Has anyone here gotten A LOT better after 35?

[anthony]

Definitely dude. I get my ass handed to me weekly by a 60'ish year old guy who's close to scratch (if he's not scratch).

[Gunther]

Couple years ago when I was 46, I got my hcap to 5.2. Brought my 20 year old son into my office to show him and and said son, I'm 46 and the best golfer right now that I've ever been. You're never too old. Regressed quite a bit from that but still optimistic. My goal every spring is to get under 5.

[rkim291968]

I didn't hit my first golf ball until I was 48 so by default any improving I have done was after 35.

I started at age 48, too.  So, from 35 to 48, my golf skill didn't decline .    Good job getting your handicap down to what it is now.   I've got it down to 12 before it skyrocketed back to 19 (today).   You must have better golf genes that me.

[MS256]

I started at age 48, too.  So, from 35 to 48, my golf skill didn't decline .    Good job getting your handicap down to what it is now.   I've got it down to 12 before it skyrocketed back to 19 (today).   You must have better golf genes that me.

That "handicap" is unofficial and was only based on the last 10 rounds last year (when I started keeping track). I used all 10 rounds instead of the 3 that would have been normal for only 10 rounds for an official handicap.

Either way that's not much of a sample and if this elbow injury I have doesn't start feeling better it's probably up through the roof this year anyway.

And no. No golfing genes here. Little shots around the greens came fairly naturally and I can get the ball airborne with decent distance but that's the extent of my natural golfing ability.

Keeping the ball somewhere in the neighborhood of the hole I'm playing, and putting, took a ridiculous amount of practice just to not be embarrassing.