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.

Freddie Couples and I have something in common.

No, not great golf.

It’s just that, given our respective old ages – I am about 10 years older than Freddie – the clubs in our golf bags look the same.

I found this out when I read one of my regular on-line golf magazines.

Here is how the article started.

“Telltale signs of aging:  Gray hair, balky back, golf bag filled with hybrids.

“These days, Fred Couples checks all those boxes.  But even at 64, with a silver mane, assorted aches and pains, and a much slower swing speed than he once possessed, the famously laidback veteran retains his youthful spirit.  And he’s not too proud to poke fun at himself.”

Poking fun involves admitting that he carries a lot of hybrids.

I do, too. 

Freddie’s longest iron in his bag is a 7.  Mine is a 6.

More from the golf magazine:

“With a camera on him as he stands in the fairway of the par-4 8th hole, Couples is asked about the arsenal of woods and hybrids he now carries. Six altogether.

“’Everyone keeps talking about ‘em,’ he says of his newly configured setup.  Other golfers might be embarrassed.  Couples simply shrugs off the stigma.  ‘I’m like, so my longest iron is a 7. Who cares?’”

Age drains distance from every golfer’s game – including mine — and, as Couples detailed at the Masters earlier this year, long and mid-irons are also no good for his balky back.

At one point, informed by his caddie that he had 177 yards remaining to the green, Couples didn’t hesitate in club selection.

“’A little 6-rescue for the boys,’ he says before flushing an approach that earns the approval of his playing partner, Jay Haas.  ‘6?’ Haas asks.

“’6-rescue,” Couples replies.  ‘Better than the 5.  You know, I couldn’t hit that with a 6-iron.  I’m not strong enough anymore. I hate to say that.’”

Like Freddie, I don’t much like having to admit that I cannot hit clubs the same distance as I used to years ago. 

But, the salvation is that, at my advanced, I am still on the golf course – hybrids and all!

So, Freddie and me, together still!