Perspective from the 19^th Hole 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 question came up the other day on the golf course where I play, Illahe Hills Golf and Country Club in Salem, Oregon.

As relayed to me by a friend of mine, the question dealt with this issue:  Is there a penalty in golf if you happen to hit your ball twice?  And, are there different rules for hitting twice on the regular course or on the green?

The answer to both:  No.

Official Golf Rule 10.1a says this:  “If a player’s club accidentally hits the ball more than once during a single stroke, there will be no penalty and the ball will be played as it lies.”

The ruling is the same no matter where you are on the course – on or off the green.

When the question came up, I thought I knew the answer.  Under the golf rules re-write in 2019, the change was that there was no penalty for double-hitting.  But I was not sure whether the same rule applied to double-strokes on the green.  It does.

So, in golf you learn something every day, including about the often-arcane subject of rules applying to the game.

Speaking of golf rules, there was another fascinating issue in the BMW Championship completed last weekend.

Golf Digest described the situation under this headline:  Matt Fitzpatrick was denied the chance to replace his cracked driver.  Was that the correct call?

During the final round of the BMW, Fitzpatrick noticed a crack in his Titleist TSi3 driver on the 8^th tee.  He sought to replace the damaged club under Model Local Rule G-9, but his request was denied.

Why?

The model rule reads as follows:  “If a player’s club is ‘broken or significantly damaged’ during the round by the player or caddie, except in cases of abuse, the player may replace the club with any club under Rule 4.1b(4).

“For the purposes of this rule, a club is ‘broken or significantly damaged’ when:  The shaft breaks into pieces, splinters or is bent (but not when the shaft is only dented); the club face impact area is visibly deformed (but not when the club face is only scratched); the clubhead is visibly and significantly deformed; the clubhead is detached or loose from the shaft; or the grip is loose.

But here’s the rub.  A club face or clubhead is not “broken or significantly damaged solely because it is cracked.”  It has to be fully, not partially, cracked.

That’s the rule that caught Fitzpatrick.

Understandably, he was angry, but he played the rest of the round without a driver.  Still, at Castle Pines, which is a mile above sea level, a golfer of Fitzpatrick’s ability, can hit his three-wood – ah, wait, three-metal – more than 300 yards off the tee.

For me, a bit of a rules nut, I think the rule should be changed.  Any crack, not caused by abuse, should mean a replacement club.

Oh well, enough on golf rules for now?  My goodness, yes.