90-YR-OLD SHOOTS AGE OR BETTER 1,000 TIMES

Husband & Wife Golf Duo: He Shoots ‘Em, She Tracks ‘Em

Interview by Dan Poppers

The record journey of Dave Lamson’s historic run of shooting his age or better began on March 1, 2003 at age 74. Fast forward to May 2, 2019 — Dave, Kandy and their golfing friends celebrate the 1,000^th round of Lamson shooting his age or better when he shoots 89 at age 90. In 16 years, he has averaged shooting his age or better more than 62 times per year.

Dave and Kandy Lamson, members of The S in Rancho Mirage and Bend Golf Club in Oregon, are a golf couple made in heaven. When talking about the Lamsons, forget about all the horror stories you hear when some husbands and wives play golf together. Their love for the game and for each other is everpresent. Because of their passion for the game, they’ve teamed up to accomplish a golfing fete few will ever achieve.

GOLFNEWS is pleased to bring you this exclusive interview.

GOLFNEWS: How did this all start tracking shooting your age or better?

DAVE LAMSON: It started when I was 74 years old. We were at Canyon Country Club [in Palm Springs]. We had just started living there to have a place for the winter months. I entered the club championship. I was not a favorite to win it or anything but I did not want to play badly, fortunately I won low net.

My friend Jimmy Nelson was in the group, and I will get to that later because it’s quite a coincidence that I played with him the first time I shot my age or better. I shot 72. Mainly because I only had 21 putts.

GNM: Oh, Wow! Holy smoke! Twenty-one putts. You were on fire!

JL: I was making everything. I came home and told Kandy…

KANDY LAMSON:  I have been a golfer most of my life, and I thought that is a feat to be able to shoot your age. I was very impressed because as a golfer I know that age shooting is a milestone. We were married for about 10 years or so at the time. This was the first time he shot his age or better, so I thought it was time to keep track of this. I knew he could do it many times more. He was getting to that age.

GNM: So, Kandy, you realized that this could be quite a feat.…

DL: She pumps it into her computer and without her, I would’ve never known what I’ve accomplished.

KL: I post all of his scores. Every score that he has shot his age or better are legitimate; they are accurate, officially posted scores.

GNM: How often do you play together?KL & DL (simultaneously): Often!

DL: Kandy has won a lot of ladies championships herself and she and I always have played against one another and do so to this very day.

KL: Every time we play, we have a match.

GNM: Who gives who strokes?

DL:  Kanny gives me strokes now, whereas before I used to give her strokes. She’s 17 years younger than me, so I started insisting on getting strokes [laughter]…

KL: Now wait a minute. When he turned 80, I said I will give him a stroke for every year over 80. I don’t know how he conned me into that, but he did [more laughter]. That lasted for about three years and he kept beating me, so I threw the age strokes out.

DL: Now, I give her five shots. We both play the same shorter tees at The S.

At this juncture, gambling jargon surfaced. Both admitted they go at each other full steam in each and every match. Kanny clarified the current monetary “balance sheet”: “He’s about $95 ahead so far this year.” They play five dollar Nassaus, automatic presses when two down, and $1 garbage.

“We used to pay everything,” added Kandy. “Greens in regulation, closest to the pin on the par threes, chip ins, poleys—anything longer than the length of the pole (flagstick) for par. We stopped doing most of that. We weren’t making any of them [laughs].” 

She then admitted with a smile, “Of the 27 years we’ve been married counting total matches for each calendar year, he’s won more matches than me in 26 out of the 27 years.”

Then the interview took on a more serious tone.

GNM: As golfers age things can get a bit different. I remember asking Frank Sinatra at a press conference —previously in preparation for the press conference, I did research revealing he suddenly quit golf at a relatively young age— ‘Why did you quit.’ Sinatra answered, ‘When I realized I couldn’t hit the ball as well as I expected, I quit.’ I’m curious, Dave, how you have dealt with aging, not hitting the ball as long as you used to because some people do quit.

DL: And they do. Sometimes I think I should [laughs]. Seriously, I love the game. I’m not so terrible that the guys don’t play with me. My handicap right now has soared to about a 25 [most of Dave’s life he was a 5-handcap] but I get my strokes. And with my strokes, I win.

KL: He’s very competitive!

DL: I have no excuses for being poor on my short game, which I am sometimes. As you know, that’s the part of the game you have to practice a lot to keep it sharp and I do not have the energy level to practice. I have just enough energy to go play. I hit 4 to 5 balls before I tee off because I have to conserve my energy to get 18 holes in.

He then divulged the nature of his lack of energy and, counter to the predictable reason that it was due solely to his age, it is his illness that’s the culprit: “I have this prostate cancer and I am taking drugs for that; they call it hormone therapy. At my age they don’t radiate anymore or do surgery, they just give you drugs. They stretch your life out as far as they can. That is one of the reasons I get tired early. That’s what’s cost me distance. I can’t reach the par fours, I can’t get to the holes on regulation but I can get to them on three.”

Clearly, Dave Lamson has taken a different path than Frank Sinatra. With a smile fellow members see often, he admitted his distance dilemma and shortage of energy is frustrating: “But I’m used to it now. And I’m happy to be playing. The game is totally different for me now. My strategy is all different. And that is okay. I love the game!

“Golf is all about the next shot. I think that is what keeps him motivated,” added Kandy. Reacting to Kandy’s comment, he repeated,“I love the game.”

This completes Part 1 of GOLFNEWS’ exclusive multi-part series on Kandy and Dave Lamson’s 1,000 shooting age or better journey. Read Part 2 in the next edition of GOLFNEWS.

Thank you Carol Gatherum for contributing to this interview.

• See the accompanying chart summarizing Dave’s 1,000 scores.
• Online at www.GolfNewsMag.com, see each individual score shot by Dave, at what age and at what course, denoting every step of the way in Dave’s 1,000 age or better journey.
• By now, as you read this, predictably he and Kandy have added more shooting age or better scores to these charts.

Click here to view PDF of Lamson’s shots.