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.

In La Quinta, California, I play at a golf course, The Palms, that has been described as “a place for pure golf.”

Why?

Well, there are reasons for this description, which I have found to be accurate over the seven years I have spent my winters in La Quinta rather than in my #1 home, Salem, Oregon.

The reasons:

• There are no tee times at The Palms in La Quinta.  Rather, a golf pro always sits on the 1^st tee and works in groups ready to play.  But you have to get there to get in the queue.

• The goal for time in an 18-hole round is three hours and 30 minutes.  But it is often possible to play in a shorter amount of time if you put your mind to it – without running between shots.  By contrast, on many “resort courses” in the California desert, playing 18-holes can take as many as five hours.

• Always put your cell phones on silent and don’t look at them while you play at The Palms because this is….well, pure golf, not one allowing distractions. 

And, with a nod to purity, I also like to play golf at The Palms because of the friendships I have made there…with other golfers who appreciate the pace-of-play and the vistas on one of the best courses in La Quinta.

So, with this, I guess I’ll head out to play golf again.   But, first, I’ll cite a piece of good news from The Palms.

One of my friends achieved two major objectives in one round last week.  He got his first hole-in-one and also broke 80 for the first time, shooting 79.

I asked him which achievement he liked best.  He said the 79.

I would have said the reverse because I know he’ll shoot 79 again but may not get another hole-in-one, as difficult as those are to achieve in golf.  Still, two great achievements in one round.