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 few golfing friends and I ask often ask ourselves, in a middle of a bad round, “why do we play this stupid game?”

Well, it is a choice, no matter how hard it gets or no matter what success escapes us.

In both Salem, Oregon where I live seven months a year, and in La Quinta, California where I live the other five, I CHOOSE to play nearly every day.

Further, I am what I call “a recreational golfer,” not a competition golfer, at least not any longer.

There are two reasons for my dedication to golf:

1. I love the courses where I play most of my golf – Illahe Hills Golf and Country Club in my #1 home, Salem, Oregon, and The Palms in La Quinta, California near where I have the privilege to live in the winter.

On the courses, there is something new every time I play, even after many years.  I never get tired of playing both tracks.

• My best friends in both places play golf, too – and that makes for great experiences, every day.

My wife often tells me, as I head out to the course, “to have fun no matter how I play.”

Solid advice.

I try to remember it every day, though I add that I often have more fun if I play well.

So, onward I go. 

Where?  To the golf course.