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.

According to the New York Times, late night TV host Desi Lydic said this about Dr. Mohmet Oz named by Donald Trump to run the Medicaid and Medicare Services programs for the federal government:

 “At least Dr. Oz is an actual doctor.  I’m impressed Trump didn’t pick Dr Pepper.”

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.

People who know me know that, for some strange reason, I am interested in golf rules.

They usually are complicated and, with apologies to the United States Golf Association in the U.S. and the R & A in Europe, the rules are written in words that often don’t make sense.

Still, with all the complications, I enjoy focusing on and ins and outs of the game I love.

Here are two recent examples:

EXAMPLE #1:  WHEN IS A GOLF BALL REALLY LOST?:  A player named Emilio Gonzalez had been looking to make the weekend at the World Wide Technology Championship a week or so ago.  But, then, he was disqualified following a unusual rules incident.

Here is the way on-line golf magazine described the situation:

“After firing a one-over-par 73 on Thursday, Gonzalez would need a low round on Friday to make the cut at the tournament.

“Carding a one-under 71, he failed to make the weekend and, a few hours later, it turned out he was disqualified following a rules infringement at the par-4 15th!

“Signing his scorecard, the 27-year-old spoke to media and was likely on his way back to the hotel before rules officials revealed that he would be disqualified due to a rules’ breach of Rule 18.3 (Provisional Ball).”

“Being played at the Tiger Woods designed El Cardonal at Diamante, Gonzalez struck his tee shot on the 15th into the desert area and, a few seconds later, played a provisional.”

Now, this is where the rule infringement occurred because, after a brief search was conducted to find the first tee shot, a ball was found within the three-minute limit.  Then, officials claimed Gonzalez failed to make a “reasonable effort” to identify the ball once it was found.  He continued to play the provisional, making a bogey five.

Under Rule 18.3 – ‘Playing Provisional Ball After Search Has Started Is Allowed’, “A player may play a provisional ball for a ball that might be lost up until the point when the three-minute search time has ended.”

“For example, if a player is able to return to the spot of their previous stroke and play a provisional ball before the three-minute search time has ended, the player is allowed to do so.  If the player plays the provisional ball and the original ball is then found within the three-minute search time, the player must continue play with the original ball.”

To not be penalized and disqualified, Gonzalez needed to clearly determine whether the found ball was his or not.

And he failed, resulting in the DQ.

EXAMPLE #2:  WHEN IS OUT-OF-BOUNDS REALLY OUT-OF-BOUNDS:  In this example, the question is what to do if you hit your ball out-of-bounds off the tee, but discover the ball is in-bounds on a different hole?  Can you play it from its new spot.

The answer is that there is a Model Local Rule (A-5) that would treat a ball that crosses a boundary as out-of-bounds even if it comes to rest on another part of the course, which is in-bounds.

Without the Model Local Rule, if the ball comes to rest somewhere that’s on the course in-bounds, it doesn’t matter whether it crossed completely over a boundary or not.  The ball is on the course and it is in play without penalty.

If there is a moral here, it is this:  Know golf rules because, while they can penalize you on the course, they also can help you play better if you know them well.

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.

One of my friends suggested the other day that I could consider writing less about Donald Trump.  This friend has a point, but with Trump heading to the White House amidst many outlandish proposals, he might continue to be fodder for more blogs.

Not today, though.

I turn to the lure of big money that is driving sports these days.  The trend has bothered me on several counts:

• Professional golfers have been defecting from the PGA Tour, which gave them a solid place in golf.  Now, some of them head to LIV for insane amounts of money, even though LIV is funded by tainted money from Saudi Arabia.

• Four PAC 12 football teams have defected from the PAC 12 to the “Big Ten” (which I add is a inaccurate label because that conference now consists of 18 teams).  The teams are the University of Washington, the University of Southern California, the University of California at Los Angeles, and the University of Oregon.

• And, now, a third case:  U.S. players on the new Ryder Cup golf team, not yet selected, will now will be paid $400,000 each “to play for their country.”  This, at least in part, appears to be a response to a plea from certain players – read, Patrick Cantlay – to be paid for their “work” at the Ryder Cup.

