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7 tips for senior golfers to play better and enjoy the game longer

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Have you ever played a golf course and remembered where you used to hit the ball on certain holes? Have you ever gotten to a 360-yard par-4 and recalled when you used to lick your chops because you knew a little flip wedge for your second was ahead? Ever made shooting your age your next big goal? If you have, welcome to golf’s back nine, the time when you keep seeking improvement knowing full well it will never be what it once was.

Aging is another vivid example of the paradoxical beast that lies at the heart of our game. If we’re totally honest, we admit we can’t do anything as well as we did 25-30 years ago. Yet a little voice never far from our golf ears keeps whispering, “If you just move the ball in your stance and adjust your grip, you will hit it solid again.” That’s when we need to be honest and ask, “What does solid mean at 65-70-75 years old?” It certainly isn’t solid like it was at 35 years old, but it may be more solid than the last shot, or yesterday. And as we’ll see, it just might be solid enough for the home stretch. So we keep playing and practicing in a search for golf’s version of a fountain of youth.

If you are, like this author, closer to the 18th green than the first tee, here are 7 golden nuggets for the golden years:

1. Forget how you used to play

Stay present and take what the game gives you now, here, today. If that’s 210 off the tee, get your fairway woods and hybrids out and do the best you can with your inevitably longer approach.

2. Work on your scoring game

If aging has robbed you of flexibility and strength, it does not have to affect your game from 100 yards in. Seniors need to chip and putt more than any other age group.

3. Yoga and Pilates

If you think we’re old, we are a babe in the woods compared to these ancient disciplines. The mind/body connection is vital for seniors. And… the results speak for themselves! Staying as flexible and as strong as you can for as long as you can is vital for senior golf. Oh, and walk and carry whenever possible!

4. Get properly fitted

Not only do we play senior golf dreaming of yesteryear, male seniors often let testosterone affect their game. I get sooo many seniors coming to see me who are ill-fitted for their equipment, or more accurately, using equipment that once fit their game85-90 mph clubhead speed does not likely require a stiff shaft, 9 degrees of loft or 75 grams of weight to achieve proper launch and landing conditions. Good senior golf demands brutal honesty with yourself.

5. Consider swing “adjustments,” not “new swings”

I don’t want to be a bearer of bad tidings here, but as a teacher of many years, I know this much: The swing you’ve had for oh so many years is not going to change. At least not very much. The does not mean it can’t be made more effective. I “tweak” seniors, not break them down.

6. Play forward tees

I’m a club professional, and I was a fairly decent player once. At 70 years young, I am proud to say that I play white tees measuring no more than 6300 yards. And in a few years, I’ll likely move up again. It’s just a fact of life and denying it is futile.

7. Check your fundamentals

Just because a certain grip, posture or ball position was effective once, as we age, all these may need adjustments from time to time. Swings get shorter, slower, narrow, etc. And as they do, we have to allow for these things and find new ways to complement the “senior swing.”

The alternative to all of the above is a garage sale. And as long I can swing a golf club, I will be doing so. If I want to enjoy the game, I’ll do so with lighter clubs, from shorter tees, chipping and putting my way into the hole. We’d all like to turn back the clock, but the last time that happened was, uh, never.

Enjoy the back nine. I know I am.

Dennis Clark is a PGA Master Professional. Clark has taught the game of golf for more than 30 years to golfers all across the country, and is recognized as one of the leading teachers in the country by all the major golf publications. He is also is a seven-time PGA award winner who has earned the following distinctions: -- Teacher of the Year, Philadelphia Section PGA -- Teacher of the Year, Golfers Journal -- Top Teacher in Pennsylvania, Golf Magazine -- Top Teacher in Mid Atlantic Region, Golf Digest -- Earned PGA Advanced Specialty certification in Teaching/Coaching Golf -- Achieved Master Professional Status (held by less than 2 percent of PGA members) -- PGA Merchandiser of the Year, Tri State Section PGA -- Golf Professional of the Year, Tri State Section PGA -- Presidents Plaque Award for Promotion and Growth of the Game of Golf -- Junior Golf Leader, Tri State section PGA -- Served on Tri State PGA Board of Directors. Clark is also former Director of Golf and Instruction at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort. Dennis now teaches at Bobby Clampett's Impact Zone Golf Indoor Performance Center in Naples, FL. .

