Fun is a game of golf

People don’t stop having fun because they grow old, they grow old because they stop having fun.

If the theory requires proof, then Fort Assiniboine’s forever youthful John and Bessie Stevens can provide it.

Sitting in the dining room at Barrhead Golf Club, they engage in the amusing exchanges often associated with a young couple newly in love. Never mind that John is 84 and Bessie in her mid-70s.

Never mind the aches and stiffness following a round of golf under a blazing sun; they count for little when the spirit is in good working order.

This week the couple will test that spirit when they play 36 holes of golf over two days in the Alberta 55-Plus Summer Games.

“We are both in 75-plus Calloway category,” says Bessie. “Some people call it cheaters’ golf because they take away your bad holes.”

For Bessie, competing on the big stage is nothing new. She has done it three times at the provincials: at Olds/Didsbury, Lethbridge and Fort McMurray.

Last year she also played for Team Alberta at the 2012 Canada 55 plus Senior Games in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

“I haven’t won a medal so far, although I’ve knocked on the door,” she says. “What I do have are memories and that to me is very important.”

For John, the story is different: he will wake up on Friday to a new experience.

“This is a first adventure for my husband,” says Bessie. “He has never qualified before, and has always been my biggest supporter in golf over the years, and now he’s going to be playing. We are both very excited about taking part. I know John will enjoy it.”

The pair tuned up for the Games by playing at the 2013 Barrhead Seniors Open last Thursday. They had a tough time, with the unrelenting July sun beating down on the town’s 18-hole championship course.

“It was a hot day for me today,” says John. “I was played out by the time I got back in.”

Asked about her score, Bessie laughs: “It wasn’t good. I’m not saying what it was. No way, Jose.”

“I golf better in the cool weather,” she adds. “I’m not saying I want it to rain, I just want it to be a bit cooler.”

Whatever the weather, Bessie knows she will have to be mentally sharp.

“You have got to keep your wits about you,” she says. “I am pretty familiar with the course which is probably an advantage, but I am sure anybody coming here to golf has done a practice round.”

The couple have been golfing on and off for more than 50 years, and believe they can continue for a while yet.

“Lots of people play golf way into their 90s,” says John. “It’s not unheard of.”

“I took up golf when I was six months pregnant with my youngest girl,” says Bessie. “She was born in 1962 and we were living in Drumheller.

“My husband was already playing and that’s when I first picked up a golf club in anger. I couldn’t beat him, so I joined him.

“I have been associated with game 51 years, although we have moved around a lot over the years and some places where we lived didn’t have a golf course.”

It didn’t faze Bessie too much, for she always had other sports to play, including slo-pitch.

John reckons he has been golfing 52 or 53 years.

“I was into it before she was, she took it up in self-defence,” he laughs.

Nowadays John plays about twice a month, Bessie every week.

A memory suddenly nudges Bessie.

“I remember when we lived at Drumheller they didn’t have golf carts at that time,” she says. “My husband and a buddy built a golf cart.”

“I put an old putt putt engine on it,” says John.

Are the couple competitive with each other?

“No, not at all,” says John. “We’ve never been like that.”

Bessie appears about to agree, but then remembers something.

“What annoys him more is if I beat him in a game of cribbage,” she says. “If I beat him he won’t play me for a long time.”

“She lets me beat her in the first game and after that ‘look out’,” John laughs.

Yes, there is plenty of wit in the Stevens household. Whether enough of it can carry over to the golf course this week and lead to a medal or two is another matter.

Then again, it is unlikely to make one whit of difference to John and Bessie. They will still reflect on a fun day out.

“It is about meeting new people, it’s very much a social thing,” says Bessie. “It’s great to be able to compete at our ages. Winning a medal is a bonus.”

And, of course, there will be great memories.