Why Golf is Great for Boomers

Kathy Allin didn't take up golf until she was in her 40s. Now she's found her third career as a golf instructor and likes to help other boomers get into the game.

Allin says she wasn't physically active at all while working in the health insurance industry in Ohio. Then she and her golfer husband, Harry, moved to California for his job, and he bought her a set of clubs and a pink golf bag she hadn't asked for.

She took lessons "on the sly," while her husband was off golfing, and she got hooked. So much so that in 2010 -- in her 50s -- she abandoned her second career working at colleges to earn an AA degree at the Professional Golfers Career College in Temecula, Calif.

Allin was the lone woman and the oldest student in a class of men in their 20s. Despite the differences, she became good friends with her fellow students as they learned about golf instruction, physiology and marketing, and she graduated as class valedictorian.

Allin landed a position as a golf instructor at a nine-hole municipal golf course in Altadena, Calif., where she specializes in introducing older students -- especially women -- to golf. Her oldest student so far has been a man in his 70s.

Golf is a notoriously frustrating game, but Allin encourages her students to find the fun. "Acknowledge the good shots; forget the bad," she says. "Skill is not the over-arching goal. Creativity and luck are part of it."

In an interview with SecondAct, Allin talks about how to start playing golf and why it's a good sport for boomers.

SA: What's the best way to begin?
KA: Check out Play Golf America, which lists places around the country where beginners can "Get Golf Ready," with offers of five lessons for $99.

SA: How can a beginner find the right instructor?
KA: Talk to people. Who else has this person taught, and what do they say about this instructor? Golf can be intimidating, so you want to find someone you're comfortable with. Find someone who can help you smile about your golf game.

SA: Isn't it hard to play golf?
KA: Golf is easier than most people make it out to be, though it's not an easy game. Swinging through -- not at -- a golf ball is not that different from doing things like tossing a wad of paper into the wastebasket. We know how to use our bodies in many different ways that can translate into a golf swing.

SA: Don't you have to be physically strong to play well?
KA: People think 'I need to be a powerful person who can hit the ball a long way.' That's not true. I can be a compact person and hit the ball far enough. And, for a golfer, being shorter has its advantages. The short game (chipping, putting) is what it's all about, and women are stupendous at that.

SA: Is golf expensive?
KA: It's not as expensive as people believe. I've seen a complete set of clubs and a golf bag at [a sporting goods store] for $140. You can play nine holes in a relatively small amount of time, and come away feeling good about it.

SA: Is it good exercise?
KA: According to the Lorena Ochoa Foundation, walking nine holes is the equivalent of walking 2.5 miles. (Many beginning golfers start out on shorter, nine-hole golf courses that encourage people to walk with their clubs, rather than riding in an electric cart.) Playing golf also strengthens a person's flexibility.

SA: Aren't there a lot of complicated rules to learn?
KA: Golf doesn't have to be so serious. Some golfers just want to have fun.

Lynne Domash is an editor at SecondAct.com and an enthusiastic golfer who started playing at age 45.