Ron Green, Jr., a writer for Global Golf Post, wrote a recent column criticizing the decision by the PGA of America to pay players.

“It diminishes,” he said, “the notion that players in the Ryder Cup are playing for something other than themselves – for team and country.”

By contrast, the team from Europe won’t be paid for the 2025 event. 

A great player for Europe, Shane Lawry, said he doesn’t want to be paid.  He said it is more than enough to play for your country.

The announcement that U.S. Ryder Cup players would get $400,000 each came in the midst of another piece of controversial news – customer ticket prices for the 2025 event have skyrocketed to $750 apiece, which is likely to prompt some potential buyers to pass.

Again, it appears to be all about the money – in pro golf, in the Ryder Cup, in college sports.

For my part, if those getting the money would just admit they were doing it for the money rather than for some other exalted purpose, I would be fine with that declaration.

One example is pro golfer Harold Varner who said he was heading to LIV “because of the money and to set up his family up for life.”  Good for him to be honest and open.

Others said they were leaving “to grow the game of golf.” 

Hogwash!

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.

As I try to understand how Donald Trump won the campaign for president of the United States, I still find myself flummoxed.

First, don’t you like that word, “flummoxed?”

It sort of rolls off the tongue, and by that measure alone, summarizes the incredible status we face in the U.S. – a new president who is a felon, an abuser of women, a reality TV show host, and a person who always thinks he is the smartest person in any room.

So it is that I have wondered about the political strategy that produced the Trump win, if there was a strategy at all.

The New York Times helped me this morning with this:

“For much of the past decade, Trump has repeatedly swamped the system with provocations.  Steve Bannon (one of Trump’s long-time aides who just got out of prison for telling Congress to pound sand) memorably stated that their strategy for dealing with the news media was to ‘flood the zone’ with manure.

“The strategy has ensured that little focus stays on any single scandal.  The caravan moves quickly on to the next, and the next, creating an overall blurring and flattening effect. He (Trump) has survived them all, including 34 felony convictions and being held liable for sexual abuse.”

There you have it.

The Trump strategy.

And, we’re all worse for the wear and tear of it.

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.

Okay, this is not a blog about Donald Trump.  I have had enough of him to last me for a lifetime, though, I suppose, I’ll write about him again as I try to understand how people could vote for him.

On to another topic.

I was reflecting the other day on some of my more than 40 years in professional life before retirement.

To do that, I tried to remember what I could label “accomplishments” in my 15 years as an Oregon state government manager or my 25 years as a state lobbyist in Oregon.

But, instead, I turned to remember some of the officials from whom I learned many management lessons – call them mentors.  Better to reflect on folks who helped me along than on accomplishments.

So, here is a list, where the names appear in no order of priority:

Vic Atiyeh:  It was a pleasure to work for Atiyeh, the last Republican governor in Oregon, now more than 40 years ago.  I could say a lot about my time with Atiyeh, but this stands out for me:  Victor – that’s what we called him when he allowed us to do so – never cared who got the credit when something good happened in Oregon.  He didn’t want it for himself; he wanted to parse it out to those who contributed to the result.  Good for any politician! 

Joe Blumel and E. Dean Anderson:  These, respectively, were the president and vice president for university relations when I had the privilege to work at Portland State University. 

They let me be myself as director of information services, a phrase that essentially meant “public and media relations.”

It was Blumel who sent me to the Capitol in Salem, Oregon to be what he called “the eyes and ears of Portland State,” with, he added, “no mouth.” 

The latter was because the Oregon Higher Education Chancellors Office – it no longer exists – was assigned to be the only entity that was supposed to talk with legislators on behalf of higher education institutions in Oregon.

But Blumel’s assignment gave me a start at the Capitol where I ended up working for almost 40 years.

Anderson also was great with and for me.  We shared Scandinavian heritage, so that helped us relate well to each other – he as boss and me as one of his staff.

I remember one time when he took me to the annual Scandinavian Dinner in Portland.  The menu included “lute-fisk,” and, if you don’t know what that is, so much the better.  If you eat it – it is made by soaking dried stockfish in lye, then water, and finally steaming the remaining guts until they flake.  The name comes from the Norwegian word lute, which means “lye.”

