Wheaton Golfer Continues 'Hundred Hole Hike' for Charity

In the third year of his charity, the Hundred Hole Hike (HHH) giving platform supporting “golf marathoners,” One Divot founder and Wheaton resident Jim Colton plans to hike about 165 miles this summer to raise money for young golfers.

Colton, named the 2011 Walking Golfer of the Year, started HHH in 2011 in Holyoke, CO, where he walked 155 holes to raise more than $110,000 for a Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club caddie paralyzed in a skiing accident.

Hundred-hole hikers—who raise money hiking courses all over the world—choose their own causes to support as they pledge to raise money on www.hundredholehike.com.

Last year, 65 golfers walked about 7,000 holes, raising $300,000 for charity, Colton said in an email. He said he hopes to have more than 100 golfers participate and raise more than $500,000 for charity this year.

"This year, we are hoping to double those numbers. We are already off to a great start with 8 golfers raising $25,000 in Australia," he said.

This year, Colton will walk to raise money and awareness for the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy in Denver. The program, sort of a "feeder program" for the Chick Evans Scholarship program, identifies golfers 14- to 15-years old from diverse areas of Denver and provides them with a path for future success.

"I believe it is a model that can be ported off to other golf associations across the country," he said. 

Colton wrote in a recent Hundred Hole Hike blog post that he chose to support the scholarship program because of what it provides to youths who might not otherwise get the support or opportunity for success Solich offers.

"As a former caddie whose love for the game, like many others, was cemented during Monday rounds at the private club where I caddied, I often wonder if the mass migration from caddie to golf card has wiped out a generation of future golfers," he wrote.

A Hundred Hole Hike event will be held June 17 at Flossmoor Country Club. The event is open to anyone who would be interested in raising money for a cause of their choice. For more information on the event, email jim@onedivot.org.

Read more about the Hundred Hole Hike and Colton's journeys here.

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