Photo courtesy of Gary Player Group, Inc.

Secrets to achieving one of the hardest feats in golf: shooting your age

For all of Tiger Woods' impressive accomplishments, there's one feat he probably won't achieve for another 30 years.

Only then will Woods be about ready to join an elite club of players who've shot their age, an accomplishment that requires both impressive skill and longevity.

"Obviously, shooting your age really depends on both how old you are and how good you are," said nine-time major champion Gary Player. "I would say that a pro should be able to shoot his or her age in their mid-60s and an amateur in their early- to mid-70s. If you're a weekend hacker you simply may never do it."

Player meets the two requirements of becoming a consistent age-beater. In the skill department, he is one of just five men to win the career Grand Slam. He also has the longevity and is one of the first golfers to emphasize exercise as a key to success on the links.

Player works out daily when he's at home. His regimen includes at least 1,000 sit-ups per day -- often with an 80-pound weight on his chest.

That's why as a 71-year-old Player led the Champions Tour with six rounds at his age or lower, even though many tournaments were played on courses longer than 7,000 yards.

Another golfing great, Arnold Palmer, first shot his age in 1995, firing a 66 in a Champions Tour event on his 66th birthday.

"A golfer has to have mixed feelings about shooting his or her age," Palmer said. "It's an exciting day when and if it happens, but it also means that you have to be up in years before it can happen. ... It becomes easier and easier every year."

Golfers shooting their age seems to be on the increase. One reason is that the aging of the population has meant more older golfers. Additionally, more golfers are staying in good physical condition. And improvements in equipment means that many senior players hit the ball the same distance they did in their heyday.

Bob Hullender ranks No. 1 on the Golfweek/Titleist Super Senior Rankings (for players 65 and older). Hullender either plays or practices every day, but just as importantly, he stretches every morning and lifts weights three times a week.

"I started stretching about five years ago, but I've always worked out," said Hullender, who turned 71 on March 28. "I don't know that I've gained a lot of distance, but it helps me hit the ball basically the same distance, maybe a little bit longer (as five years ago)."

Hullender's stretching routine focuses on his upper body and the muscles used in the golf swing. About five years ago, he also switched from lifting heavier weights with fewer repetitions to doing three sets of 25 reps with lighter weights.

That routine helps keep him lean and mean. He can still drive the ball 300 yards when he "catches it."

Player said that keeping one's weight under control is one of the most important parts of playing good golf at an advanced age. He weighs 146 pounds, 20 fewer than in his prime.
"You've got to keep supple so you can get the club back," he said. "If you're slim you can still swing the club back and get the club through. Once you start getting heavy, your swing gets shorter and shorter and it's harder to do it."

Player has adhered a healthy diet "reasonably well" throughout his life, but said has watched what he eats "diligently" for the past three years.

Hullender, who has two artificial hips, probably got his appreciation for exercise from his military career. He retired from the Air Foce in 1989 as a brigadier general. He flew 221 missions in the Vietnam War.

It's helped him achieve some impressive scores as a senior. He shot 61 in a recreational round when he was 70 years old. He is the oldest player to win the Texas Amateur, claiming the 1996 title at 59. In 1995, he played with Arnold Palmer in the third round of the U.S. Senior Open.
Jerry Cundari has only shot his age twice, but that's impressive considering he's 67 years old. He was 65 when he shot 64 while playing alongside PGA Tour winner Peter Jacobsen in a charity event. Besides golf, Cundari plays tennis, runs, bikes and lifts weights. He said increased awareness of fitness among golfers is helping more players match their age.

"You have to be in decent shape (to shoot your age)," said Cundari, who's won Oregon state titles at every age level. "When I was playing college golf, we didn't do any physical training. Now they run, lift weights, stretch. We didn't do any of that. If you can maintain yourself physically, both your strength and flexibility, that makes a big difference."

Not everyone subscribes to that theory, though. Loyal "Bud" Chapman played with Arnold Palmer in the Shoot Your Age Championship, which was played on a Palmer-designed course in The Villages, Fla., in 2006, and finished second, shooting an 80 at age 83.

Chapman, 85, is a famed artist and accomplished golfer. He's done famous paintings of golf holes in improbable locations like mountaintops. He also played with Palmer at the 1983 U.S. Senior Open.

"I wish I did (exercise more)," Chapman said. "I can't take the time to do some push-ups. Time's too precious. I do keep my weight down, though. I don't eat too much, but I love a beer after I play. I eat whatever I want."

Like many seniors, Hullender has also benefited from advances in equipment. Despite his strength, he generally doesn't carry an iron longer than a 5- or 6-iron. He's replaced his longer clubs with hybrids.

"They're just an easier club to hit. I can do anything with a hybrid I could do with a long iron," he said, "but there are things I couldn't do with a long iron that I can do with a hybrid."

Hybrid clubs combine the characteristics of irons and fairway woods. The clubs' wide sole makes them easier to hit and helps get the ball airborne from both the fairway and rough, while the clubs' flat faces makes them more accurate than a wood.

"The first iron I have in my bag is a 6-iron," Player said. "Any weekend golfer that carries anything under a 5-iron has no idea what they are doing. These clubs, you can hit out of the rough, out of the bunker. They've changed the game."

Better players may use them only to replace their long irons, but many companies are starting to implement hybrid characteristics in all of their irons to help players hit higher shots that land softer.

Chapman is the exception here. He still carries a 2-iron, and only recently got rid of his 1-iron, a club that Lee Trevino famously said "not even God can hit."

Cundari doesn't carry a 3-iron in his bag, but he didn't filled that extra slot with a fourth wedge instead of a hybrid.

A strong short game is another important part of the game for age-breakers. Some may start to hit the ball shorter in their advanced age, leaving them with longer approach shots and leading to more missed greens.

A 60-degree wedge may be a good addition because it allows players to hit higher pitch shots without having to make any adjustments in their swing.

Because of advancements in club and ball technology, seniors generally don't have to worry about losing too much distance, though.

"I'm 68 and I still hit the ball the same distance," Cundari said. "The ball is so much more lively. In the '60s, we used to have a little ring that we'd drop our balls through and one out of four balls wouldn't fall through. They weren't even round."

Cundari said former U.S. Golf Association technical director Frank Thomas told him that new clubs and balls combine to go about 20 yards farther than persimmon woods and balatas.

"I'm probably more proud (of shooting my age) than of the tournaments I've won," Cundari said. "Winning is always fun, but I think shooting your age, from a personal standpoint is right up there."

Player called the accomplishment "gratifying" because it's testament to his high level of fitness.

Of course, there is a downside to matching your age.

"I enjoy shooting my age," Hullender said, "but I'm getting so old now that soon shooting my age won't be very good."

Age-shooting milestones
Youngest player to shoot/better his age on the Champions Tour:
Walter Morgan (age 61), 60 at 2002 AT&T Canada Senior Open

Oldest player to shoot/better his age on the Champions Tour:
Harold McSpaden (age 85), 81 at 1994 PGA Seniors' Championship

Youngest player to shoot/better his age on the PGA Tour:
Sam Snead (age 67), twice at 1979 Quad Cities Open

Youngest player to shoot/better his age:
Bob Hamilton (age 59), 59 at Hamilton Golf Club in Evansville, Ind., in 1975

Oldest player to shoot/better his age:
Arthur Thompson (age 103), at Uplands Golf Club in Victoria, B.C. in 1972

Most strokes under one's age:
Joe Cheves (age 81), 64 at Mimosa Hills Country Club in Morganton, N.C., in 1999