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You might not look, feel or act like one, but once you hit 50 you’re a senior, at least according to the world of golf. Even if your drives aren’t as long or your legs aren’t as strong as they were 20 years ago, you can still play your best golf. “There’s no reason why someone at the age of 50 can’t learn to play better golf than they have ever played,” said Eddie Merrins, the Bel-Air Country Club professional who has worked with some of the world’s most famous golfers and celebrities. “If they’ve kept in relatively good shape and are realistic about their limitations, any golfer can work on getting the most out of their golf games at any age.” As long as you’re willing to concede at least some things to the effects of age — particularly distance off the tee and a few more aches and pains when walking a course — here are 10 ways to refine your game and keep your scores low. Time Those over 50 might not feel as strong or spry as they did in their younger days, but many find they have more time to pursue golf as they mature. “Prowess for any golfer is a combination of ability, work ethic and access of time,” Merrins said. “That’s why most golfers play their best golf when they’re younger, because they have the time to play. Once they start school, or working, or begin raising a family, they find they have less time to play. “Then they start hitting 50 and, if they’ve been successful and done a good job of providing for their family, they suddenly find they have a little more time to devote. As long as they’ve taken care of themselves somewhat physically, there’s no reason why they can’t improve.” There’s another silver lining when golfers turn 50.  “Take advantage of the discounts and other promotions that courses offer to senior golfers,” said Tom Sargent (pictured), PGA head professional at Mesa Verde Country Club in Costa Mesa.Compete “If you seriously want to upgrade your golf game at any age, you need to seek out the level of highest competition,” Merrins said. “Your handicap is going to come down if you’re working diligently, and the best way to do that is to compete.” Consider the case of Jim Mahoney, an 82-year-old La Quinta resident and longtime publicity man who swears he plays “better today than when I was 40.” One way he has kept his game sharp is by competing every time he’s on the course. “I’ll play in tournaments, but every time I go out there’s a $10 or $20 Nassau going on,” Mahoney said. “You can’t just go out there and whack the ball. You’ve got to have a purpose.” Jerry Wisz, PGA director of golf at Alhambra Golf Course and the Southern California PGA’s reigning Senior Section champion added, “Even if you don’t win, just being out there in the hunt keeps you sharper and gets the blood flowing.” Get help Instruction is key at any age and level, but for older golfers who might have bad habits or rusty fundamentals, it’s critical. “You certainly don’t want to go in and rebuild things if you’ve been playing a while, but we all need touch-ups,” Wisz said. “I work with someone at least once a year and have been helped tremendously by it.” Find someone with a good reputation and a lot of experience. “I think the more experienced an instructor, the more they’re going to help you size up your expectations and work with what you already have, rather than rebuilding from scratch,” Wisz said. Practice Even if you’re a senior golfer who has time to play, without a consistent practice regimen, you’re not going to get any better.  “Golf does get harder as you get older because you can’t hit it quite as far, but if you don’t work at it, it gets even harder,” said Tom Barber (pictured_, who owns and operates his own practice center in Moorpark and whose father, Jerry, won the 1961 PGA Championship and played competitive golf well into his 70s. “It’s not a game you can just pick up and leave. There has to be consistency in practice, just as there must be consistency in working out and stretching and working on the short game. You can’t just hit a bucket of balls at the range and think you’ve got it down.”Get real Knowing your limits and setting real expectations is important for golfers who are picking up the game after a layoff. “No one should go out to a golf course expecting to play like they used to play,” Wisz said. “The first thing older golfers need to do is look at their expectations, be realistic about them and maybe accept the fact that they can’t play like they used to.” But don’t take it too easy. “All golfers, especially older ones, do have limits in terms of strength capability,” Wisz said. “But there’s no reason why golfers, even those with physical limits, can’t learn to play their best within those limits.” Exercise Fitness for older golfers doesn’t end at flexibility. The goal is to strengthen muscles and body movements that help the golf swing. “You need to be fast — high number of reps at low to medium weights,” Sargent said. “You don’t want mass, you want good technique and speed, because that’s what increases swing speed.” Of course, you could also take a page out of Mahoney’s book. Mahoney hits a few balls before he goes out on the course, but his exercise is easy. “I walk an hour every day,” he said. “That keeps me loose. Between that and my genes, that’s why I’m doing so well.” Clubfitting Advances in club and ball technology have helped increase distance, but accuracy is another matter. “I don’t necessarily think equipment has helped the average player,” Barber said. “The average handicap is 19 and all the new equipment means is they’re hitting the ball longer out of bounds.” Most older golfers could benefit from getting their existing clubs fitted, changing to more flexible shafts and looking at hybrid clubs to replace long irons. “An older golfer is better off having a gap in their long game than their short game,” Wisz said, “so finding the right hybrid that can help fill in a gap in your irons is going to help you score better.” Think small It’s especially important for older golfers to focus on their putting, pitching and chipping. “You may have limits as far as the distance you get off the tee, but that doesn’t mean you have to have any limits on how good your short game or putting can be,” Merrins said. “I don’t know who said it, but a good putt can make up for a lot of sins,” Barber said. “If you really work on your short game, it’s going to do wonders for your score.” Move it on up “The male ego is such that most men don’t want to move up to more forward tees,” Merrins said. “But, by the same token, it’d be kind of silly for a 60-year-old man to play from the tees he played as a 20-year-old. It really makes no sense.” Barber agrees that seniors should move up in the tee box. “In fact, I think there should be a set of senior tees on every course just as there should be tees for juniors,” he said. “It just makes sense.” Sargent said moving up will make the round more enjoyable. “If you’re not scoring well, why play a course from 6,500 yards when you can play it at 6,000,” Sargent said. Along with playing from shorter tees, older golfers need to find courses suited to their games. “I think there are some courses that are more sympathetic to older golfers,” Barber said. “Some of the new layouts have been designed in order to keep long hitters from scoring, so they have all these obtuse undulations in the greens and more bunkers. I don’t think that necessarily falls into the games of older players. I think the older, proven courses are the best for seniors.” Play it smart With age comes, hopefully, a little bit of perspective. Consider Mahoney’s take: “Golf is a great game, and it’s a lot better than psychiatry.” Or, as Mesa Verde’s Sargent said, it’s easy to remind yourself how fortunate you are to be on a golf course: “All you have to do is realize that you’re walking on the grass, rather than lying beneath it.” |
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Good advice. Thanks!
