07/27/26 12:33:00
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07/27 12:32 CDT 103-year-old Omaha man discovers passion for golf late in life,
still chases birdies and beats pals
103-year-old Omaha man discovers passion for golf late in life, still chases
birdies and beats pals
By ERIC OLSON
AP Sports Writer
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) --- Bob Walls was getting set to tee off on the first hole at
his home course last week when his partners interrupted his pre-shot routine.
"Get back here, man," James King said.
"We're playing blues today," Dawn Dozier added.
Walls wasn't having it.
"When you're over 100, you can hit from anywhere you want," he told them.
Then, with a silky smooth swing from the forward white tees, he thwacked the
ball down the right side of the fairway just short of the green on the 180-yard
hole.
Not bad for a 103-year-old. Actually, pretty incredible.
A record 6.3 million Americans 65 and older played golf in 2025, the National
Golf Foundation reported this month. The NGF does not track the number of
centenarians, but there undoubtedly are few, if any, who play as well and as
often as Walls.
Walls is fit and trim and looks 30 years younger. He has survived a heart
attack, has had multiple heart surgeries and overcame a transient ischemic
attack (mini stroke). He credited good genes --- both of his parents lived into
their late 90s --- for his longevity, along with staying active.
The notion that he's a freak of nature doesn't register with him.
"I don't feel 103. I don't act 103," he said. "To me it's no big deal."
Born in St. Marys, Kansas, in 1923, Walls moved to Omaha in 1947 after he
served in World War II. He spent most of his working years owning and operating
a janitorial service.
He retired at 74 and, with friends' encouragement, took up golf. Steve Hogan,
who was Nebraska's first Black PGA professional, taught Walls how to play at
what was then Miller Park. The two became close friends, and Walls honors
Hogan's memory by volunteering seven days a week at the course, which was
renamed Steve Hogan Golf Course after his death in 2008.
Walls spends five or six hours riding around in his open-top cart with a bucket
of seed-and-sand mix on the passenger side. He fills divots and repairs ball
marks, picks up trash and fishes other golfers' errant shots out of the lagoon
with his ball retriever.
Always strapped on the back of the cart is his golf bag, because he never knows
when the mood will strike to stop and play a hole or maybe work on his game.
Outside the clubhouse are a couple of training devices Walls made to help young
players get a feel for the golf swing arc. He has worked with kids in the First
Tee program and gives lessons to adults for $50 per hour. The course holds an
annual tournament, the Bob Walls Invitational, to raise money for equipment for
neighborhood kids.
When he gets home from the course each day, he often gets on his iPad and
watches hours of training videos.
"When I visited him for his 101st birthday, I wasn't even in the door and the
first thing he said to me was that he was breaking down his whole game,
changing this, changing that," Dozier said. "He's always working on his game."
Walls has still got plenty of game. He regularly shoots in the low 30s on the
par-3 Hogan course. In fact, the other day he shot 31 to win a match against
course manager Mike Rice.
"The first time I beat him --- and I haven't beaten him very often --- I had to
have a hole-in-one to do it," Rice said. "Who'd ever thought a 103-year-old
gentleman could knock a ball 180 yards consistently every day and have enough
energy and strength to do it?"
Walls spends the fall and winter in Phoenix and is on a course or practice
range every day there, too.
"Golf is the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning," he said.
He fusses over his stance, swing plane and the direction his shoulders are
pointing at his finish. Recently, he's been working on getting more consistent
with his lob wedge so he doesn't have to rely so much on his sand wedge.
"He's going to hit right down the middle and the next shot is going to be on
the green," King said. "He's not going to do anything to hurt himself. Sweet
and easy. That's what I love about his game. And he practices, too. Every day
he hits a few balls, and I know he does because I'm down here most every day. I
love playing with him. I think he's one of kind."
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
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