What does retirement hold for golfers in Gen X and younger? Travel, adventure, variety – and lots of golf. 

Retirement for some Australians is akin to a mythical being – a financial and time-based unicorn, if you will, that seems so distant and feels about as viable as a successful water carry from 250 metres away. Yet the reality is that there’s a fiscal tailwind at your back and the generation nearing retirement age is armed with Bryson DeChambeau-like power in the pecuniary realm… if you know which financial club to pull. Fortunately, more and more savvy people do – golfers among them.

“People are better informed,” says Brendan Bartlett*, a financial adviser with RI Advice Group and a golfer. “The average person is now actively seeking pre- and post-retirement advice, so they know so much more about retirement planning, investment options, risks and superannuation than ever before. And they need to – it’s just so complex.”

For avid golfers, the game is at the core of any retirement plan. In a recent survey of Australian Golf Digest readers, 82 percent of future retirees told us they hope to play more than 50 rounds a year once they’ve stopped working. Their No.1 retirement ideal: having access to a course they love playing.

But golf is only part of what they’re seeking. The next generation of retirees also know more about what they want to do in retirement. They want to be active, eat well, make new friends, learn new skills and travel – without a “retirement routine”, Bartlett says. This is a shift, and some observers believe it could have a profound effect on golf clubs and communities in the years ahead.

Precise timelines are slightly hazy, however there is no doubting that Generation X spans the post-Baby Boomers and pre-Gen Ys. It’s widely accepted to cover those born between 1965 and 1980, making it people currently aged 44 to 59. That’s the generation closest to retirement without having quite reached the magical mark.

Many Australians in their late 40s and 50s plan to work fewer years than their parents and grandparents did, and it’s not just the timing that’s different. They’re looking at their ‘golden years’ through a wider lens. Healthier and more active than their parents were at retirement, they view it as the beginning of an adventure – not the end of the line.

Even COVID didn’t slow the trend, financial advisers agree. In fact, it might have accelerated it for some. Pre-pandemic, the average retirement age in Australia was a surprisingly young 55.4 (60 for men and 52 for women). In 2018-2019, just fewer than one in five (18 percent) people aged 45-64 reported that they intended to retire before age 65, one-third intended to retire between 65 and 69, and 11 percent after age 70. A further 38 percent reported that they did not know when they intended to retire. The average intended retirement age was 66.

So what does retirement look like today, exactly? Bartlett says it’s less finite than it once was. Lifestyles have changed and it’s not desired or healthy in most cases to go ‘cold turkey’ on working.

“You used to be able to access your superannuation earlier,” he says, “but now it’s 60 (dependent on conditions of release), and very few people retire completely before pension age (67). Now, vastly more people work until age 70 in some form, and often beyond.”

Indeed, we’ve entered an era of incremental retirement, one in which the process often begins earlier but takes longer – usually by scaling back working hours gradually during the final years of employment. Or, having ‘retired’ from their main career, many will undertake casual employment as a means of staying active and engaged as much as supplementing their income. In our survey, 59 percent of respondents aged 45 or younger said they expect to keep doing some work in retirement. That’s a change. Only 38 percent of current retirees who took the survey report doing any work once they had retired.

“Life expectancy is also significantly longer than it was 20 years ago and will only improve,” Bartlett says. “Those aged 60 and older represent a larger proportion of the population than ever, while people are younger and healthier at 65 than they were in 2004.”

Another factor in retirees’ favour is the increasing flexibility inherent in many modern workplaces. COVID gave rise to a trend that was already emerging, ushering in an era of greater give-and-take. Many industries allow – even applaud – a more balanced approach to work and non-work life, which enhances the notion of retirement happening progressively.

Bartlett says that with planning and advice, people now know they can (and will) do what they want. They don’t need to retire to have an adventure. A six-week overseas golf trip through Britain in your 60s? Why not? Chances are your job will allow it, given enough advance notice.

“Retirement’s not for old people anymore,” Bartlett says. “People want to retire and do everything – and often they have to do more, such as caring for grandchildren. It’s not only golf, it’s ‘life’. Work is just one spoke in the wheel in modern life – there are so many more interests.”

