This California golfer has shot his age more than 2,000 times

USA Today

5 days ago

In a golf-crazed area like the Coachella Valley, with its older demographic, the idea of a golfer matching or beating their age for 18 holes is hardly unusual. It's not that unheard of for golfers to break their age dozens of times, or even hundreds of times.
Then there is the ridiculous level that Ray Vanyo has achieved.
The 87-year-old Vanyo, a former professional player and accomplished amateur golfer, has shot his age more than 2,000 times. To be precise, 2,040, as of last Saturday after a round at Mission Lakes Country Club in Desert Hot Springs, where Vanyo is a member.
'That's easy,' when Vanyo is asked when he first shot his age. 'I was 65 and it was here (at Mission Lakes). So like 2003.'
These days, Vanyo is playing shorter tees than he's accustomed to at his two courses, Mission Lakes and Sun Lakes Country Club in Banning, where Vanyo lives. The shorter tees – 5,334 on Saturday at Mission Lakes – are the result of carpal tunnel disorder and now a bout with sciatica pain.
'I just can't hit the ball as far as I want right now,' Vanyo said. 'But I think in November, when this place opens again (after overseeding), I'll go back to the gold tees at 5,901 and get in the games with the boys again.'
That Vanyo knows the number of his age-matching rounds is no surprise and not the result of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Having played high-level amateur golf until he was 50, then turning pro at 50 to chase senior events, then regaining his amateur status at 65, Vanyo has meticulously recorded his life as a competitive player.
'I just kept it in a book. I just keep track of it, like I said, the date, the course, and so on,' Vanyo said.
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Vanyo is clearly not your typical amateur golfer or senior golf. In the first of what he calls his three golf careers, Vanyo won big amateur tournaments like the Long Beach Match Play twice and the Southern California Public Links title twice. In winning the West Coast Amateur at Quail Lake, Vanyo defeated a young Mark O'Meara in a two-hole playoff.
After turning pro at 50, Vanyo won by his recollection more than 30 events, mostly senior mini-tour tournaments. But he also qualified for five events on the PGA Tour Champions and missed by one shot of qualifying for five more.
When he regained his amateur status at 65, he continued tournament play, winning two Southern California Golf Association Super Senior titles. It was about that time he started matching or breaking his age. He shot those rounds on courses throughout Southern California, but three years ago decided to stop traveling to courses in the Inland Empire, San Diego, Orange County or Los Angeles County. These days it's Mission Lakes and both the regulation and the executive courses at Sun Lakes where Vanyo plays the most.
Vanyo admits there was a thrill in breaking his age, at least at first.
'Probably, just that first time. Then as I played along and I got to 1,000, that was okay,' Vanyo said. 'Then I hit 2000 four months ago. But it's not an allure, because I know I can do it and still play half decent. I don't know how long it will last.'
Not surprisingly, Vanyo said shooting his age comes down to two hard and fast truths.
'You've got to have longevity, and you've got to be able to be half decent. It's tough,' he said. 'It's a lot easier to shoot my age now. But the green tees (5,334 yards) are perfect for me now when I am in recovery.'
As for his run of more than 2,000 rounds at or below his age, Vanyo is realistic.
'I still miss a few times a year. I get a bad day or the wind or the rain, I don't do it every time,' he said. 'But I will just keep going. I'm going to be 88 in three months, and we have longevity in our family. And I can still play half decent.'