There are a few things going on right now.  Practice wise, I have still been improving my chipping, putting, pitching and general short game as well as getting my full swing on a better plane for increased consistency and power.  Here is a short video of my swing a couple weeks ago and then from yesterday.  I have done some voice over for the details of what I was trying to improve:

Sorry about the quality of the second clip, it had to be hand-held and was taken during dusk, which is coming at 7pm these days.  The vernal equinox is right around the corner, meaning it’s time to start thinking about winter plans.

Before I get too carried away about early 2015 there are a few things to chat about.

I’ve been in a swing-focus mindset for a bit of time here and haven’t paid too much attention to how the game is breaking down on the course.  I have some more work to do before I really get into serious score mode, but it shouldn’t be too long now and I am starting to really hit the ball well once again.  So, give it another week and then I plan on getting my recorders out and capturing some updated stats for the site.  A lot of people have been emailing me about updating that page and it’s time that some new numbers are put up.  Soon.

There is a three-day tournament in October that I am beginning to gear up for.  It’s the Puget Sound Scratch Championship which takes place October 17-19 at three different courses:  The Home Course, Chambers Bay and Gold Mountain.  It should be a great tourney and I can’t wait to play in it.

Before that I am heading to San Diego next week for a 3 day Vision54 course.  I love working with those ladies and am very excited to have a chance to see them again; this time for 3 days.  I fly down there next Thursday and the course is just outside of San Diego at the Grand Del Mar.  While down there I am going up to Carlsbad for a meeting on Monday with a potential sponsor.  Unfortunately I cannot mention who it is quite yet, but I am hoping to amp up the game and the site in 2015 and with the help of a sponsor that will be possible.  It’s still been just a one man show to date, which is great and all, but there are a handful of things that I would do different if a budget existed.

In a similar vein to the Carlsbad funds quest, I have been working on acquiring funds for a TV pilot.  I have a great idea of a show that’s underlying story arc is my journey, but would be appealing to a wider-than-golf audience through themes of skill acquisition, talent versus practice, human performance and the ways and means of achievement.  The best part is that outside of being entertaining it would also allow me access to the mini-tournaments and coaches that I would like to be exposed to for experience and wisdom along the way.  It’s a win-win that will be funded, just not sure how quite yet.

That’s a bit about what’s been going on.  I should write more about all of this soon.  For the time being I have been spending the evening hours brainstorming and putting together presentations.  Just searching and waiting to find the right partners.

Also, please don’t forget to download and read the entire blog from start until breaking par just a few months ago.  It’s a great way to catch up on all of the action and the highs and lows that come with dropping everything to pursue a completely new direction in life. Download it on Amazon here:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MTC0NJA/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00MTC0NJA&linkCode=as2&tag=thdapl05-20&linkId=NQ72WF55IIVE2AQ2

Thank you!

I was going to make it a pdf download and ask people to contribute what they thought it was worth, but I thought if I put the book up on Amazon’s website it would be better formatted for all types of digital readers.  If this doesn’t work after a couple of months I may put a link to the pdf up as well, but for the time being please think about supporting The Dan Plan by purchasing the book here:

Amazon Unites States:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MTC0NJA

Amazon UK:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00MTC0NJA?*Version*=1&*entries*=0

Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00MTC0NJA

Amazon Germany: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00MTC0NJA?*Version*=1&*entries*=0

Amazon Japan: http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B00MTC0NJA?*Version*=1&*entries*=0

And most any other country, email me if you want a specific link or search for “The Dan Plan”.

I wish to apologize in advance as a few external links did not translate to this format.  One of the most blaring absences are videos.  On a few occasions I talk about watching a video and it’s just a blank on the page.  Outside of that the content is whole.  I edited out about one third of the posts but there is still quite a bit of content, too much in a lot of ways.  Down the road at some point I will have a professional editor (or a well versed friend, or myself when the amount of time in a day magically doubles) take a gander at the content and polish it up.  For now, this is the story, more or less, word for word from the beginning.  I hope you enjoy and get some value out of the content.

For every book purchased from Amazon almost $5 goes to The Dan Plan.  Thank you for reading and please help spread the word to anyone potentially interested in seeing what it takes to make such a drastic change in one’s life.

Cheers!

