Golfer breaks world record for courses played in a year: ‘Toughest thing I’ve ever done’

Imagine setting aside a year just for golf. There are no work obligations. No family commitments. There’s nothing to do but hit the ball, find the ball, make the putt on 18 – then drive to the next course and do it again.

Does this sound dreamlike or dystopian to you? A year of guilt-free self-indulgent bliss, or an overdose of the good stuff?

For Josh Simpson, it’s elements of both.

But now he does. It’s official. On a gray Monday afternoon, about an hour and a half west of London, 27-year-old Briton Simpson set a new benchmark by completing a loop at The Caversham. This is his 581st match of 2025, setting a world record for the most 18-hole matches played on different courses in one year.

“This is hands down the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Simpson told GOLF.com. “It’s also the best thing I’ve ever done.”

If his feelings about this feat were mixed, so were his emotions as the Odyssey began. The piece was inspired by Simpson’s mother, who died in 2023 a few months after being diagnosed with cancer. For Simpson, a self-proclaimed mummy boy, her death plunged him into what he calls a “wormhole” of reflection. Life is short, he realizes. Tomorrow is not promised to anyone. At the urging of friends, Simpson left the family’s lawn care business and embarked on a moving golf extravaganza, raising money along the way for charities tied to his mother’s memory.

The mission began on January 24 with a 36-hole day on two courses in Woodhull Spa, England. From there it’s pretty much non-stop. He lives in a campervan and travels between England, Wales and Scotland. Kilometers become a blur. The same goes for touring, although some stops are memorable. Simpson traveled from course to course, selecting dozens of well-known courses, many of which were home to Open Championships. The exception was the Old Course, which was handed a game on the day he expected to play.

Simpson’s index was in the single digits, although his handicap fluctuated throughout the trip. Good round. Bad round. Almost an albatross. In more than 10,000 holes, Simpson has never hit an ace, although he has witnessed several close calls. He just couldn’t remember exactly where they happened.

What he remembered more clearly was the people. With a diverse cast of playing partners—greenkeepers, CEOs, poker players, arms dealers—the human carnival takes place on golf courses everywhere.

The bad weather days were also memorable. At Royal Porthcawl, he spent his 18th year in the pouring rain with a happy club member who also treated himself to sunshine. In Glasgow, he finished in pouring rain and 50mph winds, posting his worst result of the year. It wasn’t the number that worried him. All he wanted to do was keep the pace.

Golf marathons are hard on the body. But the more lasting pain is the logistical hassle: booking a time, plotting a route, adhering to necessary standards. Guinness offers a lot of this stuff. To achieve this record, each course had to be an 18-hole course of more than 6,000 yards in length, a criterion that beat many courses in the United Kingdom, which had an abundance of nine-hole layouts and designs before the long ball era. Simpson said more than half of courses in Scotland were substandard.

In addition to these requirements, Simpson must play each hole in order. There is no scheduling. Not given to me. Starting from the 10th tee is prohibited. Each round requires a witness and club signature. As if following the rules of golf wasn’t enough.

“You get the sense that these standards probably weren’t written by real golfers,” Simpson said.

Anyone who has ever played games knows that packing for a long trip can be a hassle. Simpson’s approach to this is pragmatic. He didn’t think too much about it. club? ball? Gloves? Check, check, check. He knew rain gear was a must. Ditto, the mother lode of socks. Otherwise, he thought, he could find what he needed at the next stop.

Over the course of the year, he burned through 30 pairs of gloves and an unknown number of balls. But he only wore the second pair of shoes. His first G4 lasted 500 rounds before he finally put them down.

One item he carries with him every day is a custom-made ball sign with his mom’s name and her favorite image of a bee on it.

“It’s a bittersweet feeling,” Simpson said. “I wish my mom could have seen what I was doing, but if she hadn’t passed away, none of this would have happened.”

The record is now his. Finish and dust. But Simpson’s story isn’t over yet. He still has a few weeks left in the year and plans to cancel more classes. How many are there? It’s hard to say. On the one hand, he was in the woods and might as well keep walking.

On the other hand, he admits, “I’m tired of golf.”