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 have had the privilege of being in St. Andrews in Scotland, the home of golf, on two occasions.

Scotland is my wife Nancy’s family homeland, so it was great to be in
Scotland with her as my guide.

Of course, what matters to me most about St. Andrews is golf – and there is a lot to experience in this region of Scotland.  The St. Andrews Links Trust consists of seven courses, the most famous of which is the Old Course.

Is it the best of the seven?  Many who have played there probably would say “no,” as I would because I have played several of the seven, including at least two that I could describe as better than the Old. 

But the Old Course is clearly the most memorable.

A few of my memories there:

• I forget much of what happened on our first visit there, but I did manage to get a tee time on the Old Course, which is often difficult to achieve.  And I remember a few of the holes, especially the 1^st and the 18^th, sitting, as they do, side-by-side.

• One of my best memories occurred on a trip there with my daughter, Lissy, and her family.  When we arrived in St. Andrews on a Sunday, we found the usual St. Andrews policy — which is that the courses are closed to golf, so the land becomes a park, sitting hard by the North Sea and the sand beach between the courses and the ocean.

With closure, there is a time to explore the courses and take pictures with no golfers in the way.  Of course, we took a photo on the famous Swilcan Bridge.

On that Sunday, we also put in our bid – it’s called a “lottery” – to try to get a tee time on the Old Course.  It worked.  So, on Tuesday, we played, and I still remember my daughter’s account of her thoughts as she teed up her golf ball on the first hole, which is only about 20 feet in front of a bay of windows in the Royal & Ancient Clubhouse.

She felt like all eyes were on her.  And she felt like she might throw up.  The good news is that she piped a great drive down the first fairway.

• The other memory was recalled for me by our son, Eric, as he and a friend toured Europe after college.  He said he went to the Old Course and, as many singles do, waited in line to see if there was room for him without a formal tee time.

There was and, with others he didn’t know before the time, he played the Old Course for the first time.

My current edition of Links Insider, in a story by Graylyn Loomis who lived in St. Andrews while in college, lists “10 Other Things to Love About St. Andrews.”  By the word “other, he means “other than golf.”

Here are the 10:

Long Summer Evenings

The hardest part of living through a winter in St. Andrews isn’t the weather:  It’s the daylight, or lack thereof.  In mid-December, the sun rises after 8 a.m. and sets before 4 p.m.  The last tee time on the Old Course that time of year is 11:50 a.m.  The part to love? In the summer, you get back all those dark hours with glorious summer evenings that seemingly last forever.  During my summers in St. Andrews, I would caddie an afternoon round, have dinner, and go play a round of my own.  In June, the light lingers until just after 11 p.m.

The West & East Sands

The tale goes that Old Tom Morris started his days with a dip in the sea, no matter the temperature or weather.  When you hear that story, it makes you look at the West Sands — the 1.7-mile-long beach next to the Old Course near Old Tom’s shop — and question his sanity.  Locals use the West Sands, also the site of the famous Chariots of Fire running scene, and its half-mile-long sister beach across town, the East Sands, as places for recreation.  The East Sands also has the town’s pier and harbor, where you can buy fresh fish straight from the boat.

The Clubs

Many golf clubs share the seven courses of the St. Andrews Links.  The Royal & Ancient is the most famous, but there’s also the St. Andrews Golf Club, the New Club, and the two women’s clubs, St. Regulus and St. Rule. Each operates independently, but they come together a few times a year for competitions like the Gold Medal—a tournament on the Old Course for the best players from each club—and the Town Match, when many of the clubs open their doors for drinks after a day of interclub match play.  Each club has its own identity, but a shared love of golf binds them together.

Luvians Bottle Shop

The commercial heart of St. Andrews is Market Street, a bustling cobblestone road that buzzes with businesses, restaurants, people, and the vitally important Tesco grocery store with its ATM machine for caddie cash.  There’s also a bottle shop called Luvians, which sells wine and whisky, and sparked my love of single malts.  A stop at the store (and conversation with its knowledgeable clerks) should be mandatory.

Munch Bacon Rolls

By the third or fourth morning of a St. Andrews golf trip, you’re certain to have had enough of your B&B’s “full Scottish” breakfast: beans, sausage, bacon, fried eggs, fried bread, haggis, potatoes, tomatoes, and mushrooms.  That’s when it’s time for a coffee and bacon roll at Munch on South Street.  A bacon roll consists of a fresh buttered bread roll and two “rashers” of British bacon.  A few blocks away is another restaurant you’ll crave around day four, Little Italy.  When you’ve tired of pub grub, its excellent Italian food is a welcome change.

Sunday Strolls on the Old Course

On Sundays, all seven courses managed by the St. Andrews Links Trust, including the Old, close and become public parks, used to walk dogs, run, and take photos.  This balance of golf and “real life” makes St. Andrews feel like a town and not a golf resort.

Belhaven Best

If you’ve been to St. Andrews, you have your favorite pub.  Visiting Americans love The Dunvegan.  Older locals and caddies haunt The Keys.  British ale lovers sip away in The Central, and on a sunny afternoon it’s mandatory to sit outside for a pint at The Jigger Inn.  You could find me in the New Club.  At almost all those places, you’ll find Belhaven Best on tap.  The quintessential Scottish ale, this creamy, amber-colored brew warms on a cold day, cools on a warm day, and always goes down smooth.  “Best” isn’t found only in St. Andrews, but there are few better places to enjoy it.

The University of St. Andrews

“Where’s the campus?” is a common question from visitors looking for the university that dates to 1413.  Truth is, the university and the town are so intertwined that they’re almost one.  The heart of campus is picturesque St. Salvator’s Quadrangle off North Street, but university buildings are everywhere, sitting between shops, restaurants, and apartments.  More than its buildings and history, though, the university brings vibrancy to the town:  Students make up almost half of the town’s population and they add youth, vigor, and noise, often to the irritation of locals.

The East Neuk

The East Neuk of Fife is a series of charming nearby fishing villages.  Each town — Anstruther, Crail, Pittenweem, and others — seems to jump from the pages of a fairy tale, with colorful waterfront shops and restaurants, fishing boats puttering in and out of the harbors, interesting history, and other delights.  The most scenic way to view the East Neuk is from the second story of a double-decker public bus:  At that height you can see over stone walls and hedgerows and take in the towns, sea, and rolling fields.

The Scores

During “move-in day” my freshman year at the University of St. Andrews, I entered my dorm room in St. Salvator’s Hall and looked out the window onto the North Sea.  Just in front of the cliffs and crashing waves was a street called “The Scores.”  I fell in love with the quiet lane lined with centuries-old buildings and ancient stone walls.  Best yet, it led directly to the first tee of the Old Course.  Also on The Scores is a charming B&B called the Russell Hotel where they make a mean sticky toffee pudding, and on a nice evening you can sit outside and soak up the Old Course in one direction and the cliffs and sea in the other.