If you happen to eat it, you don’t want to eat again for a week!

With the letters “fisk” in the name, perhaps my forebears invented lute-fisk.

Bob Watson:  When I moved from Washington, D.C. back to Oregon, Watson was director of the Corrections Division, then part of the Oregon Department of Human Resources (DHR) where I was going to serve as assistant director.

He was on the panel when I interviewed to get the job at DHR and I remember that he asked me a simple question, with profound implications:  What is the definition of “news,” he asked.

Rather than report an explicit definition, I answered this way:  News, I said, is what reporters and editors (and sometimes publishers) say it is.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.

Beyond other duties, I was in charge of media relations for the prison system, so Watson and I became good friends, even as we discussed the “news” business.

Another interesting fact.  When I joined DHR, there were three state prisons, all located in Salem.  Today, many years later, there are 14 prisons spread around the state, which is an indication of what I could call a “lock ‘em up” strategy in the state.  Which is meaningful because a every dollar to run prisons is a state “general fund dollar” (read, yours and my state tax money).

And that puts pressure on other “general fund users,” such as K-12 education, higher education, and social services.

Leo Hegstrom and Jerry Brown:  When I joined DHR, these two, respectively, were the director and deputy director of what was then the largest state government agency.  They taught me a lot about managing an agency, always focusing on facts, not fiction.

All three of us also developed a solid relationship with the governor, Vic Atiyeh, for whom we worked.  We met with him weekly in Cabinet Meetings – many of Atiyeh’s successors did not attend Cabinet Meetings, though he usually did — as well as with the governor alone in his personal office.

This process enabled me to have a good relationship, as well as ongoing respect, for Atiyeh.

Bill Wyatt and Mike Thorne:  At different times, these two officials served as executive director of the Port of Portland, a lobbying client of my firm.  The good news is that they relied on my firm’s advice and counsel, which meant that, among other things, we got things done at the Capitol for the Port.

One of the most important was gaining funds to pay the costs of deepening the Columbia River channel so bigger ships could ply their way off the coast to ports in and around Portland.

Fred Miller:  He was my mentor in the Oregon Executive Department where he functioned as the COO of state government.

Miller relied on three of us to help him with that function – Jon Yunker, the budget director (who became one of my best friends in state government), Karen Roach, who handled personnel and labor relations, and me, who handled public and legislative relations.  A solid group of managers who found a good way to way to work together, not at cross purposes.

Pat McCormick:  He was one of my partners at Conkling Fiskum & McCormick, the name we chose for our firm when we got started in 1990.

McCormick, still a friend today, taught me a lot about the art of communication.

Tom Kennedy:  After working as Governor Atiyeh’s press secretary, I moved over to become deputy director of the Oregon Economic Development Department.  There, I reported to Kennedy.  He knew more about marketing than I did, so I learned a lot from him, even as he assigned me to relate to the Oregon Legislature on behalf of the department. 

At one point, Kennedy, who traveled a lot to Japan on marketing trips, said he didn’t want to head off to France when the State of Oregon was asked to send someone to a French graduate school to talk about how Oregon diversified its economy.

Kennedy would have been the logical choice, but he asked me to make the trip.

Of course, my wife accompanied me and we had a solid experience in France to tout Oregon’s move from being dependent on logging and fishing to aiding the technology and tourism industries, even as the area of France where we were – the Clermont Ferrande region – was setting out to diversity from being almost wholly dependent on Michelin.

Gerry Thompson:  When I served as Governor Atiyeh’s press secretary, I reported to Thompson, the governor’s chief of staff.  We have remained friends to this day, often reflecting on the good times with a governor who valued all of Oregon.

Thompson let me be myself in my job, though always with proper oversight from her.

One issue we have reflected on since we left government was the “Rajneesh affair” in Oregon when the leader of a commune from India, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, led a group of cultists to buy property in Eastern Oregon and take over the local government there.

For Atiyeh, Thompson led the effort to blunt the Bhagwan’s intrusion into Oregon and she I still reflect on the difficulty of doing so, though the Bhagwan and his followers eventually left under a cloud.  

