Golfer Beats Age By 16 Shots On His Birthday!

Ernie Gibson shot a gross 73 on his 89th birthday

Golfer Beats Age By 16 Shots

Ernie Gibson will remember his 89th birthday fondly after shooting a gross 73 around his home course

Golfer Beats Age By 16 Shots On His Birthday!

Golf is up there with the toughest of games and beating your age has to be one of our great game's more difficult achievements.

In fact, it's one of our 12 items on our recommended golfer's bucket list.

Jack Nicklaus still beats his age, as does Gary Player, but the pair of them probably do it by five or six strokes...not 16!

That's what 89-year-old Ernie Gibson did recently, shooting a gross 73 around his home club of Dumfries and County in the south of Scotland.

Is it a record? We're not sure. But it's certainly a phenomenal achievement.

Playing off a handicap of 23, Ernie shot a gross seven-over 73 to beat his handicap, and age, by 16 strokes for a nett 50(!).

The par-69 5,900 yard parkland course was playing as a par-66 in the winter conditions.

Here is Ernie's scorecard from the day:

Golfer Beats Age By 16 Shots

Holes marked with a V are par-3s

Ernie, speaking to Golf Monthly, described his round as an "out-of-body-experience!"

"It all seemed so unreal. For some odd reason I was not at all nervous during the round, more amused by what was happening and by my playing partners' comments," he said.

Ernie also told us how he strategically plotted his way around the frozen course.

Continues below

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Clifton McDonald shot the horrific score of 55-over-par…

"The ground was so hard with frost that I decided not to chip to the green as I knew that the ball would bounce much too far, so I putted from off the green--sometimes from as far as 20 yards.

"I seldom ended up short. For instance, on the par-4 17th, a drive and a 7 wood took me to about 15 yards from the hole, well off the green.

"A ridiculously bumpy putt leapt sideways and disappeared into the hole for a most unlikely birdie three!"

Golfer Beats Age By 16 Shots

Ernie's lowest handicap was four, and his age-busting round comes just 16 months after a medical stroke.

He told us the stroke "reduced my strength, co-ordination and mobility but not sufficiently to stop my continuing to attempt to hit that wee ball around the course!"

Congratulations Ernie!

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Elliott Heath
News Editor

Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He manages the Golf Monthly news team as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. He covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews. His first Open was in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, when he walked inside the ropes with Jordan Spieth during the Texan's memorable Claret Jug triumph. He has played 35 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Western Gailes, Old Head and Turnberry. He has been obsessed with the sport since the age of 8 and currently plays off of a six handicap. His golfing highlights are making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, shooting an under-par round, playing in the Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour and making his one and only hole-in-one at the age of 15 - a long time ago now!


Elliott is currently playing:


Driver: Titleist TSR4

3 wood: Titleist TSi2

Hybrids: Titleist 816 H1

Irons: Mizuno MP5 5-PW

Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5

Ball: Srixon Z Star XV