Six days a week, 89-year-old Joe McAvoy can be found on the course at Estero Country Club with a golf club in hand.

McAvoy, often accompanied by friends, aims to achieve a personal goal.

“We’re playing a team game. Internally, I’m playing my own game to shoot my age. That’s a lot of fun,” said McAvoy.

He has remarkably reached his goal of shooting his age or lower more than 2,000 times.

“The toughest thing is when you’re on 17 because you know what you’ve shot going into 17. Knowing you got to par 17 and 18 to shoot your age,” said McAvoy.

One of Joe’s friends and playing partners, Mark Miller, expressed admiration for McAvoy’s achievement.

“We’re all jealous number one. Somebody like me I wish I could hit it once. And maybe I will in the future. He’s set a mark out there for all the guys we play with to try to emulate and kind of go after in the future,” said Miller.

McAvoy said, “first time I shot my age when I was 69, I shot 68. And had that recorded in my mind. And then when I got into the 70s a bit, you know I shot my age again. And I kept journals. And I got three journals with all the times I shot my age, how many birdies I had, how many double bogeys, who I played with, and any special accomplishments I put in that journal. So I got it all recorded and I got almost every score card in my closet.”

To maintain his impressive consistency, McAvoy continuously works on his game.

“Some days when I don’t have a good round in the morning, maybe shoot my age but didn’t like it, I’ll come out here in the afternoon and work on what I think needs to be worked on. Continuous improvement is a good slogan in life. No matter what you do,” said McAvoy.

Recently, McAvoy’s club surprised him with a framed tribute to celebrate his achievement of shooting at or below his age over 2,000 times.

“It’s one of those things that I don’t think I’ll ever see again in my working career,” said Andrew Plesz, the head golf professional at Estero Country Club.

“Everybody was smiling. I mean it was a joyous occasion. And one I’ll never forget,” said McAvoy.

McAvoy looks forward to adding to his total every time he steps into the tee box.