About Found Fairways
Rare access to private golf — through charity. Here's the whole idea.
The idea
The best golf courses in America are private — invitation-only, years-long waitlists, or simply closed to outside play. But periodically those same clubs open their gates for amazing charities: a silent-auction lot, a benefit outing, a fundraiser scramble. Found Fairways finds those openings and points you to them.
It's a simple trade with a clear conscience: you get a round you could never otherwise buy, and a cause you care about gets funded. We call it playing privileges through philanthropy.
See our promise & what we've given →
How it started
For my 40th birthday, my best friend gave me a set of golf clubs. He knew I needed a hobby — something that was just mine — and, selfishly, he wanted someone to play with. The timing was perfect. I'd just closed my bakery and coffee business, Nice Buns, to focus on family. My wife and I had married a little later in life and gone straight to building one — a home, and three beautiful babies in under four years. I was blessed: I had everything I'd ever dreamed of. But closing Nice Buns had cost me a big piece of my identity, and I was standing at a crossroads. It turned out my friend had just answered the question.
I caught the bug immediately — lessons, endless range sessions, grinding to get better. Baking and golf turn out to be strangely alike: both chase a perfection you know you'll never quite reach, and every round, like every early morning over the ovens, is humbling and inspiring in the same breath. Then I found sunrise golf, and everything unlocked. The bakery had already made me a 4 a.m. riser; I just pointed the habit at the first tee — the day's first tee time, eighteen holes in under two hours in some of the most beautiful places I'd ever stood, and home in time to take my kids to school.
It became my own thing — quiet mornings before the rest of the world was awake. The way I'd once wanted to taste every great pastry, I set out to play every public course in Los Angeles, then the best courses across the country. That first year I played more than 150 rounds, and I started looking for a way to build a life around the game. I turned over every idea — a simulator, course management, buying a course outright, even a golf food-and-beverage company. Nothing clicked.
Giving back has always been a priority in our house — small local causes and big national ones alike: cancer, heart disease, hunger, animal rescue. Those two halves of my life hadn't met yet. Then a friend invited me to play Palos Verdes Country Club to support the Bear Fund, a charity for families whose children are fighting cancer. It was a bucket-list course — a name right off my list — and I was getting on it by backing a cause doing real, tangible good. That was the revelation: you could do both at once. The side door to golf's most storied courses was philanthropy. I started building Found Fairways that week, and launched the site on Thursday, August 13, 2026.
If there's a course you've always dreamed of playing, there may be a cause ready to open the gate. That's the whole idea.
How it works
1 · We surface
We continuously scan charity auctions and golf outings for access to clubs you can't normally play.
2 · We vet
We only list it if it clears all three: a course worth the trip, a real beneficiary behind it, and a tee time you can still get.
3 · You play
You bid or register directly with the host. Your money reaches the charity through them; you get a once-in-a-lifetime round.
What we are — and what we aren't
Found Fairways is a guide, not a marketplace. We don't run the auctions or handle your payment. Every listing links out to the host — Charitybuzz, GolfStatus, or a club or charity's own page — where the bidding and registration actually happen. We just help you find the ones worth your time, described in our own words with the club's own logo.
Meet Scout
Scout is a born bird dog — a natural hunter with the most generous heart, never happier than when he's taking care of the people and the community around him. He's always searching: great courses for you to play, and remarkable causes for us to support. Scout is your new best friend.
Don't miss your dream round
Don't miss a chance to play your dream course and support a worthy cause. Tell us your preferences and we'll send you a blast of opportunities tailored just to you.