At age 39 my wife and I paid a visit to some of her relatives in Minnesota. A couple of her uncles were going out to walk 9 holes and asked me to accompany them. Heck! I couldn't even spell golf!! In my western boots, western style sleeveless with snap buttons shirt, Pall Mall's in the chest pocket, and a Caterpillar belt buckle we headed to a local course. Followed along with them stepping in the goose poop and tried to hit a few balls with their clubs. Came back home. Went to a local pawn shop and traded an old S&W K15 Combat Masterpiece for a complete set of clubs. One of the most expensive errors in judgement I've ever made!!!! Have spent literally thousands of dollars on golf since then.
After hacking it around with the old MacGregor pawn shop clubs, I began the never-ending search for the newest and best and latest and fanciest and most played on Tour and ......... For a few years I would have put Steve to shame with the number of clubs I owned or went through. Working full time, was never able to dedicate the time and patience necessary to hone the game. Yet, played rounds all over the U.S. as I traveled for business.

Fully retired just a year ago at the age of 70. Began playing 7 days/week. Logged 141 rounds into our course computer during our handicap season which runs from March 1 to November 15. With the rounds before and after the handicap season, played close to 200 rounds in 2017. Ended up with a USGA handicap of 8.0.

Scoring the best I have in my life at age 70/71 is due to the short game. Play every day and the short game becomes your strong suit. At this age, I can no longer hit it out there with the young flat-bellies. I can out chip and out putt them!!

So, score wise, I'm playing my best golf at age 70/71. However, it is a game I have enjoyed over 40+ years, met many great people, made many good friends, and come to love. I have nothing but respect and accolades for this Game... this frustrating @#$%& GAME!!!!!!

    limpalong Ended up with a USGA handicap of 8.0.

    I'm looking forward to teeing it up with you sometime this season. It looks like 2 a side for me so bring some dimes and quarters. 😎

        What I've gathered from this thread is that if I want to be a strong player I need to retire this year at age 29.

          I started playing at 38. I got down to a hdcp of 8, (actually once got it down to 7.8 for about a week!) but it was mostly a vanity cap in my opinion because I played easier courses where my wildness off the tee didn't hurt me much. Just go in the next fairway and hit it back. I was reasonably long back then. My hdcp didn't travel well.
          Now at 60 I'm way more consistent, rarely hitting a drive OB. I'm waaay shorter, not due to age as I'm in pretty good shape but I think due to a concentration on accuracy. But I only play once a week and I can't putt worth a lick. My hdcp is around 12 now, but I plan to retire in June and hopefully work on putting and short game to get back to single digits.

          mikeintopeka First off, our group plays for QUARTERS! One of the first times I played with them I tried to pay my "debt" in dimes and nickels. Was emphatically told they did NOT play for pennies, nickels, or dimes. It's QUARTERS!! :>)
          And, there's no "2 a side". We all play straight up with no strokes given or taken. Bring your flat-belly A game and you might take us old geezers to the cleaners for a buck or buck and a half. Or, we may send you back to Topeka with you tail between your legs, 50 cents poorer!!!!

            While I started playing when I was 20 my real love was baseball and fast pitch softball. I worked for three startup companies over the next 28 years and played golf off and on during that time. I retired in 1990 and that was when I started to play golf a lot. For the next 15 years I played to a single digit handicap. Since then my scoring has gone from the med 70's low 80's to mid 80's with an occasional visit to the 70's and a rare visit to the 90's. I now just play to enjoy the walk and to get some exercise. I play year around and only play 9 holes in the winter months and try to get 18 during the summer.

            For sure, a lot of the difference is made up with the ability to play and practice more.

            Where the technology boundaries exist between the differences of playing more and better equipment?

            Who knows.

            But, the player in me will always suggest that being more active, playing more, practicing more, will most always take the lion's share of the credit over technology is it relates to better scoring and execution.

            And I say that as a former fan of playing/practicing on a regular basis, and a current fan of the bigger, more forgiving club faces and 4-pc balls to make up for the latter.

            sdandrea1 Sheesh! Government employees were never known for their reading ability... while working or after retirement!! The use of 70/71 was talking about my 2017 rounds of golf. My birthday is November 3rd. So, most of my 2017 round were when I was 70. As stated in the post, our handicap season ended November 15th. We also had a mild November/December and played many round beyond the end of the handicap season... at age 71. So... my 2017 golf was played while I was 70/71 years old!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go back to gluing old Pings together and let me alone!!!!😀

                livegolf My best golf has been before 40

                You're too young to post in this thread........................and nobody likes a showoff.😎

                  For me, my best golf was from 45-55 years of age. I played in tournaments of some kind almost every weekend. Most of them were 3 man or 4 man team tournaments. Since age 55 it's been a constant downhill grind for my golf game.

                  Before 40.

                  When I was a college student, I played about 5 days a week, weather permitting, walking and carrying my clubs. I consistently shot between about 75 and maybe 82, with most rounds in the high 70s.

                  Now my scores vary between 80 and about 95, with the vast majority of them being between 82 and 87. 84 is my most common score. So I'm about 6 shots worse than I was in my 20s.

                  My best golf was around age 45-50, distance was good, but fought the occasional high-right tee shot. Now at 73, my distance is shot, but I'll hit 10/14 fairways and my irons are more accurate. Putting is like a fart in a windstorm, it's all over the place. With a bum knee, still enjoy getting out once a week.