Josh Simpson is in the process of trying to break the Guinness World Record of playing 581 golf courses in a single year.
Having kicked off on Friday 24 January, to this date (Wednesday 30 April), the 27-year-old from King's Lynn has played 152 golf courses in 97 days – and is 26% of the way to his target.
Living out of his campervan for the year, Josh spoke to England Golf to tell us why he's taken on the challenge, targets for the year, and some of his most interesting stories to date…
Having kicked off on Friday 24 January, to this date (Wednesday 30 April), the 27-year-old from King's Lynn has played 152 golf courses in 97 days – and is 26% of the way to his target.
Living out of his campervan for the year, Josh spoke to England Golf to tell us why he's taken on the challenge, targets for the year, and some of his most interesting stories to date…
How did you get into golf?
It was through my dad, very early on. It took me a while to get into it as I was that age where I played every other sport and then finally got into it when I was about 16. I’ve hopped about clubs, I'm currently a member at Middleton Hall and I’m a country member at Woodhall Spa where I started this GWR journey on day one!
What motivated you to take on this challenge?
Losing my mum a couple of years ago just put everything into perspective. I never really saw myself doing something like this, I was never really that kind of person who would think about standing out, but it made me look at life differently. I decided I wanted to do something good whilst I could, and with what happened with mum and how sudden it was - she went from completely normal to being gone within two months - it makes you realise that could happen to anyone at any time. So I thought I’d try and do something good, that I’ve wanted to do, and I’ve found a way to combine the two.
How did the idea come about?
I was on a trip last year to the Netherlands with a good friend called Michael. I said I'd love to retire and buy a motorhome and travel around and play golf. My passion is playing different golf courses and it's just rocketed from there. I mentioned the world record and he said why don’t you do it next year?
It sounded scary but the more he spoke, the more it made sense. He said: “You're in the prime of your life in terms of age and fitness and physically you're able to do it. You’ve got a job but other jobs will always come.” I owned a domestic lawn care business with about 450 customers which was passed down to me by dad but I didn’t really enjoy it despite there being perks. I was very fortunate to take over a business like that, but I realised I didn’t want to do it for the rest of my life.
I said I didn’t really have a CV that would get me a job that would pay me the same, but my friend explained that there’d be an opportunity. I thought about it and it made some sense in that if I didn’t do it now, I’d never do it. So then came the task of seeing whether it was financially possible, and with the climate we have, but after six months of pondering and sleepless nights, here we are.
What charities are you raising money for?
MacMillan, and Tapping House Hospice in Norfolk, which is a local one to me where my mum raised a lot of money for. She had a soft spot for it. A charity like Tapping House would certainly see the difference the money can make, while on the flip side if someone is donating from the other side of the country or internationally, they’re less likely to donate to a local charity. So by having a great charity like MacMillan too, we’ve got a happy medium.
Who do you play with in your quest for 581?
People can fill in a form on the website, which is essentially like saying ‘invite me to your course’. It was a big thing in terms of figuring whether this would be financially viable, as obviously 600 green fees in a year would be quite expensive. I’ve also got a WhatsApp group of 300 where I post spare tee times and they’re gone within seconds. The green fees are free as the clubs usually cover it, but the people playing just need to donate £50 or whatever it is to charity so they can get involved.
It was through my dad, very early on. It took me a while to get into it as I was that age where I played every other sport and then finally got into it when I was about 16. I’ve hopped about clubs, I'm currently a member at Middleton Hall and I’m a country member at Woodhall Spa where I started this GWR journey on day one!
What motivated you to take on this challenge?
Losing my mum a couple of years ago just put everything into perspective. I never really saw myself doing something like this, I was never really that kind of person who would think about standing out, but it made me look at life differently. I decided I wanted to do something good whilst I could, and with what happened with mum and how sudden it was - she went from completely normal to being gone within two months - it makes you realise that could happen to anyone at any time. So I thought I’d try and do something good, that I’ve wanted to do, and I’ve found a way to combine the two.
How did the idea come about?
