Golf Digest Philippines columnist Dr. Vince Gomez turned 50 in 2005. In reflection, he wrote a piece on how aging affects golf and what senior golfers can do to minimize its effects. Here is an excerpt from his column in the June-July 2006 issue:
- There are several inevitabilities we will all face as the years go by. The smart senior golfer will accept these realities and by dealing with them, will continue to stay competitive.
- We will lose distance. This is a function of losing both power and flexibility. As we get older due to arthritis, tightened ligaments and losing muscle mass, we will lose clubhead speed and raw power therefore, distance is compromised. Our clubs become heavier and our turns, shorter.
- We lose stamina and endurance. Being overweight, smoking, underlying illnesses and lack of exercise affects one’s staying power. We get tired faster and can’t keep up the intensity in the back nine as we had on the first tee.
- Focus and concentration are diminished. It’s a fact that as we age, the neurotransmitters in our brain drop and this affects our ability to concentrate. Hand-eye coordination is also affected. This is why senior golfers, including pros, get the yips.
- It takes us longer to recover from a round or from injury. The ability of muscles to rebuild is impaired. Whereas a 36-hole weekend was easy a few years ago, it may now take us several days to relieve that pain in our legs, shoulders or low back. This is a bigger problem if we injure our wrist, shoulder or elbow during the course of a game. We may even need to see a doctor if we want to play the next weekend.
- Our tempo changes and so does our swing. A lot of this depends on how we hit the ball before. If we had more of a short, upper body swing that delivered raw power at the bottom through sheer hand speed or if we drove the ball with our legs or if we uncoiled our back to swing through the ball, all of these may need to be changed. This is why many senior golfers go through phases when they shank, top or dub their shots especially if they try to hit if far or over hazards.