For a little retro action, here is a video from the very first day of The Dan Plan:

I had no clue what I was getting into and putting from one foot away from the hole was “golf” to me.  You can tell I was a newbie from the yellow jacket, blue jeans and running shoes.  That outfit quickly changed as I realized there was actually a type of uniform to this game, which still strikes me as a bit odd as I’ve never noticed how a collared shirt helps one golf

Learning about golf and proper attire I ran into all sorts of people/outfits from the more traditional:

To the more modern man:

I knew there was a perfect compromise for me and I slowly worked my way from a rubber raincoat to wool sweaters then to the polyester shirts you see on Tour to finally finding some, in my mind, wearable cotton shirts that I have been wearing every day since.  In a way golf has changed how I look on a daily basis as I pretty much now don some form of non-denim pant and a collared shirt whereas 4 years ago it was jeans and a t-shirt unless I had to go to a funeral or a dinner with grandma.

………

Over the years the press started warming up to the journey.  The first major story that came out was written by Michael Kruse of the Tampa Bay Times.  It was a good read and he did a wonderful job reporting, even driving the 274 miles from Tampa to Tallahassee with me and staying overnight to attend a presentation I gave at Florida State University.  That story is here:  Tampa Bay Times

Since then it has been picked up by all sorts of media outlets from TV stations in China and Korea to blogs in Norway and magazines across the globe, CBS just ran a Sunday morning piece earlier this week.  Way more exposure than I had ever imagined and it has been an honor to hear all of the reactions from the story.  These have run the gambit from adulation to completely despising the idea.  Luckily we are all fortunate enough to have our own opinions and equally fortunate is the ability to appreciate or slough off the externalizations of others.

But, what have a learned so far?  That’s a tall order as so much happens in four years of a life.  Has it been a journey filled with inspiring times and conquered obstacles or is it becoming the regretful decision in life that I sought so hard to avoid in the first place?  It really just depends on which day you ask me, although for the vast majority of days it would definitely be the former.

Sometimes I can’t imagine doing anything else and I love this journey, but on a few occasions I have found it hard to muster up the drive to remain focussed.  That’s just what happens when you do something constantly for four years.  Life’s not a movie and emotions flow like the tide.  I think the lesson I have learned is to allow the bad times to pass as the better are always on the horizon and when the good moments are here remember to appreciate them.  Also, don’t forget how green your own grass is before you start looking out over those fences.  Some cliches are better than others.

What I have done the worst over the past four years is to attract and hold on to potential sponsors.  I never imagined how hard it was going to be to find some support for a project like this and am slowly coming to the conclusion that I will have to go about it on my own for the remaining four years.  When I began I wrote down that I would give it two years and if I had not found a way to make the project self-supported I would reconsider and redirect.  Then the two year mark hit and I was still enjoying it so I kept at it as to me the payoff was in the journey and freedom that comes along with following one’s heart/dreams.  Another two years has passed and I still agree with that sentiment, but as the funds deplete and the financial needs of this pursuit grow (for example tournament entry fees: to play in mini-tours can cost around $2,000 a week after entry, travel, room and board) it becomes harder to deny a creeping sense of looming financial needs.

I’ve paddled this canoe half way cross the sea so can figure out how to make it safely home on my own if need be.  I never intended this to make money and was perfectly comfortable sidestepping my career for a few years in order to do some human potential explorations.  That was when I thought it would be a four year project, though, and now that I am approaching 35 it’s hard to not worry about future finances, retirement, helping raise a family, health care, having a safe car and all sorts of other concerns that begin popping in one’s head when life’s conceptual longevity creep into the picture.  There is a big difference between 29 and 35, surprisingly so.

I still love and cherish my freedom and decision, don’t get me wrong, it’s just that there is a greater sense of future than there was at the beginning.  The thing about golf, too, is that it’s shockingly expensive.  But that’s enough about that, this should be a celebration of time spent, not a time to linger on the finances of the future.

Long story short is that I hope to be able to finish the entire 10,000 hours and will do what I need to do in order to make that happen.  Goals often require sacrifices and I was well aware of that when I began.

Back to learning…

I have learned a lot about golf, quite a bit about what it takes to improve and that “plateaus” are just periods where more time and a fresh outlook is needed to surpass.  I have yet to see any specific or generalized reason why this goal of making it to the PGA Tour (or subsequently any specific goal) is not possible and I now firmly believe that anything is possible and that we have not yet begun to understand the limits of human potential.  It might be strange to use golf as an analogy for our capabilities, but I see it as a clear window into better understanding both mental and physical performance.

Speaking of those two types of performance, I see the second half of this pursuit becoming more about mental training than physical.

