Four golfers with combined age of 357 play two rounds a week at golf club near Lancaster
and live on Freeview channel 276
Phil Castle, 92, Bob MacKeith, 90, Pat Hanson, 89, and Geoff Hall, 86, say it is a great way to keep fit and socialise with each other.
“We walk around the course rather than use buggies,” said Phil. “You are exercising every part of your body in a gentle sort of way. It is what keeps us going!”
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Hide AdAnd after completing their round - either the first nine holes or the second - the four visit the clubhouse to enjoy a cup of coffee or lunch.
The four friends, who all live in Kirkby Lonsdale, are keen to stress that their twice-weekly sessions are not competitive.
“We play for personal pride,” said Bob, with Phil adding: “It is all about encouragement – we applaud each other’s good shots and commiserate if a shot does not go well. You could call it therapy!”
Phil and Pat, who are next-door neighbours, started the practice of a foursome playing regular rounds back in 1991. There have been various members over the years and the present group has been meeting up for the past five years or so.
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Hide AdDespite their collective ages adding up to more than three and a half centuries, Pat said age was not a subject they discussed very much.
“We don’t think of ourselves as unusual,” said Phil. “How much longer we shall continue playing like this is something we don’t consider.”
Geoff, the youngest of the foursome, said he loved ‘everything’ about golf.
“It is just brilliant - you are out in the open and there is good companionship,” he said.
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Hide AdPhil, a former president at the club, highlighted that playing a round at Kirkby Lonsdale was also a great nature walk. “The other day my grandson, who is 12, pointed out a hare on the course and on the next fairway there were swallows flying around everywhere at ankle height.
"You often spot herons, squirrels and the occasional deer and there is a lovely view from every part of the course.”
The foursome plays all year round but is a bit more cautious these days about the weather. “We don’t start in the rain!” said Bob.
Great-grandfather Bob has been playing golf for 72 years and has been a member of Kirkby Lonsdale for 21 years. Geoff, who was secretary at the club for 12 years, has been a member for 40 years.
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Hide AdPhil, a former headteacher at Queen Elizabeth School in the town, has been a member of the golf club since 1966, while Pat has been a member for more than 50 years.
They stressed that Kirkby Lonsdale was a very friendly and welcoming club.
Club captain John Sherlock said: “I was playing a round with a friend when I came across the foursome, after having just seen a group of juniors playing.
"Bearing in mind the ages of the two groups, it was great to see how enthusiastic they all were about wanting to be out on the course and I felt proud as club captain that we could be so inclusive.”