This 88-year old Massachusetts woman is a golf inspiration.

BRAINTREE, Mass. Barbara Serena, who was laid low by Lyme disease this summer, is doing the things that she enjoys most to help her recover.

She is a positive person by nature.

Barbara, who turns 89 in 2024 on Jan. 2, is back to golfing and looking forward to a new decade when she’s 90: “It’s going be great.”

The petite Norwell resident and her 31-year-old grandson Patrick Collins played nine holes of golf at the Braintree Municipal Golf Course.

She was dressed in a stylish black and white outfit with short, curly hair. First she went to the pro-shop to meet Ed Corcoran. He was glad to see her and checked her into the hotel.

She then went to the first tee in order to locate the starter. Ahmed Raiss assigned her to one of the electric carts nearby. He is a retired European History teacher at Braintree. She hopped into the cart, put it on reverse, then turned it around to go pick up her grandson who had parked his car.

The pair started their round a few minutes later. Barbara started her round from the red tee. This is the tee used by golfers that prefer to play a shorter distance. She relaxed after she made her first shot.

“It felt good. “I’ll get there,” said she.

Barbara is the oldest woman in the Braintree Women’s Golf Association. Denise Wessman (72), the tournament assistant director, describes her as “an inspiration.”

Wessman stated, “She is a great player and hits the ball very well.” “I hope that I can do the same thing when I reach her age.”

Barbara is a player who has a lot of qualities.

“She doesn’t get discouraged,” Wessman said. “She doesn’t let golf get her down.

“And with more people living into their old age, Barbara’s ability to remain active is a great accomplishment.”

Golfers over 50 are becoming a more popular swing group

According to the National Golf Foundation, senior golfers (aged 50 and older) are the only group of age that has shown significant growth. About 6.4 million seniors golfers make up 26% of golfers.

Barbara’s enthusiasm for sports was evident in her nineties. “I am a late bloomer,” she said. “I started golfing at 60 when some friends suggested that we take lessons together. I became hooked. At the age of 80, I made a hole in one. “I just love it.”

Her longevity seems to be in her favor. Her father lived to 91 years old, and her mother to 106. She has two brothers – one who is 86, but works out regularly, and the other 78.

She said, “My father was an avid golfer, and at that time if I were a boy he would have taken to me golfing,”

Barbara started feeling tired in June. She also had a persistent neck pain. A month later, the doctors diagnosed Barbara with Lyme Disease. After a month, the medication began to work. She began swimming in August as soon as she finished her last pill. It was then that I saw her at the Emilson South Shore YMCA, in Hanover. She swims a quarter-mile every day.

She came in that day beaming. She told me it was her first swimming in three months. She looked so determined when she began her steady crawl, that I later asked her age. She told me of her illness.

She said, “I bounced pretty quickly.”

She was able to swim again and play golf with her friends. Recently, she resumed bowling at the Boston Bowl Hanover.

She was born Barbara Marnoni and grew up near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She graduated in 1953 from Jeannette High School, worked at Bell Telephone Co., (now AT&T), and married Ernest Serena in 1957.

They lived in several places because of his career. Their children are Dr. Thomas Serena Collins of Norwell and Christi Collins in Kansas, as well as Annette McGraw, who lives in Kansas. They also have 10 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.

She and a friend, when they lived in New Jersey and her children went to school, opened a dress store. Later, she worked as a buyer at a small Pennsylvania department store.

Enjoy the fun of finding your favorite exercise.

She was never particularly athletic, but she was always active. She finds that she has more energy if she continues to move. She feels energized for up to three hours after swimming. So far, maintaining this pace is not a problem.

She said, “People look at my age and what i do and how I look and tell me that I inspire them.” “I’m a positive person.

I tell people to “find the exercise you enjoy and do it.”

She is sustained by her spiritual life. She is a member of the Our Lady of the Angels Parish, located in Hanover. She calls herself a “believer”, has long and very useful discussions with her priest brother-in law about faith, and meditates.

She said, “I was raised Catholic, but as I grew older, I began to think more about it, and I even joined a prayer circle.” “I found out that God was really present in my life, and this gave me confidence.” It is a growing experience.

She sometimes wants to meditate in silence. She will meditate in the mornings before getting up. She explains how she clears her mind and feels relaxed afterward.

Barbara Serena says she feels great to be back at the golf course.

Her grandson Patrick Collins meditates with her occasionally. They have a special bond. She finds her 10 grandchildren all very different and interesting.

She said, “We are a very tight-knit family.” “We have Sunday dinners together, and we enjoy ourselves.”

Her house was full of 14 people for dinner a few weeks back. Her daughter-in law was in the kitchen on Saturday.

She finds that the last 30 years of her life have been particularly fruitful and enjoyable in ways she never expected.

She said, “I feel better than I did when I was younger.” “I’m more confident now.”

“I was surprised when I began to do things that made me successful, little jobs that brought success to me. I began golfing, and I was good. I also started bowling and swimming. “That gave me confidence.”