On the Back Nine? 61-Year-Old Grandfather Joins College Golf Team as Freshman

While he’s close to being a senior citizen in life, 61-year-old insurance agent Don Byers is now a freshman member of the Bellevue University men’s golf team.

One of seven athletes on the Nebraska university’s 2017-18 roster, Byers was recruited by the team’s head coach after he saw the grandfather booming drives close to 300 yards at a golf club.

Believed to be the oldest NAIA athlete in history, Byers takes classes in English, history and communication three days a week but has yet to declare a major.

Down more than 40 pounds thanks to the team’s conditioning program, Byers can no longer smoke cigars or drink beers the way he would when golfing at his home course in Omaha.

Despite that, although he has yet to make into the lineup for the Bruins, Byers is happy he joined the team.

“I would like to be a factor,” he said. “Coach and I have an agreement that every semester we’ll take a look at it and see where it stands. I guess my goal is to make it hard for him to cut me and be a 65-year-old senior playing golf.”

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Evan Bleier

Evan is a senior editor with InsideHook who earned a master’s degree in journalism from NYU and has called Brooklyn home since 2006. A fan of Boston sports, Nashville hot chicken and Kentucky bourbon, Evan has had his work published in publications including “Maxim,” Bleacher Report and “The Daily Mail.”