The 10 Best Golf Tips for Seniors – Play Great Golf at Any Age!

Think you need to give up control, consistency, or even low scores as you get older? Think again.

As we age, mobility and flexibility can naturally decline, but that doesn’t mean your golf game has to suffer.

In fact, with some smart adjustments and a focus on control, you may find yourself playing more consistent, enjoyable golf than ever before.

By making a few swing tweaks, refining your practice routine, and embracing the right mindset, you can maintain steady improvement. Don’t give up on low scores simply because you are now in the senior category.

Best Golf Tips for Seniors (Key Takeaways)

No time to read through all of our best golf tips for seniors? Here are the most important ones to keep in mind:

• Focus on the Short Game: The short game (100 yards and in) is your best opportunity to save strokes and lower scores. Dedicate the majority of your practice time here.
• Prioritize Alignment Over Distance: Seniors often struggle with alignment as mobility changes. Use alignment aids during practice to avoid costly mistakes on the course.
• Master Your Wrist Angles: Wrist control directly impacts ball flight, putting, and short-game precision. Tools like HackMotion can help you refine your wrist angles in real-time.
• Enhance Flexibility with Daily Movement: Regular stretching and light exercises for the upper body will improve your range of motion and help you swing more freely.

The 10 Best Golf Tips for Seniors

1. Turn Your Feet Out for Better Mobility

Some senior golfers struggle with the ability to rotate. As you age, your body may become stiffer and less flexible.

In addition to working on your flexibility, you can set up with your toes turned out slightly. This small adjustment loosens up the legs and allows for a fuller turn in your backswing.

Another added benefit is that it increases your hand path length.

You may not be able to take the club as far back as you once did, but turning your toes out gives your hands a longer path around your body, helping you maintain distance as you age.

2. Practice Your Short Game (100 Yards and In)

The biggest issue senior golfers face is difficulty producing the same amount of distance they once did. It doesn’t matter who you are; seeing ten, fifteen, or even twenty yards of distance disappear is frustrating.

However, from 100 yards and in, nothing holds you back from being the best player on the course.

Start working on drills to help with distance control, alignment, and ball flight. Try to have both a high and a low shot from 25, 50, 75, and 100 yards you can rely on.

The HackMotion 9 to 3 drill is a great option for full swing practice, but it also helps you groove that waist-high to waist-high golf swing that produces consistent short-game results.

Additionally, focus on how your wrist action changes between chip and pitch shots.

The pitch shot requires more extension in the lead wrist, while the chip shot works best with slight wrist flexion and forward shaft lean.

3. Work on Stable Putting Mechanics

You’ve probably heard about keeping a pendulum-like stroke when putting, which promotes consistency and keeps the ball rolling toward the hole on the proper line.

However, many senior golfers unknowingly move their wrists too much during the stroke. To improve, focus on maintaining a stable amount of flexion or extension in the lead wrist throughout the stroke.

There’s no perfect wrist angle, but it must stay consistent. This small adjustment can make a big difference in your putting accuracy and consistency.

4. Incorporate Daily Flexibility Exercises

Those days of running up to the first tee and playing a great round without warming up are behind you. At this point in your life, your body is naturally tightening up and becoming stiffer each day.

Add a daily walk to your routine and use a golf stretching aid to improve your mobility.

Swinging a weighted club or using a lightweight medicine ball can also help build strength and flexibility in your hips and shoulders—critical areas for maintaining your swing speed.

5. Set Realistic Goals for Consistency

Set achievable goals for your game. For instance, aim to complete a round without three-putting. If you do three-putt, spend time on the practice green afterward working on lag putting.

Work on getting out of the bunker in one shot every time or achieving at least one up-and-down during your round.

These short-term, manageable goals are easier to achieve and build momentum for long-term improvement. Over time, you’ll find that they help lower your handicap and improve your overall consistency.

You can also use drills like the HackMotion Static Top Drill to develop a consistent position at the top of your backswing. Simply take a swing stop at the top and let HackMotion tell you if you are in the right position.

6. Adjust Your Trail Foot for a Bigger Turn

Some senior golfers feel restricted in their backswing because of reduced flexibility.

A simple adjustment can help: pull your trail foot (right foot for right-handed golfers) slightly back and flare it outward at setup.

This small tweak does two important things:

• It presets your hips slightly closed, making it easier to rotate.
• It opens the hip joint, giving you a greater range of motion during the backswing.

Combine this with letting your trail leg straighten slightly as you turn, and you’ll find it easier to complete a smooth, controlled backswing. The result should be better ball striking without forcing your body into uncomfortable positions.

Play around with the amount you adjust your trail foot until you find a comfortable position that gives you a bit more range of motion.

7. Simplify Weight Transfer

As we age, it becomes harder to recover from excessive weight shifts during the swing. Staying centered throughout your swing is a simple way to improve consistency and ensure solid contact. Making your golf swing simpler as you age is smart.

Feel like you keep your body steady over the ball during your backswing. Avoid swaying too far back or forward as you swing. You can still transfer your weight and rotate, but you want to focus on turning around a fixed point instead of shifting weight excessively.

By staying centered, you’ll reduce the likelihood of mishits and make your swing feel more repeatable.

8. Focus on Wrist Angles for Consistency

Many senior golfers struggle with wrist angles, directly affecting clubface control and ball flight. If your lead wrist (left wrist for right-handed golfers) has too much extension through impact, you’re likely leaving the clubface open, leading to weak shots that fade or slice.

Many senior golfers complain that the fade or slice is their most common mix.

Focus on keeping your lead wrist flat—or even slightly flexed—through impact to fix this. A tool like HackMotion can help you measure and improve your wrist angles, but even without it, you can work on drills to feel the difference.

The dynamic release drill on the HackMotion app will help you train your wrist angles through impact. Your goal is to keep your wrists flexed more at impact than they are at address.

The more consistent your wrist angles, the straighter and more reliable your shots will be.

9. Use Controlled Power in Your Swing

When seniors try to “swing harder,” they often lose balance and consistency. Instead, focus on creating controlled power by maximizing the hand and clubhead path during your backswing.

With your foot dropped back, you create more space to take the club around you. You won’t look like you’re taking a John Daly driver swing; instead, you’ll be in a controlled position where squaring the clubface at impact isn’t any more difficult.

Think of it like this:

• A longer backswing with a smooth hand and club path gives you more time to generate power.
• Balance is key—don’t overswing.
• Let the downswing happen naturally, transferring energy into the ball without rushing.

Controlled power leads to efficiency, not brute force, and results in more consistent outcomes while still maintaining a respectable distance.

10. Use Modern Technology for Feedback

Technology isn’t just for young golfers—it can be a game-changer for seniors, too. Tools like launch monitors and swing analyzers can give you precise feedback to improve your game.

Check stats like clubface angle, swing speed, and ball flight if you can access a launch monitor. Make some of the adjustments we suggested and see how they impact your numbers.

Wearing the HackMotion wrist sensor will not only help you identify your inconsistencies but also help you fix them. The HackMotion is interactive allowing you to do drills in real time with feedback as to whether your swing is in the correct position.

Most importantly, you’ll be able to track your progress and keep yourself motivated to continue improving.

In Summary

As golfers age, some degree of speed and power loss will inevitably occur. It’s perfectly fine to lose some distance as we age; instead, let’s focus on control, consistency, and enjoying the game.

To score lower as you age, use experience, smart golf course management, and close attention to the details in your game.

Golfers are finding success by gaining speed, improving their short game, and focusing on positive mental thoughts on the course.

Go give it a try, and let us know how it goes.