Retiree Golf Thread

[MadMex]

Is it just me?

I retired last September and moved to the mountains of Arizona, I thought it would be 18 every day except Sundays.

Reality: Have not played a round yet, little projects everyday, with big projects every other day, eat out way more often , yet, don’t seem to miss golf! Maybe next year.

Anyone else retired and played less their first year ? 
 

 

[Headhammer]

Nope not just you. Semi-retired and I play far less golf than I did when I was working full-time. Between project work employment, interior & exterior home maintenance, grocery shopping & cooking for the wife, bad back, etc. I keep saying next year I'll play more and I don't. The Cobra Connect Challenge was great because it forced me to get out at least twice a week. 

[Middler]

I play golf 3 times a week, much more than when I was working. Doing any single activity every day (e.g. golf, fishing, boating) is a recipe for losing interest IMO. As much as I enjoy playing golf, if I played every day I think I might get tired of it and lose interest. Having a variety of activities and associated friends has been more fulfilling to me. YMMV

[tony@CIC]

Guess I'm the opposite - but then I didn't start playing until I retired. Now I'll play anywhere from 3 to 5 times a week. Some of that is due to my obsessive nature along with that moving into 2 condos (Fl. and Ohio)  that need less work combined than our last home. I'd be interested to hear from @Kenny B and @Rickp, two of our better known septuagenarians - are you guys playing more or less - especially as you're getting older. .  

EDIT: Ooops I forgot @fozcycleanother well known septuagenarian

[Kenny B]

4 minutes ago, tony@CIC said:

Guess I'm the opposite - but then I didn't start playing until I retired. Now I'll play anywhere from 3 to 5 times a week. Some of that is due to my obsessive nature along with that moving into 2 condos (Fl. and Ohio)  that need less work combined than our last home. I'd be interested to hear from @Kenny B and @Rickp, two of our better known septuagenarians - are you guys playing more or less - especially as you're getting older. .  

I retired in 2015 at age 68.  I was at the course every day, either playing or practicing.  My wife was still working so we only played together on weekends and after she closed her business at 5pm on Thu and Fri... leagues Mon-Wed.  I also played on Mondays with my walking group of old guys; they've all since quit playing.

Now that we are both retired, my wife plays much more than I do; for example, she played last Sat and Sun, then Tue, Wed, and is headed out now for a Ladies guest day at another club in town.  We are playing both Sat and Sun this weekend.

Overall, I have started to taper off golf rounds a little this last year.  Not that I'm too busy with other things, but some days my body just doesn't want the added "enjoyment".  

I am actually contemplating a change in our membership at our club.  We have the full membership with cart and range balls, but their is also an option for a "Player's Card" which is 1/2 off any rate... any time.  I need to figure out how many rounds I will be playing and what the break even point is vs a full membership.  I am also thinking that this will give me more flexibility to go play other courses more often without feeling guilty that I've already paid for a round at my club.

[MDGolfHacker]

MY wife is already talking about retirement and she hasn't even hit 50 yet! Talks about healthcare and what we'll to do about that, where to live, etc has been a heavy topic that seems to be resurfacing as much as VJ practices, LOL. Apparently I'm not very good at future planning so I'll need to work on that aspect.

 

MDGolfHacker

[Shapotomous]

8 minutes ago, MDGolfHacker said:

MY wife is already talking about retirement and she hasn't even hit 50 yet! Talks about healthcare and what we'll to do about that, where to live, etc has been a heavy topic that seems to be resurfacing as much as VJ practices, LOL. Apparently I'm not very good at future planning so I'll need to work on that aspect.

 

MDGolfHacker

My retirement plan is moving into @cnosil 's basement so I can live close to MGS HQ, become a tester and carpool over to get to hit all kinds of clubs multiple times a week!!!  

[MacTourney]

10 hours ago, MadMex said:

Is it just me?

I retired last September and moved to the mountains of Arizona, I thought it would be 18 every day except Sundays.

Reality: Have not played a round yet, little projects everyday, with big projects every other day, eat out way more often , yet, don’t seem to miss golf! Maybe next year.

Anyone else retired and played less their first year ? 
 

 

After my dad retired he would usually complain about not having enough time to get everything done and when I would tell him that's crazy, you're retired and have all the time in the world he said, well 20 years ago I could cut the lawn in about 40 minutes, now it takes me at least twice that time, I'm not as young as I used to be.  

Father's know best. 

[Middler]

4 minutes ago, MacTourney said:

After my dad retired he would usually complain about not having enough time to get everything done and when I would tell him that's crazy, you're retired and have all the time in the world he said, well 20 years ago I could cut the lawn in about 40 minutes, now it takes me at least twice that time, I'm not as young as I used to be.  

Father's know best. 

It is funny once you retire what constitutes a busy full schedule changes dramatically. I remember how hectic my actual work schedule was, and there hasn't been a single day since I retired where I crammed in as much work/activity as during my career - even though some retired days felt really busy...

[tony@CIC]

8 minutes ago, MacTourney said:

After my dad retired he would usually complain about not having enough time to get everything done and when I would tell him that's crazy, you're retired and have all the time in the world he said, well 20 years ago I could cut the lawn in about 40 minutes, now it takes me at least twice that time, I'm not as young as I used to be.  

Father's know best. 

