Yes, the biological clock keeps ticking by and there’s definitely nothing much we can do to stop the same. But a true Golfer can certainly defy this dictum and not let age impact too much on the golf swings and games.
Let’s take a stock on how you can give a fillip to your Golf performance in your 50s and beyond!
We all know we should do it, but it’s so easy to overlook or neglect in our busy, bustling lives. The reality is we are all fighting the effects of sarcopenia, in which skeletal muscle mass and strength begin to decline from the age of 30, almost imperceptibly at first, but then typically to the tune of 30 or 40 per cent by 70 years of age.
As our muscles decline in strength naturally, specific strengthening and flexibility exercises become more important. That means warming up not just your golf swing pre-round, but your body too in order to get the blood flowing and your heart rate up a bit.
Sometimes you may just need to be honest with yourself about the gear you’re playing. It’s likely that your clubhead speed will decrease as you hit your 50s, and that can mean the clubs that suited your game when you were a younger powerhouse are no longer helping you get the most out of your 50+ swing.
Beyond a custom-fitting to find out the best spec for your post-50 swing, it’s also worth thinking about the actual equipment and club line-up in your bag.
It may be that you’d be better off considering: a more lofted driver; more fairway woods or hybrids instead of long irons; irons with a little more forgiveness built in; a different style of putter; or perhaps even a different kind of putter grip – maybe one of those new thick styles in case those short putts are filling you with a greater sense of foreboding than they once did!
There are lots of options out there, so make sure you investigate them all.
Back tee machismo can be a hard battle to overcome for some (“If you’re not playing from the backs, you’re not playing the proper course”). But the reality is that most of us – regardless of age – would probably enjoy it all a little more if we ventured forward by a tee or two more often.
It may just mean playing all your social golf from the yellow rather than white tees, or perhaps being slightly less ambitious in your choice of tees on visits to other courses where there are sometimes countless options. If courses allow, it could even be something you decide as you go along – perhaps choosing to head a little forward when you come to a 220-yard par 3, or 450-yard par 4 into the wind off the tees you’ve been playing.