Over the past 5,000 hours I have spent the vast majority of my time learning how to physically swing a golf club and understanding the mechanics of that swing as well as the physics behind what makes a golf ball bend in the air.  It took a long time to get to the point where I had an efficient swing and that took up most of my training time.  I also spent some hours grasping the rules of the game and learning what it meant to play golf as well as how to score, but that was almost a side project during the first half.

I have noticed a lot of transition in my training and emphasis lately and it is evident that the emphasis from here on out is going to be more on the mental approach to the game.  For example, I have gotten to the point where I can work a ball well on the range with any club and hit my targets while doing so, but under the pressure of an actual match my skill level seems to, on occasions, diminish.  Learning how to perform in those situations and how to self-correct in the middle of an important round is tantamount to future success and will be the keys to moving forward.

That’s not to say I will stop focussing on mechanics nor will I not continue to try and increase my swing speed and accuracy, but just that there are crucially important aspects of getting to the next level that happen more internally than externally.  I always knew this would be both a physical and mental pursuit, but am just beginning to understand exactly how large a roll the mental aspects play in performance.

Today randomly happens to also be the 4 year anniversary of this pursuit.  A fitting day to be both half way and 4 years in.  And, the Masters start today.  To me that means my goal is to be playing in the Masters on the 10k finishing day which should be early April 2018.  Now that’s a target I can shoot for.

Thank you all for following along over these past four years.  The encouragement and support has been huge in keeping me focussed throughout each day and the fellowship of friends (either in person or via email) that has gathered along the way has easily been one of the best parts of this journey.  Here’s to another set of amazing years and unknown obstacles yet to be conquered.

To celebrate the day I played in Riverside’s Masters Day tournament.  I had no expectations heading into the round and saw it as a good position marker for the 5k to come.  I hit the ball well and despite the punched and sanded greens actually putted very well, shooting a 75 that landed me tied for 3rd out of the 88 entrants.  That score also put me in second place gross.  The low round of the day was a 73 shot by a plus two handicap golfer.  A 75 is a good sign of things to come and my lowest tournament round to date.

Also, part of the round was to pick a random pro playing in the Masters today and our rounds get paired together for a combined gross score.  I drew Phil Mickelson and proceeded to beat him by one stroke on the day.  Augusta is a much harder challenge and I didn’t play under the same pressure, but it still felt good to beat the pro I was paired with as he shot a 76 today.

It’s a funky little town and a good place to step away for a couple of days and reflect on the past year’s successes and setbacks before heading out to tackle 2014.  I’m a big fan of having these short interludes for reflecting a bit before setting out on the next adventure and on January 2nd I’m heading to Palm Desert for a few weeks to stay with a friend and step up my winter practice routine.

Today I am going to hike around Cape Disappointment, which in some ways (jokingly and seriously) is a fitting name for my reflection spot for 2013.  My initial gut reaction on 2013 as a whole is that it was the toughest and in some ways least productive year to date of The Dan Plan.

Before continuing on, some scenes from today’s Cape exploration.

A secret beach:

The road along the way included a 4 mile long bridge across the Columbia from Oregon to Washington, long enough for the road to disappear into the fog:

A must unnecessary sign (unless, of course, you are learning Chinook):

Small buildings where only the imagination can shed light on their past use:

After spending a few hours thinking and hiking around the foggy cape I realized that last year was, in fact, the most productive year of the project to date.  I went from being told how to make a golf swing in the first couple years of the project to finally understanding what it means to apply the appropriate swing and I now have a deeper understanding of the physics of golf and how to “make a golf shot.”

Also, 2013 was the year that I found the right coach; the one I wanted to work with in order to boost my game to the next level that I will taste soon down the 2014 road.  Early in 2013 I was playing some of the best golf of my life, shooting one over par a couple of times in January and February and scoring an 81-81 in a two-day tournament on a tough track that landed me my first prize money to date with a net 6th place.  But, I knew my swing fundamentals would not allow me to progress much past those levels and that I needed to shore up my swing in order to produce the type of consistency and power needed to continue improving.

I met Bruce in May and we started the long process that is a major swing change.  I knew it wouldn’t be easy, yet still struggled with these changes for months and have continued to do so.  Although I finally understand exactly what I need to do and am excited to get down to the desert and not play golf for a while so that I can concrete the next changes.  It’s a surprisingly tough process and I have much respect for PGA Tour players who go through similar fundamental/coaching changes that leave them off the radar for a year or more.

Most of the summer was spent trying to figure out what it was that I was supposed to “feel” in the new swing and for a long time I was struggling to break 90 again and did not enter any tournaments as I wasn’t ready to compete.

