Friday, January 20, 2012

What to Know About Golfer and Senior Golfers?

According to the United States Golf Association, a senior golfer is any professional or amateur golfer who has reached his 50th birthday. This applies to any golfer wanting to compete in senior-level events or on the PGA's Champions Tour, formerly known as the Senior PGA Tour. However, the definition of senior golfer is interpreted in different ways depending on the circumstance.
The Creation of the Senior PGA Tour
After years of senior golf competition, both the U.S. Senior Open and the Senior PGA Tour began play in 1980. Golfers in both were required to be 50 years of age or over and to go through qualification tournaments much like the PGA Tour. In 2002, the Senior PGA Tour rebranded itself as the Champions Tour and has featured many former PGA Tour stars, such as Fred Couples and Bernhard Langer. Perhaps the most successful player in Senior PGA history was Hale Irwin, who won two U.S. Senior Opens along with multiple money titles and dozens of senior tournaments.
Differences Between Golfers and Senior Golfers
The biggest difference between golfers and senior golfers is that seniors tend to hit the ball shorter than the average player. To help senior golfers, many courses have sets of tees for both senior men and women that are considerably shorter than the forward tees for men and women. In addition, senior golfers have slower swing speeds, which can be helped by using soft-compression balls, which often are marketed solely to women, along with lighter club shafts and heads.
More Distance for Seniors
To help seniors find more distance, PGA professional Mark Blakemore suggests that older golfers start with a fitness routine to help them increase their strength and flexibility. In addition, Blakemore recommends that senior golfers take up yoga as a way to improve their flexibility. Blakemore also recommends that seniors get custom fit for clubs and enroll in golf lessons to help them develop the proper mechanics for the golf swing. By adding flexibility and the proper mechanics to their swing, Blakemore states that distance will return in no time.
Senior Golf Getaways
One advantage of being a senior golfer is that many resorts and public courses offer senior discounts, most often for seniors 55 and over. You can start by calling resorts and asking what their senior discount is and if they have any senior golf packages for older golfers. In addition, many cities have senior golf cards that offer discounts to all of the municipal courses in the area plus some resort courses. Before visiting a city, you can check with its chamber of commerce to see what is available for senior golfers.

 
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