You”re never too old to get into the zone.
Clay Wilkes has had his share of memorable rounds of golf in the nearly 40 years he has played the sport. But Wilkes had a round Tuesday that he and many of his friends called “unbelievable.”
Buoyed by a flurry of four consecutive birdies to end his run, Wilkes, 80, finished with 10 birdies and shot a 65 at the par-72 Green Oaks Golf Club in Columbus.
Partnered with Ken Smith, Carl Lisowski and Bart Bartowick, Wilkes was deadly from all distances as he drained nearly half of his birdies from 15 to 20 feet.
“I didn”t realize I had 10 birdies,” said Wilkes, who has been a member at Green Oaks ever since he retired and started playing golf again nearly 20 years ago. “(The members of his foursome) weren”t reminding me. They were like me. They couldn”t believe I was making 15-foot putts in the middle of the cup. We were all amazed.”
A decision Wilkes made several weeks ago might have contributed to his accuracy. Already playing with a new set of clubs he had recently purchased, Wilkes won a new Nike putter as part of a drawing he and his son-in-law entered at a golf tournament at NorthRiver Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Wilkes thought he was going to sell the putter, but he changed his mind after playing with it a few times.
That putter certainly was hot Tuesday. Bartowick didn”t know how well Wilkes would play when he picked him to be in his foursome, but he marveled at his partner”s play as he kept score.
“He was a monster,” said Bartowick, 69. “I have never seen a man putt as well as he did.”
Bartowick is part of a group of golfers that meets every day at noon at Green Oaks to play. The players typically pick teams and then pair off into groups of four or five. On Tuesday, eight other players were on hand to watch Wilkes” display. In seven years playing with the “Noon Group”, as Bartowick calls it, he hasn”t seen anyone get 10 birdies in a round.
“He has had five or six, but to get 10 is real unusual, and to be 80 years old, it was just terrific,” Bartowick said.
Bartowick said the teammates usually don”t aggravate each other and prefer to enjoy a competitive and friendly round of golf. But he admitted Wilkes” 10-birdie day might earn him more chances to be the player who picks his teammates.
Wilkes won”t look forward to that responsibility if it comes. He said his showing Tuesday helped him get picked first Wednesday and Thursday, but Clay”s wife, Sue, said the 10-birdie outing won”t go to her husband”s head.
“He knows he could go out there and shoot bad the next day,” said Sue, who will celebrate her 56th anniversary with Clay on Sept. 10.
Sue smiled earlier this week when Clay credited her for “putting up with him” and allowing him to play as much golf as he does. After so many rounds at Columbus Country Club and Green Oaks, Sue said she was just as pleased as Clay was when she found of what he shot Tuesday.
“He really enjoys golf,” Sue said. “When he came in and told me he had 10 birdies I really thought it was a joke. He said, ”No, I had 10 birdies.” That”s unbelievable. He was very excited and pleased to call all three of our children and tell them about it.”
In fact, one of the children put word of Clay”s accomplishment on Facebook. As a result, Clay received several phone calls from people congratulating him for lowest round of his career.
His performance Tuesday showed how far he had come from his first round of golf when he was 35. Wilkes said shift work at what is now called EKA Chemical Corporation in Columbus, where he worked 38 years and eight months, contributed to him feeling burned out toward golf. After not playing the sport for six years, he picked it back up around the time he was going to retire.
Now in the 18th year of his retirement, Wilkes no longer keeps up with his handicap. He said it was down to a five handicap when he followed it when he played at Columbus C.C.
These days, though, Wilkes is happy just to be able to play golf as much as he does. It adds to the enjoyment when he has a round like he did Tuesday when every putt he takes makes a beeline for the hole.
“Maybe I look at the back of the ball better than I used to, and luck. You can”t play the game without a little luck,” Wilkes said. “I really wasn”t thinking about the round, to tell you the truth. I guess I was kind of in the zone that they talk about when I was making those putts.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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