I was on a trip last year to the Netherlands with a good friend called Michael. I said I'd love to retire and buy a motorhome and travel around and play golf. My passion is playing different golf courses and it's just rocketed from there. I mentioned the world record and he said why don’t you do it next year?
It sounded scary but the more he spoke, the more it made sense. He said: “You're in the prime of your life in terms of age and fitness and physically you're able to do it. You’ve got a job but other jobs will always come.” I owned a domestic lawn care business with about 450 customers which was passed down to me by dad but I didn’t really enjoy it despite there being perks. I was very fortunate to take over a business like that, but I realised I didn’t want to do it for the rest of my life.
I said I didn’t really have a CV that would get me a job that would pay me the same, but my friend explained that there’d be an opportunity. I thought about it and it made some sense in that if I didn’t do it now, I’d never do it. So then came the task of seeing whether it was financially possible, and with the climate we have, but after six months of pondering and sleepless nights, here we are.
What charities are you raising money for?
MacMillan, and Tapping House Hospice in Norfolk, which is a local one to me where my mum raised a lot of money for. She had a soft spot for it. A charity like Tapping House would certainly see the difference the money can make, while on the flip side if someone is donating from the other side of the country or internationally, they’re less likely to donate to a local charity. So by having a great charity like MacMillan too, we’ve got a happy medium.
Who do you play with in your quest for 581?
People can fill in a form on the website, which is essentially like saying ‘invite me to your course’. It was a big thing in terms of figuring whether this would be financially viable, as obviously 600 green fees in a year would be quite expensive. I’ve also got a WhatsApp group of 300 where I post spare tee times and they’re gone within seconds. The green fees are free as the clubs usually cover it, but the people playing just need to donate £50 or whatever it is to charity so they can get involved.
What’s your best/worst scores so far?
My Handicap Index® started off at 4.7 but it’s now crept up to about 8. I've finished 3-over four times so far, which is one shot off my best-ever score. My worst score so far has been a 94 but that’s the problem with playing every day, you don’t get to practise! I’m keeping a stats page – fairways, greens, putts, round duration, who I played with, eagles, birdies, balls lost.
What have been the best stories so far?!
I’m thinking about writing a book at the end of this and although some of it won’t be very publishable, there has been lots of fun! I was let through by 19 different groups in one round at Royal Ascot. Playing alongside the General Manager – we’d already beaten the quickest round by finishing in 1 hour 54 minutes in the morning. In the afternoon, the GM said there was no chance we’d beat that time as the course was busy. On the par-3 1st, 235 yards, I hit the flag with my tee shot, and after the GM hit a couple, he just decided he’d drive me round and it was like a well-oiled machine. We had a little system going where I’d be putting out and he’d be driving up ahead to tell the group in front, and by the time I got to the tee, I’d be waved through. We managed to get through 19 groups and the record was beaten again in 1 hour 51! It was like VIP speed golf. The best part was when I got some food at the end, I saw the first group, who let me through on the 2nd hole, playing on the 9th!
Any funny stories?
I managed to put my trolley in the water at Woking recently and I’m now two cameras down, which is probably a £1500 mistake! The trolley is okay, but not much else. The trolley hit a bit of uneven wood and jumped in the water. Luckily I was playing with a rugby player who fished it out!
Another good one was when I was in a clubhouse and I heard a woman shout ‘ginger pig’. I thought she was talking about a beer or something like that, but it was actually for me! She tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I was that guy trying to break the world record and I said yes. She said: “Ginger Pig?!”, and I was like: “No, Ginger Golf!”. She apologised and I joked that she’d insulted me, but she offered for me to come and sit with her and friends. She asked what I was doing for the evening and when I said I was heading to a laundrette, she said: “No you won’t!”. She invited me to her house to do my washing and whilst I was there, she asked if I liked Adidas. It turned out her son-in-law is a professional footballer and can’t wear Adidas anymore, so I ended up walking out of the house with about £1000 of Adidas kit!
Have you got any ongoing targets when you’re playing?
