For seniors only: 6 things I did to break 80 …. again

Getting older isn’t a sudden thing. It takes years. And sometimes is so gradual that in many cases you aren’t even aware of any changes.

Then one day it dawns on you that some things you used to take for granted are harder to do. Or you can’t do them at all.

In golf, you don’t all of a sudden lose 25 yards the minute you turn 65 or 70. Maybe a yard or two a year. Hardly even noticeable. Something you could blame on a lot of other things. And lord knows, when you become a senior, there are lots of other physical and mental things going on to shoulder some of the blame.

My great awakening came when I went for a club fitting a couple of years ago. I wasn’t really interested in a new driver but the equipment company in question wanted me to test out a new model, so I got wired up and hit a couple of dozen balls into a screen with the new club.

If you’ve ever been for a fitting, you know there are lots of numbers on the screen but the one that stood out most to me was my swing speed. I had lost 7 mph since my previous fitting five or six years before. That translates into about 15 yards of distance.

On the course, I knew I wasn’t hitting the ball as far as I use to but rationalized my swing was wonky or my set-up was wrong. Occasionally, I’d cork one as long as ever and be satisfied that it just came down to consistency.

Unfortunately, the scorecard told another tale.

I used to shoot in the 70’s pretty regularly. I also used to hit the ball a decent distance. And I used to sing back-up with the Eagles.

Ok, one of those things isn’t true. But the really sad part is that for the past couple of seasons I couldn’t do any of them. And it was really frustrating.

This past Spring I decided to do something about it. You won’t hear me singing Hotel California any time soon, but I didn’t think my golf game was a complete lost cause. I just needed to figure out how to fix it.

You may recall that I said this was going to be a DIY project. No coaches – just me digging it out of the dirt as Ben Hogan used to say. And hopefully learning something about my swing. And other aspects of my game too. Ultimately, the objective was to break 80 consistently like I used to.

Conventional wisdom tells us there are four pillars of sport and these apply to golf too: physical, mental, technical and tactical.

Was I failing all four?

Probably not, but there was definitely ‘room for improvement’ as my grade school teachers used to write on my report cards.

My stats from 2023 indicated I averaged 7 of 14 fairways, hit 6 greens in regulation, got up and down 31% of the time, up and down from the sand 20% and averaged 34 puts per round, 2 three-putts and 1 penalty stroke. My scores ranged from the low 80s to the mid 90s – nothing atrocious but not at all the way I used to score.

Some will read that and think it’s not so bad. Others will wonder how I managed to get up in the morning.

The bottom line for me was I knew I could do better; therefore, I was frustrated.

I wish I could report that the fix was really simple: all I had to do was eat more vegetables and flair my left foot and my scores magically got better.

The reality is that golf is far more complex than that. Circling back to the four pillars, my assessment revealed the following:

The equipment is not to blame

Physically, I’m ok. No hip or knee problems. I could definitely lose a pound or three but stretching is my major issue, a typical gripe for someone my age who sits too long at a desk. As for my golf equipment, most of it’s nine years old, in good shape and maybe good for another nine.

My friend Bob can hit MY driver 30-40 yards farther than I can, so I know there’s still potential there for me. You might suggest that new technology could add a few yards, but I have better ways to spend $900.

I did get new Edison wedges and they’ve been a big help. You can read my review HERE.

Mentally, I’m ok too.

You might get an argument from a lot of people on that but on the golf course I’m pretty even tempered, don’t resort to club-throwing or tantrums and usually have pretty good focus. I follow Tiger’s 10-yard rule and try to forget the bad shots after I cross that 10-yard line. I can get ahead of myself at times and start thinking about scores but usually I just enjoy the moment and don’t worry too much about the outcome. Golf is almost always fun, regardless of how I’m playing.

Fixing my swing

DIY projects have their drawbacks. You don’t have a second set of eyes and the ones you do have don’t always identify the real issues. I watched a lot of how-to videos that rarely helped and usually just filled my head with too many swing thoughts. Going down a rabbit hole is an appropriate description.

I made tweaks that turned out to be band-aids and not permanent solutions. All in the name of trying to find some lost yardage. And lost time.

In the end, I decided to go back to square one. There was nothing really wrong with my swing and even if I was a bit shorter now, playing from the fairway was better than some of the trouble spots I had been finding. I imagine a coach, a fitness trainer and way more hours on the range could get me those extra yards but that’s a different project.

