Copyright (c) 2010 Stephen Lau
Golf is a game of a lifetime — which means you can play golf as long as you can stand up on your two feet, walk, and swing your golf club. One should play golf for the fun of it, rather than just for winning, although winning can put one in the seventh heaven.
If you wish to prolong your life, you should play golf all your life. If you wish to play golf all your life, you should extend your golf life. It is that simple!
How do you play golf all your life?
In life, as in everything else, you need to make adjustments, if you wish to make the best out of it, not to mention to succeed in any endeavor. This is the art of living well. This also applies to playing golf all your life.
As you age, you body undergoes many physical changes, and you need to make adjustments to cope with these changes in order to live well. Likewise, in golf, you need to make adjustments in order to maintain or retain your golf success, so that you can play golf all your life.
For senior golf success, you need to decide on two things: how you are going to play the game; and the level of golf proficiency you wish to maintain. Once you have made that decision, you should proceed to making the necessary adjustments in order to attain your senior golf success, so that you can play golf all your life.
Many senior golfers are unrealistic: they wish to stay at certain levels of the game without making appropriate adjustments. They end up with frustration and golf injuries that eventually shorten or even end abruptly their golf life. The wisdom in senior golf is to make realistic adjustments to make the game a fun as well as to play golf all your life.
Like many senior golfers, you may find a decline in your muscle strength and flexibility as you continue to age. Unfortunately, flexibility is a major factor in creating an effortless golf swing, which is the key to golf success.
Therefore, if you are a senior golfer, you need to make adjustments to your golf swing speed. You need to create a lower and slower takeaway when you swing your golf club back. The objective is to maintain your accuracy, rather than strength and distance.
To compensate for the decline in your flexibility, strength and endurance, you need to increase your golf fitness exercise, in particular stretching exercise to promote flexibility. Pay particular attention to the muscle groups involved in the golf swing: thigh and hip muscles (during your downswing); lower back muscles (during your coil); and shoulder rotator cuff muscles (during your backswing). Flexibility not only reduces the risk of injury due to less tissue resistance, but also enhances your overall performance through relieving muscular stress and improving postural balance and awareness during your golf swing.
Another physical adjustment you need to make is weight training to provide muscular strength to make up for the loss of muscle mass due to aging. Cardio-respiratory activities, such as jogging, walking, or even ballroom dancing, may improve your physical endurance, which is the ability of your muscles to perform without fatigue — an important factor in golf success in senior golfers.
Another adjustment you need is the use of eye exercise to improve visual-depth perception as well as to prevent eye fatigue.
Finally, as you continue to age, you have to adjust your lifestyle to keep you physically and mentally fit to play golf all your life. Adjustments in lifestyle include keeping a regular sleep pattern, healthy eating, and avoiding stimulants, such as alcohol or tobacco.
Live long and play golf all your life until the very end — this is the art of living well.