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SENIORS

hors limite

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Aug 22, 2013
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After weeks and months and years on the receiving end of snide and sneering comments about seniors, here goes.

We are not a homogeneous group.

I am part of a regular four ball of a certain age. We liken ourselves to the Minis, Minors, Imps of our youth. As soon as you fix one thing, something else conks out. Sod limping through 18, we drive buggies.

On the course, we are there to play golf. No yacking on the tee. When it's your turn to play, you had better be ready. No elaborate pre- shot, no aimpoint, no faffing about. Emotional attachment to your golf balls is verboten. If you've launched it into the deep cabbage, it's gone. If you are racking up a cricket score on a hole, pick up.

If you catch us up ( it doesn't happen very often) , you will be let through. We prefer to tee off on the next hole together, it seems to speed the transition. If you don't let us through ,with a clear field in front, you will still be treated affably but will remain forever on our Sh** List.

Rules. We take a relaxed approach to relief from cavernous divots, bare and stony lies in bunkers and wrist wrenching tree roots, but don't ever take the Mickey. No ridiculous gimmies.

We are all late teens h/caps and whichever parings are evenly matched, often going to the eighteenth. We don't like to lose. which creates a noticeable tension in the air. Nevertheless, as we leave the finishing hole, we treat the result with an apparent Kiplingesque equanimity. Crowing is not allowed. Pi** taking is.

Divots are replaced, pitch marks, many more than our own, are repaired. Our buggies avoid worn and damaged areas and steer well clear of tees and greens.

At the nineteenth, we are tolerant of each others foibles but any rambling anecdotes about sick pets, venal vets, beloved grandchildren, backhanded artisans and the rest will be cut short. A quick interjection about Crawley's latest cock up usually works. We despise, in no particular order, Trump, Brexit, Farage and Boris.

We enjoy our golf and mixing with other golfers of all ages. Without doubt, it is good for physical and mental heath.

Well, there we are then. Not every senior is the same, no more than a golfer in any other age group. Please don't sneer and snipe at the group of which I am part. It might occur to you that, if you are lucky, time will eventually allow you to join the seniors yourself.
 
mmm....not sure about the emotional attachment to golf balls bit...nearly every Senior that I've played with has a pathological desire to find the broken stump of the tee they have just used....woe betide if its their favourite castle tee that has flicked off into the long grass...its almost as though their future pensionable income will be diminished by the need to buy a new bag of tees....so God help them if a ball should find a watery grave. :D

(I myself reached the Senior's "age of consent" a few years ago but have only staked my place in the Senior ranks earlier this year when I retired)
 
No attachment to a golf ball, but I really do hate losing a tee. I don't mind breaking them......but why can't I find the d*** thing? I've been known to search after everybody has left the tee area....... BUT, I often run to catch up. Especially the little green tees.
 
Quite a few of my fellow crusties have an elaborate method of tying several tees together to avoid their loss. I am tempted to follow suit but if the whole lot goes into the long grass I could suffer a severe bereavement for the rest of my round.
 
After weeks and months and years on the receiving end of snide and sneering comments about seniors, here goes.

We are not a homogeneous group.

I am part of a regular four ball of a certain age. We liken ourselves to the Minis, Minors, Imps of our youth. As soon as you fix one thing, something else conks out. Sod limping through 18, we drive buggies.

On the course, we are there to play golf. No yacking on the tee. When it's your turn to play, you had better be ready. No elaborate pre- shot, no aimpoint, no faffing about. Emotional attachment to your golf balls is verboten. If you've launched it into the deep cabbage, it's gone. If you are racking up a cricket score on a hole, pick up.

If you catch us up ( it doesn't happen very often) , you will be let through. We prefer to tee off on the next hole together, it seems to speed the transition. If you don't let us through ,with a clear field in front, you will still be treated affably but will remain forever on our Sh** List.

Rules. We take a relaxed approach to relief from cavernous divots, bare and stony lies in bunkers and wrist wrenching tree roots, but don't ever take the Mickey. No ridiculous gimmies.

We are all late teens h/caps and whichever parings are evenly matched, often going to the eighteenth. We don't like to lose. which creates a noticeable tension in the air. Nevertheless, as we leave the finishing hole, we treat the result with an apparent Kiplingesque equanimity. Crowing is not allowed. Pi** taking is.

Divots are replaced, pitch marks, many more than our own, are repaired. Our buggies avoid worn and damaged areas and steer well clear of tees and greens.

At the nineteenth, we are tolerant of each others foibles but any rambling anecdotes about sick pets, venal vets, beloved grandchildren, backhanded artisans and the rest will be cut short. A quick interjection about Crawley's latest cock up usually works. We despise, in no particular order, Trump, Brexit, Farage and Boris.

We enjoy our golf and mixing with other golfers of all ages. Without doubt, it is good for physical and mental heath.

Well, there we are then. Not every senior is the same, no more than a golfer in any other age group. Please don't sneer and snipe at the group of which I am part. It might occur to you that, if you are lucky, time will eventually allow you to join the seniors yourself.
Did that help? Are you feeling better?
 
I played in a three-ball last week in our weekday medal.
Average age was 65. I was the middle one.
We got round in just under 3hrs 20mins. This was a medal with everyone putting out on every hole.

