Hey there! I'm David. Follow my golfing journey as it happens.
Returning to golf after 50 years
Profile
The idea
My Goal - more detail
The idea
My Goal is to become a scratch golfer within 3 years, and this Blog will be my story.
Handicap Targets
Feb 24 Target 30, Actual = N/A
Mar24 Target 27, Actual = 21.6
Apr 24 Target 24, Actual = 22.6
May 24 Target 20, Actual = 23.0
Jun 24 Target 18, Actual = 18.0
Jul 24 Target 16, Actual = 18.0
Aug 24 Target 15, Actual =16.2
Sep 24 Target 14, Actua
My Goal is to become a scratch golfer within 3 years, and this Blog will be my story.
Handicap Targets
Feb 24 Target 30, Actual = N/A
Mar24 Target 27, Actual = 21.6
Apr 24 Target 24, Actual = 22.6
May 24 Target 20, Actual = 23.0
Jun 24 Target 18, Actual = 18.0
Jul 24 Target 16, Actual = 18.0
Aug 24 Target 15, Actual =16.2
Sep 24 Target 14, Actual = 17.5
Oct 24 Target 14, Actual = 18.4
Nov 24 Target 13, Actual =
Dec 24 Target 12, Actual =
Jan 25 Target 12, Actual =
Feb 25 Target 12, Actual =
Mar 25 Target 11, Actual =
Apr 25 Target 10, Actual =
May 25 Target 9, Actual =
Jun 25 Target 8, Actual =
Jul 25 Target 7, Actual =
Aug 25 Target 7, Actual =
Sep 25 Target 6, Actual =
Oct 25 Target 6, Actual =
Nov 25 Target 6, Actual =
Dec 25 Target 5, Actual =
Jan 26 Target 5, Actual =
Feb 26 Target 5, Actual =
Mar 26 Target 4, Actual =
Apr 26 Target 4, Actual =
May 26 Target 4, Actual =
Jun 26 Target 3, Actual =
Jul 26 Target 3, Actual =
Aug 26 Target 2, Actual =
Sep 26 Target 2, Actual =
Oct 26 Target 1, Actual =
Nov 26 Target 1, Actual =
Dec 26 Target 0, Actual =
Me
My Goal - more detail
The idea
I retired in September 2023, so I have the time. However, I will be 70 years old this year therefore the unfolding drama will centre around this question. Will I be able to gain the necessary skills before my body’s decline makes the project impossible? I’m aware that there are quite a few scratch golfers in their 70s and beyond, but I
I retired in September 2023, so I have the time. However, I will be 70 years old this year therefore the unfolding drama will centre around this question. Will I be able to gain the necessary skills before my body’s decline makes the project impossible? I’m aware that there are quite a few scratch golfers in their 70s and beyond, but I am guessing they have played the game all their lives. In contrast, I’m returning to the game after decades – and with an older person’s creaky body at that.
I’m fortunate to be reasonably fit and healthy for my age right now. A depressingly high proportion of our lifelong friends are either suffering major illnesses or have sadly passed away. I feel as though I am ahead of the game. Now that I have set the Goal, I have a sense of urgency as a nasty health problem could present itself at any time. Simply expressing the Goal has galvanised me into action, before fate can steal it away.
Of course, it is a bit of a cliché – golf in retirement. But this will be golf with a purpose. I will be spending most of my time taking lessons, seeking guidance and practice, practice, practice.
I played golf in my teens – with my father and brother. We had a lot of fun. But the golf was only part-time – falling in the school holidays. I don’t recall engaging in much structured practice. I believe I had one formal lesson. My memory is a little sketchy, but I think I got my handicap down to 12. When University and then Working Life came along the golf pretty much ended, although I could turn up at the occasional corporate golf day and play a terrible round. I haven’t played golf in any meaningful way for 50 years.
