The 60 and over Thread

[Phil75070]

62 years old and have been obsessing with improvement for the last 10 years. What is a good way to turn this off and just play and accept the results?

Sometimes I think the better one gets the less enjoyable golf can be as one expects to play well all the time. I know I'm no pro but get frustrated with myself and do a poor job of putting it behind me when I hit a terrible shot instead of just concentrating on the next shot.

 

[Carolina Golfer]

Sometimes I think the better one gets the less enjoyable golf can be as one expects to play well all the time. I know I'm no pro but get frustrated with myself and do a poor job of putting it behind me when I hit a terrible shot instead of just concentrating on the next shot.

How true Phil. Since, going to hybrid irons, my game has improved. But. just as you say, the expectations are higher, then comes more disappointment if our performance is off. Last time I played, I started out with two tee balls out of bounds on my first two drives. My feeling was, the day is over. I could never make up for a terrible start. A better approach would have been to let it go and start over and enjoy the remaining holes. I wish I was more consistent.

 

[BH 43]

If you haven't been fitted for clubs, I would recommend that if lessons aren't working. I need to do this myself, but don't want to drive an hour each way for it.

 

[charley48]

I consider myself lucky I can still play from the white tees at 65 years old. My issues wouldn't be solved playing from the senior tees. In fact, one time I accidentally played from them and it cost me strokes. I was with a group of seniors and a few holes in I was talking to one of them while watching them play from the senior tees. I had a brain fart and teed up on their tee. Hit a push right that ended up in the water. I said "Wow, I never hit close to it before". One of the guys told me where I was hitting from.

I played baseball and fast pitch softball for a lot of years. Maybe all those years of swinging a bat helps with my swing speed in golf? I'm not a little guy either. 6'1" 240 pounds. I always used to say weight adds strength.

 

[2Bad4u]

I consider myself lucky I can still play from the white tees at 65 years old. My issues wouldn't be solved playing from the senior tees. In fact, one time I accidentally played from them and it cost me strokes. I was with a group of seniors and a few holes in I was talking to one of them while watching them play from the senior tees. I had a brain fart and teed up on their tee. Hit a push right that ended up in the water. I said "Wow, I never hit close to it before". One of the guys told me where I was hitting from.

I played baseball and fast pitch softball for a lot of years. Maybe all those years of swinging a bat helps with my swing speed in golf? I'm not a little guy either. 6'1" 240 pounds. I always used to say weight adds strength.

I'm 66 and I've played with several 72+ year olds who are still playing from the whites... and some of them are still kicking my a$$.

 

[Phil75070]

How true Phil. Since, going to hybrid irons, my game has improved. But. just as you say, the expectations are higher, then comes more disappointment if our performance is off. Last time I played, I started out with two tee balls out of bounds on my first two drives. My feeling was, the day is over. I could never make up for a terrible start. A better approach would have been to let it go and start over and enjoy the remaining holes. I wish I was more consistent.

I didn't start out yesterday as bad as you but I did start with three bogies in a row, a really weak, poor approach on 1 followed by a poor chip, a missed makeable putt on 2 for par, and a three putt on 3, a really easy par 5. I felt much the same way as you did, "my day is over", but I managed to get back to even by the end of the front nine. I didn't fare too well on the back but at least my mistakes were more scattered throughout the nine holes.

 

[Phil75070]

My foursome included one guy in his mid 60s, two of us 73/74 and one guy approaching 80. we are all decent golfers, even the near 80 year old, and played from the whites exclusively where we used to belong. The course we joined this year has two holes on the front just too long for us from the whites, 1 an uphill long par 4 that plays about 390, and the 9th which is 420 with a creek short of the green that from the whites we aren't long enough the get over. So on those two holes we play frim the senior tees. Then, several fairways on 3 through 6 and 13 were severely damaged by the big freeze here in Texas. So they are CPO and are heavily watered trying to get the grass to grow back. Thus they are soft with little to no roll. So on those holes we have been playing from the senior tees as well with plans to go back to the whites. Also, a number oftee boxes were damaged and been sodded so even the white tees have been moved up on several holes to the senior tee box.

I say make your own set of combo tees! If there are some par 4s or even par 3s that are too long from the whites, move up! The USGA has a way of adjusting the course rating and slope (https://tinyurl.com/572s8k8f) that you can manually input when posting scores if an accurate handicap is needed or desired. For example, with all the holes we are currently playing from the senior tees (7 out of 18) the course rating becomes 68.9/122 instead of 70.2/125 which it would be for the whites. When we go back to just 1 and 9 from the senior tees the course rating will be 69.6/124.

