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.

Here’s the preamble to this blog headline:

When I serve as a 1^st or 10^th hole starter in golf tournaments, I always pass out at least two documents to players:  An official scorecard and a set of rules for the event.  I do this in both junior and adult tournaments.

Then, the players, eager to tee off, don’t appear to spend much time reading the rules.  I always emphasize that doing so could help them play their round, not just to hear about penalties that could be involved.

I also often suggest that, when players head down the 1^st or 10^th fairways, they should spend a few minutes reading the rules.

That said, here is a story about a recent pro tournament where reading the rules would have helped a player.

The headline from Apple News:  “A pro takes second look at the rules sheet.  Then comes seven penalty strokes.

“The pro — Anthony Quayle read the rules sheet quickly.  Another look wouldn’t have hurt.

“As soon as I realized (what had happened), I felt sick in the stomach,” Quayle said, “I thought I’d done something terribly wrong.”

“What followed at the Victorian PGA Championship, a PGA Tour Australasia event, included a call to the tournament director and rules officials, along with multiple penalties – and a pledge (to read the rules more carefully).

“The sequence came during first-round play, after players had been given a document alerting them to the option to use preferred lies — or lift, clean and place — on a portion of the 13th fairway on the Open Course at Moonah Links.” 

“But only on the 13^th fairway.

“Quayle said he looked at the announcement, but mistakenly read it as preferred lies being in effect for the entire course — and played in that fashion all the way to the 15th green.”

Then, to his credit, Quayle realized his mistake, conferred with rules officials, and gave himself seven penalty strokes.  Rising above the problem, he went on to make the cut and win a little money.

But the story underlines an important task in playing in a golf tournament:  Read the rules!