Global Golf Post - March 1, 2010

JIM NUGENT
This is a fact: If you are a senior ama-
teur in America with game, over the age
of 55 and low single digits on your index
card, you could play in a competitive
senior amateur golf tournament every
week of the year. OK, so I exaggerate.
There is no such event between Christmas
and New Year’s. But the other 51 weeks
of the year? Grab your clubs and put a
peg in the ground.
For this wonderful situation, we have
visionaries Dale Morey, Ed Tutwiler, and
Ralph Bogart to thank. And Arnold Palm-
er, too. But more about him later.
It was 1982 when these three deco-
rated career amateurs got together at the
old Wild Dunes Invitational to create the
“Society of Seniors.” Before there was
such a thing as social media, they enlisted
the participation of guys their age whom
they had competed with over the years,
often times dating back to junior golf.
Their vision was competitive amateur golf
for men who had played at a high level for
most of their lives. Relatively inexpensive
golf, good venues and a little planned so-
cial activity were key to their success. So
too was scratch golf – no strokes were to
be given or taken. This was their business
model, and it has worked well for more
than 25 years.
So well that today the society has 850
members, including more than a dozen
from outside the U.S. The member-
ship roster includes numerous USGA
champions and Walker Cup veterans.
The seven tournaments it currently runs
(one for Super Seniors, age 65-plus,
and one for Grand Masters, age 75-plus)
are among the most important on the
senior circuit.

Arnold Palmer
guiding the SOS for the last 10 years. It
was he who organized the tournaments,
communicated with the growing mem-
bership before there was e-mail and web
sites, and otherwise kept the group on a
mission. He has graciously agreed to stay
on for another year or so, before he hits
the Super-Senior ranks and regains his
competitive form.
The model for the Society of Seniors
is one that could work around the world.
All it takes is a few skilled players of a
certain age and a heavy dose of persever-
ance. It is somewhat surprising to me
that no such comparable organization
exists in the women’s amateur game.
The creation of something like a female
SOS would surely cause women who once
played well to head to the practice tee to
reclaim the skills they once enjoyed. And
in the current economic environment in
golf, there are all too many facilities that
would welcome the tournaments, and do
whatever they could to create a positive
competitive experience. Women could
even modify the model, offering a lower
minimum age … say 45 or 50.
It has been said that golf is a game
for a lifetime. The Society of Seniors is
living proof that this is true, not just a
player-development catch phrase. Here’s
hoping that others around the game take
the Morey/Tutwiler/Bogart vision and run
with it.
Arnold Palmer would approve as well. l
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