 

[charley48]

I'm not sure what is appropriate. Can you switch tees during a round? There is a par 5 that has a creek running across the fairway around 220 yards from the white tee. I can hit 250 plus drives once in a while but most times its due to longer rollout. I can't clear that creek anymore. So I've been laying up which can be a challenge because the hybrid is not consistent. I've been hitting a punch shot with the driver lately and its better. But it has rolled too far in to the water once in a while.

If I hit from the senior tees I could likely clear the water. But that feels like cheating to me. I thought about the blue tees because a full swing should not reach the water. But my playing partners say whatever tee you start with is the one you have to play the rest of the round. They say they don't have a problem with it if I play from the senior tees the whole round. They're all younger than me. But I'm not ready for that yet.

 

[BH 43]

Like most of the people on this forom I have lost distance from the tee and with irons. I keep thinking I can find the magic club or clubs that will put me back at the distance I used to be. I will be 78 in a couple of months and my bad back isn't helping either, don't know the answer to the problem. I play the gold tees because when I swing well, I can rech a par four in 2 and maybe 2 put for par. I need to take lessons and get fitted, but just bought new irons and made new fw woods from componets. So am not eager to change, also cost is prohibitive. Just thoughts about my game, any suggestions would be a help.

 

[Phil75070]

I'm not sure what is appropriate. Can you switch tees during a round? There is a par 5 that has a creek running across the fairway around 220 yards from the white tee. I can hit 250 plus drives once in a while but most times its due to longer rollout. I can't clear that creek anymore. So I've been laying up which can be a challenge because the hybrid is not consistent. I've been hitting a punch shot with the driver lately and its better. But it has rolled too far in to the water once in a while.

If I hit from the senior tees I could likely clear the water. But that feels like cheating to me. I thought about the blue tees because a full swing should not reach the water. But my playing partners say whatever tee you start with is the one you have to play the rest of the round. They say they don't have a problem with it if I play from the senior tees the whole round. They're all younger than me. But I'm not ready for that yet.

If you are just out to have fun and there are no bets on the line I say to heck with your playing partners and play from the tees that give you the most enjoyment. The course I belong to has a set of combo tees already marked on the scorecard that are a combination of blues and golds (which are farther back). They are designated "Member" tees and the USGA has already has a rating for them whether the golf association actually came out and did it or the course calculated it and submitted it. So if your playing partners are correct you wouldn't be able to play that combo set as there are no different tee markers, just circles on the card to indicate which tee to play from, correct? If you are fortunate enough to go to #TheGrandaddy you will see that both courses at The Hideaway use a number of combination sets of tees. Because the course you are playing hasn't bothered to set combo tees up or the ones they have set are more appropriate for other golfers, like our "Member" tees, make your own! Maybe instead of always moving up, move back on some of the shorter holes and adjust the overall distance for the course accordingly. We had one guy that we all played from the senior tees with when he joined us, except we moved back the the "men's white" tee on all the par 3s as they were too short for even him from the senior tees. The adjustment to course rating and slope is the overall distance differentiation from a given set of tees.

 

[Sean]

I'm 69 and my game has degraded severely. I have moved up to the Gold tees and that has helped in most cases. I don't have a lot of time to practice as we always have company visiting us here at the Lake, but I do what I can. My grand children have moved to the top of my list for extra curricular activities and I do get out wit my Daughter but not as much as I would like. The real problem is with the league that I play in, it's a small league that is comprised of current and ex employees of the Hospital and you have to play from the White, of course the women who play, play from the Red. Anyway, Iv'e asked about moving forward and I am always told no, but then they complain when they have to give me so many strokes. I personally don't think that it's fair and I'm not the only Older person who feels this way. OK that's better I needed to get that off my chest. Back to the Whites on Thursday evenings.

That kinda sucks. You're 69 years old. Heck, on Tour you're considered a senior at age 50...and they don't play the same tees as those on the PGA Tour.

 

[Carolina Golfer]

My foursome included one guy in his mid 60s, two of us 73/74 and one guy approaching 80. we are all decent golfers, even the near 80 year old, and played from the whites exclusively where we used to belong. The course we joined this year has two holes on the front just too long for us from the whites, 1 an uphill long par 4 that plays about 390, and the 9th which is 420 with a creek short of the green that from the whites we aren't long enough the get over. So on those two holes we play frim the senior tees. Then, several fairways on 3 through 6 and 13 were severely damaged by the big freeze here in Texas. So they are CPO and are heavily watered trying to get the grass to grow back. Thus they are soft with little to no roll. So on those holes we have been playing from the senior tees as well with plans to go back to the whites. Also, a number oftee boxes were damaged and been sodded so even the white tees have been moved up on several holes to the senior tee box.

