Older And Playing Golf

[WUTiger]

9 hours ago, Patch said:

Yes,  they may slow up play, but anyone who has read my TST  posts on slow play know my thoughts on that topic. 

I don't think you can justify saying that older players as a group slow up play. People who fiddle with their cell phones between shots and forget where their ball went are the ones who slow up play.

As far as when to quit, if you're older you may have to lay off a few weeks if you injure yourself. I missed the middle of the summer with a bad case of tennis elbow, had to take the steroid pack, ice down after mild exercises and do stretching.

I'm 66, and there's a guy in our group who is 70 and had occasional back trouble. One week last summer he had back trouble and shot 95. He took a month off, saw his chiropractor, and came back and shot 80 (he has about a 10 HDCP).

Some of our club's better senior players take yogi classes regularly, and have excellent flexibility and pretty good durability. Or they visit the gym regularly.

I need to go to the gym more often - my flexibility is hurting; just need to clear out some other-life clutter to make time for it.

The big thing is durability. I volunteered at the US Senior Open this fall, and a couple of the 60+ age  top seeds after stroke play "hit the wall" during match play. After five rounds in four days, some of the favored players had old injuries resurface and fizzled physically in the round they lost.

My wife and I take a golf vacation once or twice a year. We'll usually play together ever other day, and I will play alone on the off days. I usually take a couple of days off in there, so I'll get in 5 rounds in 7 days.

One thing to do is get fitted every couple of years. You won't always need new clubs, but it's a  good check to make sure you don't need a change somewhere in the bag. There's a guy in his 70s who still plays original Calla X14 Steelhead irons, uniflex shafts. He complains he can't hit hit 7i but about 110 yards. He has a smooth swing, and I bet he could pick up 20 yards easy with graphite.

In my new driver this summer, the shaft is slightly heavier and quite a bit lower torque than my old one. It helps me get the ball back in the fairway, cut down on overswinging. It helped me shoot a couple of 45s in late fall, but not enough to lower my HDCP.

[boogielicious]

When they pry the 7 iron from my cold, dead hands.

[uitar9]

Played with a guy this summer, 83 years, retired 20 years before. Still driving it =+220. The only thing he added was a battery to the push cart. Still Walked 18.

He gave me a history lesson about the course we played, which he has played for 60+ years.

Yup , he wasn't holding up play.

[mcanadiens]

Having the right course/tees to play is the huge thing.

We have a super short course here in Dayton. It's a tick under 5,000 from the white (regular) tees. I've played with a lot of much older golfers there. They just pop the ball down the middle, make putts and kick the crap out of younger hacks like me.

[Marty2019]

I have to say, I've never seen a super-senior hold up play.   They all seem to hit it down the middle.  The people who hold up play are the ones who hit their ball in the woods, or the foursome of 20-somethings who don't appear to have ever played before. 

I'm 63, and I don't plan to ever quit.   I've known a few really old guys in my neighborhood, who played at the local country club, and they went out there and played with their cronies, by the absolute strict rules of golf, until the day they died.  In their 90s.  One lived right around the corner from me.  He was over 90, and died in a car crash while driving home from a round of golf. 

As for myself, I have begun to work on my strength and flexibility, because I know at my age, 63,those things are under threat.  And I still have aspirations of substantial improvement.  God knows if I will ever break 80 for the first time in my life, but I am still going for it.   I'll quit when I lose interest.  But right now, as I become more and more obsessed with the game, that day seems a long way off. 

 

Edited January 3, 2017 by Marty2019

[jsgolfer]

I'm like most of the others, I'll play until I can no longer swing a club.  As I'm only 52, I hope that is a long time from now.  

I play with two 70 year old's (one just turned 70 and the other is 79) that still hit it plenty far, one still plays to a single digit (8.4) and the other is a 15.  We also have one guy who just turned 92 and still shoots his age at times from the white tees.  All three have great short games and can putt lights out.  

