RWC

I switched to a 3 and 5 hybrid this year (from 4w and 7w) and found my contact is more consistent which results in better average distance. My irons are 7-9-PW-SW. At age 70 with a slow swing speed, I've found this setup works well enough for me to maintain a 10 HCP from senior tees.

Couple of thought. First, I normally update my distance chart for each season just like you, but I try to average numbers over two different sessions. This seems to help me get a more realistic number. Secondly, like others, I try to focus on distance control more than absolute distance with PW and SW. So, I've included full and half swing distances for both PW and SW in my distance chart. This seems to help me focus better on club selection.

At 69, I had similar questions and issues with my 45" length G30 driver (12 deg). Luckily I was able to swap out the shaft from my G30 3 wood into the driver. I had to increase the club weight to get resulting swing weight back to D-1. My average distance for the season was within 2 yards of the driver with standard length shaft, but the fairways hit were up 20% with the shorter shaft. For me the 3 wood shaft is a keeper!

Split this season between Ping BECU Eye 2+ and i3 irons. TP Mills #7 putter (from the 80's). Woods were Ping G30 (Driver, 7 w and 5 hybrid). Ended season at 10.4 HCP.

Ping G30 12 deg. with a 3 wood shaft = 43.5 inches. Works great for me.

I've found that chipping with a slightly closed 9i can be more controllable than a 7i when I faced with a pitch shot I expect to run out to the pin. I don't want to admit how bad my chipping is when I open the club.

I've played 15 rounds this season with the Dri-Tac grips and I expect to re-grip them this Fall. Likely be the last Winn grips I purchase.

69 here, added a 7w and 5 hy, irons start at 6i. Like others, I've seen the distances start to shorten. Twice daily stretching has helped along with walking as much as possible. I've been tracking stats for years and now look closely at bad tee shots, flubbed chips and 3 putts. These seem to have big impact on my scoring - plus finally moving up to the senior tees. Handicap slowly going down and fun going up!

Our league has awards for long drive, closest to the pin and longest putt sunk. I'm never in contention for longest drive so I ignore that - for the closest to the pin hole, I play that par-3 from the mens tee (same as everyone else in the league). To me, longest made putt doesn't reflect any tee box, so I just stay with my senior tee box. Honestly I don't think the other awards should be tee box specific but others might disagree.

@iacas do I need to do anything further to earn the breaking 80 badge. Thanks, Bob

Broke 80 today, shot a 79 at Sydney Marovitz Golf Club in Chicago. Smooth 39 on front nine and started leaking a little oil toward the end. Had a 10 foot downhill birdie putt on 18, and I didn't want to be the golfer who babied it to the 18th hole - so I rolled it 4 ft past and lipped out the par putt for an ugly ending 40. Still overall it was a 79 and I'm thrilled!!

I made decision to move up to senior tees for this season of league play (age 69). After 8 rounds, my average score is almost 3 shots better than last year from white tees. What I've found is that forward tees have created different challenges for good scoring as compare to white tees. With the white tees a typical par 4 was driver, 7 wood and then chip for a par/bogey. First putt was typically in the 10-15 foot range. When I moved up to forward tees, my GIR improved dramatically. This move highlighted challenges in my lag putting (typical first putt in the 30 ft range) and ability to hit shorter irons (7-PW) on the mark. I still use the 7 wood on par 5's, long par 3's and 4's so am still using all my clubs. Overall, I am enjoying the move forward more than I expected. handicap is still same (12) due to lower course rating for forward tees but enjoyment factor is definitely up! Bob

I've been playing a short set of clubs for 10 years or so. As I've gotten older (69 now) my swing speed had slowed and as a result the yardage gap between clubs has dropped so that the 10 yard difference between clubs is now maybe 3 yards at most. I mix and match the clubs for each round based on the par 3 holes - I like to avoid a partial club for tee shot on those holes. Another nice benefit of short set is the bag is lighter and easier to carry. Bob

Over the years I've tended to be a fairly straight ball hitter with my miss being a draw. As I gotten older (68 now), I've found my body has become more comfortable with a slightly open stance and using the fade as my go to shot. I can still manage a draw/hook ..... just never when I need it 😡. For me, its stick to one basic shot pattern and learn to work with it.

69 in a few months. Made the decision to move up to senior tees this year - but continue to play some holes from the middle tees. I got tired of Driver, 7 wood and chip on par 4's. Now I find this game continues to be challenging - just from different perspective. Fairway bunkers are back in play and short irons into the greens are placing new challenges on my game. I'm so glad I made the decision. Handicap hasn't really dropped (12) due to course rating but scores have dropped and fun increased exponentially ! Bob