He Sold Two Companies to Play America's 100 Best Public Courses

What do you do after a seven-figure exit? Daniel Belk decided to play golf—all of America's top 100 public courses, in under a year.

The entrepreneur behind a self-storage private equity firm and Cool Down, the run club turned apparel brand he grew to 15 cities before selling his stake, joins Jimmy Roberts from the road at the halfway point of his journey. Belk breaks down the numbers behind the quest: an $85,000 to $100,000 budget built on a $350 average green fee, why renting RVs and sleeping in course parking lots has put him well under that projection, and how a following of more than 100,000 on Instagram has brought coverage from Bloomberg and Golf.com—and a stream of brand offers he has so far turned down.

He also shares the stories from the road, including hitchhiking from Wolf Creek to Black Desert, a birdie from the Ryder Cup tees at Bethpage Black, why Whistling Straits tops his list so far and how a $5.5 million self-storage deal that closed with four days to spare became his first big break.

What you'll hear in this episode:

• How Belk budgeted a year of top 100 public golf—and why he's coming in under it
• Why he's turned down brand partnerships to keep the series authentic
• How a run club of 2,000 weekly runners became a seven-figure apparel exit
• What it's like to play Bethpage Black, Whistling Straits and the most remote course on the list
• Why "winging it" beats a spreadsheet when your schedule gets wrecked every week

The episode also features the Golf Business Intelligence Brief with headlines on the Presidents Cup's record $175 million economic impact and the return of bifurcation to the golf ball debate, LPGA teaching professional Kelly Brook's review of the $120 Golf at Home swing trainer, Making Better Decisions presented by Aon with USGA CEO Mike Whan, Soly from No Laying Up's Big Swing moment and Jimmy's tribute to retiring Mets radio voice Howie Rose.

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