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Bob Uthoff is what most people aspire to be. He got a college degree, started his own successful business, raised a great family and retired to the lake, playing golf as often as he wants.
The difference? Uthoff is still going strong at 95 years old!
Growing up in St. Louis, Uthoff was drafted to the Army in 1942. He joined the 44th infantry division and was sent to Normandy. While Uthoff didn’t storm the beaches like the soldiers before him, he was wounded not once but twice. The second, a gunshot wound that sent him home and earned him one of the highest honors a soldier can receive; the purple heart.
Uthoff used the G.I. Bill to earn a degree electrical engineering. Shortly after that he bought his first set of clubs, equipped with a persimmon driver, and figured he’d hit the links every Friday.
Wrong.
It wasn’t until nearly 50 years later that Uthoff really took up golf. He moved to the Osage Beach area and while he wasn’t destined for the PGA Champions Tour, he’s no slouch; winning the Bear Creek Valley Golf Club senior net championship multiple times.
“I’ve got 10 or 12 trophies,” said Uthoff. “It’s almost old hat. I almost expect to get one.”
Every Monday-Thursday morning you can expect to find Bob and his group of about 25 seniors out on the course.
“We’re the Motley Crew,” said Uthoff. “There are no clicks or anything. It’s a great group and they let old people play.”
Uthoff may be “old” be age, but you would hardly know it from his routine. He lives on his own just a few miles from the course, cooking his own meals, cleaning his own two-story house, even driving his own car. While Uthoff enjoys his independent lifestyle, he loves spending time with his family, including his son who lives in Halfway and his daughter who he frequently visits for dinner in Osage Beach.
I’m a very fortunate person to have good relatives, a fairly decent place to live and an adequate amount of money. I’m not rich but I don’t have to scrimp either.
So what’s the secret?
“Genes,” Uthoff credits his family lineage saying he doesn’t do anything special. “You’re supposed to eat green vegetables and apples and pears and things like that and I try to do that, but sometimes I might only eat one meal a day. But if I miss lunch no big deal.”
Uthoff is an inspiration for all those who know him.
“He inspires hope,” said Bob’s son Bob Jr. “I’m 65 and I think maybe I can play at 95. It encourages me to take better care of myself.”
Uthoff says he could never shoot a 70 when he was 70 years old, but now he’s disappointed if he doesn’t shoot below his age.
“I often think this would be my last year and then I go out there and I think, ‘what would I be doing if I wasn’t doing this,’ so I don’t know how many more years I’ve got, so I play golf as often as I can because of that.”
