UPDATE: Fallbrook golf ironman going strong 5 years later

You won't find anyone who plays more golf than Dawood Ashe.

“It’s my religion,” he said.

In the early stages of the pandemic, he and his wife Emma, members at the Golf Club of California, asked for permission to sneak onto their home course. They just wanted a safe way to get out of the house and escape the flood of troubling news.

On April 11, 2020, they played 18 holes. They went back on April 12 and April 13, ushering in a new daily routine.

“Hey, let’s do it as long as we can,” Emma said.

At 72 and 66-years-old the husband and wife made it 365 rounds of golf in 365 days.

They celebrated their golf anniversary with a day off – an occasion they found so boring that it cemented their plans for the days, weeks and months that followed.

“Let’s go play golf another year,” Dawood insisted.

Emma made it to October 13, 2021. An ankle injury after 550 rounds halted her streak. Health complications are now limiting her to about three rounds a week.

On Monday, April 11, 2022, NBC 7 was there as they celebrated the second anniversary of their newfound tradition. For Dawood, it marked 730 rounds of golf in 731 days.

Last month, the couple invited NBC 7 Sports Anchor Darnay Tripp out to play a round with Dawood, who on May 29, was up to 1,861 rounds in 1,874 days. He hadn't taken a day off from golf since March 2024, and not once has he used a cart.

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According to the research he's done, no one can claim that long of a streak, especially no one at his age of 76.

"This is something that I have done and nobody can take it away from me," Dawood said. "I'm pretty sure in my guts that for years nobody can match it. At least somebody my age."

He plans to continue until nature says 'not anymore'.

Dawood and Emma's rounds amount to about seven miles a day. Emma says they lost some weight, and both prefer four hours traversing the course to lifting weights and walking the treadmill.

“I wouldn’t change it for anything,” Emma said.

The pair always plays on their own - it's their quality time. What started as an escape turned into an impressive accomplishment and a valuable time spent together.

“It’s something we have - nobody else,” Dawood said. “This is ours, and as the saying goes, ‘You and I baby, only you and I.' This is us.”