The years pass quickly in this game. One minute, you’re a fresh-faced young ‘un striding vigorously over the course, the next you’re a wizened 50-something with a face like an elephant’s knee. But enough about the golf writers.
The elder statesmen on the senior circuit remain as fresh as a collection of buffed up fiddles and Stephen Gallacher continues to relish this new chapter in a long career.
It’ll be a case of all our yesterdays for the 51-year-old at Gleneagles this summer as he returns to this parish to contest the ISPS Handa Senior Open.
The wonderful King’s Course at the Perthshire resort was where it all began for Gallacher as he made his first outing on the European – now DP World – Tour as an amateur in the Bell’s Scottish Open back in 1993.
He would go on to make 664 appearances on the circuit during a prolonged spell at the top table which included four wins as well as a Ryder Cup victory with Team Europe at Gleneagles in 2014.
“I was so nervous,” reflected Gallacher of that first taste of big tournament golf 33 years ago. “I was still playing for the Bathgate team on a Friday night. I had to miss my team match to play in the Bell’s Scottish Open. It was just a surreal moment.
“It was a tournament I always came up to with my family as my uncle Bernard would have played in it.
“My introduction to tournament golf was watching my uncle Bernard at the Scottish Open. I remember Sam Torrance coming to Bathgate and shooting 58 before coming up to play in it too.
“I’d won the Scottish Amateur Championship in 1992 and that got me into the Scottish Open the following year.
“I couldn’t believe being on the range with Seve, Woosnam, Sam, Vijay Singh. They were guys I’d read about about in Golf Monthly. To see them close up and to end up playing with them was fantastic.
“I’m sure Tony Jacklin played that year and guys like Peter Oosterhuis as well. I ended up playing in 664 events and that was the first one.
“So, to come back and play my first Senior Open here as well is a bit special. There would be nothing sweeter now for me than winning a Senior Open, especially here where I have so many memories.”
Having called time on his stint on the main DP World Tour, Gallacher has been energised by a fresh start on the highly competitive over-50s scene. The oldies are so golden, they could be housed alongside the bullion in Fort Knox.
“I played on the DP World Tour right up until I was 50 and golf has changed,” said Gallacher. “The young team hit it so far, meaning it is just tough to compete.
“You go into a tournament now, though, and get yourself into contention and feel you have a chance of winning again. We are now the youngsters and can hopefully take advantage of the first five or six years out here.
“Just to be in contention and have a chance of winning again is what got us into the sport. It has rejuvenated me a little bit. We still work as hard and that is the beauty of this game. You can still compete and still win. Look at Bernhard Langer, who is 68.
“I played in a tournament a fortnight ago and he is first in the gym. Migual Angel Jimenez is 63 and he’s in the gym and also hits more balls than he used to. Monty is back playing really well, too.
“Golf is such a great sport and we are almost starting to love it again where it was a bit of a bind the last five years. The love and enthusiasm comes back and that’s what makes you happy.”
Padraig Harrington will defend the Senior Open crown this July but the indefatigable Irishman can still cut it at a different age level too.
Last weekend, for instance, the 54-year-old managed a top-20 in the US PGA Championship at Aronimink.
“Padraig is amazing, isn’t he?,” said Gallacher. “I was talking to him about his strategy here on the King’s Course, including playing down the (neighbouring) Queen’s Course on the last. He’s just bonkers.
“There’s not one thing he’s not tried. He’s tried everything to try and get that extra one per cent. He’s the benchmark. If you beat him, you know you’ve done alright.”
Harrington and Ernie Els are among the major champions already confirmed for the Gleneagles showpiece. Gallacher, meanwhile, is hoping he’s in fine fettle for his own title assault.
“Just keep taking the Advil, Paracetamol and other potions, and injections,” he said with a smile. “That’s the hard bit, the body. But the mind is still as clear as a bell.”