Neil Bryant:  Bryant, a senator from Bend, became the best legislative friend I made at the Capitol over my years as a lobbyist.  He and I still are friends today.

At least one fact set Bryant apart when he served as a senator:  He had a distinct ability to bring differing interests together to hammer out a solid solution somewhere in the middle rather than on either extreme.  It is a lost art today in Salem.

Kerry Tymchuk:  Formerly State of Oregon director for U.S. Senator Gordon Smith, Tymchuk joined my firm when Smith lost.  Kerry and I were able to work together on several projects, before Kerry moved on to the job he now holds, Executive Director of the Oregon Historical Society where – no surprise — he has done a great job.

Tymchuk is a great writer, so one of the lessons I learned from him – pay close attention to the written word.

Morris Dirks:  I end with a few words about my relationship with Dirks – we are like brothers – which started when he was on the staff where I attend church in Salem, Oregon, Salem Alliance, and I was on the lay leadership team.

When Dirks became senior pastor, I worked with him on the Governing Board.  That’s when we became like brothers and I learned a lot from Dirks about how to lead a vibrant Christian life and to lead others on the journey.

So, in conclusion, one of the best ways to reflect on a professional life – mine as I near my seventh year in retirement – is to focus, not on specific achievements, but, rather, on individuals who helped you along the way.

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.

Democrats in Washington, D.C., soon to be out of power, have made two gestures recently that are worth commending.

And, by “gestures,” I mean action that display support for democracy and a peaceful changing of the guard in America.

The two gestures:

• Kamala Harris, after it was clear she lost to Donald Trump – a result I did not want – called Trump to congratulate him.

• President Joe Biden invited Trump to a meeting at the White House, which Trump was doing as he also visited Congress.

Note that Trump did neither of these gestures as he lost last time around to Joe Biden.

He should have, but, instead, he mounted an insurrection to try to stay in power, which was antithetical to the way democracy works in this country.

Here is how the Wall Street Journal described the Biden-Trump meeting:

“President-elect  Trump met with President Biden in the Oval Office with the two leaders shaking hands and emphasizing a peaceful handover of power, a moment that stood in contrast to the discord that followed Biden’s 2020 victory over Trump.

“’Congratulations and I’m looking forward to having a smooth transition,’ Biden said Wednesday.  ‘Welcome — welcome back.’

“Trump thanked the president.  ‘Politics is tough and it’s, [in] many cases, not a very nice world but it is a nice world today,’ he said, adding that the change in power would be ‘as smooth as it can get.’  They didn’t take questions from reporters before continuing the meeting, which lasted roughly two hours.  Trump also didn’t address the huge crowd of reporters waiting outside the White House when he departed around 1 p.m.”

Still, Maureen Dowd in the New York Times added this bit of clarity:

“It is hard to watch Donald Trump be gracious, because he is gracious only when he wins, and that’s not a good lesson for the children of America.  When he loses, he tries to burn the democracy down.”

That’s true about Trump.  When he lost, he tried hard, violence and all, to stay in power, even threatening to kill those who opposed his bid. 

Now, Dowd says, as the winner Trump, comes across as “gracious,” which might have been the first time in his life he has displayed that trait.

So, I believe we should commend Harris and Biden for their gestures, even as we hope, down the road, that Trump learns about the way to conduct democracy, if, he doesn’t want to continue that approach to government in the United States.

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 borrowed this blog headline from a column by Dana Milbank who writes for the Washington Post.

During the recent presidential campaign, Milbank warned against the excesses of one Donald Trump.  Now we are seeing those excesses.

It’s why many of us, with Milbank, “gape.”

It’s as if Trump tries to think of something hugely outlandish, then does it.  Then, his MAGA – Make America Great Again group, which is a stupid turn of phrase – falls in line, no matter the consequences.

With Milbank, just consider for a moment some of the prospective appointments Trump has made over the last few days”

• Matt Gaetz for Attorney General:  Say what?  A now-former U.S. representative, Gaetz, has been under fire almost all the time for terrible conduct, including an investigation for alleged sexual activity with under-age girls.  His method of operation is to be controversial and to hope it works for him, which it has to this point.

