OLD GOLFERS DON’T FADE AWAY, THEY JUST TRADE IN THE THRILLS OF THE BIG DOG FOR THE FEEL OF A PERFECTLY WEIGHTED PUTT AND THE SOUND OF THE BALL MEETING THE BOTTOM OF THE CUP
Whiskey and wine often get better with time. But what about the physical aspects of our golf game?
Decades ago, short par fours (SP4s henceforth) were the highlight of my round. The only thought of my equally young and crazy flightmates back then was to drive the green. If it was a dry day, and especially if there was a favourable wind, laying up was not an option.
Driveable par fours? On any given day at the range, it isn’t surprising anymore to see a number of youths getting it out there 270 metres or more. That definitely brings driving SP4s into play. They are more common than you think. Many hide in plain sight at courses such as Bukit Tinggi, A’Famosa, The Mines, Bukit Unggul, and of course the infamous 16th at TPC KL’s West. Sweet, seductive, irresistible little beauties like that.
Of course, driveable SP4s won’t give up their greens without a fight. That is what makes it interesting. Flushing a driver, then going to the bag and pulling a putter gets the pulse racing like few other shots in golf can. Balanced against that is always the chance of splashing your drive into a lake or some other loss of shot penalty.
SP4s definitely add excitement. They break up the monotony of hitting driver, then an iron or wedge over and over again at countless other “average” par fours.
Long par fours are a different animal altogether.
I suspect the gang would have all logged better handicaps had we taken, say, a 4-iron and then a wedge to those SP4s back in the day, but where’s the fun in that. Young golf – and all youth-centric sports really – is played more with the heart than with the head. Lots of adrenaline to spare. It’s just nature.
Losing the youthful segment to other sports has been a worry. Perhaps designers should add more driveable SP4s into the mix to entice greater numbers of youngsters and new golfers. Pace of play issues aside, in some cases it might be a really easy fix … as simple as moving the blue tees up to where the red ones usually reside.
New driver head designs in addition to improved driver shaft technology has added length and lessened the effect of declining physical ability with age; the nett effect unfortunately still puts those previously tasty SP4s out of range for most senior golfers.
But Mother Nature and the patron saint of golf must have got together and worked out a deal, and they have come up with a really good trade-off. I figure we become better putters as we age.
A lack of flexibility more than the loss of strength per se prevents most older folk from ripping drives like they did before. But I dare say that same restricted range of movement can also make the senior brigade putt better. Fewer moving parts. Using more of the arms and very little wrist action, if any at all, can add up to great putting.
Picture Bryson DeChambeau doing his thing on the greens. Slightly ungainly perhaps? A bit like a stiff senior golfer perhaps? A seriously good old golfer, that is.
You might not see as many par fours being driven on the Senior Tour, but their exploits with the flat stick remain as good as or are even better than ever before.
Mother Nature often seems as if she is kinder on golfers than she is on athletes from other sports. She is a good old gal and I bet she’s a golfer at heart. There are a heck of a lot more senior golfers than there are senior 100m sprinters at least.
Old golfers don’t fade away, they just trade in the thrills of the big dog for the feel of a perfectly weighted putt and the sound of the ball meeting the bottom of the cup.
It seems fitting that I should also end with an amendment to my customary sign-off, so …Drive long Putt well and prosper.