The eagle hunt, which is a bit embarrassing. I still haven't made an eagle on the journey yet (as of 15 April). Every eagle putt I have gets posted on my Instagram story and we’re up to about 35 attempts now. I’ve had a fair few before, including two in one round before at the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, where I holed out from a bunker on the 6th and another on the 14th! The irony is I’ll probably make one when it’s not on camera!I posted about my eagle chances on social and people were messaging saying they’d donate and others were saying they’d match it. The next day I had two chances in two holes after driving a par-4 green where I was miles off with the putt, but on the next hole, a par-5, I reeled off celebrating as I thought the 12-foot putt was going in and it horseshoed, leaving me on the floor in absolute agony. I had a lot of replies to my story that day!
I’ve played with someone who’s made his first ever eagle, and a lot of people who have hit eagles, and I’ve seen someone slam-dunk a hole-in-one in a group behind when playing at West Herts.
How have courses and golfers reacted to your challenge?
Some have been absolutely brilliant. My journey before was about trying to play the top 100 golf courses in England. So currently right now we're on 75 out of the 100, and I’d started the year on 72. Some of the top 100 courses have been a little more difficult to arrange, but I started the year with 300-plus invites to golf courses through people or clubs themselves, and now I've got to that level where clubs are reaching out, which is nice.
My Handicap Index® started off at 4.7 but it’s now crept up to about 8. I've finished 3-over four times so far, which is one shot off my best-ever score. My worst score so far has been a 94 but that’s the problem with playing every day, you don’t get to practise! I’m keeping a stats page – fairways, greens, putts, round duration, who I played with, eagles, birdies, balls lost.
What have been the best stories so far?!
I’m thinking about writing a book at the end of this and although some of it won’t be very publishable, there has been lots of fun! I was let through by 19 different groups in one round at Royal Ascot. Playing alongside the General Manager – we’d already beaten the quickest round by finishing in 1 hour 54 minutes in the morning. In the afternoon, the GM said there was no chance we’d beat that time as the course was busy. On the par-3 1st, 235 yards, I hit the flag with my tee shot, and after the GM hit a couple, he just decided he’d drive me round and it was like a well-oiled machine. We had a little system going where I’d be putting out and he’d be driving up ahead to tell the group in front, and by the time I got to the tee, I’d be waved through. We managed to get through 19 groups and the record was beaten again in 1 hour 51! It was like VIP speed golf. The best part was when I got some food at the end, I saw the first group, who let me through on the 2nd hole, playing on the 9th!
Any funny stories?
I managed to put my trolley in the water at Woking recently and I’m now two cameras down, which is probably a £1500 mistake! The trolley is okay, but not much else. The trolley hit a bit of uneven wood and jumped in the water. Luckily I was playing with a rugby player who fished it out!
Another good one was when I was in a clubhouse and I heard a woman shout ‘ginger pig’. I thought she was talking about a beer or something like that, but it was actually for me! She tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I was that guy trying to break the world record and I said yes. She said: “Ginger Pig?!”, and I was like: “No, Ginger Golf!”. She apologised and I joked that she’d insulted me, but she offered for me to come and sit with her and friends. She asked what I was doing for the evening and when I said I was heading to a laundrette, she said: “No you won’t!”. She invited me to her house to do my washing and whilst I was there, she asked if I liked Adidas. It turned out her son-in-law is a professional footballer and can’t wear Adidas anymore, so I ended up walking out of the house with about £1000 of Adidas kit!
Have you got any ongoing targets when you’re playing?
The eagle hunt, which is a bit embarrassing. I still haven't made an eagle on the journey yet (as of 15 April). Every eagle putt I have gets posted on my Instagram story and we’re up to about 35 attempts now. I’ve had a fair few before, including two in one round before at the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, where I holed out from a bunker on the 6th and another on the 14th! The irony is I’ll probably make one when it’s not on camera!I posted about my eagle chances on social and people were messaging saying they’d donate and others were saying they’d match it. The next day I had two chances in two holes after driving a par-4 green where I was miles off with the putt, but on the next hole, a par-5, I reeled off celebrating as I thought the 12-foot putt was going in and it horseshoed, leaving me on the floor in absolute agony. I had a lot of replies to my story that day!
