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.

The Department of Bits and Pieces is open again.  It is one of five I run with a free hand to manage as I see fit because I am a management guru.

I won’t bore you with a list of the other departments I run.  Just know they exist.

And also know that I will pass this morning on writing about the Super Bowl shootout where the Philadelphia Eagles had more guns that the Kansas City Chiefs.

Now, for Bits and Pieces.

GREEN SPEEDS AT THE PALMS AND THE PLANTATION GOLF COURSES IN LA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA:  I cite this as a matter of interest to any golfers who read this, though you would have to know what a “stimpmeter” is to catch the drift.  The definition:  It is a simple device to measure speeds on golf greens and all golf courses use it.

The dictionary contains no definition of the word.  But what it means is this:  It is a slide down which you roll a golf ball and measure how far it goes.  Thus, you get a definition, such as 11.5.

Or, here is what I found on-line as for a definition beyond the dictionary:

“A stimpmeter is a device used by golf course superintendents to measure the speed of the greens.  Edward Stimpson created the first stimpmeter in the 1930s primarily out of curiosity.  As the Massachusetts Amateur Champion, Stimpson knew a thing or two about the game.  He would often wonder if certain greens on the course were faster than others.  Knowing this information would be a competitive advantage for sure.  

“He built the stimpmeter to achieve accurate, objective, and valid information on putting green speeds.  The device is similar to a yardstick but with a V-shaped groove in the middle to allow the ball to roll down in a consistent and repetitive manner.  Stimpson put a notch at the top of the device so that when it was raised to approximately 20 degrees from the putting surface, gravity would pull the ball off the notch and down the V-shaped groove.”

See, aren’t you glad you understand all this? 

Where I play in the Winter at The Palms in La Quinta, California, the golf course superintendent there told me he sets out to have the green speeds running at 11.5 on the Stimpmeter.

Last week, however, they were measured at 12:5, which is fast, about PGA Tour speed.

Meanwhile, on the Plantation, also in La Quinta, the greens were re-built this year and have not aged in yet.  So, they are very hard, hard enough not to hold high shots coming into the green.  And, as for the stimp – reportedly at least 12.

See, now you know that, as a management guru, I know what “stimpmeter” means.

I HOPE TRUMP GETS SUED BY EVERYONE:  This bit of news:  Unions representing government employees sued the Trump administration to block efforts to shut down the government’s independent foreign assistance agency.

Here is how hill.com put it:   “Federal judges are curbing Trump’s sweeping directives to reshape the government, issuing a flurry of rulings blocking his agenda from charging forward.   More than three dozen lawsuits have been filed challenging major Trump administration actions from gender to immigration to federal employee protections.”

If Trump were to act like a real president, not a make-believe one, such suits wouldn’t be necessary.

But, you see, Trump is both a narcissist and a budding oligarch.  What he says goes.  So, I say, sue him on everything all the time.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST:  Trump attended the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on Thursday.  Who knows why.

Late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel provided the answer.  He called Trump “MAGA Teresa,” and said Trump only showed up “because he doesn’t like it when people worship anyone other than him.”

Right answer, regarding the man who published a Bible with his name on the cover because, of course, he is greater than Jesus.

THIS ABOUT JOE BIDEN:  In act of retaliation, who knows for what, Trump took away Biden’s security clearance. 

Doesn’t Trump have enough to do to add Canada as a 51^st state, annex Greenland, take over the Panama Canal – and find ways to enrich himself at the expense of all Americans.  Why retaliate against Biden?

AND, IN CONCLUSION:  Back to golf.  Guess how long it took workers to erect the stands at the Phoenix Open Golf Tournament, famous for its 16-hole stands that surround the tee and the green?  Four months!

And, to take down the stands?  54 days.