Starting golf at 50 or 60: why it can be the best moment

Golf is one of the few sports you can take up at 60 without kidding yourself. That is not down to good will but to the thing itself: the ball sits still, you set the pace, and the parts of the game that decide the score depend more on technique and decisions than on strength. Here is what really changes with age, what stays the same, and what a first year looks like.

What changes

Three things, and they are measurable. The rotation available in the spine and hips decreases, so the backswing gets shorter. Club speed falls, and with it distance: TrackMan names 94 mph with the driver for the average golfer off 14.5, and 79 mph for a female golfer off 15 (TrackMan), and that number declines over the years. And recovery takes longer, which limits the number of rounds a week rather than the quality of any one of them.

What follows from that is not a restriction but different equipment and a different expectation. Starting at 60 you do not play the tees a 25-year-old plays, and you do not need a shaft built for 100 mph.

What stays the same

Everything that decides the score. The last hundred metres, putting, club choice, avoiding penalty strokes: none of those depends on strength or age. On a short course a 60-year-old with a clean chip regularly beats a 25-year-old with a long drive, and on a long course the right choice of tee evens much of it out.

The course permit stays the same too, and it is within reach: 40 theory questions of which 28 must be right, and on the practice ground three of six tee shots carrying over 80 metres for men and 70 for women, plus pitching, chipping, bunker and putting (Swiss Golf). Eighty metres of carry is within almost anybody's reach after a few lessons, whatever the year of birth.

Why starting late even has advantages

Starting at 55 gives you three things a 25-year-old rarely has: time on weekdays, when the courses are empty and the green fees lower; patience for technique that works over weeks rather than days; and money for lessons that shorten the road. On top of that, golf is the only ball sport you still play at 80, which justifies investing in technique.

And one point that matters in Switzerland: golf here is not a youth sport. Of 108,543 licences, 6,883 belong to juniors, a good six per cent (Swiss Golf, annual report 2025). Starting at 60 makes you the exception in no group.

The first year, realistically

Phase	What is on	Duration
Trying it	two or three hours in a simulator, one of them with a pro	two weeks
Basics	five to eight lessons plus an hour of practice a week	two to three months
Theory and short game	40 questions, plus chipping, pitching, bunkers	one month
Course permit and first rounds	the exam, then nine holes with company	one month

That is about five to six months with one appointment a week. Start in November and you are on a course in April, with the whole winter spent in a bay where weather and daylight do not matter.

Equipment that matches the speed

One point decides more than the brand: the stiffness of the shaft. As a guide, a classification by driver club speed is used: below 72 mph ladies, 72 to 83 senior, 84 to 96 regular, 97 to 104 stiff and above that x-stiff (golf.com). Many players over 60 sit in the senior range and play regular anyway, because it looks better on the shaft.

Your own number takes an hour in any bay with a launch monitor: ten drives, the average counts. Add more loft on the driver, which gets the ball up at lower speed, and light clubs that do not slow the swing. More on that is in Golf at 60 plus.

The body, soberly considered

Golf is moderate movement over a long time: a walked round of 18 holes is around 17,000 steps and 880 kilocalories, at a mean heart rate of about 109 beats a minute. That is why the sport works into old age, and at the same time why warming up beforehand becomes more important.

Five minutes is enough: walk briskly, turn hips and shoulders, ten half swings with a wedge. Among amateurs the spine is the most common site of injury, and most complaints come from a turn without preparation. The drills are in Golf and back pain.

Why winter is the best start

Because the three things that matter at the beginning work better indoors. First repetition: sixty balls in an hour with no searching. Second feedback: after every shot the carry, the direction and the ball speed are on the screen, and a pro sees in one lesson what takes three to guess at outside. Third the conditions: no wind, no rain, and no darkness at half past four.

81 of the 110 indoor venues offer coaching, and an hour is a median CHF 50 per bay, divided by up to four people. Where the nearest one is, is on the map; which venues teach is on the training page.

Nine holes are enough

Since the 2024 WHS revision a single 9-hole round counts for your handicap immediately. The software fills the missing nine holes with an expected score from your index, which makes one evening on the course a full result.

For a late start that is the best news in the whole rule book: you do not have to walk eighteen holes to be in the system. How the scoring works is in Does a 9-hole round count.

The distance table matters more than the distance

Anyone starting late rarely hits it far, and that is no disadvantage as long as the numbers are known. Know that your 7 iron carries 120 metres on average and you pick the right club to 120 and hit the green; believe it carries 150 and you finish short and lose two strokes.

That table is made in a bay in an hour, every club ten times, noting the average. 80 of the 110 indoor venues in the directory publish an hourly price between CHF 25 and 99 (directory), and how to go about it is in Club distances.

More on this: Golf injuries and what studies say about prevention, Is golf healthy?.

The three mistakes of a late start

Wanting distance. Trying to hit it 220 metres at 60 produces a fast, short swing and pain. Taking two more clubs costs nothing and saves the round.

Shafts that are too stiff. The most common equipment error, and it costs height, carry and feel. The number from the bay is the answer, not the label.

Taking lessons too late. Practise alone for a year and then go to a pro and you are taught what you have to unlearn. Three lessons at the start are worth more than ten after two years.

Frequently asked questions

Can you still learn golf at 60?

Yes. What comes more slowly with age is flexibility and club speed, not technique, short game and club choice, and those are what decide the score. The course permit asks for 80 metres of carry for men and 70 for women, which is reachable after a few lessons.

How long does starting at 55 or 60 take?

Five to six months with one appointment a week: two weeks trying it, two to three months of basics with five to eight lessons, a month of theory and short game, and a month to the course permit and first rounds.

Which shaft do I need at 60?

The one that matches your measured club speed. As a guide: below 72 mph ladies, 72 to 83 senior, 84 to 96 regular. Many players over 60 sit in the senior range and play regular anyway, which costs height and carry.

Is golf healthy in later life?

It is moderate movement over a long time: about 17,000 steps and 880 kilocalories on a walked round, at a mean heart rate of around 109 beats a minute. Warming up matters, because among amateurs the spine is the most common site of injury.

Where is the best place to start at 60?

At an indoor venue with coaching, ideally in winter. There you hit sixty balls in an hour without searching, see the numbers after every shot, and weather and daylight do not matter. 81 of the 110 venues teach.

Sources

• TrackMan: What is Club Speed?
• Swiss Golf: Reglement Platzreife (PDF)
• Swiss Golf: Jahresbericht 2025 (PDF) (6'883 Junioren von 108'543 Karten)
• golf.com: Schaft-Flex nach Schlägerkopfgeschwindigkeit
• Swiss Golf Simulators: eigene Einträge (Stundenpreise Bays, Stand September 2026)