I grew up in a golfing family and getting the high-school golf-course job was easy. Then I joined the Navy, where junior officers were expected to show up for golf outings whether or not you actually golfed.So you went from golfing (an "old man's game") to surfing (a "young man's" sport, IMHO)?
But when we got to Monterey and discovered SCUBA diving, I sold my clubs and never went out on a course again.
"Young man's" sport?!? You should see the lineup at our local beach. I bring the average age down by over a decade.
Rabbit Kekai was surfing well into his 80s, Woody Browne into his 90s, Doc Ball was skateboarding even beyond that, and local tire-company legend Lex Brodie was surfing at the age of 90. I don't know how old Buffalo Keaulana is but I'm pretty sure he's still out there.
Sad to say, today's groms with their eyes on competition need to be taking professional coaching before they're teenagers. But for those of us with the Zen to rise above that human strife to actually enjoy the surf, it just gets better as we get older.