Items from here, there, everywhere...
Whitworth Golf tournament
The Kathy Whitworth Memorial (KWM) golf tournament was held June 3-5 2025, at Trophy Club, Texas.
This 26th annual event welcomed 112 women golfers. They played the two Trophy Club courses – the 6205 yard Whitworth and the 6413 yard Hogan.
KWM honors Kathy Whitworth, golf’s winningest professional.
In 1985, Whitworth captured her 88th golf success. (Photo above from that stellar tournament.) She was 45 years old – not quite old enough to quality for the highly arbitrary hurdle (50) that signifies membership in the Age-defying Athletes Project (ADAP) – but still meaningful in its own ways. (And she continued to play into her 70s.)
The most significant of these ways was that her victory propelled her to the top of the winnings pyramid for all professional golf ever since. Whitworth is the winningest pro ever – with that 88th victory, she collected more trophies than Nicklaus, Woods, Palmer, Sorenstam, or anyone else to date.
Her motto? Not surprisingly, it was “Never give up.”
TED Radio Hour
A tip of the hat to reader “B”, who suggests a listen to a recent TED Radio Hour series on sports – playing them, watching them, dealing with nervousness, and more.
In one segment, Dartmouth President Sian Beilock, a cognitive scientist, described how in her college days, she had choked in an important soccer match. Beilock had allowed herself to shift focus from the game to some scouts who happened to be attending.
It was not pretty.
Nonetheless, the experience helped direct her toward a career in psychology.
One easy hack for choking? Beilock chants “Practice, practice, practice” – especially under performance conditions. She explains that it’s fine to hit tennis balls with a ball machine or swing clubs at a driving range. But to really prepare for the myriad emotional and mental challenges of competition, one must practice while competing.
Some readers may recall that this advice is also given in The Elixir of Sport, in the learning section, drawn from a research paper entitled On the Road to Automatic.
Beilock also claimed that, under threat from yipping while putting, (the yips are a specialized form of choking well known to golfers), Jack Nicklaus (himself an Age-defying Athlete nowadays) would tell himself to think about “my pinkie toe”. (Note that efforts by this Substack to confirm this have been unsuccessful, and any reader with more information is encouraged to share it!)
Who you calling old?
A 90-year old 3.0 pickleball player swept the 60+ tier in a recent tournament. Note that “vintage” paddle he holds. Plus, take a look at - as pointed out by one of the commentators – the EMS hat!
Bravo to you, Nameless Pickleballer!
WIIFY?
“In the United States alone, 50-plus consumers control 83 percent of household wealth.” This is from The Longevity Economy, a fascinating book by Joseph F. Coughlin, Founder and Director of the MIT AgeLab.
Fascinating, as well, is the book’s premise that innovative companies can unlock “the world’s fastest-growing, most misunderstood market.”
Who cares about being misunderstood? You Age-defying Athletes have the cash, you have the time, and odds are, you will be around for a long time to enjoy them. In the end, you control what happens to you.
So, get out and enjoy. Play pickleball when you’re 90. Continue hitting the links as a centenarian. Keep your mind and your body engaged (hopefully headed in the same direction).
Whatever you do, renew yourself by playing sports in later life.