580 courses in 365 days: How crushing a world record changed one golfer’s perspective on life and the US

Patrick Koenig played 580 golf courses in 365 days. Here’s how he did it

In the search of enlightenment, some try Buddhism, others meditation. Patrick Koenig played golf – a lot of golf. Koenig says that if he only played one round of golf per day in 2023, then that was a day off. Not a day off from work, but a day off from golf. The 44-year-old American describes himself as “a golf course photographer, explorer and general golf course sicko,” and in his quest to set a new Guinness World Record last year, he played the game at a relentless pace, driving almost 35,000 miles through 41 states. By the time he finished his golfing trek, Koenig had played in the USA, Finland, and Sweden, completing 580 different courses in 365 days. Assuming his record application – which typically take up to 12 weeks to review, according to the Guinness World Record website – is accepted, he will have smashed the previous best total by 131 courses. As well as playing an awful lot of golf, the experience has changed Koenig’s perspective on the world.