Many commentators are saying that, given all his fights with senators on both sides of aisle, plus an almost total lack of experience in legal law, Gaetz may have trouble being confirmed.

It appears he doesn’t care because his first act upon being announced by Trump was to resign his seat in the House.  Perhaps, for the good of all, he’ll walk off into the sunset.

• Tulsi Gabbard for director of National Intelligence:  She has no experience running a major agency and has been quoted providing a number of off-kilter descriptions of U.S intelligence operations.  For example, her parroting of Russian propaganda was so reckless that Senator Mitt Romney called it “treasonous.”

• Pete Hegseth for director of the Defense Department:   A former congressman, he was a Fox News weekend co-host and also lobbied Trump to pardon military service members accused of war crimes.  He has no managerial experience and just five days ago said “we should not have women in combat roles” because men are “more capable.”

Late news on Hegseth is that, a few years ago, he was investigated for sexual assault, though no charges were filed.  Still, there was a report in the Washington Post that the Trump clan was reconsidering the Hegseth nomination, which would be ironic given that Trump himself has been found guilty of sexual assault.

If Gaetz, Gabbard and Hegseth weren’t enough, Trump went on to say he would appoint Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to be secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  Kennedy has claimed anti-depressants cause school shootings, chemicals cause people to become transgender, and vaccines cause autism. Who knows what Kennedy will do when he takes the helm at HHS.

The Washington Post puts it this way:

“Trump’s decision to tap Gaetz for attorney general, Gabbard for intelligence and Hegseth for defense (and Kennedy for HHS) will test the Republican-led Senate’s fealty to the president-elect. 

“…Trump’s decision to choose Gabbard, Gaetz and Hegseth (and later Kennedy) stunned senators and some of his own advisers, setting up multiple uphill confirmation battles that will test the incoming president’s political clout in the Senate, where his party is expected to hold 53 seats.”

So, here we go with the Trump administration in waiting.  And, when I use the word “administration” to apply to a president, I always put the “a” in capital letters, such as the “Biden Administration.”

With Trump, I decline to do so because what he is doing is not administration.  It is flying by the seat of his pants – or, perhaps more accurately, acting like what he really wants to be, which is a reality TV studio host.

The gravity of Trump’s nominations illustrate why wants the Senate to enable “recess appointments.”  That’s a way to subvert the normal Senate confirmation process.

Here is how the confirmation process works if it is honored.  The Constitution restrains the president’s appointments by giving the Senate the power to confirm, or not, his nominees.  Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 76 wrote that this provides “an excellent check upon a spirit of favoritism in the president, and would tend greatly to prevent the appointment of unfit characters.”

If Gaetz is nominated (as Trump promises), Republican senators could follow through on threats to vote no.  Thus, Trump’s interest in bypassing them through “recess appointments.”

In conclusion, leave it to columnist Milbank to find a silver lining in the current black clouds:

“There is some good news in the way Trump has produced mayhem and confusion right from the start.  One of the greatest concerns about Trump’s second term was that he would be more competent this time around.  But we can already see that there is no learning curve for Trump.  His administration is going to be just as incompetent as it was last time — maybe more so.”

And, I add that I hope incompetence comes home to roost for Trump.

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.

When my wife bought me a copy of the 25^th anniversary edition of a great book – “A Season in Dornoch” – I knew what would happen.

For about the 25^th time, I would read the book again.

That’s what this book does to you – it lures you in to re-discover golf in the home of golf, Scotland.  And, there, one of the best courses is Royal Dornoch (see below). 

Reading the book again prompts you to emember your love of golf, even more than you did before you got your hands on this gem, written by acclaimed golf writer, Lorne Rubenstein.

Kudos to Back Nine Press for publishing the book again.

Here is the on-line summary for the anniversary edition:

“The town of Dornoch, Scotland, lies at nearly the same latitude as Juneau, Alaska.  Though the town is bit too small and remote to host a British Open, it has hardly diminished Royal Dornoch’s mystique or renown.

