Why do senior Pros not play on the regular tour?

[timgolfy]

Serious question. What is the main reason? Is it:

a. Lack of power (can't keep up with the young players)?
b. Lack of stamina (aches and pains of player 4 days of 18 holes, + travel, + practice)?
c. Lack of motivation (been there, done that, money in the bank)?
d. Any other?

 

[surefire]

Because they don't have tour cards!

Some do though, where they have exemptions, such as Watson and Norman in the Open.

Even ignoring the above, why would they play second best on the regular tour, when they can win on their own tour?

 

[chris661]

Serious question. What is the main reason? Is it:

a. Lack of power (can't keep up with the young players)?
b. Lack of stamina (aches and pains of player 4 days of 18 holes, + travel, + practice)?
c. Lack of motivation (been there, done that, money in the bank)?
d. Any other?

d. Cant hit 300yd drives or dont have a swingspeed of over 115mph

 

[timgolfy]

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Why would they want to. Same reason you don't see the veterans in other sports trying to compete with the crop of today. They can't. Courses on the main tour are usually a good few hundred yards longer, they play 4 instead of the 3 rounds on the senior circuit (except majors) and to be honest most are quite happy to have a crack with their counter-parts and keep their wife, mistress, au pair or latest squeeze in designer gear for a few more weeks with a reasonable pay day for a top 20 finish

 

[timgolfy]

Okay - perhaps the question should have been "why can't they compete". What aspect of the game gives up first?

 

[GB72]

Okay - perhaps the question should have been "why can't they compete". What aspect of the game gives up first?

Fair point, I have often wondered what makes you lose your edge in sports that are not strictly phisical. Why do snooker and darts players lose their edge in the same way as golfers. I appreciate that the current trend to protect courses by lengthening them immediately impacts on older golfers but what do you lose to stop you being competetive when physical strength is not the issue.

 

[Society_Fan]

Distance is definately an issue, and I guess that the nerves will be a little worse on the putts. I wonder if the stats would back this up

 

[percy_layer]

In my opinion, the Seniors Tour players are only slightly behind the Main Tour players in average distance. I think it's more to do with fitness and focus. Players in their 20's and 30's are less affected by fatigue and can keep their focus and concentration longer and under more pressure.

 

[Mongoose]

Its nowt to do with fatigue and focus, they just generally dont hit the ball far enough to compete on 7600yd courses, remember its not just how far you hit your drives but your irons also. A few such as Fred Funk have managed to remain tour competitive but they are exceptional. Ive played with a few of the best senior amateurs in the country and not one of them could compete with a youthful county level golfer, purely because of distance. Say the tour guys are driving it 280+ and the seniors 230, thats 5 clubs difference, plus their extra SS means its closer to 7 clubs difference. Try hitting a 3 iron at every green while your opponent is hitting PW, for 18 holes every round and see how well you compete!

 

[shagster]

i seem to remember a guy called watson being unlucky with an 8 iron on the 72 and missing a winning put, in retrospect a sad day for golf, because its not about age or power its about skill and creativity
shagster

 

[sawtooth]

Serious question. What is the main reason? Is it:

a. Lack of power (can't keep up with the young players)?
b. Lack of stamina (aches and pains of player 4 days of 18 holes, + travel, + practice)?
c. Lack of motivation (been there, done that, money in the bank)?
d. Any other?

I'm guessing that a. is the main reason followed by b. Maybe the grey matter starts to let you down as you get older as well, levels of concentration, focus, etc. not what they used to be.

 

[surefire]

Say the tour guys are driving it 280+ and the seniors 230, thats 5 clubs difference, plus their extra SS means its closer to 7 clubs difference. Try hitting a 3 iron at every green while your opponent is hitting PW, for 18 holes every round and see how well you compete!

The shortest seniors are driving it 230, but the longest ones are well up there with the regular tour guys.

http://www.pgatour.com/s/stats/info/?101

 

[HawkeyeMS]

I think distance is an issue but I would be interested to see if this is still the case when the likes of Watson and Holmes get to 50.

