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.
I am opening the Department of Inquiring Minds Want to Know, one of five I run with a free hand to manage as I see fit.
The others are the Department of Pet Peeves, the Department of Good Quotes Worth Remembering, the Department of Words Matter, and the Department of “Just Saying.”
So inquiring minds want to know:
- Why did pro golfer Justin Thomas dump caddy Bones McKay off his bag in golf tournaments?
McKay is one of the best caddies going, having served for 25 years with Phil Mickelson while the two won more than 40 tournaments. Then, Mickelson cut McKay to have his brother on the bag, an understandable move, even for the “not-understandable” Mickelson.
Then, McKay moved into a TV commentator position for golf tournaments and did what many consider to be a great job, providing solid insights from his time as a top-level caddy.
McKay then joined Justin Thomas, at least for a time. No one seems to know the reason for the dissolution of the partnership, or least no one is saying anything. So, McKay is heading back to TV. Good.
- Why do some people care so much about red, white and blue flags on golf holes at Illahe Hills Golf and Country Club where I play?
When a decision was made at Illahe Hills Golf and Country Club in Salem to remove red, white and blue color-coded flags on our greens (red means short, white means middle, and blue means long).
The decision sparked a mini-revolt among some club members, not all, but some.
Certain players who talked to me said, “Why?”
To me, it was not a big deal because I carry a range-finder, plus have played at Illahe for about 35 years, so I tend to know most of the distances.
But, like a lot of issues these days, the color-coded flag removal became a controversy, even, at one point, sparking notions of a conspiracy that the action was taken intentionally to incent players to buy expensive range finders.
Really?
But that’s what you get these days with most conspiracy theories – no factual basis for them.
- What makes Scottie Scheffler different from so many other pro golfers?
Scheffler didn’t have his best game last weekend at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio, on a course Jack Nicklaus designed. But he still won and had his picture taken with Nicklaus, his wife, Barbara, Sheffler’s wife, Meredith, and their new baby, Bennett.
A photo for the scrapbook!
Scheffler made a tough five-foot downhill putt on the last hole to save a one-shot victory over Colin Morikawa – and Morikawa had played better than Scheffler all day long, except came up one-stroke short of eclipsing Scheffler’s three-shot cushion at the start of the day.
And, that prompted some commentators to continue comparing him to Tiger Woods and Nicklaus.
I say, too soon. Give him a few more years to play great golf and then comparisons will be more viable. He is still very good on his own without comparisons.
So, what separates Scheffler today? I suggest several factors: First, he appears to keep his mind straight; second, he loves the competition, win or lose; and, third, he has a great relationship with his caddy, Ted Stock, who helps him recover from a bad shot if he hits one, thus illustrating the old golf axiom”– What’s the most important shot in golf? The next one.
Something all of us should learn, just as Scheffler is this week at the U.S. Open where he didn’t have a great first round.
Perspective from the 19th Hole 