But rest assured the great Sir Bob Charles still intends to play well at the St Clair club that delivered one of his most beloved wins in 1971.
Charles (86) tees off at 12.04pm in the Legends Pro-Am, part of the NZPGA and PGA of Australia series.
A tournament that might otherwise have attracted moderate interest should instead bring a few people to the course to see the immortal left-hander in action in Dunedin, where he first played in the New Zealand Open in 1953.
It is his first competitive round of golf in a decade, but his game is still in fine nick — the latest evidence being a hole in one at the Christchurch Golf Club on Friday.
While Charles joked he was coming to Dunedin because he was invited and because he had a biography to promote, his main aim was to do with the game.
"Above all, I want to promote the game of golf," he told the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
"Golf has been good to me, and it’s given me a life of pleasure and enjoyment, playing a ball game that I love. The greatest game of all.
"It’s a game that is for everyone. As long as you’ve got one arm, you can hit a golf ball. If you’re blind, you can play golf. If you’re legless, you can play golf. And you can’t say that about many sports."
A man who has always been in impeccable physical shape continues to promote the benefits of his sport.
"It’s the game of a lifetime. It’s just such a healthy exercise.
"My father played till he was 90, and I’m hoping to do the same. I’d like to think I can get to 100, and go out that day and beat my age.
"I’m 87 next month. Old age is slowly catching up but I think all the exercise and sunshine and fresh air has been part of my longevity, and I was so fortunate to spend a lifetime in the game of golf."
Charles will run a clinic with junior players before he tees off today.
He takes seriously his mission of inspiring others into the sport.
"It would be nice if the young people can look at me and see the benefits golf has given me, and I’d just like to see more people playing the game.
"You don’t need a team. You don’t need an opponent. You can just go out there and play nine holes.
"I’m a huge advocate of nine-hole golf — a round only lasting two hours — and of people playing shorter courses.
"I think 75%-80% of people use tees which totally do not match up with their games.
"Courses have got longer, and the back tees are so far away, so the course takes so long to play. I’d like to see a return to my day when the course was shorter, you got around quicker, you lowered your handicap, and you got to spend more time at the 19th hole."
Charles acknowledged his heart skipped a beat when he got his ace at the Christchurch club last week.
He has a reasonable idea of what he would like to score today at St Clair, where he won the Charity Classic 52 years ago.
"The course has changed a little bit since then, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.
"It’s always about breaking my age. I will be very disappointed if I get into the mid-80s. I’d like to keep it under 80."
Charles said he had no specific plans to mark the 60th anniversary of his British Open victory.
A Q&A with the golfing great will follow the tournament about 5.45pm at the St Clair clubhouse.
The Legends Pro-Am has attracted a full field of nearly 100 amateurs and 46 professionals.
While the great left-hander is the big attraction, the field includes another class act in Andre Stolz, a winner of 11 professional tournaments, including one on the PGA Tour.
