For one couple in Fallbrook golf isn’t just a pastime, it’s the highlight of their day.
Every day.
“It’s my religion,” Dawood Ashe said.
You won’t find anyone more devout than he and Emma, his wife of 40 years.
Get San Diego local news, weather forecasts, sports and lifestyle stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC San Diego newsletters.
In the early stages of the pandemic the couple – 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.
Local
The 73-year-old husband and 67-year-old 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. She returned in late January.
On Monday, April 11 they celebrated the second anniversary of their newfound tradition. For Dawood it marked 730 rounds of golf in 731 days.
They don’t just make it out for 18 holes, they walk all of them – amounting 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 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.”
