For as long as the sport has existed, golfers have followed the daylight. And for as long as there have been lists, golfers have followed them, too.
The latest adventurer on such a quest is Daniel Belk, a 32-year-old Denver-based entrepreneur who recently sold two companies, leaving him with free time and money in the bank.
“Everybody kept asking me, ‘Daniel, what’s next?'” Belk says. “I was like, don’t ask me what’s next. It’s starting to stress me out. Let me just take a week off to play golf.”
One week turned into two weeks, which sparked an idea: play GOLF’s The best 100 courses you can play in less than a year.
“I’ve always been someone who’s loved to travel, and golf courses are epic destinations. It’s a super fun way to see so many parts of the country,” says Belk.
Easier said than done.
It is, to begin with, an expensive project; Belk has budgeted $85,000 for it. It also requires planning. The tee sheets get crowded. The weather turns sour. Belk began his odyssey in April and, as of this writing, has dropped 12 courses. Only 88 left.
Its schedule is determined by the seasons. Spring has found him in the southeast. The summer will take him to the Midwest – he and his friends have a Ryder Cup-style match planned for Valley of sand. In the winter, he thinks of making his way through California and Hawaii.
Belk has a few things working in its favor. His brother has a pilot’s license and access to an airplane, which allows for some surgical strikes. And despite the name, the Top 100 is not evenly spread across the map. More than half of the courses on the list are concentrated in just seven states: California, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oregon, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Then there is this advantage.
“I’m in the perfect place in life where I don’t have kids and I don’t have a job, obviously,” Belk says. “Instead of waiting until I’m 60, let me shoot some sub-80 scores, have fun and do it while I’m young.”
Not a bad reason to follow a list.
To learn more about Belk’s journey, watch the video above.
