I have had the privilege of knowing many fine older players and I can tell you age does not diminish the desire to hit a good shot or shoot a good score. At 93, Doc Palmer, my original host at Pine Valley, would have broken 100 had he not taken ten to get out of the rather deep bunker in front of the 18th green.
When I first worked at the Wellington Golf Club in Palm Beach County back in the early 1980s, the first guy off every day was Don Barksdale. He was in his late seventies, would tip me fifty cents a day and shoot off with a smile and six-pack of Bud every time. He would always go on his own and whiz round in about two hours. When his health declined, he cut the round down to nine. Near the end, he never even got out of the cart to hit a shot. But he was still first off, still tipped fifty cents and never missed a day until he died. Golf was his motivation for getting up in the morning. He told me once; “If it wasn’t for playing golf, I’d have checked out ten years ago.”
For others, golf is often the motivation for recovery. Both the ‘Wounded Warriors’ and ‘Fairways for Warriors’ programs provide golf equipment, instruction, and outings for wounded warriors and their families. For these veterans, golf has proven to be an excellent tool for mental and physical rehabilitation. Both these programs have helped these brave men and women recover from significant physical injuries and the injuries we can’t see such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, brain damage and others.
“It really brightened my spirits,” says Marine Capt. Antoine Bates, who stepped on an IED in Afghanistan on June 25, 2011, and had his left leg amputated below the knee. “It gave me something to look forward to.” Before he was wounded, Bates played occasionally. “I sucked,” he says. “I had the slice from hell.” His lower left leg is gone. Remarkably, so has the slice! “The PGA guys teaching us are so good,” he said, “I now have a chance not only to play golf but actually be good at it.”
As a kid, the constant desire to reduce your handicap and keep up with friends provides the only motivation needed to carry on pounding balls on the range and putting on the practice green. In 1978, I hit a minimum of 500 balls every day and kept a record of everything in a little notebook. I was 17, had left school and played 63 holes a day. It sure didn’t leave much time to get into any trouble.
Even now, three decades later, I find golf motivates me in so many ways. In my twenties, starting with nothing, it was golf alone that motivated me to make the sort of money that would enable me to join a private club and eventually live in a country club development. Today, in my fifties, it motivates me to stay in shape so I can still be competitive. It’s motivated me to do some stretching to keep my natural flexibility. It has motivated me to do some strength training to keep, or even increase, my distance. Golf motivates me to read and continue learning via books, videos, and my coach.
Like most of us, I’m constantly searching for that one magic swing thought or move that suddenly brings it all together. Golf motivates me to travel to distant places and stay in touch with friends many miles away.
Golf is truly unique among sports in its ability to motivate us in so many ways for such a large part of our lives.
Andrew Wood is an author and CEO of Legendary Marketing, a Tampa/Orlando-based ad agency. He is the world’s leading expert on golf, resort, destination and real estate marketing although his successes go far beyond these core industries. Author of over 40 books including; Confessions of a Golf Pro, Desperately Seeking Members, The Golf Marketing Bible, The Hotel and Resort Marketing Bible and Legendary Advice. Andrew has spoken to thousands of audiences worldwide and was thetop-rankedd speaker at 97.7% of the events where he spoke on sales, marketing, entrepreneurship or leadership. A pioneer in Internet marketing his creative talent, out of the box ideas and copywriting skills are at the core of his expertise. Regarded as one of the top marketing minds in the world for his ability to craft a winning strategy, generate leads and increase income!
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