HITTING THE ROAD

Golf remains one of the prime interests in retirement, whether it takes the shape of more frequent play locally or as an excuse to travel. Australian Golf Digest has checked in with Tony Ellis before (January 2023 issue). The retired finance manager from Melbourne is still touring the country, chipping away at a stated goal of playing 1,000 golf courses in total.

Ellis stopped working in late 2019 and immediately began his golf-in-retirement quest as a way of seeing Australia, compiling a five-to-10-year plan of travelling the nation with his wife, Jo. “My golf clubs were on board, but I had no specific lists or targets when we set out,” he told us in late 2022, at which point he’d played 326 different courses. “The thought of discovering new courses has always appealed to me.”

COVID threw a spanner into their plans, yet the pair persisted. As of this July, his courses-played figure sits at 375 after navigating the Gulf of Carpentaria region, western Queensland and into the Northern Territory, including stops at Darwin and Alice Springs. “The golf was pretty rugged in some places but between all the scraping of sand, there was plenty of fun had and lots of quirky stuff,” says Ellis, who writes blogs at australiangolfcoursetourbycaravan.com. “The first hole at Karumba Golf Club plays diagonally across a soccer pitch as a par 3, for example, and many little nuggets of gold along the way.”

In Western Australia, Stephen Curry has sizeable golf plans when his retirement rolls around. “Membership of Perth Golf Network, playing two to three times a week, if not more,” he enthuses. “Possible membership of a local club as well. Golfing holidays overseas. I would be disappointed if I didn’t play golf 100 times a year from age 60 to age 70.”

Sometimes, however, retirement doesn’t begin the way you intended. Peter Francis retired from the Victorian Police Force in January, but hasn’t seen any more of the golf course… yet. “My plan was to go to the range a couple of times a week and play my regular one golf game a week, with hopefully another game as time goes on,” he says. “Unfortunately nothing has changed and I’m still only playing once a week with a rare range hit.”

There is a light glowing at the end of the wintry Melbourne tunnel, though. “I do have planned a golf trip to Queensland in November for four days,” Francis says.

Plans – be they for golf, retirement, finances, travel or all four – are what keep many golfers going. 

*Authorised representative of RI Advice Group Pty Ltd ABN 23 001 774 125 AFSL 238429

Getting in gear

Some easy equipment fixes that’ll add distance as you age

Just how much distance do golfers lose as they age? We looked at data from Arccos, a leader in performance analytics.

Collecting data from male golfers over a three-year period, Arccos says driving distance for those age 30 to 39 is about 214 metres. For those 40 to 49, it falls to 207 – a seven-metre loss. For those 50 to 59, it declines another nine metres to 198, for a total loss of 16 metres. Those in their 60s? Don’t ask. Luckily, advances in equipment can help. If you’re experiencing a noticeable loss in distance off the tee – 10 metres or more – there’s a good chance a change in your driver setup can help. The easiest way to know for sure: a launch monitor. Don’t assume because you got fitted for clubs a few years ago that those specs will stay the same forever. Returning to the launch monitor can show how your swing has changed and offer insight into equipment changes that could result in more metres.

When older players notice decreasing distance, they often add more loft. That’s a smart move in most cases. Drivers built in the past few years deliver significantly less spin than they used to. Problem is, some golfers – especially those with slower swing speeds – need spin to keep the ball in the air. Going to a higher loft will naturally add launch angle and provide more spin, so it’s a win-win for many.

Don’t assume you automatically need a lighter, more flexible shaft. Shaft flex is often dictated more by how you swing than how fast. For example, a player whose swing has slowed but still has a lot of lag might want to continue using a stiffer shaft. “Changing the shaft changes the feel of the club, and the first thing the brain wants to do when it’s not comfortable is to automatically slow down,” says Tom Olsavsky, vice-president of R&D for Cobra Golf. “That’s not to say a lighter, more flexible shaft won’t work, but fitting really comes into play when you’re changing shafts.”

Finally, it might also be time to ditch those longer irons. As speed drops, it gets harder to get the ball in the air. “You see on tour a number of players using utility irons or hybrids for that reason,” Olsavsky says. “If the best players in the world are trying to get more air under the ball on those shots, everyday players need it even more. The slower the swing, the more launch tends to be important, whether it’s off the tee or into the green.” – E. Michael Johnson

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