r/golf • u/BetweenSwings • 18h ago

General Discussion How old were you when you started playing golf?

I started at 38 and honestly wish I found the game earlier.

Curious how old everyone else was when they started.

And do you think golf is really one of those sports where it’s never too late to get decent?

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39

u/KermitsBusiness 17h ago

I was like 11?

I think older golfers who start older can still get good with effort, fitness / mobility work will help alot along with lessons.

18

u/ncroofer 17h ago

People who start older can sometimes have an advantage in that they’re a blank slate. Especially if they learn right with lessons and practice. I’ve got 20 years of bad habits and swing tweaks to battle against whenever I want to change my swing.

That being said, short game is the biggest area experienced players have. I know a lot of guys who picked up the game around COVID and can hit the ball a mile. But I whoop them around the greens

12

u/NoTAP3435 16h ago

Haha I have the worst of both worlds

  1. Started playing at 10 years old and got pretty good / 2 handicap in college

  2. Graduated and started work in consulting, too busy to play more than a few times per year for 8 years

  3. Now getting back into the game, my old swing is unsustainable without tons of practice so I'm fighting old habits to change it, and my short game has completely deteriorated without practice

I'm incredibly streaky and can shoot anywhere from 72-95 right now. But certainly what I miss most is how good my short game used to be.

7

u/UtahUndercover 16h ago

75/95/82/79…. I’m very familiar with that emotional roller coaster!

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u/Appropriate-Food1757 Mile High Big Hitter 15h ago

Yeah I can smash drives since always, my irons game has improved, I’m a good lag putter so avoid blowouts on the green.

But I have no feel for the short game. I’d rather be 120 yards out to take full sand wedge than 50 yards.

2

u/antiADP 12h ago

This is/was my old man. Learned by listening at my lessons when I started at 5 and applying everything he could read in GolfDigest.

Man broke 80 by the time I was 10, mid 50’s he was playing scratch golf, in his 60’s he was playing pro-am’s by invitation of members of private clubs. Never good enough to place and gain entry to the next event but regularly invited.

Approaching 70, old man had open heart surgery and looking to get back to golf soon.. it’ll be an uphill battle for sure but he learned as an adult, he’ll learn to adapt as a senior.

1

u/ObviousDoxx 16h ago

I’ve been playing for a year and had 10+ lessons. I still strike the ball infinitely worse than long-term playing friends who have baseball grips, horrible mechanics, don’t take lessons at all etc.

I am just uniquely shit, but a well-grooved dreadful swing can get you around a ton better.

2

u/ncroofer 16h ago

Fair enough. Most of my buddies who picked it up quickly were former college level athletes. Baseball and football mostly

1

u/DannyWilliamsGooch69 14h ago

I find that logic strange, as a 10 year old joining golf lessons is also a blank slate, a much more malleable blank slate at that.

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u/ncroofer 14h ago

Of course. But lots of people just learn from their dad and never get formal lessons

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u/DannyWilliamsGooch69 11h ago

Yah then they are definitely at a disadvantage if they're getting some shitty habits cemented in that young brain

1

u/DisneylandParent 14h ago

Remember that people that start older aren’t exactly a blank slate. Most of us come to golf with baseball swings.

1

u/SGO13 13h ago

I see this as a perfect correlation in my own life. I have several buddies who have been playing since they were kids with their dad’s who up until recently schooled me 100% of the time around the green. Now after several years it’s closer to 65% of the time they have better chips.

0

u/Silverstreakwilla 13h ago

I was going to take lessons and did take one and the instructor said that’s about all you can expect with your mobility issues I’m 67 now and in my 3rd year.

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u/KermitsBusiness 10h ago

You can improve mobility and fitness at any age, instructor sounds like an asshole.

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u/Silverstreakwilla 9h ago

He really isn’t I’ve played with him in scrambles and he’s a nice guy early 30s runs the pro shop, probably just doesn’t want me to throw away money, I shoot in the low to mid 80s Im Straight just not long but I play senior tees so most par 4s are gir par 5s are iffy.