I’ve played with someone who’s made his first ever eagle, and a lot of people who have hit eagles, and I’ve seen someone slam-dunk a hole-in-one in a group behind when playing at West Herts.
How have courses and golfers reacted to your challenge?
Some have been absolutely brilliant. My journey before was about trying to play the top 100 golf courses in England. So currently right now we're on 75 out of the 100, and I’d started the year on 72. Some of the top 100 courses have been a little more difficult to arrange, but I started the year with 300-plus invites to golf courses through people or clubs themselves, and now I've got to that level where clubs are reaching out, which is nice.
What's been the hardest course to date?
I'd probably say Berkhamsted, purely because it’s not my kind of course in that it doesn’t suit my game. It’s very tight and needs irons off tees. I very much want to whack driver everywhere so that’s the one that’s scared me the most! It's more about how I'm striking the ball. If I'm hitting the ball well, then any course is easy.
What's your target at the end of the year then?
Priority number one is breaking the world record. Priority two is raising as much money as possible for charity. I don’t have a number I want to broadcast but I have a little target in my head which I’d love to achieve. Target number three is trying to break par for the first time, that’d be a cool one. I’d also like to get a hole-in-one for the journey. I’d love to see someone shoot a ridiculous score and I’m trying to keep track of the best scores I’ve played with and I’ve played with a couple who have shot 3-under-par. There’s also the quest for my lowest ever score. Another target is to figure out what’s next for me, a job in golf perhaps!
Have you ever had a hole-in-one?
I’ve had two fraudulent hole-in-ones as my friends tell me. One was by myself and one was on a temporary hole last year at Royal East Devon. It was a normal size hole so I’m adamant they both count! There was one person in the clubhouse when I got back that evening and I asked him if he wanted a drink as I’d just made a hole-in-one, and he said no! So, if someone comes up to me one day and says they’ve just got a hole-in-one, and wants to buy a drink, I’m going to say yes!
What's your favourite post-round meal/drink?
I feel like it’s pretty much the same menu at most golf courses! Ham and cheese paninis, BLTs, cheesy chips, so I’ve eaten a lot of that. Anywhere that has pasta on the menu is a big win for me. Honourable mention to The Nottinghamshire for their Cajun chicken pasta which was amazing. Drink-wise I’m trying to stay sober this year, I’ve only had one day drinking at a concert this year, I’m just trying to keep the process of recovery and got to try and not get injured. On the course, I’ve kindly been given flapjacks by On Par Nutrition which have been great but other than that it’d probably be Haribo!
How are you enjoying the overall experience?
It’s been fine. If the golf club doesn’t have a gate, I'll usually drive into the golf club and park there for the night. I have had a couple of incidents where I've had a locksmith out twice on two different occasions, for two different locks. It was the same key which opened the gas so I was without heating for a couple of nights! About four weeks later I had another issue with another lock. I couldn’t get the clubs out and I needed to tee off, so it was a race against time. I asked the guys in the shop and they managed to get one out within 20 minutes. It was another expensive job!
It's obviously very full on playing as much golf as you can every day, but I have managed to get to a G-Eazy concert after one round, and another day I played at Essendon before catching an Uber and train to watch Tottenham beat AZ Alkmaar to take us to the quarter-finals!
I genuinely would not be doing this if I hadn't gone to the Netherlands last year with Michael. That's where the idea was born. I must also shout out Patrick, who's the current record holder, who was very generous with his time and being so open. If someone messages you and says ‘I'm looking to try and break your world record’ it could go one of two ways! But he was very good about it and it’s made me think if I do complete it, perhaps I could do the same for the next person.
Also a shoutout must go to all of the people along the way who have been absolutely incredible, whether that's buying me dinner, sorting green fees, doing some laundry for me, or letting me park on their drive. There have been some people who have been great and let me stay at their house, even some who I’ve never met before! But it just shows how great the golf community is, everyone rallying behind and wanting to help. It really has absolutely blown me away.