Finally, around the time of Portland’s last tourney of the year, I knew that I needed to test what I was working on so signed up for a two-day amateur event mostly out of curiosity as well as a bit in order to get some revenge as I shot horribly in the 2012 event (92-86).  I did not have any expectations, but knew that I would be able to shoot better this year than last as my swing was much more consistent.  That said, I was a bit surprised when I shot a 76 the first day.  That score was with two missed short putts on the final two holes that could have been extra birdies.  It was a relief and a huge confidence booster as I had never scored under 80 in a tourney.  The next day I had a triple and a double on the back which killed my chances to repeat a sub-80 mark, but still posted an 82 which kept my two-day average under 80.

That was the best way to end what was basically a non-existent tournament year.  It gave me plenty of fuel moving forward and left me excited to compete when the season picks back up.

There was much more to the year than that and it would be impossible to quantify a year’s worth of practice by talking about a few scores or the generalities of a swing change, but 2013 was just one growth ring in the constantly evolving process that is ultimately a complete transformation.  Honestly, it doesn’t even make sense to break out one year analytically just because a calendar happens to turn, but it does provide a convenient stepping stone and I suppose that is why we tend to have resolutions and set goals this time of year.

My goals are simple:  Don’t lose momentum, find new vigor and new energy and apply it daily.  Don’t allow frustration to set in.  Stay positive, learn, grow, improve, make every minute of the day quality time whether it’s on the course or at home.  Remind myself that there cannot be any regrets and live each day accordingly.  Break par, get to scratch, win an event.  Concrete that swing change, become more consistent, get faster and improve balance.  Understand my mind and body and how they are connected.  Sleep more soundly and wake with more energy.

That’s it.  Simple, straightforward goals that are mostly written out in order for me to remember to continue to push forward.

2013 was a mixed bag, as it should have been.  There will always be highs and lows and without each the other is unrecognizable.  Similar paths will evolve in 2014, but I think I’m a hair wiser this December 31st than last and can see a clearer path in front of me.  I may not have accomplished everything I wanted to this past year, but I grew slightly wiser and stronger and can’t really ask for more than that.  Who knows what I will be writing about, or where from, come December 31st 2014, but over the next 365 days I know that I will be doing my best to improve one way or another.

Happy New Year.  I hope everyone is happy, healthy and has an inspiring 2014.

“I have been thinking about your game and progress. We made some progress this summer, but not enough to meet your goals in my opinion. You need me or someone of my expertise to spend more time with you each week.  I think you will get better gradually doing what you have been doing, but it will be tough to make your goals. I am happy to help you on this in the future, but I think you should try to find a sponsor to offset the costs of more teaching and coaching time. I think you need a couple of hours a day, 3 or 4 times a week. I know finding a sponsor for this is not easy and may not be possible, but you should try. Food for thought.”

He has a great point.  Bruce has been huge for my golf transformation this summer, but as he points out having one hour of lesson time every, roughly, ten days doesn’t seem to be enough mentor time to make the large changes that I need to make in my game.  I have seen some concrete results from working with Bruce, but he has also pointed out how my swing tends to revert to previously instilled old habits when I have not seen him in more than a week.

Also, now that it is winter Bruce is leaving to teach at PGA West for the next 5 or 6 months so it will make it more difficult to have his high-quality eyes on my swing.  I definitely plan on visiting that part of the country in December or January for a few weeks to see Bruce and try out desert golf, but in the meantime it’s important that I figure out how to get more coaching time with someone of Bruce’s expertise, or devise an alternative solution.

It’s a bit of a conundrum, but one that would be easily solved with unlimited funds.  That’s not nearly the case, though, so something else will most likely have to be figured out.

Coaching is a vital part of progress.  Even Bubba Watson, who has notoriously never had a lesson in his life says that  he has “been lucky, where it’s all worked out for me, but it’s not going to work out like that for everybody” and suggests that people start getting lessons by high school age.  He said, in a WSJ article, that “Kids below 10 or 12, I think they just need to learn by playing at golf. Later on, in high school, when they develop muscles and everything, that’s when they need to see about getting lessons.”

I think that I am definitely beyond the under 10-12 level now and see the benefit every time I have a lesson with Bruce.  His knowledge of the golf swing and my golf swing it beyond my proprioception abilities.

There is a chance that without any formal instruction someone can make it to the pinnacle of their endeavor, but the odds seem extremely more likely when practice is paired up with high quality instruction.  There is always an outlier such as Bubba, but his story is the exception to the rule.  Coaching is important, especially for something as technical as the golf swing.

