About K2K
Four buddies. Fifty states. Fifty years.
Next stop on the road to Kapalua.
How it started
Sometimes the best things start with the simplest plan: four buddies from Andover, Kansas, looking for a golf getaway that wouldn’t break the bank.
In April 2008 we pointed the car toward Lake Kahola near Emporia and crashed for free at the Ek family cabin. No grand itinerary, no bucket-list courses, just Kansas fairways, cold beers, and old friends. It felt too good to be a one-off. By the time we packed up, the idea had taken root: make it annual, give it a name, and take it across 50 states in 50 years, with a dream trip to the Plantation Course at Kapalua somewhere down the road.
Kahola to Kapalua. That’s the name, and that’s the whole idea.
The core four on the Swilcan Bridge, K2K16 Scotland 2023.
How the chase works
- One trip a year, a new state each time. Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Maryland, Nevada, Arizona, Iowa, Arkansas, Colorado, South Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, Minnesota, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Texas, Utah, Alabama, and counting.
- One Cup on the line. It started as stroke play, spent two years as match play, and has been decided by quota points since K2K10.
- Every 5th year, the wives come along. Vegas, Isle of Palms, and Santa Fe so far.
- Room for detours. Scotland in 2023 was the big international pilgrimage, and K2K17 in Texas was our first Member-Guest.
- Everything gets written down. Champions and records live in the Record Book.
Kapalua
We started this thing at 25. The plan is to celebrate our 50th birthdays (around 2033) with the wives at Kapalua, at the Plantation Course we used to watch on TV during the Tournament of Champions. It isn’t the end of the road. It’s the trip we’ve been talking about since a free weekend at a lake cabin.
The Core Four
Terry Blunt
Andy Ek
Chris Graham
Ben Thompson
Plus the friends and better halves who’ve joined us along the way.
Road to Kapalua
Our weekly buddy-trip playbook: things we’ve learned, things to avoid, and State-by-State guides to planning your next trip. Free.
Work with us
Golf course, travel outfitter, or apparel brand that wants to reach buddies-trip golfers? We keep sponsorship light: one short Trip Partners note per newsletter and the occasional partner product. Get in touch →
