Golf Swing Tips for Seniors | Remastering the Basics • On The Golf Green

Even age can’t stop some people from playing golf! That’s just how they love playing the sport. If you are one of them, you might find these golf swing tips for seniors interesting!

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As people grow older, their stamina also begins to falter and sometimes even their joints start to hurt. Despite these things, they still want to play this fascinating game of golf.

Golf Swing Tips for Seniors: Remastering the Basics

As you grow old, your body would start to show some changes. Aside from getting wrinkles or saggy skin, your overall performance in golf would change.

So here are some golf swing tips for seniors that you should consider following when old age starts to kick in:

Avoid swaying your body when you swing

SEven though this may sound hard to do, given your nerves in your wrists might be a little weaker, you should still try to grip your golf club at least twice a day to train your wrists.

There are clubs with easier grips attached which helps seniors to still get a firm grip on their club. A firm grip helps to give you a more powerful swing.

This also helps to avoid the golf club accidentally slipping from your hand when you are swinging.

Aside from the swing, a firm grip helps in keeping yourself and others around you safe from being accidentally hit by a golf club that slipped from your hands.

Always be in a proper stance

Next on our list of golf swing tips for seniors is to maintain a proper stance. Again this is one of the basics in golf that most seniors would find hard to do.

The main problem why most seniors find a hard time getting into a good stance is because of back pains and weakening of the knees.

If you feel the effects of old age kicking in, do not worry because you can still get a good proper stance!

The key is narrowing your stance so that your legs can still support your weight and help you balance yourself for a swing.

You can position your leg a shoulder-width apart, or until your hips are given enough room to turn.

Avoid turning your ankles too much

Of course, when old age kicks in, almost all the joints and bones in your body would start to weaken.

If you turn your ankles too much, you might end up spraining it, or end up with an injury that is much worse.

If you still want to swing properly and powerfully even in your senior years, you need to take care of your ankles.

Your ankles need the right amount of mobility to help you generate power in your swing, but again, with old age, your ankles’ mobility might decrease so avoid twisting or turning it too much when you swing.

Avoid swaying your body when you swing

You can do this by turning your lead foot out. This is helpful for seniors who tend to have a stiff leg when they try setting up for the swing.

It is also one of the most helpful golf swing tips for seniors who want to swing properly.

Avoiding body sway can also help you in getting a proper backswing. You can place your lead foot forward and allow more flexibility to your shoulders and arms.

This allows you to have a better swing, and to decrease your risk of getting injuries at an old age.

Loosen up your hips

Loosen your hips a little bit because having stiff hips will hinder your body to turn naturally when you swing.

If your body will not be able to turn, then you cannot perform backswing, takeaway, or downswing. If you force your body to turn, not only will you injure yourself, but your swing will also become weak.

Always check your hips’ flexibility before you set up for your swing.

You can do this by trying to turn your left or right side for a few times just to test out your hips’ flexibility. Your hips’ flexibility will affect the power and direction of your swings.

Proper ball placement

Ball placement is another thing that affects your swing when the effects of old age have started to kick in.

The rule of thumb for ball placements is that it should be at least a foot away from your lead foot when you start to set up, but for seniors, you should place the ball a little closer from your stance.

Getting a ball placement close to your stance helps to increase your accuracy on your swing and it will also eliminate the need for your arms to overextend when you swing.

Again, this keeps your joint safe, while still getting you the swing that you want.

When old age starts to kick in, you need to go back to the basics of golf if you still want to make a proper swing. The basics will guide you throughout any age of golf so make sure not to forget how to do the basic!

Three ways golf changes as you age

Less Strength

As mentioned before, when we grow older, or stamina also diminishes. Even if we hate to admit it, our strength is not the same as the good old days, and we have to live with that.

Even if you regularly exercise and eat lots of healthy food, your stamina is not the same level as it was before.

This can affect how you play golf, and you will notice this by the distance that your ball reaches after you hit it. You will see that you are not hitting the ball as far as when you were younger.

As a matter of fact, according to a study, the distance of your ball can lose four yards in every decade and this starts when you reach the age of thirty.

But, research also discovered that losing distance is not a bad thing after all. Because as your ball goes shorter, you are hitting more fairways easily.

This is proven by the strong correlation seen between age and the accuracy off the tee.

See? It turns out that aging is nothing to be ashamed of. Even the beginners would be jealous of you since they mostly miss green short.

Less Flexibility

If you are fond of watching PGA and LPGA tours, you must be astounded by how flexible those young guys are!

We all know that it takes an insurmountable level of flexibility to become great in using a driver.

However, as we age you lose that flexibility even if you are the greatest driver of all time.

You lose your flexibility because your bones don’t have the same quality as before. Also, if you are suffering from joint problems, then you will find it harder to move.

This can mean fewer shoulder turns as you grow older and this can result in compromised follow-throughs.

However, even if you are less flexible, you can spend more time warming up so your body will be in better condition when playing.

Read more golf swing tips for seniors, those can totally help you out!

Blurry Vision

It would be amazing if you are already in your 60s and your vision is still 20-20!

However, that is very rare and can be deemed as nearly impossible. You have to accept the fact that as you age, your vision will get worse.

We all know that playing golf is already hard for those who still have good vision and it can be even harder for those whose condition of the eye is worsening.

It can make reading greens an absolutely hard challenge! What you can do about this is to wear a good pair of eyeglasses or contact lens.

Make sure to visit your optometrist regularly to assure that the grade of your glasses still fits the grade of your eye. Always be present on your optimal exams.

As much as you hate going to the doctor, you will do everything for the game that you love to play, right?