The sport of golf is frequently used as a metaphor for life. In both, one can feel like they’ve done everything right, yet an unlucky bounce can result in an unexpected challenge. Despite appearances, golf isn’t a game about trying to hit a ball past an opponent or outduel a peer. Instead, it’s a game of you against the course. Rather than a quest to rise against their peers, many hold the game sacred because it’s an opportunity for self-improvement. It showcases how, with practice, repetition, mental fortitude, a positive attitude and a strong work ethic, we can grow and learn as golfers and as human beings.
Of the more than 12,000 athletes age 50 and older who compete at the National Senior Games, perhaps no one embodies that philosophy more than Michael, a 60-year-old golfer from Florida.
“We all want to win. I mean, that’s why you’re there,” Michael said ahead of the Games. “But that’s not my priority. My identity is not tied up in my golf score. It’s more important that I am a good person, that I am a friend to others.”
By pairing this positive attitude with a smooth swing, Mike is more than your average golfer. An amateur has a 12,500 to 1 chance of recording a single hole-in-one. Mike has made 10 holes in one, including on a par four.
He arrived in Des Moines, Iowa, for the 2025 National Senior Games with extra motivation for a gold medal. Mike earned a silver medal at the 2023 National Senior Games, in Pittsburgh, PA.
A former college baseball star, Mike had the honor of carrying the Olympic torch before the 1996 Summer Games. As he’s aged, asthma has challenged his active lifestyle. Then in 2021, Mike was sidelined by a severe battle with respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, a common, contagious respiratory virus that can infect the nose, throat, lungs and airways. Symptoms of RSV can range from mild to severe and typically can last up to 2 weeks.
“RSV just flat knocked me out. I was on the couch. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe. It was absolutely horrible,” Mike recalled. “I was three weeks off of work and couldn’t stop coughing. I had to go to the ER twice because my RSV was so severe, my oxygen levels were low, and I had to have breathing treatments.”
“People at increased risk for severe RSV include adults 50 years of age and older with some underlying medical conditions such as congestive heart failure, asthma, and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease),” says Dr. Leonard Friedland, Vice President and Director, Scientific Affairs and Public Health for GSK Vaccines.
It is estimated that, for adults aged 65 and older, approximately 177,000 hospitalizations are caused by RSV each year in the U.S. Of those cases, 14,000 people will die from RSV every year.
“There are options to help protect against severe RSV. If you are 50-74 with certain chronic conditions, or 75 and older, you should speak with your doctor or pharmacist to see if you are at risk of severe illness from RSV and discuss if vaccination may be an appropriate option for you,” said Dr. Friedland.
“My doctor told me, because I have asthma, I’m at an increased risk for severe RSV, and so once RSV vaccination became available, I got vaccinated,” Mike shared.
Mike’s battle with RSV inspired him to take charge of his personal health. In addition to getting vaccinated at his local pharmacy, he decided to be more physically active, which for him meant more time on the golf course.
“Golf honestly saved him,” his daughter Brooke said. “On his rough days, I don’t know what life would look like if he didn’t have such a love and passion for golf to get him outside to get him up.”
“Once he sets his mind to something, he finishes it no matter what trials and tribulations come,” explained Morgan, another of Mike’s five daughters.
“Really, the Games were what motivated me to get off my butt and start moving,” Mike said.
Golf was there for Mike when he needed it most, spurring him to get back on his feet, and now he’s sharing his passion with his daughters and 11 grandchildren.
“The kids will hear what you say, but they’re going to watch what you do, and it’s the same way with the grandkids. They see us playing golf and so now they want to play golf, so we definitely have a responsibility to them to carry on and maintain,” Mike explained.
Mike’s family’s infatuation with the game stems back to a fateful lesson more than 20 years ago, when he was an instructor at a local golf club and first met his wife, Deborah.
“I was playing in the state amateur tournament and I needed some help,” Deborah said.
It was love at first swing for Mike. “She came in one day and I’m like, ‘She’s cute and she’s nice!'” Mike laughs.
“He would sit there on the range with me, and he’d put the ball on the tee, and I’d hit it, and I just fell in love with him right then,” Deborah recounted.
To no one’s surprise, even the wedding day revolved around the sport. They said their vows on top of a putting green cutout, they cut into a golf ball wedding cake and even drove away on a golf cart adorned with a “just married” sign at the end of the night.
“She’s absolutely my favorite person to play golf with, and so the game has brought our marriage together and stronger over the years,” Michael shared.
The game has given Mike a happy family and a lifetime of memories, and in July 2025, he tried to add another memorable moment to his collection when he competed in the National Senior Games. The tournament proved to be another opportunity for Mike to showcase his resilience. Just one week before arriving in Des Moines, he was battling a sinus infection, but with his doctor’s clearance, he teed off against many of the nation’s best.
Battling back against not only health complications but also a challenging Arnold Palmer-designed tournament course, Mike admittedly didn’t have his best game in Des Moines. He left without a medal, but with pride in his effort—and the confidence that more matches and victories lie ahead.
“Being a National Senior Games athlete is important to me because it gives me the direction to drive. It has changed my whole focus on everything I do,” Michael said in Iowa. “It’s not about the medal, it’s about forcing yourself to overcome what’s happening, to make yourself a better person. It’s called fortitude and determination. You’ve got to see the obstacle and just do your best to overcome it. Today, the obstacle got me, but tomorrow I’m going to get it.”
On and off the course, Michael has made every swing count. His life shows others that it’s never too late to get in the game. He is just one of the thousands of senior athletes who are redefining aging. What was once viewed as a time of loss and limitation is now being accepted as a period of possibility and potential. Watch our national TV special below featuring Mike and other athletes just like him, and visit SidelineRSV.com to learn more about RSV risks and prevention.
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NPUS-RVUWCNT250025 October 2025
Produced in USA.
