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.

I am at least two things:  A person who likes to play golf, as well as a person who follows those who play professionally.

So it was that one of my on-line golf magazines came up earlier this week with a list of top questions for those who run the professional game.  The magazine called them “burning questions,” though I have no idea what using the label “burning” means.

Forget that question. 

Here are the magazine’s questions, with comments from me in each case — which appear in italic print:

1. Is the blade putter actually dead?

A couple months after 2025 breakout star Ben Griffin called our attention to the dearth of blade putters among the PGA Tour’s putting elite, our antennae are up for signs of life going forward.

Comment:  So are mine because I never use such a putter and will not make a change to do so.

2. Will LIV get world golf ranking points?

World Ranking points would elevate LIV to a new level of acceptance from the golf establishment; given Brooks Koepka’s departure, the league’s format changes and continual questions about its future, that would be an important win.

Comment:  I could care less about LIV and wish that no golfer who accepted millions of dollars to join that “tour” should be able to return to the PGA Tour without paying a hefty fine..just as Koepka is doing.

3. What will Bryson DeChambeau do next?

The biggest winner of Brooks Koepka’s LIV departure may have been DeChambeau, whose leverage jumped from sky-high to intergalactic; as the prince of YouTube Golf, he could demand a mega-contract or take his future elsewhere.

Comment:  I also don’t care much about DeChambeau who named his price by jumping to LIV and he ought to have to live with that decision.

4. How soon is the new PGA Tour schedule coming?

This may be the biggest question of all, as the Tour is still the center of pro golf’s universe; when will Brian Rolapp (the new CEO), Tiger Woods, and the powers-that-be in Ponte Vedra release a schedule that clarifies and simplifies what it means to be a PGA Tour player, an event, and a fan?

Comment:  Here I do care because I follow professional golf.

5. Where will the LPGA Tour find its star power?

After 2024 was the Year of Nelly Korda and 2025 had a late turn from the Year of Everybody to Kinda the Year of Jeeno Thitikul, the LPGA’s new leadership has doubled down on its product; will one of these two recent No. 1s take center stage, or will the LPGA’s next star come from elsewhere?

Comment:  Again, I care because I know several potential LPGA players who are trying to make it to the major circuit.

6. Are we about to get another Grand-Slam winner?

We’re talking about Scottie Scheffler, who’s just a Shinnecock U.S. Open win away from all four — although a Jordan Spieth PGA would be something special, as would a Phil Mickelson U.S. Open, not to mention a double-major season from the likes of Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Brooks Koepka or Dustin Johnson, who each own two of them.

Comment:  Trying to become a Grand-Slam winner adds to golf watching enjoyment, at least for me.

7. What’ll be Rory McIlroy’s follow-up act?

After a year in which he completed the career Grand Slam, won at iconic courses like Pebble Beach and TPC Sawgrass, led his team to an away Ryder Cup win, won his home Irish Open, went barnstorming to India and Australia, and launched an investment fund, a production company and a golf league, what does McIlroy have in store for 2026 — and what story will his playing schedule tell us.

Comment:  Good questions.  And I wish the best for Rory, better than the over-the-top criticism he and his wife received from “fans” at the Ryder Cup in New York.

8. When — and how often — will we see Tiger Woods?

Will the now-50-year-old Woods appear as an administrator, tournament host, TGLer, Masters competitor, Champions Tour member, Golf Dad — or all of the above?

Comment:  I don’t care much about this because I believe pro golf can survive without Woods.

9. What’s up with the DP World Tour?

Everybody loves golf’s self-described “global tour,” which features some of golf’s great characters, some of golf’s great locales and some of golf’s stories tournaments.  But it’s still not crystal-clear where the DPWT slots in alongside the PGA Tour and LIV, which compete for talent, attention, money and so much more.

Comment:  Good questions.

10. Who’s next?

This was the year of Rory and Scottie but also of first-time-winners Tommy Fleetwood and Cameron Young plus late-bloomers Ben Griffin, J.J. Spaun, and Andrew Novak — so who’s next?

Comment:  Good questions.  I will be rooting for various young players including, for example, Joe Highsmith, whom I know just a bit from the golf course I play in La Quinta, California where he played while attending college on the California coast.  He won a year ago or so which gave him his tour card for two years, so now, in this year, he needs to recapture his momentum.