With all of the pictures I post of fantastic golf courses, I often get asked "How can I also play at these exclusive private clubs?" People have written books on the topic, but to me, the answer remains simple.
- Join a private club.
- Network with other members of your club and others.
- Play golf frequently with new people at new places.
- Help out others whenever you can.
- Be awesome to play golf with.
The best part about putting effort into the ideas above, is that you get to meet some really cool and interesting people. There are a lot of people out there that love golf as much as I do and every time I meet one of them, we become fast friends.
One of those friends is Sean Ogle, the founder of Breaking Eighty. Not only does Sean run an excellent golf blog, but he has created a forum to bring these friends together. It is called The Eighty Club.
As Sean describes it. The Eighty Club is a private golf society for the game's most passionate followers. I describe it as a place where a group of golf nuts can talk about golf courses, golf architecture, golf equipment, or even golf ball shaped pizzas. The rules to join are simple.
- You must belong to a private club.
- You have an interest in traveling and playing a variety of different golf courses.
- You are passionate about the game and want to share this passion with others.
So what goes on in the Eighty Club?
- Online forum - Everything golf related gets discussed.
- Weekly Newsletter - Sean gets on his blog horse and sends out the week's hottest takes from the club and the world of golf.
- Potential for easier access - Meet people from other clubs around the country.
- Live events - The Eighty Club is looking to host 4-6 events annually.
Portland Golf Club hosted the very first Eighty Club event.
As you can see, Sean Ogle is pretty excited about having you join the Eighty Club. Here he celebrates at Columbia Edgewater in Portland.
I show a couple of Eighty Clubbers the ropes of iPhone golf course photography at Pumpkin Ridge.
Shown here are 5 of The Eighty Club's 122 members, or roughly 4.1%
In my personal opinion The Eighty Club is one of the best ways to meet people that love to travel, love to play golf, and love to show off their clubs. When you're not playing, it's a well run forum where you can discuss all things golf with people that are passionate about the game. The people that I have met so far have been welcoming, knowledgable, and a lot of fun to play golf with. As the club grows, it's only going to get better,
The first event was a ton of fun and took place at some of the best clubs that Portland has to offer. With Sean scheduling events all over the country The Eighty Club has the potential to dramatically boost your golf network as well as your travel itinerary. I know I am looking forward to the next event in Philadelphia.
So how do I get in the club? There is a $500 annual membership fee to join The Eighty Club. But the good news is that if you mention you are a friend of pjkoenig, Sean will knock $100 off of the annual price. Sean covers the details here on his site and if you are ready to submit your application, click here. As far as memberships to social clubs go, this one receives my highest rating: 10/10. I look forward to seeing you inside the club.
