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Sometimes the key to longevity in golf is knowing your own game. Certainly, reinvention plays a role, but it helps if you know where to start. For Allen Peake, that was easy. Peake, 65, homed in on his approach game and his putting, making two unique equipment changes that stirred his confidence and, lately, has him back in the winner’s circle.
Peake has been a stalwart of senior amateur golf for much of the last decade. When he aged in to the circuit, he was filling his calendar with 35 to 40 events a year. It was an endeavor designed to test what his game could be, if he gained enough tournament reps, but it also became a lifestyle.
“It’s our way of staying competitive, it’s our way of trying to stay sharp, and fortunately, there’s a great little circuit out there,” Peake said of senior golf. “You can play in something every week.”
Peake, who served 12 years in the Georgia House of Representatives, went through a period with his game, beginning in 2018, when he was in the conversation nearly every time he teed it up. He felt his best season was in 2022, when he was 61, and he “had every intention of continuing to be competitive on the senior circuit.”
Peake, however, developed an intense case of vertigo and also began to struggle with his putter. A friend who is an ENT doctor, and a good golfer as well, broke the news that recovery would just take time – possibly up to two years. So Peake shook up the setup of his golf bag and began to grind through recovery.
Instrumental in his rebirth in the game was a long putter, but perhaps the most drastic change was switching his golf bag to a set of hybrids. Peake carries a 9-iron and a pitching wedge, but from there, it’s all hybrids. Slowly, Peake’s game began to come back in the fall, but still – on the cusp of his 65th birthday, Peake wondered if another change might be necessary.
“I knew once I turned 65 in February that I really wanted to focus on the Super Senior because I was losing distance,” he said. “I was so far behind these guys that were really competitive. Then just got on a good little run.”
Peake was in the top 5 at the Dixie Senior Amateur – still playing in the Senior division but noticing that he was lacking some distance compared to his playing competitors. One fellow player couldn’t believe how well he was keeping up considering his bag setup and yet there he was – sneaking into the top 20, the top 15 and then, at the Hesler in January, sixth. A thought crept in: “Maybe I’m back.”
“I won a four-ball with my good buddy Rusty Strawn called The Sam at Old Barnwell over in Aiken, South Carolina, last fall and you know how it is – winning breeds winning,” he said. “You get a little bit of confidence, you start feeling better about your game.”
Peake’s feeling that he could build upon his reliable accuracy off the tee – especially once he moved up a tee with the Super Seniors – by improving his approach game and his putting proved to be true. Still, it took Peake a couple of Super Senior starts before he won, but then he was off to the races.
Victories in the SOS Super Senior Masters, the Estero Super Senior and the Lowcountry Super Senior followed in a month-long stretch in April and May. For that, Peake has been named Golfweek’s Player of the Month for May.
Peake reached each of those titles in a different way. He didn’t play his best at the Estero event but grinded out a victory by making a late birdie at No. 17 off a 15-foot putt. The most memorable victory, perhaps, came at the Lowcountry Senior, an event in Hilton Head, South Carolina, where former U.S. Senior Amateur champion Doug Hanzel was in the field.
Hanzel remains a top amateur in the world and Peake notes that he has been in the last group with him, or paired against him in match play, perhaps 10 times without ever topping him – until now.
“That was a huge boost of confidence as well too, to beat a player of Doug’s caliber who really is a phenom in the senior golf world,” he said. “. . . The last one where I was duking it out with Doug, there were just several instances where I was just like, I’ve done this, I’ve hit this shot, I’ve made this putt, whereas in the past I didn’t have that to draw from.”
For many years, Peake’s golf life was driven by a desire to compete in as many events as possible to see how much competition could sharpen his game. With eight growing grandchildren, that desire has waned some and he has cut his tournament schedule roughly in half.
One line does, however, still need fulfilling when it comes to Peake’s golf resume. Peake made his lone USGA championship start at the 2005 U.S. Mid-Amateur and always hoped he would get back to a USGA championship – ideally a U.S. Senior. It has been the start that has continually eluded him, despite a close call in 2022 when he was the first alternate for the championship but did not end up gaining a tee time.