The way the game has changed over the years means the old boys haven't necessarily lost distance, they just never had it in comparison to today's pro's.

Assuming the powers that be do something to prevent distance increasing at the rate it has been, will the big boys of today still be able to compete distance wise in 20 years time? So will we see more seniors on the regular tour or even the age limit of the seniors tour going up?

I remember Faldo playing in the Open a few years back and not even being able to reach some of the fairways. He hadn't lost distance, just never had it, he had been left behind.

The othe contributing factor is Tiger's influence of getting in the gym, the older Pro's won't have wanted to start spending hours in the gym to keep up with the young guns.

I don't really know the answer to thIs but it will be interesting to see how if pans out.

 

[MashieNiblick]

Interesting. I think all sports have a sort of natural age limit for competing at the top level. Tennnis is around late 20's, Football early 30's, Cricket mid 30's, and golf seems about late 30's. Some players in all sports, usually those with the best technique, can go beyond this but it's rare.

In the more athletic sports it's obviously a physical thing and that applies to golf too, but there's also a mental side and I remember reading once that chess players peak in their 30's even though you might think that greater skill and experience would come with age. It's about mental shaprness which does lose it's edge as the players get older.

Like millions of others I was heartbroken when Watson didn't make that putt on the 18th at Turnberry. If he'd been 25 it would've hit the back of the hole.

 

[Toby_LeRhone]

Surely TV and sponsorship has a lot to do with it; it is all about the money. The PGA Tour is designed to appeal to a particular demographic, just like the other tours. We watch PGA Tour events because we want to watch the very best of the pro game; players at the height of their playing powers, playing with the latest and best equipment in the most demanding competitive environment, representing the latest in style and technique, etc. So, its not that the seniors cant play; its what they represent.

If they were to change anything they should cull far more of the hangers-on and issue more cards to wildcard young guns. It should be almost as hard to stay on tour as it is to get on tour.

 

[Mongoose]

Say the tour guys are driving it 280+ and the seniors 230, thats 5 clubs difference, plus their extra SS means its closer to 7 clubs difference. Try hitting a 3 iron at every green while your opponent is hitting PW, for 18 holes every round and see how well you compete!

The shortest seniors are driving it 230, but the longest ones are well up there with the regular tour guys.

http://www.pgatour.com/s/stats/info/?101

Lies, damn lies, and statistics!
I think the stats are skewed based on few events, and type of course they play. I've stood next to the tour guys at Wentworth in the BMW and at Sunningdale in the Seniors Open and there is a world of difference in their swing speeds and distances. Not to say Freddie couples cant still belt it out there, but I think thats stats dont give a complete picture.

Tour pro' by their nature are ultra competitive and would be competing on the main tour still if they could compete. Age does diminish ones feel, and creates scar tissue over the years from the bits of the game that one struggles with, but IMO the main reason the typical seniors tour pro isnt playing the main tour is they just arent long enough.

 

[Yerman]

Truth is they're no longer good enough, ageing bodies are not as fast nor as well co-ordinated in their fine touch. That's why Tom Watsons performance at the 2009 Open was truly awesome. It prolongs their career to switch to the champions tour where its no surprise its the younger guys who tend to win, but the great players still show their class, Bernhard Langer and Fred Couples spring to mind.

 

[Losttheplot]

It might be worth remembering we had a player in the Ryder Cup last year who was over 40yrs old.

Jiminez.

He isn't fit, doesn't work out and is getting on a bit in golfing years on the main tour... So it's not just about being young, fit and healthy.

I think it's a lot to do with mental strength. Having that mentality to be a winner and still compete is a massive strength.

Don't they say golf is 10% physical and 90% mental???

 

[Durango]

When you're young with your career infront of you the desire and will to win and be the best will be markedly higher than when you have been playing for so many years and already achieved alot of the things along the way. The younger players almost devote their lives to it, whereas I'm sure the older guys have a few other things that take on importance.