Is Tiger thinking “Play 100”?
No, not 100 courses…100 holes…or even breaking a score of 100. The question is whether or not Tiger is thinking of Age-defying Athletes playing golf when they’re 100 years old.
It’s impossible, of course, to peer into the mind of Mr. Woods or of Rory McElroy and know their thoughts about centenarian golf. These two have launched Tomorrow’s Golf League (TGL), a professional “tour” played in an indoor dazzledom of technology.
One would be on safer ground, however, to speculate that Woods and McElroy are taking advantage of a seismic market shift in the game – from outdoor links to those indoors.
Implications this might have for Age-defying Athletes who want to “play 100” will be outlined below.
Off-course golf
So-called off-course golf participation has outdistanced that of the on-course variety in recent years, as this chart from the National Golf Foundation indicates:
TGL is an off-course model for professional teams.
Amateurs are served by numerous organizations that provide off-course facilities. Top Golf, for instance, has over 100 locations, including a dozen or so that are international (some in the heart of golf’s birthplace!).
Non-pro off-course golf has several advantages:
· Weather is no longer is a hazard. No battling gusty winds, heat, cold, humidity, hail, lightning, soggy fairways, and wintertime closure of favorite courses.
And no more cart path closures which frequently result from those meteorological phenomena.
· Play can be scheduled day and night, assuming facility availability.
· For the most part, rounds can be completed more quickly inside than out. Imagine nine holes over a one-hour lunch, or 18, in two hours.
· Food and beverages can be consumed throughout without having to juggle the meal while driving a golf car. And no more selecting items that have been reheated at best and…well, who knows what’s been done to the victuals at worst?
· It’s unlikely any golf balls will be lost…although penalty strokes still apply for hitting into the water or the woods.
· Scoring is handled electronically, so no worries about keeping track.
· And it’s not only the score. Golfers can learn a great deal about their games due to the hefty data collection that occurs – swing speed, ball/clubface impact, and more.
· Off-course golf is thought to make it easier for beginners to hit because they don’t have to worry about pace of play, scoring, or losing balls.
· The selection of courses to “play” is impressive. Imagine “playing” Pinehurst No. 2!
Centenarian golf
But perhaps the biggest advantage of tech golf is that it accommodates players as they age. All the benefits listed above, plus time spent sitting in a conventional chair and the opportunity for plenty of relaxed conversation, mean that men and women should be able to continue to play well into their 90s…and who knows how technology will evolve for centinarian golfers?
No wonder the Woods-McElroy endeavor has “Tomorrow” in its name. An unconscious nod, perhaps, to all the additional tomorrows that Age-defying Athletes will enjoy?
WIIFY?
What’s your plan for golf in the future? Do you say – as did many interviewees in the book, The Elixir of Sport – that you would just like to “continue playing as long as possible”? Or do you have something more specific such as “Play until I’m 90”? And in either case, what’s your plan for achieving your objective?
The writer Alfred Malabre, Jr., is 94 and has enjoyed a life-long love affair with the links. But as he approached this fine age, he (begrudgingly, by his own admission) had to modify his game from competitive to “geriatric” (his term!).
Some of his geriatric modifications: play from the forward tees, occasionally improve a poor lie, use a ball retriever for shots in bunkers, and eliminate score-keeping.
Obviously, he is crafting the game to suit his capability. But so what? If it keeps him playing for lots of tomorrows, all the better!
Not a golfer? What’s your plan for tennis at 90, pickleball at 95, swimming at 100?
Tennis? Age-defying Athletes have already waved good-bye to singles, concentrating on doubles - a modification in all likelihood due to the physical challenges age brings..so that’s already a natural change, yes? Perhaps in the future, their competitions could evolve to be sets that are the best of three games, with a bounced ball serve.
Pickleball? Score like tennis to shorten games.
Swimming? Laps across the width of the pool, instead of the length, and generous use of a kick board.
Be creative and consider how you will tweak your sports so you can continue to renew yourself your whole long life.
The play’s the thing! Get ready to play 100.