At what age do you stop getting better?

[Tommy Williamsen]

I turned 65 this year.  It has dawned on me that I am closing in on 70.  70 seems old. I realize that 65 is just a number, but it is a BIG number. I still walk and carry my bag but will take a cart now on the second 18.  When I was 35 I was a 2 handicap and now my index is 5.9.  I have moved up a tee box and still think I can get better.  Im not sure that is true.  I don't hit as many greens as I used to and when I do I a am not as close to the pin as I used to be.  I can't hit the ball as high nor can I hit it as long.  My skills are slowly eroding.  I'd like to think that I can still get it around at 85 but am becoming more skeptical.  

For those of you who a little longer in the tooth, what have you discovered about your game?

[Tom_Doak]

At golf?  For me, it was about 44 or 45.

At design?  I don't know yet.  And I hope I never find out. 

[TEPaul]

I was at scratch for about twenty years. I started playing serious golf in my early thirties. I think I stopped getting better around my mid-to late fifties, and after that I started losing interest in playing pretty fast.

[Lynn_Shackelford]

Tommy I am your age.  My thinking has been the better you play, the more you enjoy it.  Therefore I am putting in a lot of resources to play often until my seventies.  I don't see many single digit players past the age of 72, so I am planning to accept a decline at that time.  However my new club has a guy who is 76 and playing very well, maybe low to mid 80's but hits it like someone in his 60's.  Good putting stroke as well.  My putting stroke has anxiety(yips) on occasion, but I think I will always be able to play alone, stress free and hit outstanding shots and putts.
All that said, this is a new generation of baby boomers.  We are living and working longer and what may have been declining years for the last generation are active years for this one.  I clearly see another division coming beyond super seniors(over 65) in the coming years.  This has nothing to do with equipment, but instead to do with stretching and how you think.

[Melvyn Morrow]

Honest answer, may well be when I started to consider trying aids from walking to judging distance and buying the latest clubs in the hope of continuing to improve my score. But who is going to admit to that?

[Duncan Cheslett]

I didn't take up golf properly until I'd turned 50, and I can't tell you what a thrill it is to find something in life that you can still get better at in your 50s!

I reckon I can keep improving until I'm well into my 60s, health permitting. Of course, If I'd started playing at a younger age I would probably have peaked earlier.

However, a bloke at my club is 76 years old and plays off 11. I asked him once what was the lowest his handicap had ever been, and he replied with a smile - "11!" His avowed ambition is still the same as it was 40 years ago; to get to scratch!

[Tommy Williamsen]

As some of you mentioned, conditioning makes a difference.  Until my knees gave out I was a triathlete and long distance runner.  I still do cardio 60 minutes a day, some weight training, and stretching.  I think the stretching is proving to be the most beneficial.  Making a full shoulder turn is still possible.  Without the stretching I am not sure I would be playing nearly as well.

I try to keep the weight off as well, although it seems to be redistributing itself.  Whats the old saying, "I have furniture disease.  My chest fell into my drawers."

[Peter Pallotta]

Tommy - I've never been any good (took the game up very late, and didn't play much at all for years, and in that context I am still getting better), and so I have no experience with (or insight into) what you're experiencing, i.e. the once very good player who feels that his skills are diminishing. But, I've experienced 'change' in other areas, and -- apologies for getting all airy-fairy and mamby pamby on you, but -- here are three short quotes that I think are relevant.

"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the life that is waiting for us."
Joseph Campbell
  
"What we try to keep for ourselves is just what we are sure to lose."
C.S. Lewis

"We find by losing.  We hold fast by letting go.  We become something new by ceasing to be something old.  This seems to be close to the heart of the mystery."
Frederick Buechner

I know, I know - who wants all this mumbo-jumbo? I just want to hit the ball longer and straighter and more consistently, and putt like Crenshaw in his prime and be as comfortable in a bunker as Gary Player. But if there is one sport in which these kinds of quote 'make sense', I think it's golf.

Best
Peter

[Rich Goodale]

As another 65-year old, MHO is that you can get better in at least some part of your game almost until your clock stops, but realistically it is very difficult to get your overall game to improve much past the age of 60.  Regardless of how fit you are, you will lose distance at roughly that age, and more importantly you may well begin to lose the ability to concentrate.  I play most of my golf these days with mostly very talented 50-75 year olds (http://www.scottishseniorsgolf.com/page5.htm), and the youngest can now outdrive me by 20-50 yards and the most focused (of any age) can out-concentrate me as if I were a child.  I have my moments when I can be mistaken for the 4.5 USGA index that I was 2-3 years ago, but I also have moments when I look as if I have never played the game before.  Nevertheless, playing gofl at age 65 is much better than the alternative.....

[TEPaul]

Ricardo the Magnificent:

Some people who are highly intelligent can have a very hard time concentrating on some things. Obviously there is just a lot going on in their noggins. You may be one of those. At the very least you look like you are to me.

[Ash Towe]

For me it was when I started to lose length off the tee.

When my health declined.

I think you can offset the decline with the aid of technology, fitness and practice but ultimately it is only putting off the inevitable.  It just depends on how efficient the body is and lasts before it happens.

