Meet the 94- year- old who can shoot his own age.
Don Angus, 94, proves golf really is a game you can play for life
Don Angus turns 95 in September and can’t wait for his birthday. He figures it will help him shoot his age for the umpteenth time. Angus belongs to West Point Golf Club, where he is the oldest of the old guys. West Point, a private men’s club that plays mainly at the three City of Vancouver courses — Fraserview, McCleery and Langara — as well as Riverway in Burnaby, welcomes golfers only aged 55 and older.
Angus, a West Vancouver resident, is a relatively new West Point member and loves the camaraderie of the club.
“Barry Arnett, a friend of mine that I have known for years and years — I played with him for probably 25 years at Fraserview — he belonged to West Point and said you should come and join it,” Angus says.
“And I am happy that I have because it is an excellent club. It’s all businessmen, doctors, lawyers, you name it. But they are just golfers when they are out there.”
Golf and Angus have a rich history. He caddied as a kid growing up in Calgary and figures he has been playing the game for about 85 years.
In his prime, Angus was a six handicap and competed in several Canadian Senior championships. He has two holes- in- one to his credit, both at Fraserview, where he also shot his age for the first time.
“It was March 26, 1993 and I shot a 67,” Angus proudly recalls. He would have been 73 at the time.
Asked how many times he has shot his age since that day, Angus chuckles and says, “Oh God, I don’t know. Lots. Probably 20 or more.”
Angus will tell you that the game really doesn’t get any easier with age.
With his long game not so long anymore, Angus leans heavily these days on his short game. He hasn’t lost his nice touch around the greens.
“My chipping is one of the best parts of my game,” he says. “I always chip with a 7- iron. I can make it run and usually stick it within three feet of the pin. My drives are still pretty good. I can still get it out there 125 or 150 yards.”
Angus doesn’t know what a new golf season will bring. He had some surgery last fall, developed an infection in hospital and lost 30 pounds.
“I dropped down to 130 pounds,” he says. “I’ve gained about 10 of it back, but I’m usually at about 160 pounds.”
He played his first round of the year earlier this week at Riverway and acknowledged he has some rust to shake off his game. “I shot 110,” he says. “Not bad for my first round of the year. Something to build on.”
Angus’s longtime friend, Barry Arnett, says Angus has been a welcome addition to the West Point club, which caps its membership at 100 players and has a waiting list of those wanting to join.
“Everyone loves him,” Arnett says of Angus. “He is just so enthusiastic, he has a great mind and he just enjoys himself. I think it does a lot for his psyche because he really seems to be having fun.”
Angus credits golf with helping him age well over the years. He has no doubt that all the miles he’s walked up and down fairways over the years has contributed to his good health. It has also helped to have an understanding spouse. His wife of 70 years, Dorothy, does not play the game but has always encouraged Angus to play.
“It has always been a large part of my life,” Angus, a retired truck salesman, says of golf. “It’s the challenge of the game that has always attracted me and kept me coming back. I am an active guy and I have got lots of energy and I just love it. It gets you out in the fresh air, gets you some exercise.”
Angus says he’s been blessed to be welcomed by his new circle of golfing friends at West Point, which is almost as old as he is. The club was established in 1932.
“The fellows that play there are great and they are concerned about you, too. They phone to see how you are doing. I just love playing with them and hope this year I can again get out a couple of times a week,” he says.
And each round he plays this year, Angus will serve as proof that golf really is a game you can play for life.