I'm in the same boat - everything seems to take longer. However, when I was working I had to get stuff done at a much faster pace since I only had weekends to get stuff done. Now that I'm retired I can work at a less frenetic pace. 

[Rickp]

What’s a Septuwhatever? . 
Retired end of 2011 and was playing 18 holes 3-4x a week.  Didn’t play for over a month when we moved to FL February 2012 with a million projects.  
Now I’m 3, 9 hole Execs a week and one 18 hole big boy golf.  I’ll be 76 in a couple months and slowing down although my knee replacement 9 weeks ago was a success so maybe I’ll do 18 holes 2x a week and 2 Execs.  The Execs are a lot more fun due to the very loose groups and camaraderie with Ole Farts!! 

[fozcycle]

On 8/11/2022 at 8:56 AM, tony@CIC said:

Guess I'm the opposite - but then I didn't start playing until I retired. Now I'll play anywhere from 3 to 5 times a week. Some of that is due to my obsessive nature along with that moving into 2 condos (Fl. and Ohio)  that need less work combined than our last home. I'd be interested to hear from @Kenny B and @Rickp, two of our better known septuagenarians - are you guys playing more or less - especially as you're getting older. .  

EDIT: Ooops I forgot @fozcycleanother well known septuagenarian

I retired at 66 (an 2017) and was playing 4 times a week and Rangering two days a week.  I stopped Rangering when the club got a letter from the Feds regarding Payroll taxes as i bartered for free cart plan.  Well that was 3 years ago.  Last year my club closed and we moved over to a new club....playing 3 times a week(Tues/Thurs/Sat).  Now I have been running the Saturday Game for over 20 years and thinking about "retiring" from the weekly game, quitting my club and just playing various courses....just when I got new irons(Titleist T300 w/Senior shafts) and new fairways(PXG 0211).  So I am unsure what I want to do....

 

[Rickp]

1 hour ago, fozcycle said:

I retired at 66 (an 2017) and was playing 4 times a week and Rangering two days a week.  I stopped Rangering when the club got a letter from the Feds regarding Payroll taxes as i bartered for free cart plan.  Well that was 3 years ago.  Last year my club closed and we moved over to a new club....playing 3 times a week(Tues/Thurs/Sat).  Now I have been running the Saturday Game for over 20 years and thinking about "retiring" from the weekly game, quitting my club and just playing various courses....just when I got new irons(Titleist T300 w/Senior shafts) and new fairways(PXG 0211).  So I am unsure what I want to do....

 

Take your time and think over quitting current situation.  I’ve dropped a group I was running and sorry I did. Luckily the Boyz don’t disappoint.

[JW-dub]

I might have a different take on this. I played a ton (every day) in high school, ok, college too (on the team) and then life got busy, I explored different hobbies and didn't play golf for 40 years. Well, I probably didn't play for 25 years and I played 1x or 2x/year for 10 years (with my brother-in-law).    

I retired two weeks ago, but mentally, I picked up the game again last fall. Wow, it sure does take a while to get the game back. I thought that I'd do a few sessions on the range and I'd be back to shooting low 80s in no time. Nope. I started out with hitting the occasional, absolutely beautiful shot followed by rolling the ball 3x. 

I joined a Tue night league and mostly have been shooting mid-40s (9 holes), but I shot a 35 one night. Then more mid-40s and a 40 last week. The ball striking has been getting better, but the score is about the same. 

Clubs? I retired the old persimmons when the epoxy let loose and I have some Cobra woods. (Wow, what a difference.) I'm still playing the Ben Hogan Apex IIs. I ran into another retiree at the range on last Tues and he held up an Apex iron. Gotta love it. You either hit 'em pure or not. So, in retirement I'm playing 1x/week but hitting foam balls about 5x/week. The swing is getting better, but I need more chipping practice.

First post....

JW

 

[ole gray]

I play three times per week and hit the gym three times per week.  I take Friday off to rest the old body and check on my brother who is in a memory care home .  Retired life is right up my ally!   It makes me smile like a fox in a chicken pen 

[Golf2Much]

I've been retired for over two years.  I immediately went from playing one day a week (Saturday) to three days a week (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday).   Throw in an occasional Sunday charity tournament and it could be four time a week.  Like @ole gray I try to hit the gym three days a week (but often fail).  

After being retired for a while, I thought to myself "how did I ever get anything done while I was working?"  Activities are like fish in a fish tank.  They will expand to fill the space available to them.  I think I'm busier now than when I was working full time.  The difference is that golf and volunteering have filled the void created when I retired. 

The other thing over time is my reduced sense of urgency for some things and certainly people.  Don't get me wrong, I like to get things done.  But now, it's on my schedule, not theirs.  After working hard at a long career, I think I deserve at least that!

[fixyurdivot]

I retired in 2016 and definitely increased my number of rounds... and, thankfully, my level of play.  The first year not so much as we were busy with the new place here in MT and spend that winter here.  This just confirmed our plan to winter in AZ - which we have done since.  While there for 4-5 months, I averaged 3 rounds/week.  Back home in MT that is roughly 3 rounds/month as I also fly fish.

Now with the pending move to AZ full time, to a community with four 18 hole courses on site, and plans to join the men's league, I suspect I'll be back to 3 rounds/week once we get settled into the house and complete the first wave of honey-doo's.