Rick,
The question might really be "What is your Club or board looking to accomplish in pursuing a master plan"? Are there specific projects and differing opinions on what the board would like to do and they're hoping a master plan might create some consensus? Or, are they really looking for a long range plan for capital improvements. In my experience, the master plan process, whether you call it that or something else, is a great way to educate the membership on what the issues and priorities are. Bringing in an architect on a consulting basis is probably fine for some clubs if there is already a fairly clear understanding of what the issues are.
One of the really big benefits to going through the master plan process is that it helps to clarify which issues are most important and so, as board members change, there is some ongoing continuity.
It's always interesting to me how some clubs allow their board to make decisions on which improvements to proceed with while other clubs believe that every expenditure has to be voted on by the membership. If the club has a master plan in place which has been adopted by their board, then the current board should have the ability to decide which improvements to proceed with and at what expense. We just completed a master plan for a club in Minnesota went through the process of designing the first phase of improvements, awarded the project to the contractor and then at the annual meeting a small but vocal group of members stood up and announced to the board that they couldn't move forward with the project because it hadn't been voted on by the membership. Even though their bylaws didn't require a vote by the membership, the board caved in and agreed to let the membership vote on the project.