29 Comments

29 Comments

  1. Pingback: 3 Tips For Continuing To Enjoy Golfing As You Get Older - Six Star Sports

  2. Pingback: Best Golf Irons For Seniors | Golf N Fitness

  3. Pingback: Best Golf Irons for Seniors Review 2020 (TOP 10 MODELS)

  4. Greta James

    Jun 2, 2020 at 12:44 pm

    Thank you so much for informing me that a golfer’s swing can change as they age, so be sure to check grip and posture to make adjustments as needed. My dad has loved watching golfing and is now trying to become a great golfer. However, he mentioned that he is having a hard time reading the green. I wonder if there is a technology that could help him with this skill to improve his amateur game.

  5. A. Commoner

    Sep 21, 2018 at 8:53 pm

    Dennis Clark deserves many accolades for his work. But if an experienced golfer with a functioning brain can’t come up with these “tips” on his own, then he needs to give it up.

  6. don Ho

    Sep 19, 2018 at 6:17 pm

    All great comments but to add to article, #8 understand the state of the art equipment thats coming out these days, quite remarkable. You have the correct swingweight, shaft weight and flex, a softer ball, stronger lofts on irons, it can literally take 10 years off your game. I play with all ages, and for the most part they are trying to keep up with me. I have nothing to prove, I was never a club pro etc. but quite consistent, I remember hitting the TM Burner Bubble, Stiff, 10.5, 90 gram shaft 300 yds at least twice a round. Golf is the most fun anyone over 50 can have without “killing themselves”, ie you not going to drown, get thrown down a mountain, take two weeks to recover (marathon running). Its always a good day when I’m golfing.

    • ogo

      Sep 20, 2018 at 5:47 pm

      You are exceptionally good, while the rest of us fear regressing into the 90’s and bogey-plus golf. I just carry fewer clubs and manage the course with shorter shots regardless of the course distances. Control is everything.

  7. steven

    Sep 19, 2018 at 5:50 pm

    Found a mint used PING G2 driver, 15.5º loft, 400cc with a stock PING TFC 100D Soft Regular shaft for a total length of 47 inches from sole to butt. Thank goodness I have a smooth 80mph swing and 200+yard drive. I can crank it faster but the shaft is too soft. I will keep this beauty in my bag until I stop. I’m 79 y.o., 6’4″, 170lbs strong and I still play singles tennis in the winter. Btw, the driver COR exceeds 0.83 because the loft was greater than 15º.

  8. Bob Jones

    Sep 19, 2018 at 4:10 pm

    Ken Venturi said when being interviewed by David Feherty and looking at a picture of his young man’s swing, “I’d give anything to swing like that again. But I swung like that once, so I guess that’s enough.”

    My game is the same as it’s always been–very straight and good around the green. Except now that I’m 69 it’s somewhat shorter, but that’s OK. I move up to the next set of tees and score just as well and have just as much fun.

    • ShSh

      Sep 20, 2018 at 2:35 am

      You old folks shouldn’t even be on a website like this sheesh

  9. Tom

    Sep 19, 2018 at 2:26 pm

    I might suggest one additional tip, carry a flask of “swing oil” and take a nip every 3rd hole or so…..

    • shawn

      Sep 20, 2018 at 12:08 pm

      … to drown your swing sorrows??!!!

    • James

      Sep 22, 2018 at 12:59 pm

      I carry a canister of “Italian Sports Drink”. The golf course doesn’t know but my friends do. Pinot Grigio. Zero sips for a bogey or worse. 1 sip for a par. 2 sips for a birdie. Eagle? I empty the canister!

  10. Jorge Nigrete

    Sep 19, 2018 at 12:59 pm

    Awesome advice for senior golfers who want to stay involved and aware of their capabilities as they age.

    • shawn

      Sep 20, 2018 at 12:09 pm

      … but ‘golfers’ are living a delusion on the golf course!!!

