"Old golfers never die -- they just lose their…

“Old soldiers never die—they just fade away” is an old saying that was popularized by General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964) in his farewell address to Congress on April 19, 1951. Many parodies of the saying have been made.

“Old golfers never die—they just lose their drive” is a jocular one-line saying that has been printed on bumper stickers and T-shirts. The golf one-liner has been cited in print since at least 1976.

“Old golfers never die—they just lose their balls” has been cited in print since at least 1954.

2 September 1976, Omaha (NE) World-Herald, L. M. Boyd column, pg. 30, col. 1:
NEVER-DIE ONE-LINERS
Add to the never-die one-liners: “Old golfers never die, they just lose their drive.”

Google News Archive
19 March 1979, The Virgin Islands Daily News (Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands), “Senator Soaper Says” by Sandy Teller, pg. 18, col. 3:
Old golfers never die, they just lose their drive.

Google Books
More Than 1,001 Marquee and Readerboard Messages
By Walter T. Proctor
Sacramento, CA: Proctor Publications
1981
Pg. ?:
OLD GOLFERS NEVER DIE THEY JUST LOSE THEIR DRIVE

Google News Archive
30 September 1983, The Times-News (Hendersonville, NC), “Almanac editors—they go on forever” by Jerry Harkavy (AP), pg. 25, col. 3:
LEWISTON, Maine—Capsules of wisdom from this year’s Farmers’ Almanac:

. Old golfers never die, they just lose their drive.

Google Books
The Complete Book of Zingers
By Croft M. Pentz
Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers
1990
Pg. 226:
Old golfers never die — they just lose their drive.

Yotta.com
From: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Newsgroups: rec.humor
Subject: Canonical List of Old * Never Die, they just ...
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Distribution: world
Organization: top down of course

Canonical Lists of Old * Never Die, they just ...
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Revised: 15 January 1996
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OLD GOLFERS never die, they just lose their balls
OLD GOLFERS never die, they just lose their drive

Language Magazine
April 2014
Last Writes
Richard Lederer with some timely departures
Fifty years ago, on April 5, 1964, General Douglas MacArthur passed away. When he retired from the military in 1951, he declaimed the famous line “Old soldiers never die — they just fade away.” But five-star generals are not the only ones who never say die:
(...)
* Old golfers never die — they just lose their drive.

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@RVCommonRoom Old golfers never die, they just lose their drive
1:39 PM - 11 Feb 2015