I say make your own set of combo tees! If there are some par 4s or even par 3s that are too long from the whites, move up! The USGA has a way of adjusting the course rating and slope (https://tinyurl.com/572s8k8f) that you can manually input when posting scores if an accurate handicap is needed or desired. For example, with all the holes we are currently playing from the senior tees (7 out of 18) the course rating becomes 68.9/122 instead of 70.2/125 which it would be for the whites. When we go back to just 1 and 9 from the senior tees the course rating will be 69.6/124.

I like the combo tees idea. There's always a few hole that are too long and do not match the rest of the course - distance wise.

 

[Carolina Golfer]

Like most of the people on this forom I have lost distance from the tee and with irons. I keep thinking I can find the magic club or clubs that will put me back at the distance I used to be. I will be 78 in a couple of months and my bad back isn't helping either, don't know the answer to the problem. I play the gold tees because when I swing well, I can rech a par four in 2 and maybe 2 put for par. I need to take lessons and get fitted, but just bought new irons and made new fw woods from componets. So am not eager to change, also cost is prohibitive. Just thoughts about my game, any suggestions would be a help.

My bad back is also have been a problem and I started with a chiropracter again. I just see and MD and a PT. I guess I am too lazy to go that route.

 

[Ab Crevoiserat]

That kinda sucks. You're 69 years old. Heck, on Tour you're considered a senior at age 50...and they don't play the same tees as those on the PGA Tour.

Thanks for the support but I can and do play from the whites and I win my fair share of points. I think what bothers me is that the league lets the women play from the Reds and appropriately so. But there are four par 5s that the club moved the red tees up 150 to 200 yards granted its a long course but when they moved them not only did they take any hazard out of play but the one they moved 200 yds took a dogleg out of play and turned it into a 360 yard straight as an arrow par 5. The only way for us to be where we should be in relation to the red tees is to try to hit over the trees and hope you get a favorable bounce. I know I sound like I'm a cry baby but come on. One day I did try to invoke my need to identify as a woman, that didn't go over very well. Anyway it is what it is and I'll keep playing because the guys and gals are great and I like it to much.

 

[Sean]

Thanks for the support but I can and do play from the whites and I win my fair share of points. I think what bothers me is that the league lets the women play from the Reds and appropriately so. But there are four par 5s that the club moved the red tees up 150 to 200 yards granted its a long course but when they moved them not only did they take any hazard out of play but the one they moved 200 yds took a dogleg out of play and turned it into a 360 yard straight as an arrow par 5. The only way for us to be where we should be in relation to the red tees is to try to hit over the trees and hope you get a favorable bounce. I know I sound like I'm a cry baby but come on. One day I did try to invoke my need to identify as a woman, that didn't go over very well. Anyway it is what it is and I'll keep playing because the guys and gals are great and I like it to much.

As long as you are enjoying yourself!

Since they didn't respect your female invocation, you could sue them and win handily, lol.

 

[InTheRough]

I saw the chart. You know the one that says how far you hit your 5i and you should be playing from these tees? See they're talking about a 27 degree 5i, not a 23 degree 5i now common with GI distance irons. Note that a 5i came with my iron set. It's 23 degrees. I cannot hit it off the deck so I can't take that test.

A couple years ago I tried a set of muscleback irons in the golf shop. I got my distances. I hit the 5i in that set 160 yds. This was a when I had a good center strike. I hit the 4i in that set 169 yds. when I made decent contact, otherwise it went about 150 yds. or less yardage than the 5i meaning that I shouldn't play a musclebacked 4i. I really have no business playing musclebacks and I don't. My distances haven't changed much. Maybe I've lost 3 yds.

The equivalent club would be my 6H which is 30 degrees and has a little more pop in the club face than an iron. It goes about 160.

So according to that chart, I hit a true 5 iron 160 yds. 160 * 36 = 5760. I should play tees at 5760 yds.

Most courses don't have tees here. My home course has 5600 yds. It's one club shorter on a few holes, but so what. 5600 is more fun than 6300. At least I have a shot at pars. At 6300 I'm hitting 5H for second shots. 195 yd par 3s are too long. So I just play from the senior tees.

Also note that the driver distance chart says for 6300 yds you should hit an average drive of 250 yds. So if you're only hitting a 220 yd. drive and playing from 6300 yds. you're making golf harder. You can play from 6300 yds. but my guess is you're playing long irons or hybrids a lot on approaches.

