BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (KDVR) — It’s tough to beat the scenery at the Breckenridge Golf Club with snowcapped peaks surrounding the 27-hole Jack Nicklaus signature design.
With a combination of densely wooded areas, native grasslands and wetland areas, the three championship nines: the Bear, the Beaver, and the Elk will take your breath away.
“That’s the sign of a good golf course, it does not get boring,” Charlie Simpson said. “(There’s) so much variety that it’s different every day.”
Simpson gets around. The retired Air Force colonel owns the record for the most rounds played on this high mountain layout.
“About 2,125 (rounds at Breckenridge Golf Club),” Simpson said confidently.
How on Earth can anyone keep track of such a thing? Simpson logs each one of his golf rounds on a spreadsheet, recording meticulous notes.
“I’m an engineer. I just keep track of numbers,” Simpson admitted.
Five days a week, you’ll find him navigating the fairways of the Breckenridge Golf Club with a group he founded 25 years ago. Simpson sets up daily tee times and arranges the foursomes.
After playing together for parts of three decades, this group has a simple nickname.
“Just the Simpson Golfers I guess,” Simpson joked.
At 84, Simpson says it’s a struggle to shoot his age. But he’s aiming for an even bigger number.
“My real goal is (to play) a thousand (different golf courses around the world) before I die. A thousand golf courses,” Simpson said proudly. “And I’ve got 208 to go, I think, to get there.”
He has 792 different courses around the world already under his belt. That number includes a round of golf in all 50 states and a mind-boggling lifetime total approaching 7,000 rounds played. There’s one question everyone wants to know: What’s the fascination with the game of golf?
“Every day on the golf course, to me, is a good day,” Simpson said with a smile.
That’s as good a reason as any for Simpson to continue chasing a little fluorescent golf ball all over the world.