First to putt out picks up the flag.
Second to putt out goes directly to bag and will be first to the next tee and be the first to tee off.
If I am last to tee off, I can set trolley in motion and replace headcover on the move and replace club in bag while on the move.

We generally find that playing with the younger chaps can be tiresome. That extra half an hour on our feet - we can do without it.
Being first tee slot in these weekday medals is a good choice.
 
Quite a few of my fellow crusties have an elaborate method of tying several tees together to avoid their loss. I am tempted to follow suit but if the whole lot goes into the long grass I could suffer a severe bereavement for the rest of my round.
I once found a tee that was attached by fishing line to a champagne cork...
...can only imagine how long the old duffer was rummaging around looking for it post tee shot.
We also have an elderly gent who wraps yellow and green insulating tape around his pink castle tees. Serves only to make them invisible, judging by the number I've picked up...
 
I once found a tee that was attached by fishing line to a champagne cork...
...can only imagine how long the old duffer was rummaging around looking for it post tee shot.
We also have an elderly gent who wraps yellow and green insulating tape around his pink castle tees. Serves only to make them invisible, judging by the number I've picked up...
“old duffer”
How rude 🤔
 
After weeks and months and years on the receiving end of snide and sneering comments about seniors, here goes.

We are not a homogeneous group.

I am part of a regular four ball of a certain age. We liken ourselves to the Minis, Minors, Imps of our youth. As soon as you fix one thing, something else conks out. Sod limping through 18, we drive buggies.

On the course, we are there to play golf. No yacking on the tee. When it's your turn to play, you had better be ready. No elaborate pre- shot, no aimpoint, no faffing about. Emotional attachment to your golf balls is verboten. If you've launched it into the deep cabbage, it's gone. If you are racking up a cricket score on a hole, pick up.

If you catch us up ( it doesn't happen very often) , you will be let through. We prefer to tee off on the next hole together, it seems to speed the transition. If you don't let us through ,with a clear field in front, you will still be treated affably but will remain forever on our Sh** List.

Rules. We take a relaxed approach to relief from cavernous divots, bare and stony lies in bunkers and wrist wrenching tree roots, but don't ever take the Mickey. No ridiculous gimmies.

We are all late teens h/caps and whichever parings are evenly matched, often going to the eighteenth. We don't like to lose. which creates a noticeable tension in the air. Nevertheless, as we leave the finishing hole, we treat the result with an apparent Kiplingesque equanimity. Crowing is not allowed. Pi** taking is.

Divots are replaced, pitch marks, many more than our own, are repaired. Our buggies avoid worn and damaged areas and steer well clear of tees and greens.

At the nineteenth, we are tolerant of each others foibles but any rambling anecdotes about sick pets, venal vets, beloved grandchildren, backhanded artisans and the rest will be cut short. A quick interjection about Crawley's latest cock up usually works. We despise, in no particular order, Trump, Brexit, Farage and Boris.

We enjoy our golf and mixing with other golfers of all ages. Without doubt, it is good for physical and mental heath.

Well, there we are then. Not every senior is the same, no more than a golfer in any other age group. Please don't sneer and snipe at the group of which I am part. It might occur to you that, if you are lucky, time will eventually allow you to join the seniors yourself.
Shame you don’t play at my place.

We teed off 30 minutes after 2 very slow groups on Sunday and caught them on the 4th. We waited on every shot thereafter. There was at least 3 clear holes in front of them.

Behind us was a junior comp. Their first group caught us on 12. They teed off a full hour behind the 2nd of the 2 slow groups.
 
Shame you don’t play at my place.

We teed off 30 minutes after 2 very slow groups on Sunday and caught them on the 4th. We waited on every shot thereafter. There was at least 3 clear holes in front of them.

Behind us was a junior comp. Their first group caught us on 12. They teed off a full hour behind the 2nd of the 2 slow groups.
Why didn’t you ask/insist to play through?
 
Why didn’t you ask/insist to play through?
We did ask the group in front of us and were ignored. There was no way to ask the group in front of them who were the one of the slowest groups I have ever seen. The way our course is laid out you only really get one or two opportunities to cross paths with the group in front.
 
We did ask the group in front of us and were ignored. There was no way to ask the group in front of them who were the one of the slowest groups I have ever seen. The way our course is laid out you only really get one or two opportunities to cross paths with the group in front.
Does calling the proshop for a marshall to come out, fall into the realms of possibility at yours?
We can do that and it sometimes helps keep up the pace.
 
We did ask the group in front of us and were ignored. There was no way to ask the group in front of them who were the one of the slowest groups I have ever seen. The way our course is laid out you only really get one or two opportunities to cross paths with the group in front.
Were they slow because they were having the pin tended?

Seriously, that is poor that they would not let you through.
 
Shame you don’t play at my place.

We teed off 30 minutes after 2 very slow groups on Sunday and caught them on the 4th. We waited on every shot thereafter. There was at least 3 clear holes in front of them.

Behind us was a junior comp. Their first group caught us on 12. They teed off a full hour behind the 2nd of the 2 slow groups.
Don't think slow speed is related to any one particular demographic. School holidays seems to bring out some very slow juniors at our place. Equally there are many that play a very decent pace.
 
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