me he might be able to find a program for the 1967 event.  If he does, I’ll see if it contains any additional useful information.

So, it turns out the contestant badge I now have commemorates the time Bob Duden came to the course to (a) play his own winning game, and (b) help convey credit for a new course – Illahe Hills Golf and Country Club.

And, as they say, the rest is history. 

The 1967 contestant plaque easily will find a place on the wall in my golf-themed office.