Longevity on the links

He pops out of his personal Club Car golf cart, strolls up to the tee box, jams his tee into the ground and places his ball on it, takes a warm-up swing with his driver and then proceeds to stripe a 200-yard-plus shot down the middle of the fairway.

There wouldn’t be anything particularly unusual or impressive about that scenario if it weren’t for the fact that the man doing it is lifelong Houston resident Buck Wade – who is 93 years old.

Wade took up golf when he was 18 and is still at it 75 years later. In fact, he plays three or four times a week (and sometimes as many as five) at Houston Municipal Golf Course.

“I love golf,” Wade said. “I enjoy the fellowship with the other guys and just being able to be out and playing.”

A state trooper who was working here taught Wade how to play on a newly-constructed course on land now occupied by Houston Memorial Airport. 

“It had sand greens,” Wade said. “It wasn’t really a golf course.”

Wade figures he has played on close to 40 courses in six states. The clubs he currently keeps in his bag include a TaylorMade M4 driver, a King Cobra S91 3-wood, a set of Wedgewood hybrids, a King cobra pitching wedge and a Cleveland 54-degree wedge.

On a recent outing, Wade had a Spectra Series 603 offset blade putter in the bag.

“I have five putters,” he said. “When one gets cold, I use another.”

Wade said driving is a consistent strong point in his game.

“I used to hit it a lot farther when I was young,” he said, “but for my age, I drive the ball pretty well. My putting is pretty good, too, but it’s hot and cold. Sometimes you can go out there and putt like crazy and other times you can’t sink a putt.

“Golf is a funny game; one day everything goes your way and the next day everything goes the other way.”

Sports have been a big part of Wade’s life. During his days at Houston High School, he lettered in football, basketball, baseball and track.

He played halfback in football, and in track, he cleared 20 feet in the long jump. He was a guard for the HHS boys basketball team, and he and Lloyd Elmore were a formidable backcourt tandem that led the squad to four straight conference championships. During Wade’s senior year, the Tigers went all the way to the state championship game, where they lost to Normandy (of St. Louis).

“We had a heck of a ball team,” Wade said.

Elmore went on to play hoops at the University of Missouri, while Wade played a year of football at Kirksville State Teacher’s College before serving in the U.S. Air Force for four years.

“I got to play in three games,” he said. “That was about it for a freshman. Then I went straight from the Air Force to the shoe business.”

Longevity has been a major component in many aspects of Wade’s life. He was married to his late wife Jane for 65 years before she passed away two years ago, and he worked a multi-state territory as a traveling shoe company representative for 56 years until retiring at age 79.

“I loved it,” Wade said. “The money was good, and I had four good lines during my career.”

For several years, Wade has regularly played at Houston Municipal with three much younger men: Stan Moore (68), Rick Walker (67) and Daniel Backus (65). Each has a similar opinion of their over-90 cohort.

“He’s one of the finest men I’ve ever been around,” Moore said. “I’ve known him for a long time and he’s kind of like a dad to me. We’ve played a lot of golf together and he’s the youngest 93-year-old you’re probably ever going to come across.”

Check out this photo gallery of Wade golfing.

“What he does is phenomenal,” Walker said. “He looks and plays golf like someone who’s 25 years younger.”

“He’s such an inspiration,” Backus said. “Every time I look at him and every time I play and talk with him, he’s inspired me far beyond anybody else I’ve ever known.”

Wade and various teammates have won many tournaments over the years.

“He’s competitive,” Moore said. “He comes to the golf course expecting to win. Someone once asked me about him and I said it’s a no-win situation, because if I beat him people say, ‘so what, you beat a 90-year-old,’ and if I lose to him they’ll say, ‘man, you let a 90-year-old beat you.’

“But he’s a special person and a special friend. And he’s just one of the guys; we don’t consider him as 93 and we don’t cut him any slack. But he usually doesn’t want any until he needs it, and then he’ll pull the age card on us.”

Among his golf buddies, Wade is known for repeating phrases they call “Buckisms,” like “half way” when a shot is short and “home run” when a shot is long. And the fringe around a green is “the cotton pickin’ fringe.”

“He’s got one for almost everything,” Walker said.

One of Wade’s favorite golf memories is playing in the Pro-Am prior to the Byron Nelson Tournament in McKinney, Texas, in 1972, 1973 and 1974. The touring professionals he played with included Buddy Allen, Kermit Zarley and Dan Sikes.

Interestingly, Allen and Zarley each won the year after playing with Wade.

“That was amazing,” Wade said.

“It’s because you gave them lessons!” Moore joked. “They can attribute those wins to you.”

Wade has led an exercise class at the Houston Senior Center for 15 years. He said he doesn’t follow a specific diet (“I don’t have to watch what I eat; I just eat what I want”), but there are a couple of basic keys to still being spry at age 93.

“Being busy and active,” he said. “I just don’t sit down much. I’ve stayed busy all my life; I’m not a sitter, I’m a doer. But one of the biggest things is that the Lord has blessed me well.”

Wade said he plans to continue golfing as long as possible.

“I want to be around the guys I like,” he said, “and we like razzing each other. But you never know when the Lord might want to bring you home.”