We may be getting older but we still can get better

Please allow me to share some personal sports history. Forty years ago, in 1983, I wrote a feature article for the Detroit Free Press entitled “Older, wiser and getting faster.” It was about Masters swimmers that were swimming faster than they did in their college days. As a marathon runner I had run the Boston Marathon in under 2 hours, 50 minutes three years in a row, but I also was a Masters swimmer. (In college I was the captain of the Irish swim team at the University of Notre Dame in 1963-64.)

In 1980 and 1981 I had won back-to-back Detroit YMCA Marathon Swim Championships, swimming 6.2 miles in the designated three hours in a 25-yard indoor pool. That was all before I turned to triathlons. From 1982 through 1984 I competed in four Ironman World Triathlons Championships in Kona, Hawaii, and won two Masters Championships, while then over age 40. In 1982, I finished 42^nd out of a field of 1,200 triathletes. Today, at almost 81, I’m a golfer, and have been a serious golfer almost all my life.

I moved to Las Cruces om 1988 and quickly became acquainted with Mr. Herb Wimberly, formerly Aggie men’s golf coach and Director of Golf at NMSU Golf Course. Herb wanted me to be part of his golf teaching program, and together we started Performance Golf Schools in 1998 which were weekend instruction and play for adult golfers of all levels, at locations throughout New Mexico and Far West Texas. Due to mutual medical problems, our last golf schools were in 2014.

One of the important things we learned doing over a hundred weekend golf schools is how best to help senior men and women (age 50 and up) to play the type of golf they were capable of.

Here are several of the key suggestions for you as you’re getting older and continue to value your golf.  The first thing we have to adjust with aging is our attitude: Don’t accept that as we are getting older, we are going to lose talent. We may not be able to create the length we once did, but we still need to become a student of the game and work on new shots and suitable swing changes. Up-to-date golf clubs help.

Do not underestimate the value of golf instruction on a periodic basis. Whether you need to cure a worsening slice, or solve a case of the putting yips, or your game has you in such low spirits that Prozac doesn’t help, or your divots travel farther than your ball, or your monthly expense for new drivers exceeds your club dues, or you just feel you have totally lost your swing, you’ll be amazed what your PGA pro can do for you. Old golfers can learn new tricks, so don’t resist range or playing lessons or radical change. Work with your teacher to set challenging goals and measure your progress. For the last several years my goal for a round of golf is to shoot under my age; I do that most of the time.

The magic of taking golf lessons is found in regular practice. I recommend at least one shorter practice session and one longer session, say two hours. You may not be hitting it like you did 20 years ago, so you need to practice your short game – chipping, putting and bunkers. If you become an expert in chipping around the greens and putting you’ll be a match for anyone. Trust Dr. Golf on that one.

The older we get the more important it is we manage our fitness, which means strength, balance, flexibility and stamina. Exercise physiologists explain you can build muscle, get stronger and become more flexible even into your 90s. Try to become disciplined about strength workouts at the gym, as well as aerobic exercise like running, walking and bicycling. And while you’re at it watch your diet. If you’re looking for more short helpful tips for older golfers I suggest “A Different Game: Golf After 50” by Sarbin and Brown.  Here’s one: “Always keep your eye/face/head just behind the ball prior to impact … and focus on the back, not the top of the ball.”

As I think about aging and practicing, I’m reminded of the late Pablo Casals, when he was challenged by and interviewer who inquired: “Mr. Casals you’re 95, and the greatest cellist the world has ever known. Why do you still practice six hours a day?” Mr. Casals paused and replied: “I think I’m beginning to notice some improvement.”