The idea

The most memorable 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. The timing was either terrible or perfect. In the span of five years I'd gotten married, bought a house, had three kids, and closed the doors on my little bakery and coffee shop, Nice Buns. I was standing at a crossroads, wondering what came next — and it turned out my friend had just answered the question.

I caught the bug immediately: lessons, endless range sessions, and a mission to play every public course in Los Angeles. I started keeping a list, too — every course I dreamed of teeing up one day, most of them behind gates I had no way through.

It was more than a hobby from the start. I had everything I'd ever dreamed of — a wife who believed in me, three healthy kids, a home — but closing Nice Buns cost me a big piece of my identity, and golf handed it back. It became my own thing: alone time, a solo pursuit, mornings before the rest of the world was awake. Baking and golf rhyme, it turns out — both are a chase after 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.

Golf quickly became more than a hobby; I wanted to build a life around it. I turned over every idea — a golf simulator, course management, buying a course outright, even a golf food-and-beverage company. Nothing clicked. Then I found sunrise golf, and everything unlocked. Years in the bakery had already made me a 4 a.m. riser; I just pointed the habit at the first tee: grab the day's first tee time, play in under two hours in some of the most beautiful places I'd ever stood, and be home to take my kids to school — the whole rest of the day for my family. That first year, I played more than 150 rounds.

Giving back had always mattered to us — small local causes and big national ones alike: cancer, heart disease, feeding people who are hungry, 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 that helps families whose children are fighting cancer, through a nationwide, professionally staffed pediatric-navigation program and financial assistance that goes straight to families struggling to cover everyday expenses. 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. I'm not a developer or a designer — I built the brand, the strategy, the site, the marketing, and the discovery engine that hunts these opportunities down, side by side with AI, working with ChatGPT and Claude on every piece of it. On Thursday, August 13, 2026, we opened the doors to the world.

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.

— Eliot Silver, Founder

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 retriever — 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.