Rory McIlroy didn’t monopolize all of last week’s golf fun.
In San Diego, a golfer shot his age or better — for the 1,500th time.
Mike Barber, who holds the Guinness world golf record for shooting equal to or below one’s age, reached the 1,500 milestone at The Heights Golf Club in Rancho Bernardo. The Canadian native recorded a 79, beating his age by seven strokes.
“It’s the most effortless swing I’ve ever seen an amateur have,” said Jeff Vance, a retired teaching pro who played with Barber.
If most golfers had Barber’s ability, golf instructors would need second jobs.
Other than to get putting advice, the 86-year-old Montreal resident said he’s never consulted a swing doctor.
“I’ve been doing it for 80 years, I’ve never taken a lesson in my life,” he said this week. “I read a lot about golf. I kind of analyze swings. But I’ve never taken a golf lesson, per se, in my life. The game just came naturally to me.”
Barber’s first round of his age or better came when he was 70 years old. By age 76, he’d done it 100 times.
He set the new world record — 1,140 — in April 2023 at The Heights, where he’s a member. More than 100 spectators surrounded the 18th green. Barber responded with a deft sand shot, enabling a tap-in for the record.
“I was more nervous walking down that 18th hole than I was walking down the aisle to marry my wife,” he told Golf Digest.
Barber winters in San Diego, enabling him to play five days a week before returning to Montreal, where he’s a member of Kanawaki Golf Club.
He has saved all 1,500 scorecards.
“I’ve always been a nerd about a lot of things,” he said. “I have a spreadsheet for every game I’ve played.”
The octogenerian’s rhythmic swing draws praise from playing partners, but he’d sooner drink vinegar than see video of it.
A young relative, meaning well, cued up Barber’s swing on a video and showed it to him. Taking a look, Barber saw something in his swing he didn’t expect to see. No more, he decided. He hasn’t again looked at his swing.
To qualify for age-shooting records, the course must stretch out at least 6,000 yards. The Heights played to 6,002 yards for Barber last week, on the same day McIlroy launched his memorable Masters Tournament in Augusta. It’s a hilly track that was home to an LPGA event in the late 1980s and a San Diego State women’s match this year.
The 6-foot, 205-pound Canadian has enough length off the tee, at 200 to 220 yards, to set up one of his specialties: 3-wood shots to the green.
“His swing is so smooth, I always tell him he must have WD-40 on his bones,” Vance said.
Fortunate health, said Barber, has enabled him to play five days per week in most months for many years.
The quest to match or beat his age brings a bonus: it infuses competitive juice into his days. “It’s a wonderful feeling,” he said. “Every day that I’m playing, I’m thinking about it.” Adding more spice, he often wagers a few bucks.
He’s a walking ment to golf’s selling points. What other sport can be played so deep into life? Who has more fun than golfers who yuk it up throughout a four-hour round?
But, golf’s a lot more fun when the ball actually goes where you aim.
Told by a stranger that he’d never broken 90 in golf, the world champ didn’t miss a beat.
“That’s fine if you’ve been 91 all your life,” he said.
