We are, admittedly, a running website. This much should be obvious. But we’ve never really pretended that running is the only thing we do around here.
Because while we love running, we also like bikes. And beer. And concerts, plays, art. And road trips. And pretty much anything else that gets us out of the house and doing something.
That’s why we’ve had features like Bike Oregon, Run & Fun, and Run Oregon Road Trips popping up over the years. They’re all a little different, but they share the same basic idea: being active in Oregon doesn’t always have to mean putting one foot in front of the other.
So now, we’re going to try something new:
Off Course with Run Oregon
This is a particularly interesting development because, prior to July 2026, my last actual round of golf was approximately 30 years earlier.
I was 12. I went out with my dad, along with the high school golf coach, athletic director and baseball coach. In retrospect, this was an absolutely brutal group of people to be learning golf alongside. They were all pretty good. I was very much not.
I remember being terrible. I remember being embarrassed. And apparently that experience was powerful enough that it took me three decades to pick up a golf club again.
But here we are.
I have been slowly getting back into the groove and, after a few rounds, I’ve realized there are actually some pretty interesting similarities between running and golf.
That’s a Lot of Walking
For starters, walking 6,300+ yards during a round is no joke. Especially when your golf ball has decided that the fairway is merely a suggestion and you spend half your day crisscrossing the course from one rough to the other.
That’s roughly 63+ football fields of walking. So…workout?
Outside Is Still Outside
There’s also the indoor/outdoor thing. Runners generally prefer being outside, but we all know the treadmill exists for a reason. When the smoke rolls in, the rain comes sideways or life simply doesn’t give you enough time for a proper run, sometimes the indoor option wins.
Golf is similar. Sure, there are simulators and indoor driving ranges. But given the choice, I’m going to take a day on an Oregon golf course every time.
The Devil Is in the Details
This might be the crossover I find most interesting.
Most people can go out and run. Once you’ve been doing it long enough, you don’t have to think too hard about putting one foot in front of the other. But getting better? That’s where the little things matter.
A slight adjustment to your training. A new drill. A change in form. A little more consistency. Golf is basically the same concept, except apparently every tiny adjustment can make the ball do something completely different.
I’ve found that slowly getting better at golf has come from making small adjustments and doing some of the same things we do in running: practicing, repeating, making changes and figuring out what works.
Granted, I played baseball through college, so swinging a golf club isn’t completely foreign to me. Actually getting the ball to go where I want it to? That remains a work in progress.
Frustrating and Fun
And then there’s the biggest crossover of all = both sports can be incredibly frustrating.
You can go into a run with a perfectly planned 10 miles, only to realize a mile or two in that it’s just not happening. Maybe your legs aren’t there. Maybe the weather is awful. Maybe your body simply decided it has other plans. Or you can show up to a race after a great training block, feeling confident that you’re ready to hit a particular time, only to have the wheels come off for reasons you can’t quite explain.
Golf has been teaching me that same lesson.
You can hit a shot that makes you think, “Oh, I’m getting pretty good at this.” And then, approximately 14 seconds later, you can hit one directly into a tree. I know this from experience (case in point: miraculously was on the green in 2 and ended up putting off the green and ended with an 8…)
It’s frustrating. It’s fun. And sometimes it’s both within about 30 seconds.
Which, come to think of it, sounds a lot like running.
So…Why Golf?
I’m not sure how often Golf Oregon will show up here. Maybe it will be occasional. Maybe I’ll become obsessed and suddenly Run Oregon is reviewing putters and discussing municipal course architecture. Well, probably not, but I’m going to try have some fun with it and figure out where the connection points with running lie.
Because Run Oregon has always been about more than just running. It’s about getting outside, trying new things, finding new ways to move and enjoying the place we get to call home.
And sometimes, apparently, that means chasing a little white ball around the woods for four hours.
Welcome to Off Course with Run Oregon.