“I’m going to keep trying,” Peake said. “It’s still a dream and that’s the gold standard for an amateur golfer.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Allen Peake puts new gear in play for Super Senior rebirth
Continue reading...
Peake has been a stalwart of senior amateur golf for much of the last decade. When he aged in to the circuit, he was filling his calendar with 35 to 40 events a year. It was an endeavor designed to test what his game could be, if he gained enough tournament reps, but it also became a lifestyle.
“It’s our way of staying competitive, it’s our way of trying to stay sharp, and fortunately, there’s a great little circuit out there,” Peake said of senior golf. “You can play in something every week.”
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Peake, who served 12 years in the Georgia House of Representatives, went through a period with his game, beginning in 2018, when he was in the conversation nearly every time he teed it up. He felt his best season was in 2022, when he was 61, and he “had every intention of continuing to be competitive on the senior circuit.”
Peake, however, developed an intense case of vertigo and also began to struggle with his putter. A friend who is an ENT doctor, and a good golfer as well, broke the news that recovery would just take time – possibly up to two years. So Peake shook up the setup of his golf bag and began to grind through recovery.
Instrumental in his rebirth in the game was a long putter, but perhaps the most drastic change was switching his golf bag to a set of hybrids. Peake carries a 9-iron and a pitching wedge, but from there, it’s all hybrids. Slowly, Peake’s game began to come back in the fall, but still – on the cusp of his 65th birthday, Peake wondered if another change might be necessary.
“I knew once I turned 65 in February that I really wanted to focus on the Super Senior because I was losing distance,” he said. “I was so far behind these guys that were really competitive. Then just got on a good little run.”
Peake was in the top 5 at the Dixie Senior Amateur – still playing in the Senior division but noticing that he was lacking some distance compared to his playing competitors. One fellow player couldn’t believe how well he was keeping up considering his bag setup and yet there he was – sneaking into the top 20, the top 15 and then, at the Hesler in January, sixth. A thought crept in: “Maybe I’m back.”
“I won a four-ball with my good buddy Rusty Strawn called The Sam at Old Barnwell over in Aiken, South Carolina, last fall and you know how it is – winning breeds winning,” he said. “You get a little bit of confidence, you start feeling better about your game.”
Peake’s feeling that he could build upon his reliable accuracy off the tee – especially once he moved up a tee with the Super Seniors – by improving his approach game and his putting proved to be true. Still, it took Peake a couple of Super Senior starts before he won, but then he was off to the races.
You must be registered for see images attach
Victories in the SOS Super Senior Masters, the Estero Super Senior and the Lowcountry Super Senior followed in a month-long stretch in April and May. For that, Peake has been named Golfweek’s Player of the Month for May.
Peake reached each of those titles in a different way. He didn’t play his best at the Estero event but grinded out a victory by making a late birdie at No. 17 off a 15-foot putt. The most memorable victory, perhaps, came at the Lowcountry Senior, an event in Hilton Head, South Carolina, where former U.S. Senior Amateur champion Doug Hanzel was in the field.
Hanzel remains a top amateur in the world and Peake notes that he has been in the last group with him, or paired against him in match play, perhaps 10 times without ever topping him – until now.
“That was a huge boost of confidence as well too, to beat a player of Doug’s caliber who really is a phenom in the senior golf world,” he said. “. . . The last one where I was duking it out with Doug, there were just several instances where I was just like, I’ve done this, I’ve hit this shot, I’ve made this putt, whereas in the past I didn’t have that to draw from.”
For many years, Peake’s golf life was driven by a desire to compete in as many events as possible to see how much competition could sharpen his game. With eight growing grandchildren, that desire has waned some and he has cut his tournament schedule roughly in half.
One line does, however, still need fulfilling when it comes to Peake’s golf resume. Peake made his lone USGA championship start at the 2005 U.S. Mid-Amateur and always hoped he would get back to a USGA championship – ideally a U.S. Senior. It has been the start that has continually eluded him, despite a close call in 2022 when he was the first alternate for the championship but did not end up gaining a tee time.
“I’m going to keep trying,” Peake said. “It’s still a dream and that’s the gold standard for an amateur golfer.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Allen Peake puts new gear in play for Super Senior rebirth
Continue reading...
