If you’ve been around for the past year or so, you know I’ve covered the rare species of Country Club Sticks in great depth. But what about the older version of this character, the Senior Stick?

Floating around in the winter at clubs like Seminole, McArthur, and Redstick, and in the Summer at Kitansett, Myopia Hunt, and Gulph Mills, the Senior Sticks are grizzled, curmudgeonly, and leathery, marked by a 20 year omnipresence in warm climates. (Post business liquidity event).

Anyway, he was, at one point in his life, a country club stick. In all likelihood, his name is etched in gold paint in a Grill room at a club you know.

If you’re lucky enough to play with one, you’ll have to dig a little bit to uncover the scope of his collegiate/amateur/senior golf success. The key to proper senior stick identification is always in the iron contact. Crisp and consistent. It would be out of place for a typical golfer of his age.

He won’t miss a fairway and will hit 16/18 greens. Good luck taking any money off of him. Last week I just so happened to play with one…

The first thing I noticed was the 4 iron.

Even with the rise of hybrids and (gulp) 9 woods, they are not uncommon in the game today. Many golfers carry one, but not many 70-year-old golfers carry one, much less have the ability to hit it well.

When questioned about its presence in the bag, the gentleman stick at hand replied with a hearty “I love my 4 iron!”

I was initially taken aback, but the surprise quickly melted into admiration. Golf is a game to play for life, yes, but it’s also important to look at the quality of those rounds.

I started to think about the healthspan, not just the lifespan, of the rounds I have left. (Turning 30 hits harder than I thought) I also thought about the proper fitness benchmark for senior golf, which prompted this post:

To me, this benchmark is all-encompassing. If I’ve managed to pull it off, I’ll know my heart works well enough to walk 18 holes, I’m physically strong enough to carry a bag for the duration, and my technique is still good enough to generate the required clubhead speed to hit a 4 iron properly.

As I write this, I’d also like to add “Play the men’s tees” to this goal as well. There will come a point where I’ll need to move up, but I’d like to push that off as long as possible.

Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with taking a cart or caddie once you’ve reached a certain age, but aspiring to walk and carry with your grandkids is a strong motivator in my eyes.

I see a lot of golf “exercise” content on social media. TPI is a good resource to peruse if you want to get deep into the biomechanics, but in my view it’s out of scope initially for 95% of golfers. TPI and speed training are the top of the pyramid - they won’t do much if you don’t have a solid foundation in place.

I know stretching is important, and it only took until age 30 for me to implement a rudimentary stretching routine before I play. Outside of the pre-round stretch, here is the current workout plan:

I aim to lift weights 3-4 times weekly.

The current program involves squats, deadlifts, chest press and rows. I’m not going to get into the weeds, as fitness is highly individualized. Try a few programs, and see what works for you. Set a goal, find a program that will get you there, and stick to it.

I hate running, but cannot deny its importance. Run as much as you can tolerate. It’s good for you.

This is becoming more important to me. I no longer want to have massive muscles (an impossibility for an ectomorph like myself), I just want to make a full turn with my shoulders when I’m 70.

Stretching is the least fun activity now, but I can choose to do it now when I am slightly inconvenienced or put it off and suffer the long term consequences when I’m older.

Now that I have the end goal in mind, it’s easier to set daily standards that become part of a routine which will drive results. I’ve found that the key to going to the gym is to brand yourself as someone who doesn’t skip the gym. It sounds odd, and maybe slightly contrived, but it’s worked for me.

The end-of-season (summer) sales are starting to pop up. It’s a great time to buy simple wardrobe staples that you can wear every summer, despite the fact they are marketed as no longer in style. Here are a few I noticed this past week:

I’ve taken a look at the new line of FootJoy Premiers - and their “Marquis” line stands out above all other shoes in the space.

They’ve elevated the look in an undeniable sense. Perhaps it’s the gravity of golf as “streetwear” or perhaps their product and marketing teams saw substantial raises. Who knows. The result is a refreshing take on the elevated shoe line:

2026 Premier Series

The price is a touch steep, but I’m encouraged at the creative direction of my beloved Premiers

I couldn’t have said it any better myself. I love digging through the archives to find little tidbits of etiquette gold. It’s missing in the game today!

If you can live with the Miura logo, this Mackenzie bag might be for you.

Hey BTG,

I’m writing to you get some guidance on what to read online - I only started to play last year (in a Platzreife country though) and I was wondering what to think of the Broken Tee Society, Fried Egg Golf etc.

Can you please shed some light on this?

Julius

My response:

I don’t consume a ton of golf media. It’s why I started this publication, and why I continue to write about the things I find interesting and important about the game.

I have nothing against those publications; I just do not find them interesting. If you love architecture or the professional game, I encourage you to check them out. I’m not a massive fan of The Broken Tee Society, I find it dilutes the value of the membership of the clubs where they play.

If you want to dig into golf media, I’d encourage you to subscribe to the Golf Digest archives for access to the articles like the one linked above. The old, grizzled golf writers of the 70s, 80s, and 90s will make you laugh and think about the game like you haven’t before.

See you next week.

-BTG