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 friend of mine from Salem writes about rules every month for the Oregon Golf Association (OGA) on-line newsletter.  Usually, he makes rules come alive.

This time, he wrote about slow play in golf.

And this friend, Terry McEvily, outlined excellent steps to speed up the game we love.  Nothing magic.  Just intention to the pace-of-play.

At the same time, of course, many of have been used to watching many pro golfers slow the game, sometimes to a crawl.

I have often said that a key to moving the game along would to be to apply the existing official golf rule – once you reach your golf ball and pull a club, you have 40 seconds to execute the shot.  If you don’t, you should get a warning the first time.  Then, if slowness persists, you should receive penalties, which could involve fines, extra shots, and, eventually, disqualification.

On the pro side, if this was done, slow play would no longer be an issue.

Back to McEvily.  Here is a summary of what he wrote:

A round of golf is meant to be played at a prompt pace, so:

• Each player should recognize that his or her pace of play is likely to affect how long it will take other players to play their rounds, including both those in the player’s own group and those in following groups.
• The player should play at a prompt pace throughout the round, including the time taken to:

+  Prepare for and make each stroke,

+  Move from one place to another between strokes, and

+  Move to the next teeing area after completing a hole.

• A player should prepare in advance for the next stroke and be ready to play when it is their turn.
• When it is the player’s turn to play:

+  It is recommended that the player make the stroke in no more than 40 seconds after he or she is able to play without interference or distraction, and

+The player should usually be able to play more quickly than that and is encouraged to do so.

• Depending on the form of play, there are times when players may play out of turn to help the pace of play.
• In stroke play, players may play “ready golf” in a safe and responsible way (see officials golf rule 6.4b(2)).”

Good suggestions from McEvily.

If all of us followed them, we’d be able to play faster – not running.  Just playing with intent and focus.

And we’d all have more fun on the golf course.