Swinging centenarian: Above par Cape Breton golfer aims to shoot his age
If you see Iver Gillis swing a golf club, you'd have a hard time believing his age.
Just to look at the Cape Breton centenarian you'd think he was at least 15 years younger.
But the long-time member at Lingan Golf and Country Club, just outside of Sydney, N.S. will turn 101 on November 28.
"I have my mother's genes," Gillis explains. "She was 103 when she passed away."
Gillis didn’t start golfing until he was 35 years old.
Now, he has spent more than 65 years playing the game he loves in nearly every Canadian province.
Gillis typically tees off at Lingan at least twice a week.
When asked why he still spends so much time on the greens during his golden years, his explanation was simple – and tongue-in-cheek.
“Why not?" Gillis asked. “If I laid around and just stayed in bed, I'd just have a sore back. So I may as well have it while I'm golfing, and enjoy myself."
Earl Leblanc has been golfing with Gillis for more than 30 years and says part of his friend's secret is the calm demeanour he keeps, even when things aren't going so well.
"Oh, I'll be lucky to stand up at 101, let alone play golf," Leblanc said with a laugh.
"(It’s his) even temperament. I've never seen him throw clubs, never seen him slamming clubs on the ground. If he misses a shot, he misses a shot."
Gillis said in his younger years he sometimes scored in the low 80s.
Now, he has a new goal -- to shoot his age.
"At the time that I was 90, I think. I was determined to shoot my age," he said.
Gillis says he still remembers a missed putt on the seventeenth hole that cost him that day.
A couple of weeks ago, he came close once again, shooting 104 at the age of nearly 101.
His friends say he’s not giving up on that goal, or the game he loves, anytime soon.
‘He went out and bought some brand new clubs," said Leblanc. “So I tell you, he's looking forward to another year."
Gillis admits with a wry smile that the longer he plays golf, the easier it might be to reach that elusive goal of shooting his age.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
Amish youth experience a rite of passage called Rumspringa. It’s not what you might think
The idea of “Rumspringa” has a specific spot in the American imagination. A rite of passage for young people in some Amish communities, Rumspringa is seen by most outsiders as a wild time away from strict Amish rules, when teenagers can experiment with the modern vices of the world.
Djokovic needs medical attention after getting knocked on the head by a water bottle at Italian Open
Novak Djokovic needed medical attention after apparently getting knocked on the head by a water bottle after a win at the Italian Open on Friday.