John Sabados discovered golf at age 58 following retirement.
That’s not unusual since the median age of a golfer in the U.S. is 54, according to the National Golf Foundation.
Sabados has also carded six holes-in-one — two on the same hole, 20 years apart.
That’s impressive, especially since the odds of an average player hitting a hole-in-one are 3,000-to-1, according to the National Hole-in-One Registry.
Sabados still plays golf twice a week at Southwood Golf Club.
That can be described as extraordinary because Sabados celebrated his 100th birthday Wednesday, Jan. 4.
“As long as I can swing a club, I won’t give it up — I am only 100,” Sabados said and laughed. “I enjoy the fresh air. … and I am highly competitive.”
Sabados played multiple sports, joined Navy in World War II
Sabados was born on Jan. 4, 1923, in Dacono, Colorado, south of Denver’s suburbs. One of eight children, his home was located off a dirt road. It had a well pump and a coal-burning stove in the kitchen. Many homes in the area still had outhouses, too.
Sabados played multiple sports — from football to boxing — as a youth and in high school, graduating in 1941. He initially worked as a stock clerk and later in the Baum coal mine for $6.48 a day before he joined the Navy at age 20 as a radioman.
Sabados was stationed in Okinawa and had a few close calls while serving but was never injured. When World War II ended in 1945, Sabados returned to Colorado. He married, had two sons and remained active in sports —primarily baseball and fastpitch softball, even playing against the popular barnstorming team, The King and His Court.
Sabados worked at The Rocky Mountain Arsenal until he retired at age 58.
It was around that time in 1981 when Sabados’ son, Randy, introduced his father to golf. The pair went to the driving range and John learned the game’s rules, even if he didn’t agree with a stroke penalty, plus distance, when a shot lands out of bounds.
“Mom was happy because he was driving her nuts around the house,” Randy said and laughed. “I asked, ‘How about I take him out to golf?’ And Dad immediately fell in love with it.”
That love affair never waned.
Sabados was a familiar face at his hometown course in Colorado, playing in tournaments and weekly groups. He later served on the Board of Directors and as the club’s president. Playing off the forward tees, Sabados celebrated his 75th birthday by shooting a 4-over par 76. He also worked part-time at the club, which officially named an annual tournament in his honor.
When Sabados’ wife Dorothy passed away in 1993, he moved in with his son Randy and his wife Julie. The family moved from Colorado to Tallahassee last April.
Sabados hasn’t missed a beat — or a stroke — at Southwood Golf Club.
“He’s a great guy to play with,” Randy Oravetz, Florida State’s former director of Sports Medicine. “He still hits his driver around 150 yards. There are some great stories being told when playing with him. And some being told were before I was born. He always has a smile on his face. If he hits a bad shot, he says it’s time to hit another good shot. All the guys at Southwood just marvel at his game.
“And his ability to still golf at 100 years old.”
John Sabados and son Randy Sabados at Southwood Golf Club Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. (Contributed photo)
Not slowing down
Sabados credits genetics, an active lifestyle and some luck as the main reasons why he has lived such a long and healthy life. He’s one of four siblings still living − George turns 99 in April; Helen 98 in September; and Bobby, the youngest at 85, still lives in the family’s original house in Dacono and actively fishes and hunts. Their mother lived to be 97.
Sabados never smoked, rarely drinks alcohol, still drives (not at night, however) and goes out to lunch nearly every day. One of his favorite meals is BBQ.
Sabados can be old-school, too. He has a cell phone but rarely uses it. He doesn’t text. He also turns down his hearing aids.
“I keep telling people it’s wine, women and song,” Sabados laughed when asked about the secret to his longevity. “But I don’t drink wine, I don’t have a woman and I can’t sing a lick.”
He still plays golf.”I keep telling people it’s wine, women and song,” Sabados laughed when asked about the secret to his longevity. “But I don’t drink wine, I don’t have a woman and I can’t sing a lick.”
“It’s really amazing,” Randy Sabados said.
“He is still very competitive out there. He gets upset with himself if he hits a bad shot. He’s excited when he hits a good one. He just never gives up.”