“In an influential piece for The New Yorker in 1964 (and now included in this edition), Herbert Warren Wind wrote, ‘It is the most natural course in the world. No golfer has completed his education until he has played and studied Royal Dornoch.’

“The author of ‘A Season in Dornoch,’ Rubenstein, spent a summer in Dornoch to re-discover the natural charms of the game he loves.  But, in the Scottish highlands, he also found a people shaped by the harshness of the land and the difficulty of drawing a living from it, and still haunted by a historic wrong inflicted on their ancestors nearly two centuries before.

“Rubenstein met many people of great thoughtfulness and spirit, eager to share their worldviews, their life stories, and a wee dram or two.  He came to understand how the game of golf reflects the values, character, and history of the people who brought it into the world.

“A ‘Season in Dornoch’ is both the story of one man’s immersion in the game of golf and an exploration of the world from which it emerged.

“Part travelogue, part portraiture, part good old-fashioned tale of matches played and friendships made, it takes us on an unforgettable journey to a marvelous, moody, mystical place.”

By the way, as for the “wee dram,” I am not a lover of whisky.  But, after a cold on a course in Scotland (where you don’t ask if it’s windy and raining, you just go play golf), a wee dram does its job – it warms you up quickly.

So it is that I read the book again here, in La Quinta, California, where I sit far from the Scotland’s highlands which do beckon me back, even if just in my mind.

I also rue the day several years ago when sickness required my wife and me to cancel a month-long stay in the town of Dornoch, which we had booked for a couple reasons – (a) the general lure of the place, in part due to my wife’s heritage because her parents emigrated to the U.S. from Scotland, and (b) my desire to return to a place we had visited two times previously, but only for a day or two each time.

Still, I got to play of the best golf courses in the world, Royal Dornoch, which has earned its “royal” name, as well as received high plaudits from solid pro golfers such as Tom Watson and Ben Crenshaw.

In the anniversary edition of “A Season in Dornoch,” the late Sean Connery wrote a forward before he died because he, too, loved Royal Dornoch.  An “afterward” includes excerpts from the 1964 book by the esteemed golf writer Herbert Warren Wind entitled “North to the Links of Dornoch.”

But, for this blog, I rely on the words of an introduction to “A Season in Dornoch” written by another acclaimed golf writer, Stephen Proctor.

His words below capture the lure of golf in Scotland, golf in the small town of Dornoch, golf in the words of Rubenstein, and golf in terms of aspirations for me as I consider the basic dran of the game I love without, for example, always having to keep score.

Thus, Proctor writes:

• “Rubenstein was an excellent golfer, a man who knew intimately the agony and ecstasy golfers experience during a round.”

• “Even as they were coming to grips with the region’s history of turmoil, Rubenstein and his wife, Nell, (who accompanied him on his four-month sojourn in Dornoch which produced his book) found themselves succumbing to the charms that have drawn so many to Dornoch.  They slowed down, let go of the urgency that drove life back in Toronto, and took time to savor the beauty of the landscape all around them; from the hills resplendent in purple heather to the golden sands of Dornoch beach.”

• “More and more often, Rubenstein found himself doing the things that made him love golf in the first place.  Playing alone at sunrise or sunset.  Playing by feel and sight, rather than by yardages.  Playing the ball on the ground, rather than through the air.  Playing beside the sea, in rain or wind, often with a half set.”

• In one game against a long-time pro golfer friend, “Rubenstein played with a half-set slung over his shoulder, never bothering to keep score.  Discussion with the pro along the way focused on the history of the game, the strategy of the holes, tricks for crafting certain shots, and the beauty of the setting in which the two found themselves.  Golf as it was meant to be played:  For the purse joy of it.”

So, if you want to read Rubenstein’s great words about golf, get his book.  It will have the potential to do what it did for Rubenstein 25 years ago in the Scottish highlands – renew his love for the game itself.

And, it has done the same for me.

………This is mostly a reprint of a blog I wrote a couple years ago.  It is worth noting again how dogs are valuable, including in war……..

This 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.

Well, the answer to the question posed in this blog headline is easy.

As I traveled overseas for our vacation a few years ago, the first stop being Amsterdam, I was able to watch movies on a screen on the back of the seat in front of me on the Delta Airlines flight.

