Global Golf Post, December 4, 2017

globalgolfpost com DEC 4 2017 Read more from The Posts writers globalgolfpost com now THE AMATEUR GAME JOHN STEINBREDER E MAIL JOHN For Elliott 55 Is The New 25 Turning 55 can be a depressing proposition for an athlete as old age is the archenemy of anyone who relies on physical skills to perform and succeed But Gene Elliott was delighted when he hit that milestone last February because that meant he could start competing as a senior golfer in national events I was more than happy about that given how far these mid ams hit the ball today says Elliott a reinstated amateur who has played in 29 USGA championships The mid ams who are relevant today are in their late 20s and early 30s and they are hitting 8 irons into greens that I need a 3 or 4 iron or even a hybrid to reach Elliott also liked how becoming a senior on the national scene allowed him to reconnect with friends who had turned 55 before him I had played for years with guys like Chip Lutz John McClure and Brady Exber and it was nice to be in the same divisions again says the West Des Moines Iowa resident and father of two grown sons Gene Jr and Sam ages 26 and 23 and a stepdaughter Samantha who is 23 as well But what has made the move to the senior tees most appealing to Elliott is how well he has played from them In fact no one in the senior amateur realm had quite the year he did in 2017 with the one time captain of the University of Iowa golf team winning five senior tournaments among them the Canadian Mens Senior Championship and the Trans Mississippi Senior Championship And he didnt just prevail in some of those events he dominated taking the Iowa Senior Amateur by eight shots last summer and then the senior division of the Crane Cup in November by 14 shots The president and CEO of a family owned company that provides equipment like garbage trucks to municipalities in seven states Elliott also finished second in the 2017 British Seniors Amateur and was runner up in the senior division of the George C Thomas Invitational Oh and Elliott continues to be a presence on the mid amateur circuit winning the International Four Ball and Iowa Four Ball with his good friend and fellow Hawkeye Mike McCoy as well as the club championship at the hallowed Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach Fla And after qualifying for his 13th U S Mid Amateur championship he made it to match play for the 12th time I guess 55 is the new 25 Elliott says with a chuckle after considering that he racked up a Tigeresque total of eight wins in 2017 and was named the Iowa Golf Associations Player of the Year for the fourth time in his career And I am loving it In many ways it is not all that remarkable that Elliott is doing so well as a senior for he has long been one of the top amateur golfers in both his home state and the country The 1980 individual high school golf champion in the Hawkeye State he has won three Iowa Amateurs and four Iowa Mid Amateurs while also capturing the Porter Cup and Terra Cotta Invitational Elliott also was good enough to have competed as a professional for a spell playing on both the Canadian and European tours in the mid to late 1980s and in 11 PGA Tour events in the States and to have won the Iowa Missouri and Quebec opens when he was playing golf for a living Then in 2012 the Iowa Golf Association inducted him into its Hall of Fame To be sure Elliotts is a very impressive résumé But even that could not have prepared the amateur golf world and Elliott himself for the success he enjoyed in 2017 Part of it comes from my starting to work out the past couple of years with a personal trainer says Elliott who had to take time off in 2000 after undergoing open heart surgery to take care of an aneurysm in his aorta I have not lost any weight but I feel stronger He says he also started working on his putting with Chris Foley an old friend from the Quad Cities in Iowa who is now based in Brainerd Minn and on his swing with Ken Schall a one time tour professional who operates out of Des Moines Between those three things and the help and support of my wife Dalena who even caddies for me sometimes I feel really good he explains Elliott has not touched a club since his Crane Cup triumph last month but is looking forward to playing a full schedule again in 2018 beginning with his defense of the club championship he won at Seminole last January I have not figured out all the tournaments I am going to play next year because there are so many events for seniors these days he says But he will certainly enter a bunch of them and after what he did this past year on that circuit you would have to expect Elliott to win more than a few l Elliott continues to be a presence on the mid amateur circuit winning the International Four Ball and Iowa Four Ball with his good friend and fellow Hawkeye Mike McCoy Gene Elliott