Seniors' Page

Seniors - Here's a section just for you !! Every month we will update you on tips, news, fitness and everything to do with the senior golfer. We welcome your contributions, so please send in your news, views, feedback, tips and articles to admin@golftrade.net and let your voice be heard !

Another way for Seniors to Attain more distance

Step 1 takes about 10 minutes per day.  In order to make a fuller turn on the backswing a senior golfer needs to increase his/her flexibility.  As you get older a sedentary lifestyle will allow the big muscles in the torso to shorten and therefore restrict the backswing.  By doing these simple exercises you can lengthen the muscles and therefore increase your shoulder turn which will definitely generate more clubhead speed.

Exercise 1 :

Put a club, preferably a driver, across your shoulders and slowly turn your body as you would on your backswing.  Remember to stay bent over while maintaining the correct spine angle and then turn through as you would on your follow-through.

Continue this process back and forth for about 5 minutes slowly extending the range of motion as your muscles stretch.

Now, put the club in the small of your back, and repeat the process, again for about 5 minutes.

Step 2 of the solution is fairly simple.  Simply allow your back foot to point out at about 45 degrees at address.  

This foot position will allow you to make a slightly bigger turn.  

Add this to your new-found flexibility, and the long lost distance should return


How Can Seniors Gain More Distance ?

The most common thing that older people seem to want from lessons is more distance. It's psychological for seniors to assume that an inevitable part of aging is going to be the loss of strength, flexibility, and speed, and therefore, a loss of distance. That's true, to some degree, if you have injuries or lead a sedentary lifestyle. But if you have been active throughout your life, the effect of aging can be minimal, and there are many things you can do to increase your distance even if you are getting older.

One thing you can do is to improve your level of fitness (strength, flexibility and endurance is to start on a weight program at the gym. You don't need to lift weights like a bodybuilder to increase your distance. A general and moderate strength training program will work wonders. Please consult a trained gym instructor before trying anything. For improved flexibility (which is even more important than strength) yoga is recommended. Taking a yoga class will teach you correct breathing and make you feel great too! For endurance the best bet is good old-fashioned walking -- the farther the better. Don't forget, whenever undertaking a new program of exercise make sure your doctor or physician knows what you're planning to do and has given the OK.

In addition to physical conditioning, golf lessons will help to make your golf swing simpler, more efficient and more repeatable. Lessons from a quality golf professional will also give you the correct "swing concept," or mental picture and feeling, of the swing. Good mechanics and the right swing concept go a long way toward increasing your distance.

Finally, it's necessary to have equipment that is fit to you personally if you want to maximize your potential. The most crucial ingredients of custom-fit equipment are shaft-flex, lie angle, swing weight and overall weight, club length and grip size. A golf professional can fit you for a set of clubs in just a few minutes. Consult with the one at your golf club.

Just because you're getting older doesn't automatically mean you're going to hit the ball shorter. Get started on the above mentioned things and they will soon become a part of your routine. Before you know it, more distance will creep into your game and you'll be hitting it farther than ever.



Flexibility of a Senior Golfer

Loss of flexibility is a major concern for anyone in the 40's and above age bracket.  In golf, flexibility is a major factor in creating an effortless swing.  Whether male or female, you will lose a good percentage of your flexibility as the years go by, which is a natural phenomenon. If you are in this category, the majority of swing flaws that occur could be from a, "trying to do, like I used to do", syndrome.  You can do like you used to do, but it may be a scaled-down model. This means that you will be able to produce the same distance and the same accuracy with less in your swing. 

Unlike most other sports activities, golf is a game that you can play all your life. Involve yourself in some sort of regular exercise in order to maintain a healthy mind and body.  The older you get, the more important it will be that exercise becomes a part of your everyday life.  In golf, do not expect to increase your mobility without involving yourself in some sort of extracurricular exercise. 

"Swinging within yourself" is to swing within the natural boundaries of ones own sense of balance.  The speed at which you chose to start your swing will only increase as you continue your motion.  Flexibility and balance cannot be achieved if your swing speed is too fast.  You need to find the right mix of  rate of speed that keeps you on your feet, and also in balance, through to your finish position.  You want to create a "low and slow" takeaway as you start your club back.  "Low and slow" benefits the stability throughout your swing and definitely maintains flexibility, and a steady balance check. 

At the top (or end) of your backswing, turning your shoulders to a 90-degree angle to the target line (or your back completely to the target), may no longer be your goal.  Since you have lost some of your flexibility, your ability to turn will now end somewhere short of that 90-degree mark.  Once you have found the maximum potential of how far you can turn, a simple readjustment in rhythm, tempo, and timing has to be made in your swing.  You would be keeping the same dynamics and principals of the golf swing but, it will be a more condensed version.

Neither age nor physical disability should restrict a person from enjoying this great game of golf.  Exercise is the best way to keep fit and healthy and for golf addicts, there's no giving up this game whatever age you are !!