| Comment at 2/11/2010 |
The tone of this article makes it look like 50 year olds are in rocking chairs with a blanket over thier laps. I am 62 and hitting it further and straighter than ever before because I have had more practice and better equipment than 20 years ago.
These days 50 year olds are staying in better shape than ever and competing in a multitude of very active sports. I would rather be an in shape 50 year old than many of the sloppy over weight 30 year olds that I see on the course.
| Comment at 2/11/2010 |
Close but no cigar.
The most important thing to tell a senior or anyone for that matter is that after all is said about technique, equipment and conditioning you should remember that golf is about the score. At least 50% of the score you make (assuming you have developed to at least the bogey golf level) is the decisions you make at each stage of play: Before you even begin to play the round, before you play each hole and before you make each shot.
Your best score in golf is only achieved when you have the knowlege and the experience to make the correct pre shot decision. For example; most no. 1 and no. 2 handicap holes (most difficult) are long par 4's with trouble of the tee and on the approach to the green. Most senior and bogey golfers should play these holes as easy par 5's. Instead thinking to hit your longest tee shot you should hit the longest clug you hit straight consistently. Decide to hit a club that will assure you cannot reach the off the tee trouble. Your next shot shoot be designed to reach a clear area well short of the green. A long shot even for an expert golfer will rarely end up near the hole even if you hit the green and of course the area around the green on the tough holes is where the mischief is designed.
Your third shot to the par 4 is now in your "pitch and put" range and getting down in 3 from there is not at all a stretch. Furthermore you are pitching to the pin from here not just to "get on." More than likely you can place that second shot so that you have taken the mischief around the green out of play. Assuming you can make the 3 from your second shot position a 5 on the most dififcult hole makes you competitve with any golfer. It will not be all that rare that you will pitch to where you make the put for par. The point is by making decisions before even playing the hole, you have played the most difficult hole(s) well without having extroadinary skill or the need to hit a low percentage shot or place any pressure on your self because each shot chosen is a high percentage shot for you and does not have to be hit perfectly to execute the plan.
The above is just one example for each hole a plan that keeps you always hitting high percentage shots will yeild the best score you are capable of.
As to an overall plan for the best score, consider the following;
If you are a bogey golfer, you final score on any round is determined by how many holes you get more than bogey on. How many times have you added up score at the end of the round and said "I would have had a good score if I didn't have thos two double bogeys and a 6 on that par 3?"
It is not that extraordinary that an experienced bogey golfer will card a "snow man" (an 8). These over bogey scores are the reason you rarely shoot your best score. Here again decisions determine the presence or abscence of this high scores more than your skill level, equipment or conditioning.
You are a bogey golfer. Not an expert. Bogey for you is like par for an expert. Your objective is make decisions on the tee and before each subsequent shot (including puts) that will assure you don't card more tha a bogey. Attempts to test the hole for par or birdie sets you up for odds that you will have several over bogey holes.
Let's say you play a par 72 hole course with out any thing higher than bogey. That means you shot a 90. Now consider that you made only 2 to 3 pars per side, not all that extraordinary. That means you will have between 84 and 86. You are compettive will a will range of golfers and I found you will often beat much higher skilled players as well.
These are just 2 examples how decisions regarding a hole and a total round can improve your score and the consistency of your score without 1 lesson on technique and condidtioning. Technique, conditioning are important because they set the best score your capable of, but they only provide 50% of the score you will realize. The other 50% is based on the decisions you make before you begin playing before playing each hole and before each shot.
| Comment at 2/12/2010 |
Great article. These tips are very helpful. As all of us should do we need to keep in shape, get lessons and practice. All things I currently enjoy. Thank you.
| Comment at 4/21/2010 |
