Easy 80 Golf

A few years ago I could drive a golf ball 300 yards with ease. One day, I was preparing to play a public course and met a man that was 95 years old. He walked the fairway using a golf club as a cane and had only 5 golf clubs in his bag.

As luck would have it, I was paired with him on the course. I dreaded the idea as I felt I would have to wait 5 - 10 minutes between shots. (I knew he would play super slowly.)

On the first tee of a 440 yard par 4, I hit first and put my ball about 135 yards from the pin. The old man said nothing, took out his driver and hit his ball about 150 yards in the center of the fairway. On the next shot he hit his driver from the fairway - again about 150 yards. As he was still behind my ball, he hit again. This time he hit his 3 wood to about 12 feet from the pin.

When it became my turn to hit, I took my 9 iron with a 3/4 swing and hit slightly long. My ball landed about 10 feet behind the green. I chipped on and 2 putted for a bogey 5. The old man walked to the green, surveyed the hole and 1 putted for a par!

I had lost a hole to someone 95 years old - I couldn’t believe it.

The rest of the day he beat me on at least 5 holes. Although I ended the round only 5 over par, he ended only 3 over par! (He had shot a 75 at the age of 95!!!)

That day taught me just how important accuracy in the short game is. Although I could sometimes win driving contests, I didn’t putt and chip as well as he did, so I lost.

The moral of this story - it is, at least, equally important to master your short game as it is to master your long game. And, don’t let anyone tell you that you lose your putting stroke as you get older. Although I didn’t count them, this 95 year old man probably didn’t have more than 25 putts for the entire round - and I don’t recall him ever missing a green from 130 yards or less.

This weeks tip: Work on your short game at least as much as your long game. It will pay huge dividends in the long run.

Happy Golfing,

Bob

PS. Don’t Miss Next Week’s Tip: How to Avoid Skulling Out of the Sand!

Easy 80 Golf