Some swear by a nightly tipple, others a couple of pieces of chocolate; there are many different theories out there, but in Noel Dunford, Ian Trickett and Jim Humphreys' opinion one of the secrets to a long life is a round of golf.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Now in their 90s - Dunford is 91, Trickett 91 and Humphreys 90 - the avid golfers can of a Monday morning usually be found on the fairways of the Tamworth Golf Club playing in the seniors competition.
For Trickett and Dunford it's been a part of their weekly routine for over 30 years.
They were there when it first started with Trickett one of the driving forces behind establishing the competition 34 years ago now. He also oversaw the running for the first 27.
READ ALSO:
As he explained at the time there was nothing really for older senior players.
"We played what they called skins and it was so popular that John Williams and myself decided to start our own comp and called it Tamworth Seniors," he recalled.
"It encouraged a lot of people to join the club."
To see it still going strong does, Trickett said, make him "pretty proud".
It is very informal.
They play off social tees, have their own set of rules, play preferred lies and don't really have any handicap limits, and at the end of the year everyone that has played more than 22 games receives a ham.
The competitive element is still there but it is more about the social aspect and just getting out there and being physically active.
Humphreys still walks the nine holes.
The eternal challenge that golf is also keeps them mentally active.
"The challenge is with golf, you're not playing your mates, you're playing the course.
"That's what I love," Dunford said.
You have to work out how to beat the course.
Some days you can, some days the course gets the better of you - the fickle nature of the game one of the great enigmas.
The oldest of the trio by eight days - Trickett joked that he "respect(s) him for eight days" - Dunford was a comparative late comer to the game.
He only picked up a club when he was 55. But he quickly fell in love with it.
A cricketer and tennis player in his "younger days" he has impressively played better than his age for 18-holes at least 40 times.
For Trickett golf has been a life long passion. He started playing when he was 17.
Also a handy cricketer and tennis player - he represented Inland against the Coast and was a veterans doubles champion, he showed a proficiency for the game early on, winning the Uralla C-grade championship in his first year playing.
Working "on the railway" pretty much all of his working life, they'd usually have Saturday's off so he'd play then.
When he retired he "played quite a bit".
He doesn't play as frequently these days but he still likes to play in the seniors comp, and also in the veterans of a Friday.
Humphreys got into the game when he was 37.
Someone who has always liked to keep active, he also played soccer and tennis, and was for a time into long distance running.
These days golf is his main passion.
"It's something I've always enjoyed," he said.
"Except for the times when I have a rough trot."
Even then though, he is still "grateful to still be playing at this age."
As Trickett and Dunford are too.
And may they be for many more years.
