Perspective from the 19th 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 friend of mine sent me a story from Apple News the other day outlining “egregious golf etiquette violations,” thus the headline on this blog.
First, don’t you like the word “egregious.” It sort of speaks for itself without definition – and, as a person who likes words over numbers, charts and graphs, this is another good one. Egregious smacks of what it is, which is something very negative.
I list the violations below, but the list misses one, the most important one for me. This: When playing with others on the course, even friends, what bugs me most is when omeone plays out of turn, without asking for permission to do so.
What happens can be that, when I am swinging at my golf ball, I hear a crack from the other player – a crack that often distracts me from a good swing. And, it is my turn to play, not the person who hit out-of-turn.
Of course, other stuff districts me, too, but this is a distraction that can be avoided.
According to golf etiquette, the approach is this: If your ball is closer to the hole than a competitor’s ball, ask permission to hit first. In the games I play with friends, the answer, if the question was directed to me would almost always be yes. Almost. Not every time.
The violation of etiquette occurs all the time for me where I play with friends in the winter in the California desert. One player, still a friend, almost always violates this rule of golf etiquette – and he usually doesn’t know that he is doing so because, well, he may now know the etiquette, or he flaunts it.
Here in Salem, Oregon, where I live for seven months of the year – my home – it happens once in awhile.
Should I get over this? Yes.
My good wife always provides this advice: Go out a have fun on the golf course no matter how you score.
She could add, go out and have fun and don’t let violations of golf etiquette bother you.
Here, from Apple, are the other violations that came up in its survey:
1. Poor course maintenance
2. Reckless driving
3. Fisticuffs
4. Music on the course
5. Dress-code violations
6. Taking, um, relief
7. Cheating
8. Public endangerment
9. Drunk and disorderly
10. Slow play
11. Excessive phone use
12. Gum chewing
13. Temper tantrums
Perspective from the 19th Hole 