 

[paininthenuts]

I have a message for the creator of this thread. Please don't let your score effect how long you play the game. Golf is about playing as well as you can do in any given time during your life. If you are playing off of 36 when you are 100 years old you are doing pretty damn well. It's you health and your body that will tell you when to stop. I am getting on for 60, and I am retired. I would  love to play 18 holes every day, but at present my body says 45 holes a week is more than enough. I expect this to drop, as I am struggling a bit. I play against a guy who is shortly 80, and he is as flexible as a 50 year old and doesn't suffer from any aches or pains.We are all different

[shanksalot]

I turn 75 in June and the only thing I have allowed advancing years to slow me down is move up a set of tees to the Senior tees. I don't score in the 70's often anymore, but I think I appreciate this game more. I talked to a friend the other day and he is still playing at the age of 84, His best round in 2016 was an even par 72 in a Senior Tournament on a course that is not his home course. I still play and walk 18 holes three times a week. Most of the older players at our course play until they can't walk the course anymore or their body has started to ache too much to swing the club any longer.

I played with a gentleman in his late 80's who moved up to the ladies tees because he had lost so much distance as he got into his later years. He loved the game and still played the game as hard now as he did some 10-15 years ago. I really don't think seniors play any slower than other age groups. I find a lot of the younger players get wrapped up in money games or just drinking and having fun and play slower than most as well. We have a group of guys in their late 60's early 70's that even our group can;t keep up with they play so fast. Less than 3 hours for a foursome. Often 2 1/2 hours on their good days. Getting old can be just a state of mind for many. 

Edited January 3, 2017 by shanksalot

[Pendragon]

Interesting topic...I'll be 71 in a couple of weeks, and I can't imagine not trying to play golf right up to the end. I've always been a pretty good player (between 3/4 hdcp) for most of my life, and have a 3.7 index right now. I've shot my age 15 times so far.

There's no question, though, that I can see (and feel) things changing. Within the past 2 to 3 years, I've lost at least 20 to 25 yards off the tee. A good drive now is 230 or so, an average one more like 220...and a 210 is not that uncommon. I have MANY MORE aches and pains than I've ever had before, and the biggest concession I'll need to make pretty soon is to give up walking. The course where I've played for the past 10 years is essentially very flat and easy to walk. But about a year ago, walking the full 18 became a chore, so I began walking the front 9, then using my golf cart for the back 9, and that's worked pretty well. In about a month, though, my wife and I will be relocating to a more rural area about an hour away. 

There are 2 good courses (one private, one public) close by. Between the two, the public course is a much better layout, and it's the one I'm joining. The fact that the annual dues are barely over half what they are at the private club doesn't hurt, either. The downside is that the course elevation changes are rather severe, and walking is out of the question. I will be able to get some walking in, as about half the holes are cart path only. It's not a big deal, I guess, but it'll probably be a difficult adjustment, considering what a "walking snob" I used to be, looking down my nose at anyone who rode in a cart. Oh well, life goes on, huh?

The great thing about golf is that it's truly a game for all ages. And where else can you meet a total stranger on the first tee, but become close friends by the end of the round?   

[shanksalot]

Pendragon talking about a course that is too hilly and hard to walk reminds me of a few years ago. My wife and I belonged to a club that was not only long, but hilly. Before we joined we both walked 18 every round. We tried to walk the new course but by the time we got to the 14 hole we were just about done. The walk from 15 to 16 was so much uphill most of the walkers could not walk it either. What we did was take turns walking the 18 holes. We took a riding cart and one of us walked the odd holes and then the other walked the even holes. This gave us some walking time and some resting time. We finally left to go to a shorter flatter course and we too now walk 18 again. I love to walk and enjoy the game much better than riding in a cart. 

Edited January 5, 2017 by shanksalot

[Lihu]

At first I thought I was in the correct age bracket for this thread, until I read through the posts.

However, everyone posting in this site will eventually be old enough to answer. . .

