Tips for easing back into the game after years without playing? (54yo)
I'm 54 years old (M). I played golf quite a bit in my teens and 20's, but only sporadically after that. It's been probably 3-4 years since I last played a round.
I was laid off from my job recently, and decided to get back into golf now that I have lots of spare time. I got myself a set of clubs (Callaway XR), and on Monday went to the range to hit a large bucket of balls. It took about 20 shots before I was able to get the ball off the ground, but by the end it was starting to come back to me.
Holy cow, it's 2 days later and I'm still sore lol. Shoulders, forearms, upper back, abdominals, inner thighs. I feel better than yesterday at least. I have a lesson with a pro scheduled tomorrow morning, as I want to make sure I do it correctly from the beginning this time around.
I was really hoping to do a lot of practicing this week, but it's obvious that my body will need some time to get up to par, so to speak. Any advice for getting back into the game, getting a decent amount of practice in, while not making myself stiff and sore (or worse yet, injured)?
UPDATE: thanks for the fantastic suggestions so far, much appreciated! My takeaways from your feedback:
- Weight training
- Stretching regularly and warming up before play/practice
- Walking/cardio
- Take it easy (ideally, I've got 25 years of golf still ahead of me, no need to rush)