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.

It’s one of my favorite weeks during a year – the week the Masters’ Golf Tournament is on television for all to see.

So, today, I could write about two things:  The tournament itself or food available to purchase at Augusta National.  I choose the latter.

I had the chance to go to the Masters’ in 2015, with my daughter, Lissy, and it was a great experience, one we might have again if she is successful in bidding on the Masters’ lottery.  But, if she is not successful, one time at the Masters is enough for me, especially with Lissy.

As for the food, I can mostly pass, but it is worth nothing that the price of food on-site has not gone up for years.

The New York Times wrote a story this week, focusing on Master’s food, both on-site and as folks around the country try to replicate what they get when they attend.

I used the headline on the story for this blog and it was followed-up by this subhead:

The flavors of the Masters, from $1.50 pimento-cheeses to private-chef creations

Here is how the story started:

“At golf’s crown jewel, the menu rarely changes.  The prices never do.

“The Masters is usually described in visuals and sounds — the vivid azaleas and lush green fairways, the thwack of a tee shot and the swell of a Sunday roar.  But the food is an essential part of the tournament’s story, from the affordable on-course concessions, to the private chefs who flock to town, to perhaps the sporting world’s most exclusive dinner party.

“Fifty-one weeks a year, Augusta is not a culinary destination.  There are more than a dozen Waffle Houses scattered in and around town, and the food scene leans toward the practical, not aspirational.

“Then the Masters arrives and a parallel food economy springs to life, as corporate clients, high-end renters, and players’ entourages roll into town. Private chefs descend from across the South and beyond, booked months in advance to cook in rental-home kitchens for players, celebrities and wealthy patrons.”

The story underlines this key point again:  “…inside the gates, the menu barely changes and the prices, famously, do not.

“A cold beer runs $6, and a sweet tea is $2.  The Georgia peach ice cream sandwich is $3 and the white chocolate Georgia pecan cookie is $2.  You can still buy an egg salad or pimento cheese sandwich for $1.50, both coming in the same familiar green plastic packaging.  They’ve cost that much since 2002.”

For me, you can take my pimento sandwich and give it to someone else, for free.  I don’t much like them, though having one during Masters week is a ritual for many, either in Augusta or at home.  I’ll take the peach ice cream sandwich or the pecan cookie.

And, this from last year’s tournament champion, Rory McIlroy, as he made the decision the menu for the annual champions’ dinner.

This year, GoldWeek reported that he kept things broad, the courses stretching from tuna carpaccio to wagyu and seared salmon, finishing with sticky toffee pudding.

“’People keep asking me why I didn’t go more Irish,’ he joked this week. “’And I said, because I want to enjoy the dinner as well.’

“Then there are the drinks.  Augusta National is said to have one of the world’s finest wine cellars.  McIlroy went with vintages that collectors chase — 2015 Salon champagne, 2022 Domaine Leflaive Bâtard-Montrachet, 1990 Château Lafite Rothschild — wines that can easily run $1,000 a bottle.”

To state the obvious, this is an event most of us will never attend in person, but it is always interesting to see how the past champions arrange the special dinner for all past champions.

Speaking of that, as I write this, McIlroy may be on the way to defending his title.  At the halfway point, he is six strokes up on the field, the largest halfway lead in history.

But, as they always say about the Masters, the title lurks on the back nine on Sunday.  I’ll be watching.