I have a couple ideas at the moment.  One is to shoot my swing a couple of times a week and post it for Bruce to check out and comment on.  This could help, but is not the same thing as working with someone in person for a quality hour or two.  There are definitely other ways about this, it will just take some time to figure it out.

In the meantime, I have been striking the ball pretty well and my driver is starting to make more sense with everything that Bruce has told me over the summer.  I have a good bit of stuff to work on that will keep me busy for the next few weeks and hopefully after that can plan that trip to the desert.

I’m not worried about this, just considering my current coaching routine and pondering ways to improve my practice in general.  It’s good to question the “whys” and “hows” along the way.

I know what you’re going to say, but this isn’t a rebound.  Just because it’s only been a few days since the breakup doesn’t mean I can’t find a new partner.  This isn’t a one night stand, rather a new fling with staying power.  I’ve met a new course and it’s swept me off of my feet.  I promise that I wasn’t seeing this course while I was with CECC and it’s only by fortunate chance that the transition was made so quickly.

I have the tendency to land on my feet and after hearing the CECC news last Saturday I knew that I needed to figure something out and had a few ideas in the back of my head.  A couple months ago a friend invited me out to the course next door to CECC, Riverside Country Club, and I quite enjoyed their facilities.  I hadn’t thought much about it at the time, but after hearing the final verdict at CECC I called around to a few clubs to see what the costs would be to join and then got in touch with the membership lady at Riverside that afternoon.  They had a stellar deal going on which was hard to pass up so I talked with my family about it and decided that it made practical and financial sense to join.  Economically speaking, and judging by what I spent in June while not having a home course, being a member of a club is the only feasible way to financially make The Dan Plan work.

Sunday morning I went in to Riverside and officially joined.  Immediately afterwords I teed it up with a couple of members and despite the 95 degree day I had a blast running around my new home course.

Riverside has some similarities to CECC, but I am not interested in comparing the two.  In all honesty that would be like comparing apples to apples and it really comes down to personal taste.  Whether you like Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, Cortland or Braeburn is just a matter of personal preference, especially when the courses are literally next door to one another and were built the same year.  I’m sure, though, there are some massively differing opinions on the matter and members at each course would probably tell you conflicting views.  Personally, they are both awesome courses and provide some similar and some different challenges.

The practice facilities at Riverside are pretty similar to CECC too.  There is no par 3 course at Riverside which is something that I will miss, but they do have a cool chipping area where you can make up your own holes from zero to 130 yards with a few bunkers, and a couple different greens to hit to:

I was out there for about four hours yesterday and didn’t see another soul, just a quiet place to practice the short game.  I have a feeling this may be the spot where I spend a ton of time over the next few years.

The range is pretty cool, too.  On Mondays it was mats only, but a lot of days you hit off of the grass:

When you practice and play golf on a daily basis it can get expensive very quickly if you don’t have a range and course at hand.  I suppose it depends on what the course costs, but being an intermediate member at Riverside (under 40 years old) is cheaper than paying for two rounds at a local muni a week.  The main benefits aren’t just about cost, though, it’s about having that range, good putting greens, and the chipping area where you can work on the most important aspect of the game: the short game.

The first 30 years of my life I never would have thought I would be a member of a country club, but now that I have become obsessed with golf and improving my golfing game I cannot see it any other way.  Don’t get me wrong, it is possible to improve one’s game at the local muni course (I still and will forever love practicing and playing at Heron Lakes) but for my goals and what I want to do on a daily basis a country club can optimize that experience.  I know Seve did it with a 5-iron on the beach, but I’m sure if he had access to a place like Riverside or CECC he would have been there every day honing those skills.

I am excited to have a new home and already feel that the change will be good as it’s a new environment to learn in and new people to challenge as well as no established tendencies or behaviors.  There is a lot to be excited about and a whole new world to start exploring.

I would like to thank CECC once again for everything that they provided and did for me over the past two years.  You are all amazing and I hope to see everyone again one day soon.  Again, I am not interested in comparing the two facilities and think that anyone interested should check them both out.  Every course and club has it’s pros and cons and it’s up to the individual to find the best fit.  I am excited about Riverside as I was about CECC when I first went out there.  You really can’t go wrong being a member at either course.

Not that there was anything that I omitted over the past two years, but one added benefit of being a paying member of a club is that I can freely talk about all of the aspects of country club life.  I didn’t grow up in anything like this and at times feel like a stranger in foreign lands but never wanted to step on anyone’s toes.  Having no affiliations with any club or products I can truly tell it as it is in the golfing world.  I will try and write my experiences at the new club like a travel guide to Mars.  The goal is to take you with my on this new journey.