  11. Scheiss

    Sep 19, 2018 at 12:44 pm

    I’m 2 years away from 50. I’m still playing the back tees with the kids, most of the courses we play are at or over 7000 yards. I still play to scratch and give the young ones a good game.
    As soon as I turn 50, I am moving up to the next tee, and yet I will not be giving any shots to those same kids. They can suck it lol
    So I will be playing from tees that are anywhere from 6500 to 6800 on the big courses. On the shorter courses, the kids are at the 6500 on the back tees and the next tees are at about 6000. Reasonable.
    That’s what makes this game so great.
    If you can’t deal with your ego being crushed, you picked the wrong game. Go fishing or something and leave us real gamers alone, because you clearly don’t appreciate this game for its nuances

    • Acemandrake

      Sep 19, 2018 at 4:17 pm

      The “ego crusher” comment was meant to be humorous.

      I appreciate the nuances of the game & will be sure to leave “real gamers alone”. 🙂

    • oppie

      Sep 21, 2018 at 7:03 pm

      …. and a good “scheiss” to you …. 🙁

  12. LD

    Sep 19, 2018 at 12:29 pm

    Really good article. Thanks for the great information.

  13. Jim K

    Sep 19, 2018 at 12:27 pm

    I fully agree that as golfers get older and shorter off the tee they should move up to forward tees. Unfortunately, too many golf courses fail to offer reasonable teeing options. I’ve seen way too many courses where the whites are 6300yds and the next tees up are 5500. One is too long and the other too short.

    • Acemandrake

      Sep 19, 2018 at 12:41 pm

      This is the truth.

      Given such a choice I will play the longer course but will adjust my expectations (ie: Bogey is the new par!).

      • ogo

        Sep 20, 2018 at 5:43 pm

        Then you needn’t carry a driver and be happy with 3-wood driving distances. In fact, you could prolly play the course in bogey golf with a 175 yard hybrid as your longest club. Try it.. you’ll be surprised… if you can manage properly.

    • Stan

      Sep 19, 2018 at 12:49 pm

      Can not agree more. It seems I’m too often kidded about no more senior tees for you from my younger playing partners or hitting nothing but 3 wood or 3 hybrid while they’re hitting medium or short irons to reach the green. Right for me (at age 70) seems to be 5800 to 6000 yards, not 5500 or 6300.

  14. Myron miller

    Sep 19, 2018 at 12:26 pm

    A lot of excellent suggestions. I’m in my 70s and most assuredly don’t hit it as far or play as well. but I still have a decent short game, can chip and putt exceptionally and that can keep my scores down. And i can’t emphasize the use of game management, woods and laying up in strategic distances and positions. makes the game a lot easier. Sometimes I wish I’d learned these much earlier.

    Adapted swing to body issues rather than new swing.

    Could easily overpower course when younger now i sneak up on them.

  15. Acemandrake

    Sep 19, 2018 at 12:09 pm

    All good points; especially playing forward tees (still an ego crusher). Also, there’s no excuse for not improving the short game.

    Tip #1 (“Forget how you use to play”) is easier said than done…I have a 20 year old mind & a 60 year old body 🙂

  16. joro

    Sep 19, 2018 at 12:04 pm

    Good info, describes me to a tee. I used to ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, right says my buddy, used to. This is now, enjoy it while you still can. Would a Lobotomy help?

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Opinion & Analysis

The 2 primary challenges golf equipment companies face

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As the editor-in-chief of this website and an observer of the GolfWRX forums and other online golf equipment discourse for over a decade, I’m pretty well attuned to the grunts and grumbles of a significant portion of the golf equipment purchasing spectrum. And before you accuse me of lording above all in some digital ivory tower, I’d like to offer that I worked at golf courses (public and private) for years prior to picking up my pen, so I’m well-versed in the non-degenerate golf equipment consumers out there. I touched (green)grass (retail)!

Complaints about the ills of and related to the OEMs usually follow some version of: Product cycles are too short for real innovation, tour equipment isn’t the same as retail (which is largely not true, by the way), too much is invested in marketing and not enough in R&D, top staffer X hasn’t even put the new driver in play, so it’s obviously not superior to the previous generation, prices are too high, and on and on.

Without digging into the merits of any of these claims, which I believe are mostly red herrings, I’d like to bring into view of our rangefinder what I believe to be the two primary difficulties golf equipment companies face.