And, I watched a two-part “Seal Team” program.  In both episodes, there was a dog joining the members of the team on a mission.

Yes, a dog!

One, tethered to his trainer, jumped out of an airplane.  Yes, jumped!  But, I also understand that the well-trained dogs can jump out on their own, not tethered to a handler.

So, I become interested in the subject – dogs on major military missions.

As always, Mr. Google provided useful information.

“Just as the Navy SEALS and other elite special forces are the sharp point of the American military machine, so too are their dogs at the top of a canine military hierarchy.

“In all, the U.S. military currently has about 2,800 active-duty dogs deployed around the world.

“Navy SEAL dogs, or SEAL dogs for short, have been used extensively in various missions carried out by the U.S. Navy SEAL teams.  These dogs are highly trained to perform a wide range of tasks, including search and rescue, tracking, explosives detection, and more.

“A man’s best friend is also a Navy SEAL’s best friend.  SEAL teams have often utilized animals from Dolphins to K9’s.  Most canines used by the elite special forces branch are Belgian Malinois.  A slightly smaller, lighter, and faster cousin of the German Shepard.  Both dogs have high intelligence.”

Compared to German Shepherds, a Belgian Malinois is much easier to take on missions because of its size, allowing Navy SEALs to carry the dog everywhere.

SEAL Dogs will also skydive on a mission.  Their handler will strap the SEAL dog to their chest and jump.  Or, get this – sometimes dogs jump solo.

Incredible!

To see a dog jump out of an airplane as occurred on one TV episode, is a sight to behold.  I would not make such a jump!

The dogs carry out a wide range of specialized duties for the military teams to which they are attached.

• With a sense of smell 40 times greater than a human’s, the dogs are trained to detect and identify both explosive material and hostile or hiding humans.
• SEAL Dogs can be equipped with video cameras and other recording devices.  Their small size and skill sets combined with senses allow them to reach areas SEALs can’t on missions.
• Like human SEALS, the training the dogs go through is intensive and arduous; only 1 per cent of candidates graduate.  They must learn how to ignore their instincts and follow the orders of their handlers.  There must be a complete sense of trust between the two.
• Dogs have to be able to swim a distance that takes them to where they can no longer see the shore.
• They have to be comfortable around gunfire
• They have to show they are mentally capable of their job (yes; just like the human SEALS, the dogs must have a high level of mental toughness and psychological stability)
• They have to navigate through combat environments
• And back to an earlier point – they have to be comfortable jumping out of an airplane, either on their own, or strapped to the chest of a handler

Please, Google provided a summary of some missions for SEAL dogs:

• Operation Neptune Spear:  In 2011, a SEAL team used a dog named Cairo to help take down Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.  Cairo was trained to detect explosives and was used to sweep the compound where bin Laden was hiding.
• Operation Iraqi Freedom:  SEAL dogs were deployed to Iraq to assist with bomb detection and other missions.
• Operation Enduring Freedom:  SEAL dogs were also used in Afghanistan to detect improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and to track down insurgents.
• Operation Red Wings:  In 2005, a SEAL team used a dog named Remco during a mission in Afghanistan.  [Remco was killed in action, but his bravery and sacrifice were honored with a posthumous award.]

I am a dog lover, having one of my own, Callaway, a miniature poodle, thus not a candidate for SEAL dog school.  Neither was his uncle, Hogan, our first dog.

But, the dog lover part of me has found a new-found respect for SEAL dogs.

Semper Fi!

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.

Okay, I should find other stuff to write about.  But here is another summary of why Donald Trump won and Kamala Harris lost.

Of course, I add that I think the country lost, too, with a felon heading to White House to wreak more damage on America.

The bottom line is that gravity – and gravity alone — should have brought Trump down.  For anyone else, it would have.  For Trump, no.

Despite all his personal failures, he rose, defying the normal forces of nature.

Consider the debate between Trump and Harris.

According to several national newspapers, Trump’s chief pollster, Tony Fabrizio, has seen just about everything in his three races working for the controversy-stoking former president.  But, post-debate, even he seemed to be bracing for bad news.

