Telford, Pennsylvania resident Pearl Atwood teed off two days after her 100th birthday at Twin Woods Golf Course in Hatfield, Montgomery County, where she has played nine holes each Wednesday morning with the women’s league.
“I was 50 years old, and I said, too old to learn,” Atwood recalled. She’s been playing ever since — proving herself wrong.
Now, she has advice for anyone taking up the sport.
“It’s advisable to take a few lessons. Not from your husband — but from a pro,” Atwood said.
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She credits her long life to simple advice.
“Keep busy and keep your faith,” Atwood said.
She also credits her long life to living with her niece, Phyllis Anders, and her niece’s husband, Merrill Anders.
“They’re wonderful people,” she said.
Her friends say her spirit and infectious laugh are contagious.
“She’s wonderful. I’ve never met anyone like her,” said Mary Pileggi, one of her golfing partners.
The course’s owner, 91-year-old Betty Johnston, agrees.
“She’s the most wonderful, inspiring, motivating, admirable woman I know,” Johnston said. “She’s my idol.”
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Johnston said Atwood’s resilience is even more remarkable considering the hardship she’s endured. Atwood has lost “the light of her life,” her husband, George, as well as her three kids. Her two sons died of cancer and her daughter died in an automobile accident.
“Your heart goes out to her on many days,” Johnston said.
Atwood says she looks forward to seeing her loved ones again someday.
Until then, she’s content with the love of her friends, her time on the course, and a birthday celebration that, according to her, will be hard to top.
Surrounded by dozens of friends from her women’s golf league who presented her with gifts, a cake, and a trophy that read “Twin Woods Golf Course First Centenarian Golfer,” she asked a question to everyone:
“What are you going to do when I’m 105?”
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