Before that all begins, here is one more picture of the new home course: pushing my Clicgear up the 18th fairway.  Pretty nice view

After reading the GM’s email I was excited, as I thought that the vote had been positive and that they wanted to discuss some details of our new arrangement moving forward. I had provided the board a list of ways in which the project could potentially benefit the club and figured we were going to go over that list and discuss the details of when and how I could utilize the facilities for practice purposes and what concrete items they would like to see in return. At worse, I figured, I would be able to use the range and short course area a few days a week.

I arrived a little early and the GM and I waited around for a couple of people who were going to attend the meeting to discuss the news. It was the first time that I had been back to the club since the end of May and returning felt stranger than I expected. I wandered around the halls for a bit and it wasn’t unlike returning to a campus that you had graduated from the previous year; everything was still there in it’s right place and the general tenor remained, but the intimate familiarity of the place had quickly changed from a second home to a guest in a foreign land. I didn’t see any of the people I used to run around the course with nor did I even recognize the employees I ran into during this 30 minute visit. Surely the place couldn’t have changed at all in just 30 days, but perhaps the lack of familiarity was a self-defense mechanism preparing me for the worst of news. No matter, what was so recently my daily routine now felt like the waking memory of an early night’s dream.

After a few minutes we couldn’t get in touch with anyone else so I just asked him to tell me the news. “Lay it on me Bryan,” says I. He looked at me with disappointed eyes. I could tell that he cared and was sorry to be the one that had to relay the message. “The board has decided to not continue our relationship,” he tells me. I ask him why he had me come in to tell me that, why he didn’t just call me this morning and he replies that because of the relationship that CECC and The Dan Plan have had over the past two years he wanted me to find out in person. I told him that I appreciated the gesture and that I was sorry we couldn’t make it continue to work for the next year.

I understand why CECC made the decision and have nothing but appreciation for them letting me utilize the golf facilities for the past two years. It was an amazing run and I learned a ton during my tenure there and hope that I was able to return to the members what they provided for me. There are some wonderful people who are members of the club and I wish them all continued success and hope that membership makes it to capacity and stays there for years to come. I recommend CECC to any serious golfers who want a challenging course, wonderful practice facilities and good competitive play.

I will miss it out there. Thank you to the staff for being so supportive and just plain awesome. It has been a pleasure to get to know all of you and I hope that we cross paths countless times down the road. Even you Chris Meyer (inside joke, he’s a great guy). The vast majority of members were kind, intelligent and good golfers. There were only a handful of bad apples at the club which is pretty impressive considering how many members there are.

Anyone interested in checking out CECC should go to the Safeway Classic coming up in August. I’ll be out there watching the LPGA play and would love to give some walking tours on the grounds during the weekend.

Over the past month I have come to realize how important it is to have a consistent practice home. It has been hard in June to figure out, on a daily basis, where to work on specific aspects of the game and when looking at the number of hours practiced, this month has been much less than many of the previous months due to not having that consistency. Now that I have a concrete answer from CECC I must figure out what the next steps are and what the future of The Dan Plan looks like. It simply can’t be running around to different courses every day as I can neither afford that nor does it translate into the type of stable practice that is needed for success.

It’s time for me to start exploring the golfing options around town. I’m going to begin this asap as I have a lot to work on and would like to find a new golfing home to get that work started.

CECC, thank you again. You were wonderful to me. Please know that it wasn’t you, it was me that changed. You’re going to find a new Dan Plan and thrive with that person. Things change and people grow apart, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t always going to be in my heart. I wish you the best of luck; and who knows, maybe one day we’ll be together again. In the meantime, don’t be afraid to venture out and explore this big world of ours, you’ll find the perfect Dan Plan for you.

All joking aside, it does feel a bit like I got dumped today, but these things happen and we’ve all been on both sides of the stick. The past two years were amazing as will the next two and the two after that. Keep doing what you do CECC and stay true to golf. You are a wonderful place and I will always remember you as my first; the one that taught me what it meant to be a golfer.

PS. The Oregonian is running a story in the Sunday issue tomorrow. Here is a link to some photos the awesome photog shot: http://photos.oregonlive.com/photo-essay/2013/06/dan_mclaughlin_hopes_to_show_p.html#incart_river

and to the story: http://www.oregonlive.com/living/index.ssf/2013/06/the_drive_to_succeed.html#/0