In golf, one of the most difficult tasks to accomplish is shooting your age – that is when you play a round of golf and your score is the same or less than your age.

Today I shot a 78 on a par 71 course!  And I did this at the age of 80!

Needless to say, I am very proud of this accomplishment.  Very few golfers are able to achieve this milestone.

But as proud as I am of this achievement, this accomplishment, I must say that there are some that may not accept it or at least be critical of my feat.  They might do so for two reasons.

One, I did this playing from the front tees.  If you read my blog on “playing it forward” I recently decided to play the forward tees.  On a typical course this means playing the red tees, not the white or blue or black tees.  What this means is that the distance of the course I played today was not 7,000 yards, nor 6,000 yards.  No, the distance of my tee boxes was closer to 5,000 yards.

The second concern some may have is that the course I played is not rated as one of the most difficult courses to play.  I played Snoqualmie Falls Golf Course which is a certified course, but the Course Rating is only a 67 for men playing from blue tees, and is only rated a 62.6 for men playing from the red tees.  A Course Rating is what a scratch golfer would be expected to shoot playing the course.

The second way the USGA determines the difficulty of a golf course is by giving the course a Slope Rating.  The Slope Rating is presumably what score a bogey golfer would shoot playing the course.  For the course I played today the slope rating is 109 from the blue tees and 99 from the red tees.  If the course slope is below 113 the course is considered an easy course.  Golf course slopes ratings range from 55 to 155.

In my defense, and before I get a lot of criticism and snarky comments, I do want to let you know the following

• I did this without taking one mulligan.
• I did this playing with three friends, who are witnesses to what happened.
• I did this even though I had two double bogeys.
• I did this even though on one green I took three putts to get in the golf hole from 5 feet away.
• I did this walking the course.
• I did this even though my USGA Handicap Index is 15.6.
• My drives were consistent today, hitting 12 of 18 fairways in regulation – 67%.
• My second shots, my approaches to the greens were successful 50% of the time today – 9 or 18 greens.
• My chipping from the around the green was successful 44% of the time – 4 out 9 opportunities to chip onto the greens and then follow the chip with a one putt into the hole.
• I did not warm up on the practice range before I played my round today.
• I did not have a decent breakfast or lunch. I did have two zero Gatorades and two water bottles during the round.

Some would argue that shooting your age is the most difficult task to accomplish in golf. The percentage of golfers who shoot their age is .0000089%.  To state it a different way, there is a one in 9 million chance that you will shoot your age in golf.  “Shooting your age” is a milestone that very few golfers achieve.  It is rare.

Yet, Sam Snead, one of the most revered professional golfers of all time, shot his age for the first time at 67 and continued to do so more than 40 times until he was 85.

Why is it so difficult to shoot your age?  The odds of shooting your age in golf involve a complex balance of factors, and as you age, both positive and negative influences come into play. Let’s break this down:

The good news…

1. Lower Age Threshold: As you get older, the number you need to match or beat becomes lower. For example, at 80, you need to shoot 80 or better; at 85, you only need to shoot 85 or better. This naturally improves your odds as the target score becomes more attainable.
2. Experience and Course Management: With age, your experience and understanding of the game grow. You may become better at managing your game, playing to your strengths, and avoiding mistakes, which can help you score lower, even if your physical abilities decline somewhat.

The bad news…

1. Physical Decline: Golf is a physically demanding game, and as you age, you may experience a natural decline in strength, flexibility, and stamina. This can make it harder to maintain the consistency required to shoot your age.
2. Loss of Distance: As you get older, you might lose distance off the tee and with your irons, making the course effectively longer and more challenging, even if you’re playing from the forward tees.
3. Health Issues: Age often brings health-related challenges that can affect your ability to play at your best. Injuries, fatigue, and other medical conditions can make it more difficult to consistently play well enough to shoot your age.

Bottom line.  I am going to enjoy the moment.  I am an age shooter.  I am not going to let concerns about the yardage overshadow my accomplishment.

In fact, I am setting a new goal for myself — to try to best Sam Snead’s record of shooting his age 40 times.

Note: a picture of my son, Guy, and my daughter, Kelsey, and me taken a year ago.

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