One: As Terry Koehler, back when he was the CEO of Ben Hogan, told me at the time of the Ft Worth irons launch, if you can’t regularly hit the golf ball in a coin-sized area in the middle of the face, there’s not a ton that iron technology can do for you. Now, this is less true now with respect to irons than when he said it, and is less and less true by degrees as the clubs get larger (utilities, fairways, hybrids, drivers), but there remains a great deal of golf equipment truth in that statement. Think about it — which is to say, in TL;DR fashion, get lessons from a qualified instructor who will teach you about the fundamentals of repeatable impact and how the golf swing works, not just offer band-aid fixes. If you can’t repeatably deliver the golf club to the golf ball in something resembling the manner it was designed for, how can you expect to be getting the most out of the club — put another way, the maximum value from your investment?

Similarly, game improvement equipment can only improve your game if you game it. In other words, get fit for the clubs you ought to be playing rather than filling the bag with the ones you wish you could hit or used to be able to hit. Of course, don’t do this if you don’t care about performance and just want to hit a forged blade while playing off an 18 handicap. That’s absolutely fine. There were plenty of members in clubs back in the day playing Hogan Apex or Mizuno MP-32 irons who had no business doing so from a ballstriking standpoint, but they enjoyed their look, feel, and complementary qualities to their Gatsby hats and cashmere sweaters. Do what brings you a measure of joy in this maddening game.

Now, the second issue. This is not a plea for non-conforming equipment; rather, it is a statement of fact. USGA/R&A limits on every facet of golf equipment are detrimental to golf equipment manufacturers. Sure, you know this, but do you think about it as it applies to almost every element of equipment? A 500cc driver would be inherently more forgiving than a 460cc, as one with a COR measurement in excess of 0.83. 50-inch shafts. Box grooves. And on and on.

Would fewer regulations be objectively bad for the game? Would this erode its soul? Fortunately, that’s beside the point of this exercise, which is merely to point out the facts. The fact, in this case, is that equipment restrictions and regulations are the slaughterbench of an abundance of innovation in the golf equipment space. Is this for the best? Well, now I’ve asked the question twice and might as well give a partial response, I guess my answer to that would be, “It depends on what type of golf you’re playing and who you’re playing it with.”

For my part, I don’t mind embarrassing myself with vintage blades and persimmons chasing after the quasi-spiritual elevation of a well-struck shot, but that’s just me. Plenty of folks don’t give a damn if their grooves are conforming. Plenty of folks think the folks in Liberty Corner ought to add a prison to the museum for such offences. And those are just a few of the considerations for the amateur game — which doesn’t get inside the gallery ropes of the pro game…

Different strokes in the game of golf, in my humble opinion.

Anyway, I believe equipment company engineers are genuinely trying to build better equipment year over year. The marketing departments are trying to find ways to make this equipment appeal to the broadest segment of the golf market possible. All of this against (1) the backdrop of — at least for now — firm product cycles. And golfers who, with their ~15 average handicap (men), for the most part, are not striping the golf ball like Tiger in his prime and seem to have less and less time year over year to practice and improve. (2) Regulations that massively restrict what they’re able to do…

That’s the landscape as I see it and the real headwinds for golf equipment companies. No doubt, there’s more I haven’t considered, but I think the previous is a better — and better faith — point of departure when formulating any serious commentary on the golf equipment world than some of the more cynical and conspiratorial takes I hear.

Agree? Disagree? Think I’m worthy of an Adam Hadwin-esque security guard tackle? Let me know in the comments.

@golfoncbs The infamous Adam Hadwin tackle ? #golf #fyp #canada #pgatour #adamhadwin ? Ghibli-style nostalgic waltz – MaSssuguMusic

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Podcasts

Fore Love of Golf: Introducing a new club concept

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Episode #16 brings us Cliff McKinney. Cliff is the founder of Old Charlie Golf Club, a new club, and concept, to be built in the Florida panhandle. The model is quite interesting and aims to make great, private golf more affordable. We hope you enjoy the show!

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Opinion & Analysis

On Scottie Scheffler wondering ‘What’s the point of winning?’

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Last week, I came across a reel from BBC Sport on Instagram featuring Scottie Scheffler speaking to the media ahead of The Open at Royal Portrush. In it, he shared that he often wonders what the point is of wanting to win tournaments so badly — especially when he knows, deep down, that it doesn’t lead to a truly fulfilling life.

