Hitting the club
As was mentioned a couple of days ago, I joined a golf club! And not just any club, I officially became a member of Columbia Edgewater Country Club (CECC) here in Portland, OR. It’s an amazing golfing facility and a perfect match for The Dan Plan.
This is a huge step in the life of The Dan Plan as well as in my own life. I’ve never been one to become a member of something like this, I don’t even have a Regal Cinemas card… 
But, after giving it a lot of thought, it made sense for me to have a “home” course for a number of reasons.
First and foremost is access throughout the peak season to a practice facility. CECC has three separate putting greens, a grass driving range, an (amazing for anyone wanting to work on their short game) pitching/chipping area and a par 3 golf course to offer anyone working on their game. Below is a picture of the ninth-hole green, one of the putting areas and beyond the water is the grass driving range:
One of the greatest advantage for someone like me who practices all day is that there is less competition for the practice facilities. I love Heron Lakes and the other municipal courses in Portland, but there are times when the sun comes out and so many people are out practicing that you have to wait for a slot in the driving range or for a hole on the putting green. We only have about 4 months of good weather here in Portland, so when the sun shines we all need to get our outside fixes When shooting for 10,000 hours, though, I don’t have much time for waiting.
Another huge advantage is the finances of it all. This seems to be counter-intuitive, but after weighing the costs of rounds and range balls, it makes complete sense for me to join a club. I play a lot of golf. But, even if you just played 2-3 times a week and hit range balls a few times it can actually be more expensive to NOT join a club. I had never really thought about it and always assumed people payed a premium to be a member of a private golf course, and I am sure at some clubs that is true, but there are lots of player’s clubs where if you love the game you actually save money by joining.
Next on the list of reasons is competition. CECC is a true player’s club and there are some GREAT golfers out there. By joining, I get to, eventually, play with some of these men and women and take my game to the next level by playing up to the competition. At one point, CECC had the highest percentage of members with an under-10 handicap in the nation. That’s a good crowd to play with!
Also on the list (this is not exactly in specific order) is the pitching/chipping area and par 3 Mason course. This is where I will learn to control my ball flight on anything under 100 yards. The pitching area is roughly 100 yards squared with every type of lie you can imagine, as well as bunkers, rough and short grasses. It’s perfect and I’ve been very excited about getting out there and putting it to work. The Mason course is a nine-hole par 3 golf course tucked along the back nine of the regulation course. It has holes ranging from 135 yards down to 55 yards and the greens are wonderfully kept.
The list goes on and on, I foresee a huge opportunity for growth here and feel like The Dan Plan is stepping up to the next level this week. Tons of reasons will come out over the next months and will leave some future blogging for those. For the time being, I’m going to get out there and play some golf!
Some photos of the new digs: (sorry in advance, it was a bit grey on my first day out, will have some sunny photos soon!)
The logo
The 8th hole on the par 3 Mason course:
Driving range:
Some of the pitching area:
Got to love those golfing options!