Royal Hawaiian Golf Club is in Kailua, Hawaii, located between Mount Olomana and the Ko’olau Mountains.
Nearly 3,000 miles north is Moose Run Golf Course in the shadow of Denali National Park and Preserve, just outside Anchorage, Alaska.
Clay Phillips has a tee time Tuesday at Royal Hawaiian and another Wednesday at Moose Run.
“I’m going to be playing golf in this very jungly course in the mountains of Oahu,” Phillips said, “and then within 24 hours I could encounter a moose in the foothills of Denali.
“That’s just amazing.”
That’s as good a way as any to describe the adventure Phillips dreamed up for himself.
Crazy is another.
The golf challenge: 50 rounds in 50 states in 50 days.
“I love planning trips and this is like the Mt. Everest of trip planning,” said Phillips, who lives in La Mesa.
After holing out on the 18th at Moose Run, Phillips hops a plane for Portland, Ore., where he gets in his 2016 Audi DT to continue around the 48 contiguous states — beginning with Thursday’s round at Indian Creek Golf Course, 50 miles east.
He has it all mapped out.
If all goes according to plan, Phillips will complete his odyssey Oct. 12 at Singing Hills Golf Resort in El Cajon.
“I realize this is a pretty self-indulgent adventure,” Phillips, 66, said by phone last week during a break while driving his car to Portland. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. I hope it is.”
He also hopes to raise $100,000 for two clean water charities, Project Blue and Water First International. He already has $30,000 in donations and pledges.
The inspiration for all this actually dates back two decades.
“I was in an airport killing time and I saw this great educational in an obscure part of the airport about how many people don’t have easy access to clean water,” Phillips said.
The notion stayed in the back of his mind until five years ago, when Phillips was on a trip with some friends who had toured the U.S. to raise money for an outdoor sports pavilion in Guatemala. They were basketball enthusiasts and shot baskets in each of the 48 contiguous states to gather donations.
“That got me thinking,” Phillips said. “What’s my ion? Clean water. What would be a good fit for me? Golf. And I love road trips. So those three things just came together.”
While he plans to play a round of golf in all 50 states over the next 50 days, Phillips won’t be playing every day because of the driving distance required to get through some states.
“There are six days I’m not playing any golf,” Phillips said, “just because Montana and Wyoming and New York are really big.”
And Texas?
“Texas is a piece of cake because I’ve got Amarillo up there in the panhandle,” Phillips said. “I love panhandles.”
He will make up for the driving days by playing two rounds in two different states on six other days.
“I play two rounds in places like Spokane (Wash.) and Coeur d’Alene (Idaho) and Sioux Falls (S.D.) and Sioux City (Iowa), and Rhode Island and Massachusetts are two rounds in a day,” Phillips said. “It’s kind of tricky when you get into those little New England states, you almost have to play two rounds, otherwise you’re sitting there twiddling your thumbs before you can get onto the next state.”
The driving will take longer than it might because most of the trip will not be on major highways or interstates.
“I’m doing this mostly on two-lane roads because I’m afraid I’d fall asleep if I stayed on the interstates,” said Phillips, who expects to drive nearly 10,000 miles. “So it’s a little bit longer, but so much more exciting to actually go through small-town America.”
It took Phillips a couple of months to map out his route, finding the most efficient way to get from state to state while also targeting good golf courses.
“No goat tracks,” said Phillips, an 8-handicap golfer.
He is looking particularly forward to playing Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene Resort and Missouri’s Buffalo Ridge Golf Course, which is outside Branson.
“It looks just stunning and it’s designed by my favorite golf course architect, Tom Fazio,” Phillips said.
On his website, 50in50in50golf4water.org, Phillips invites people to donate, follow his travels and even him for a round of golf.
“I’ve got a few foursomes already set up, sometimes with total strangers,” Phillips said.
That Phillips enjoys getting out and meeting people and enjoying the outdoors should come as no surprise.
He is a retired California State Parks superintendent whose last assignment was overseeing the parks at Torrey Pines, the Silver Strand and Old Town.
Phillips said his biggest concern is “this 66-year-old body breaking down.” For that, he has a “tedious” series of daily exercises.
He’s also concerned about driving through the south during hurricane season. For that, he will rely on prayer.
Phillips estimates the entire trip will cost him about $12,000 — including the 15 dozen golf balls he purchased— but emphasized every dollar donated will go to charity.
“I’ve saved up the money to pay for everything,” Phillips said. “None of the funds raised are going to go for my trip.”
He will donate money saved when he gets comped for a round of golf or a hotel stay.
Phillips seemingly vetted the charities as thoroughly as he planned his adventure.
“I got to be more than just an arm-chair advocate,” he said.
Three years ago, Phillips ed Project Blue workers on a trip to western Honduras for a first-hand look at what they did. He said they capture spring water, run it to tanks and then disperse it to homes. In other places, pumps are built or filtration systems constructed.
“You look at their homes and their lives and all the collateral benefits with education and the economy of the region, and it’s really exciting,” Phillips said. “Clean water isn’t the only important cause out there, but it’s kind of like the low-hanging fruit of important causes because it’s so easy to fix.
“They don’t allow anybody to be a recipient of a project unless they actually participate both in the installation and long-term management. I went to these meetings of water boards that are made up of these poor farmers — not so poor after they get water — that are now water board to manage their water system.
“It’s just getting the money and engaging them to fix their problem. Then they become self-sufficient, and that’s exciting for me.”
Also exciting — and daunting — is the trip at hand.
Expect a story or a memory for each of the 900 holes of golf he plays.
“I kind of look at this as a post-pandemic knitting together of America,” Phillips said. “It’s amazing the places I’m going to see and the diversity of not only places but people and scenery.”