[cary lichtenstein]

Don't worry about your handicap, keep your health and it will take care of everything

[Ben Kodadek]

Tommy,

Do you think you are a tougher opponent at this point in your playing days, as compared to when you were a 2?  I've always found that players who were scratch-low single digits (at some point in their career) think in a much different manner that almost every double digit golfer. 

[Doug Siebert]

For me it was two weeks ago.  I finally gave in to the 21st century and got myself a hybrid to replace my 1 iron! 

[Padraig Dooley]

How good you were or are is a big factor. If there's plenty of room for improvement you can keep on getting better. If there's not much room for improvement you might be getting worse already.

If we consider T Woods, for arguments sake say 2000 was his best year, he reached his peak at 24 and has been getting worse since then.

For someone who takes up the game late, they mightn't start playing their best until their 60s or 70s.

Another question might be can you be better next month then you were this month? I think the answer is yes for everyone.

[Jason Connor]

At the age you have your first child.

[Tom Fagerli]

I think I hit the ball better now at 55 but I can't say I play better as I don't play as much as when 40 so my short game isn't as good. To play well as you get older keeping fit and THIN is key IMO. No super seniors I have  seen are fat like me. Bodes ill for me. I am  stronger now but too dang fat.

[Patrick_Mucci]

At golf?  For me, it was about 44 or 45.

At design?  I don't know yet.  And I hope I never find out. 

Tom,

That's the wrong answer.

You want to find out at 90.

Never finding out leaves an early demise as an option and that's not good.

Tommy,

Interesting subject and coincidently the topic came up today.

Today, I was playing with the Head Pro at Mountain Ridge, Len Siter, and teaches several excellent players.
One in particular will be trying the Sr Tour this year.
He's really a terrific player.
BUT, I commented to him that I was watching him coach/teach that player a few weeks ago and I noticed, that as good as his swing was, he rerouted the club, whereas Len's plane was identical, back and forth.  It's a very simple, yet powerful swing.
I commented to Len, that his swing was a swing for the ages, whereas, his pupil's swing, as good as it was, required superior athletic talent to preserve it as he advanced in age, and, unfortunately, as we age, our athletic talent diminishes.

So, to answer your question, I think one can improve with age, IF, one has the time and inclination to improve their swing such that it requires fewer moving parts and becomes a purer swing.

Today, with the hi-tech teaching aids that provide instant feed-back, I think you can improve your swing and as a result, your game.

Ditto for putting.

Late this afternoon, I took my youngest son, to a teaching center with the most advanced hi-tech.
While I might have identified his swing and putting flaws, there's NOTHING like seeing it for yourself on a screen, complete with the accompanying graphics.

I have no doubt that after seeing the flaws in his putting stroke, that he'll become a far better putter.
While he's 13, there's no doubt that someone 65 can't benefit from the same analysis and instruction.

As to distance, I think the Momentus weighted club can help preserve and increase distance by helping to stretch, enabling you to retain a full swing, while improving balance and power.

You can go from 5.9 to 4.9 or 3.9 or 2.9 if you pursue that goal properly.

 

[Dan Herrmann]

Patrick - or, based in real life stressors (job loss, new job, the death of my father, and a bunch more over the last 12 months), realize that golf unfortunately isn't as important as I might have liked.

Trust me, trying to make a 5' putt after you lost your job and your dad just doesn't matter as much.

Fortunately, I do have a great new job, I'm recovering my my dad's loss.  But I'm still not able to mentally focus - my mind keeps drifting, even over the ball.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Dan,

No one has to tell me about "real life" situations and the relevance of golf.

At one point it looked like I would lose my life due to serious cancer.
I was weak to the point that I couldn't walk 50 feet without having to rest.
I lost 75 pounds due to chemo, radiation, surgery and more chemo.

5 foot putts had no significant meaning at that time, but, as I began to make a comeback, where it looked like I was going to survive, those little rascals began to take on more significance again.  There was something else in my life to focus on other than my survival.

Tommy, who attained age 65, inquired about regaining one's game as one aged.
I merely offered my perspective, having played through age 65 into my 70's.

[Carson Pilcher]

At the age you have your first child.

Wow!  I have to second that one.  My handicap has risen in linear progression with my child's age.

[Patrick_Mucci]

I think I hit the ball better now at 55 but I can't say I play better as I don't play as much as when 40 so my short game isn't as good. To play well as you get older keeping fit and THIN is key IMO. No super seniors I have  seen are fat like me. Bodes ill for me. I am  stronger now but too dang fat.

Tom,

Today, when I took my youngest son for an analysis of his swing and putting stroke, the Pro put me on the monitors/computer and the first comment I made was that I needed to lose 20 pounds.

I think you're right, remaining thin or getting thin, while retaining strength is important.

But, with significant weight loss comes changes in your swing that may cause great difficulty and loss of distance.

[Dan Herrmann]

Patrick - Trust me, I know that you're a stong person - stronger than I hope I never need to be, and you have my complete respect.  Your insight here is certainly taken to heart - I appreciate your inspirational words.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Dan,

We and our families should all enjoy good health and good fortune.

In the scheme of life the importance of five foot putts is fleeting

[Scott Warren]

Even at 29, I notice how much easier it is to make a strong, repeating swing and maintain concentration for 18 holes when I have been eating well and exercising, compared to those weeks or months where I've been grazing in a good paddock and foregoing exercise.

I can only imagine that becomes moreso as we age.