 

On 1/2/2017 at 11:32 AM, Patch said:

I can also see me, when actually playing is no longer an option, being that old guy on the practice range still hitting a few balls once or twice a week. Other folks looking at my gawd awful swing wundering wth is he doing, while having a good chuckle at my expense.

I learned not to laugh at the old guys early on. I mean, I started playing in my 40s.

The average age for golfers is something like 45-50 anyway. We're all getting old with only a few who deny they are getting old, and they're the ones going through mid-life crisis driving around with a 28 year old girl in their convertibles. . .

I see myself working on flexibility and making the same swing I have now, only a lot slower. I watch the older gents (70+) playing at my home course who are still really good making really nice swings. Even though they hit less far, their swings still look good. Sweet. . .

 

Quote

At some point, my Grand Daughter, who is also my ride,  will yell at me, "Grand Pa, it's time to go, and don't forget to pick up your clubs". ....."huh? What did say? What clubs?".............

 

This is what you'll likely actually hear. . .

Quote

At some point, my Grand Daughter, who is also my ride,  will yell at me,

"Grand Pa, it's time to go, and don't forget to pick up your clubs".

....."Huh? Lick my rubs?".............

When I get this old, I'll probably play pool, video games on a huge screen or something else that I can do without leaving my house.

[Pendragon]

4 hours ago, shanksalot said:

Pendragon talking about a course that is too hilly and hard to walk reminds me of a few years ago. My wife and I belonged to a club that was not only long, but hilly. Before we joined we both walked 18 every round. We tried to walk the new course but by the time we got to the 14 hole we were just about done. The walk from 15 to 16 was so much uphill most of the walkers could not walk it either. What we did was take turns walking the 18 holes. We took a riding cart and one of us walked the odd holes and then the other walked the even holes. This gave us some walking time and some resting time. We finally left to go to a shorter flatter course and we too now walk 18 again. I love to walk and enjoy the game much better than riding in a cart. 

There's more than one way to skin a cat, so to speak. Like you, I would always prefer to walk whenever possible, but I guess we all need to know our limitations. I won't start playing at the new place (the really hilly one) until about March 1, and my hope is that, once I get there, I can figure out some ways to maximize the walking opportunities without killing myself. 

[Hacker James]

4 hours ago, shanksalot said:

Pendragon talking about a course that is too hilly and hard to walk reminds me of a few years ago. My wife and I belonged to a club that was not only long, but hilly. Before we joined we both walked 18 every round. We tried to walk the new course but by the time we got to the 14 hole we were just about done. The walk from 15 to 16 was so much uphill most of the walkers could not walk it either. What we did was take turns walking the 18 holes. We took a riding cart and one of us walked the odd holes and then the other walked the even holes. This gave us some walking time and some resting time. We finally left to go to a shorter flatter course and we too now walk 18 again. I love to walk and enjoy the game much better than riding in a cart. 

One of San Diego's city cources is Balboa. Nr 18 is called "Heart Attack Hill" or something like that. It is straight up a long hill, that I used to have a bit of problem negotiating even in my thirties!

[ghalfaire]

On 1/3/2017 at 4:45 AM, boogielicious said:

When they pry the 7 iron from my cold, dead hands.

Yup, this is my plan. I am in my mid seventies and don't have any plans to quit any time soon.  I do try to stay in the best shape I'm capable of exercising regularly.  I love the game and intend to keep playing until the end.

[iacas]

I hope to play until my lie is on the wrong side of the grass.

[boogielicious]

6 hours ago, iacas said:

I hope to play until my lie is on the wrong side of the grass.

Buried with a 7 iron in his hands.

[CarlSpackler]

6 hours ago, iacas said:

I hope to play until my lie is on the wrong side of the grass.

Having a ball plug is no reason to give up the game.

[uitar9]

7 hours ago, iacas said:

I hope to play until my lie is on the wrong side of the grass.

-and who knows, maybe theres a special 18 , on that side, where we all make par