By Julia Boyle
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Whether they’re as young as Alexis Thomson, the youngest female player to make the U.S. Women’s Open at age 12, or as old as Ed Gold, who plays with Charlestown’s golf club at age 94, “Golf is a game you can play all your life,” Joseph Booker says.

Booker co-chairs Charlestown’s golf club with Tom Showe. Together, they organize 32 golfers who play every other Monday from early April to mid-October at the nearby Forest Park Golf Club in Baltimore, Md.

Golf course therapy
“Golf is not an easy game to play really well. It keeps you mentally sharp because it’s very challenging. You have to think about what kind of shot you’re going to hit with what club, but it’s very rewarding too,” Booker says.

He chairs the 16-member, 18-hole group while Showe chairs the 12-member, 9-hole group. They organize competitive foursomes based on level of play and have four substitutes to call in a player’s absence.

“Playing this way promotes camaraderie because you build friendships with the people in your group,” Booker says.

Aside from mental awareness and building friendships, the sport promotes physical fitness.

“Sometimes the golf carts are not allowed on certain areas of the course—they have to stay on the pathway. So we have to walk on the fairway,” says Robert Kramer, president of Oak Crest’s golf club.

Aside from the aerobic activity of walking, golf involves bending, twisting, and stretching. “Golfing certainly keeps us fit because the motion involved is a reasonable amount of activity,” Kramer says.

Practice makes perfect
Experts recommend staying in shape in the off-season to avoid injuries when starting up again next spring.