If you’d like to play with Josh or find out which courses he’s played, click here. You can also follow his progress on Instagram by clicking here.
I'd probably say Berkhamsted, purely because it’s not my kind of course in that it doesn’t suit my game. It’s very tight and needs irons off tees. I very much want to whack driver everywhere so that’s the one that’s scared me the most! It's more about how I'm striking the ball. If I'm hitting the ball well, then any course is easy.
What's your target at the end of the year then?
Priority number one is breaking the world record. Priority two is raising as much money as possible for charity. I don’t have a number I want to broadcast but I have a little target in my head which I’d love to achieve. Target number three is trying to break par for the first time, that’d be a cool one. I’d also like to get a hole-in-one for the journey. I’d love to see someone shoot a ridiculous score and I’m trying to keep track of the best scores I’ve played with and I’ve played with a couple who have shot 3-under-par. There’s also the quest for my lowest ever score. Another target is to figure out what’s next for me, a job in golf perhaps!
Have you ever had a hole-in-one?
I’ve had two fraudulent hole-in-ones as my friends tell me. One was by myself and one was on a temporary hole last year at Royal East Devon. It was a normal size hole so I’m adamant they both count! There was one person in the clubhouse when I got back that evening and I asked him if he wanted a drink as I’d just made a hole-in-one, and he said no! So, if someone comes up to me one day and says they’ve just got a hole-in-one, and wants to buy a drink, I’m going to say yes!
What's your favourite post-round meal/drink?
I feel like it’s pretty much the same menu at most golf courses! Ham and cheese paninis, BLTs, cheesy chips, so I’ve eaten a lot of that. Anywhere that has pasta on the menu is a big win for me. Honourable mention to The Nottinghamshire for their Cajun chicken pasta which was amazing. Drink-wise I’m trying to stay sober this year, I’ve only had one day drinking at a concert this year, I’m just trying to keep the process of recovery and got to try and not get injured. On the course, I’ve kindly been given flapjacks by On Par Nutrition which have been great but other than that it’d probably be Haribo!
How are you enjoying the overall experience?
It’s been fine. If the golf club doesn’t have a gate, I'll usually drive into the golf club and park there for the night. I have had a couple of incidents where I've had a locksmith out twice on two different occasions, for two different locks. It was the same key which opened the gas so I was without heating for a couple of nights! About four weeks later I had another issue with another lock. I couldn’t get the clubs out and I needed to tee off, so it was a race against time. I asked the guys in the shop and they managed to get one out within 20 minutes. It was another expensive job!
It's obviously very full on playing as much golf as you can every day, but I have managed to get to a G-Eazy concert after one round, and another day I played at Essendon before catching an Uber and train to watch Tottenham beat AZ Alkmaar to take us to the quarter-finals!
I genuinely would not be doing this if I hadn't gone to the Netherlands last year with Michael. That's where the idea was born. I must also shout out Patrick, who's the current record holder, who was very generous with his time and being so open. If someone messages you and says ‘I'm looking to try and break your world record’ it could go one of two ways! But he was very good about it and it’s made me think if I do complete it, perhaps I could do the same for the next person.
Also a shoutout must go to all of the people along the way who have been absolutely incredible, whether that's buying me dinner, sorting green fees, doing some laundry for me, or letting me park on their drive. There have been some people who have been great and let me stay at their house, even some who I’ve never met before! But it just shows how great the golf community is, everyone rallying behind and wanting to help. It really has absolutely blown me away.
If you’d like to play with Josh or find out which courses he’s played, click here. You can also follow his progress on Instagram by clicking here.
ENDS
Contact details:
Tom Vale, Press & Media Manager
Tel: 07912 240850
Email: tom.vale@englandgolf.org
www.englandgolf.org
Contact details:
Tom Vale, Press & Media Manager
Tel: 07912 240850
Email: tom.vale@englandgolf.org
www.englandgolf.org