My Goal - more detail
My Goal - more detail
My Goal - more detail
Everything that could possibly be written about golf has already been written – in books, blogs, articles – everything from jokes, quotes, anecdotes to detailed technical guidance. This is simply my story. I’d like to think that I will be able to highlight the approaches that have worked, so that others can follow. And there will be a c
Everything that could possibly be written about golf has already been written – in books, blogs, articles – everything from jokes, quotes, anecdotes to detailed technical guidance. This is simply my story. I’d like to think that I will be able to highlight the approaches that have worked, so that others can follow. And there will be a certain “can he do it?” drama as I record the ups and downs along the way. When I set the Goal, I decided to focus my mind by keeping a Journal. I then thought I may as well post this as a Blog……It may as well be “out there”.
In addition to the unfolding drama, I’ll create a record of what has worked for me, which hopefully will be of some use to anyone seeking to improve their game – from Beginner to Advanced as I progress through each stage.
The Goal seems barely credible, I know.
Especially when you consider that I’m going to keep this as just one of my retirement hobbies, concentrated into small, manageable pockets of time rather than allowing it to become a time-consuming obsession as I have done with many of my past sporting endeavours.
But it is going to be tough. I had some initial thoughts about this last year, before retirement, found my golf clubs in the loft and had a few swings in the garden. I couldn’t believe how creaky and decrepit I felt. The swing was an alien and unnatural sensation. I must have looked like a drunken zombie who has mistakenly grabbed an overhead power cable. I actually abandoned the idea for a few weeks, before regaining my resolve.
To avoid being “talked out of it”, I haven’t mentioned my Goal to anyone. This will be one of a handful of diverse projects in retirement, from gardening to oil painting. While I expect the project to be intense, it needn’t be particularly intrusive into the rest of my life, as my plan is to spend concentrated, focussed pockets of time on the golf. I will be spending most of the time practicing (obsessively), particularly the short game – and absorbing lessons and instruction. Really learning the game. It may be a pipedream (we shall see) but I have a vision of experiencing massive enjoyment from developing the ability to make the ball do exactly what I want on the golf course, in contrast to the disappointment, uncertainty and frustration of the “fun” rounds in the old days.
I’m not sure whether the Pareto Principle applies here, but I intend to spend 80% of my golf time practicing and taking instruction, with only 20% of the time playing actual rounds of golf. Ie Short trips to the golf course for practice sessions, unobtrusive to the flow of my home/family life – with occasional full rounds of golf to create my handicap record.
There’s a danger of getting bogged down in reading golf books and guidance, instead of just getting on with it. Therefore, I have limited my reading to 2 golf books which I have summarised into handy notebooks which I can refer to before (and during) rounds: Zen Golf by Dr Joseph Parent, and Now For The Back Nine by Peter Dawson. If I can act on these 2 fantastic books I’ll be ahead of the game.
This Blog will not be an autobiography. It is about the golf. I’ll be making a few references to my personal life – but only where this is relevant to the task in hand.
As a retired Chartered Accountant I have a tidy mind, and feel a spreadsheet coming on to keep track of progress. I have set myself the following targets:
Stage 1, Beginner – Get my handicap down to 10 by 31 December 2024.
Stage 2, Intermediate – Get my handicap down to 5 by 31 December 2025.
Stage 3, Expert – Scratch handicap by 31 December 2026.
Along the way, I will record the particular mental and physical challenges attached to the three stages of golf, highlighting what has worked and what hasn’t.
“Over-ambitious” I hear you say? Not much of a Plan?
Well, that’s the idea. A Plan is all worked out in meticulous detail with proof of the necessary ideas and resources to make it happen. This is a Goal, not a Plan. A Goal is a clearly stated commitment, without knowing exactly how it is to be achieved.
Finally, I’m going to suggest at the outset that the disciplined approach that will be crucial to a 70-year old becoming a scratch golfer should also result in an improved enjoyment of life and becoming a better person – or at least that these objectives will be intertwined. And that this can be experienced by anyone who takes golf to the highest level. I’ll elaborate on what I mean by this as I go along, but I’m thinking about calmness, mental approach, physical fitness, breathing, kindness, gentlemanly behaviour and dignity – also the 4 virtues alluded to in the book Zen Golf: Virtue, Discipline, Humour, Friendship.
Now that I have written this summary, I’m quite excited to get on with it. First step: join a Golf Club!
Wish me luck.