 

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“Is it great to be able to win tournaments and to accomplish the things I have in the game of golf? Yeah, it brings tears to my eyes just to think about it because I’ve literally worked my entire life to be good at this sport,” Scheffler said. “To have that kind of sense of accomplishment, I think, is a pretty cool feeling. To get to live out your dreams is very special, but at the end of the day, I’m not out here to inspire the next generation of golfers. I’m not out here to inspire someone to be the best player in the world, because what’s the point?”

Ironically — or perhaps perfectly — he went on to win the claret jug.

That question — what’s the point of winning? — cuts straight to the heart of the human journey.

As someone who’s spent over two decades in the trenches of professional golf, and in deep study of the mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of the game, I see Scottie’s inner conflict as a sign of soul evolution in motion.

I came to golf late. I wasn’t a junior standout or college All-American. At 27, I left a steady corporate job to see if I could be on the PGA Tour starting as a 14-handicap, average-length hitter. Over the years, my journey has been defined less by trophies and more by the relentless effort to navigate the deeply inequitable and gated system of professional golf — an effort that ultimately turned inward and helped me evolve as both a golfer and a person.

One perspective that helped me make sense of this inner dissonance around competition and our culture’s tendency to overvalue winning is the idea of soul evolution.

The University of Virginia’s Division of Perceptual Studies has done extensive research on reincarnation, and Netflix’s Surviving Death (Episode 6) explores the topic, too. Whether you take it literally or metaphorically, the idea that we’re on a long arc of growth — from beginner to sage elder — offers a profound perspective.

If you accept the premise literally, then terms like “young soul” and “old soul” start to hold meaning. However, even if we set the word “soul” aside, it’s easy to see that different levels of life experience produce different worldviews.

Newer souls — or people in earlier stages of their development — may be curious and kind but still lack discernment or depth. There is a naivety, and they don’t yet question as deeply, tending to see things in black and white, partly because certainty feels safer than confronting the unknown.

As we gain more experience, we begin to experiment. We test limits. We chase extreme external goals — sometimes at the expense of health, relationships, or inner peace — still operating from hunger, ambition, and the fragility of the ego.

It’s a necessary stage, but often a turbulent and unfulfilling one.

David Duval fell off the map after reaching World No. 1. Bubba Watson had his own “Is this it?” moment with his caddie, Ted Scott, after winning the Masters.

In Aaron Rodgers: Enigma, reflecting on his 2011 Super Bowl win, Rodgers said:

“Now I’ve accomplished the only thing that I really, really wanted to do in my life. Now what? I was like, ‘Did I aim at the wrong thing? Did I spend too much time thinking about stuff that ultimately doesn’t give you true happiness?’”

Jim Carrey once said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”

Eventually, though, something shifts.

We begin to see in shades of gray. Winning, dominating, accumulating—these pursuits lose their shine. The rewards feel more fleeting. Living in a constant state of fight-or-flight makes us feel alive, yes, but not happy and joyful.

Compassion begins to replace ambition. Love, presence, and gratitude become more fulfilling than status, profits, or trophies. We crave balance over burnout. Collaboration over competition. Meaning over metrics.

Interestingly, if we zoom out, we can apply this same model to nations and cultures. Countries, like people, have a collective “soul stage” made up of the individuals within them.

Take the United States, for example. I’d place it as a mid-level soul: highly competitive and deeply driven, but still learning emotional maturity. Still uncomfortable with nuance. Still believing that more is always better. Despite its global wins, the U.S. currently ranks just 23rd in happiness (as of 2025). You might liken it to a gifted teenager—bold, eager, and ambitious, but angsty and still figuring out how to live well and in balance. As much as a parent wants to protect their child, sometimes the child has to make their own mistakes to truly grow.

So when Scottie Scheffler wonders what the point of winning is, I don’t see someone losing strength.

I see someone evolving.

He’s beginning to look beyond the leaderboard. Beyond metrics of success that carry a lower vibration. And yet, in a poetic twist, Scheffler did go on to win The Open. But that only reinforces the point: even at the pinnacle, the question remains. And if more of us in the golf and sports world — and in U.S. culture at large — started asking similar questions, we might discover that the more meaningful trophy isn’t about accumulating or beating others at all costs.

It’s about awakening and evolving to something more than winning could ever promise.

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