 

[tehuti]

I like the combo tees idea. There's always a few hole that are too long and do not match the rest of the course - distance wise.

I am considering doing the combo tees on some longer courses. I have heard of red/white/blue tees but none of my local courses do that. Red = par 5/White = par 4/Blue = par 3.


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[Phil75070]

I am considering doing the combo tees on some longer courses. I have heard of red/white/blue tees but none of my local courses do that. Red = par 5/White = par 4/Blue = par 3.


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I've heard and even played in tournaments where they do that, playing 6 holes from each color. In some cases the course sets up which holes play from which tees, in others you determine in advance which holes you want to play from which.

 

[Ooo]

Well I'm 75 and a short hitter. Friday played for the first time in a couple of weeks and the course didn't have senior tees, did on the score card and website but not on the course. Went ahead and played the white tees from about 5800 and it was a disaster score wise even though I enjoyed the round. 5200 is about as far as I can score decent without a lot of roll. Had 2/3 penalties extra because I was too far out to carry a hazard on my second or third shot without it being perfect, didn't reach the short grass with two good straight drives for me, and came up short on two par threes using driver with solid hits. Had a 54/54 and I'm usually 85-100 range so next time there I'll play the red tees.

 

[Phil75070]

One of the reasons I am a big proponent of combo tees is that there is more to how long a course plays than what the scorecard yardage shows. How that yardage is distributed makes a big difference. One course I belonged to had 6 par 3s, 6 par 4s and 6 par 5s so the yardage pretty much evened out in that regard but still had two of the 6 par 4s over 400 yards with one of the two always playing into the wind. Another course I belonged to for a few years was about 6000 yards from the White tees but was a par 70, so it effectively played closer to 6300 yards. That same course with the 6 of each par, public, was purposely maintained such that the fairway grass was kept a little longer under the impression that it helped higher handicap players though I never understood that thinking. A freshly mowed fairway had a dimpled or orange peel look to it, not smooth like one would expect. Also, when one plays can affect effective playing yardage as playing early mornings when there is dew or when courses typically water results in soft fairways with little roll on tee shots.

When evaluating what tees to play from I always check to see what longest par 3s and 4s are like.

 

[Desmond]

If you haven't been fitted for clubs, I would recommend that if lessons aren't working. I need to do this myself, but don't want to drive an hour each way for it.

An hour each way, that's not bad at all. I drove 50 min each way for a wedge fitting.

 

[Carolina Golfer]

There are a few courses adapting a multi-tee system based on your driver distance, which makes sense. You choose the right color, no mens, ladies or sr tees. There's one in the Pinehurst area popular with juniors.

 

[BH 43]

You are right of course, but I am still working on core excercises to strengthen back muscles. Then will probably get fitted.

 

[Carolina Golfer]

You are right of course, but I am still working on core excercises to strengthen back muscles. Then will probably get fitted.

Saw a recent post saying the only way to beat back pain is to stretch hips and quads and build core muscles. Makes sense.

 

[Sean]

I saw the chart. You know the one that says how far you hit your 5i and you should be playing from these tees? See they're talking about a 27 degree 5i, not a 23 degree 5i now common with GI distance irons. Note that a 5i came with my iron set. It's 23 degrees. I cannot hit it off the deck so I can't take that test.

A couple years ago I tried a set of muscleback irons in the golf shop. I got my distances. I hit the 5i in that set 160 yds. This was a when I had a good center strike. I hit the 4i in that set 169 yds. when I made decent contact, otherwise it went about 150 yds. or less yardage than the 5i meaning that I shouldn't play a musclebacked 4i. I really have no business playing musclebacks and I don't. My distances haven't changed much. Maybe I've lost 3 yds.

The equivalent club would be my 6H which is 30 degrees and has a little more pop in the club face than an iron. It goes about 160.

So according to that chart, I hit a true 5 iron 160 yds. 160 * 36 = 5760. I should play tees at 5760 yds.

Most courses don't have tees here. My home course has 5600 yds. It's one club shorter on a few holes, but so what. 5600 is more fun than 6300. At least I have a shot at pars. At 6300 I'm hitting 5H for second shots. 195 yd par 3s are too long. So I just play from the senior tees.

Also note that the driver distance chart says for 6300 yds you should hit an average drive of 250 yds. So if you're only hitting a 220 yd. drive and playing from 6300 yds. you're making golf harder. You can play from 6300 yds. but my guess is you're playing long irons or hybrids a lot on approaches.

Another one I have seen is multiply your average drive by 26. My first iron is a 7...and has the same lost my old 5-iron used to have, lol.