Trump had just debated Vice President Harris, repeatedly taking her bait, wasting time litigating his crowd sizes, and spreading baseless rumors about pet-eating immigrants.

Fabrizio had predicted to colleagues that brutal media coverage of Trump’s performance in a debate watched by 67 million people would lift Harris in the polls.  He was right about the media coverage but wrong about the rest.  His first post-debate poll shocked him:  Harris had gained on some narrow attributes, like likability.  But Trump had lost no ground in the contest.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Fabrizio said on a call with senior campaign leaders, according to two participants.

Here’s more from media coverage:

“It was yet more proof — as if more were needed — of Trump’s durability over nearly a decade in politics and of his ability to defy the normal laws of gravity.

“He overcame seemingly fatal political vulnerabilities — four criminal indictments, three expensive lawsuits, conviction on 34 felony counts, endless reckless tangents in his speeches — and transformed at least some of them into distinct advantages.

“How he won in 2024 came down to one essential bet:  That his grievances could meld with those of the MAGA movement, and then with the Republican Party, and then with more than half the country.

“His mug shot became a best-selling shirt.  His criminal conviction inspired $100 million in donations in one day.  The images of him bleeding after a failed assassination attempt became the symbol of what supporters saw as a campaign of destiny.”

Then, this from the Wall Street Journal:  “Harris campaign optimism was a sign of how badly the Harris campaign misread an electorate that was more wound up about inflation and immigration than about Trump’s character.

“Trump punched his return ticket to the White House with a stunning electoral romp that batted away Harris’s attacks and lured voters who believed the country was on the wrong track and blamed President Biden, Harris’s deeply unpopular boss.  Her inability to separate herself from him and offer her own specific solutions to Americans’ problems, despite a lavish campaign war chest, was a central reason for her loss.

From Atlantic Magazine:  “Trump’s proposals on the economy were frequently incoherent; he scapegoated immigrants for Americans’ financial woes and made promises about tariffs that economists said would lead to higher prices.

“Still, voters said consistently that they felt that Trump was the right person to handle the economy, perhaps because of nostalgia for a pre-pandemic economy that’s unlikely to return.

“For all the criticism Harris faced early in her campaign for not issuing clearer policy proposals (she ultimately did), Trump was the one whose appeal was rooted largely in ‘vibes:’ 

“He brought heavy doses of hateful culture-war rhetoric to the race, spreading false and dangerous messages about transgender people, blaming immigrants for societal ills, and smearing women, including Harris.”

I was struck by another sports analogy that has been used in some quarters to explain the election result.  That’s if you can call “curling” a sport.

“For those unfamiliar with the sport (which enjoys 15 minutes of fame every Winter Olympics), it involves sliding a very large, heavy ‘rock’ toward a target on the ice.  One person ‘throws’ a 44-pound disc-shaped stone by sliding it along the ice, sweepers come in and frantically try to marginally change the speed and direction of the rock by brushing the ice with ‘brooms’ that can melt just enough of the ice to make the rock travel farther or perhaps a little bit straighter.

“The sweepers are important, no doubt, but they cannot control the rock enough to save a bad throw.  It’s a matter of physics.  The rock simply has too much momentum.

“What does this have to do with politics?  The underlying dynamics of an election cycle (the economy, the popularity of the president, national events driving the news cycle) are like the 44-pound ‘stone.’  The candidates and the campaign team are the sweepers.  They work frantically — and they can influence the stone — but they don’t control it.

“One of the frustrating elements of political commentary is that we spend far too much time talking about the sweeping and far too little time talking about the stone.  Political hobbyists in particular (and that includes journalists!) are very interested in ad campaigns, ground games and messaging.

“Those things do matter, but when facing an election defeat this comprehensive, you know it was the stone that made the difference.

“So, in 2024, what was the stone?  It’s the same stone it almost always is:   Peace and prosperity.  This is job one.  A decisive number of Americans will put up with a politician’s quirks, foibles and even corruption, if he or she delivers peace and prosperity.”

Sad, but true.

Many voters this time around didn’t care much about Trump’s character.  Harris did and that was her downfall. 

 It was mine, too.