Reality Sets In-Time To Play It Forward

 They say that age is just a number.  I was hoping for that for a number of years, but at this point in my life I have to say that isn't true.  My well used 69 year old muscles tell a different tale. Ailments such as congestive heart failure and back problems have a habit of sneaking up on you. Don't get me wrong, I am very happy to still be around and playing golf at this age, but it does have a tendency to come with minor aches and pains that I never had when I was younger. Where did they come from?

When I look in a mirror, my brain sees an 18 year old kid who can still hit a 260 yard drive off the tee and a 160 yard 5 iron, but my body tells me that it is 69 years old, can barely get the drive past 190 and has to really put all of his weight into a 140 yard 5 iron. It may be time to re-evaluate how I play this game. Maybe its time to get my ego in check and change some of the parts of the game that I have been used to.  Maybe it is time to come to grips with reality and understand that I am becoming one of those senior golfers who don't hit the ball so far, but who I lost so much cash to when I was growing up and playing with in those big money games. Yes, I was young and didn't learn very well but that is another story. 

After having said what I just did in the last paragraph, OK friends it is time to move to the forward tees.  I am not talking about the fully forward red tees, I'm talking about the tees between the white regular tees and the totally front red tees. Sorry, but I have to keep some semblance of my ego intact. I have moved up my game to those tees generally known as "The Senior Tees".  Moving to the more forward tees seems to have allowed the fun of the game to return, be it a sort of masochistic fun that most golfers deal with. 

I really don't know why you play the game of golf.  I'm sure that you have your reasons but I must admit that the game is addictive and it all boils down to the fact that golf is a lot of fun is a strange sort of way.  It is also a difficult game to master, if there is such a thing. Moving up to a forward tee doesn't make the game any easier but it does make the game a bit more playable and enjoyable for those of us who ave lost a few miles an hour on their fastball if you catch my drift. I have had to check my ego at the front door-er, first tee and move up to the forward tees.  I am glad that I have done this because the enjoyment of the game is back.  Don't get me wrong, I can still hang with the big dogs and play the regular tees and still score well, but it is a lot more fun from the forward tees.