A better tactical plan

Most amateurs don’t think too much about strategy or the tactical part of their game. Planning is non-existent. However, if you want to score better, you don’t just have to play better, you have to think better too.

That often goes against everything we’ve been doing for many years. The driver is a perfect example. Most golfers automatically reach for driver on every hole except par 3s. Then they try to hit the ball as far as possible and deal with the consequences afterwards.

Hitting the driver is fun. It’s the home run club. Nothing is better than a well struck driver. (Except a well struck 1-iron but nobody does that anymore). But is driver the smart play? Sometimes. But not every time.

When I was struggling with my driver earlier this year, I decided to abandon it in favour of my 5-wood (metal), which I hit quite straight and almost as far. Scores improved as I avoided penalties and ugly lies in the gorp. Eventually I worked out my issues with the driver but used it more selectively, knowing I had another option.

My objective with this analysis was to identify problems and find solutions that could help me break 80 again. I’m pleased to report that by mid-August I was shooting in the 70’s occasionally and rarely in the 90s.

Following are six keys that worked for me:

Stretching is a must

Walking and stretching seem to be persistent advice for seniors. I play a lot of courses that don’t have a range, so it’s not always possible to warm up with a bucket. However, there’s nothing to prevent you from stretching and for me that pays bigger dividends than pounding balls.

Move up a tee deck or two

It wasn’t easy and sometimes I felt guilty but acknowledging that you don’t hit it as far as you used to and doing something about it can make a world of difference. Pros routinely hit mid to short irons into every green – why should it be tougher for me? The bottom line is you still have to get the ball in the hole but at least you’re not starting off at a disadvantage.

Annika’s think box / play box

There’s a whole lot wrapped up in this one. When Annika Sorenstam was the best in the world, she often spoke about her think box and play box, an imaginary line behind the ball where she evaluated her lie, her yardage, the wind and anything else that might affect the shot. Then she made a decision about which club to use and how she wanted to hit it. Once she was confident with her choices, she stepped over the line and executed the shot without any doubt or indecision.

Having all the correct information is the first step. I started using a Shot Scope watch this year so now I know precise yardages, not just to the green, but also to any trouble along the way. I was amazed at how much more confidence and focus I had when I knew exact measurements, not just ‘oh, maybe 125 or 130.’ It doesn’t mean that you can always hit that desired distance but at least you can’t blame bad information.

Always putt for par at worst

This was the toughest one for me. If you’re playing the correct tees for your distance, you should be able to hit every green in regulation and have birdie putts. Your thinking adjusts to that outcome. But sometimes you mishit a shot. Or the hole is a bit longer and you’re faced with a low percentage shot – maybe 190 yards over water – that you can make 10-15% of the time but the other times you’re bringing double bogey or worse into the equation.

Tour pros will tell you their number one priority is not making birdies, it’s avoiding big numbers. So, forget the hero shot and make the lay-up. If you can adjust your thinking to figuring out the best way to putt for par, you can avoid those big numbers. And that thinking starts on the tee, not after you’ve hit it into trouble.

Don’t automatically reach for a wedge

One of my biggest struggles as I got older was being consistent with my wedges. I used to be able to successfully pitch and chip the ball in many different ways, but that was then. Once the chunks, skulls and chili-dips arrived, I had to do something different. Using a lower lofted club like an 8-iron,or even a hybrid or putter, is often a safer and more effective way to get the ball on the green. So now, instead of automatically reaching for a wedge, I have more tools to consider.

Best advice I had this year

You don’t always have your A game every time you tee it up. Maybe nothing close. And we know how hard it is to identify a problem and fix it on the course. I was really struggling with my driver one day – hitting low hooks, high flares, chunks – everything imaginable, except squarely on the clubface. The more I tweaked my stance and swing, the worse it got. Finally, one of my playing partners took pity on me and said that when he struggled like that, he just tried to make a ¾ swing. And if that didn’t work, he made ¾ of a ¾ swing. Seemed like a lot of math but as soon as I tried it, I hit the ball squarely and down the middle. Since then, I rarely take the club back as far as I used to and just focus on making solid contact. Works every time.

One final thought: I’m not a coach or instructor, just a student of the game, passing along some of my notes. Hope they help.