Molly PavlovichAfter going many years without golf, John Slifka is living the retirement of his childhood dreams—training with Messiah Lifeways Wellness and golfing as much as he can.
As the days grew longer and the temperatures ticked warmer throughout the summer, 10-year-old John Slifka and his brother would hitchhike to the golf course that was up the road from their house and stay there from sunup to sundown. They’d play 36 holes and then caddy in the afternoon, making a few bucks to be able to come back the next day.
John gave up golfing throughout much of adulthood to invest his time and energy into life’s many competing demands, but when he took an early retirement in 2021, he knew exactly how he wanted to spend his newfound time.
“Those fond memories from childhood stuck with me,” John said.
If the weather is above 35 degrees, John is on the golf course. When it’s below freezing or precipitating, he’s training with Messiah Lifeways Wellness. He’ll start in the pool, going in and out of the heated whirlpool between three morning aquatic classes, then take a lunch break at Café 100 (located in Village Square on the Messiah Village Campus)—enjoying his food by a nearby fireplace and watching golf on TV. After refueling, he sits in the salt room for half an hour, followed by stretching and mobility exercises in the weight room before he heads home.
“Many people think that they just show up to a tee and golf, but that’s not true,” John said. “Pros are stretching for an hour to an hour and a half before they even go out on a golf course. So if that’s what the pros have to do, I figured if I want to be able to play as much as I am as a rookie, I need to be in shape to do that.”
He is often asked how he plays on the same course every day without getting bored, but John says he never plays the same game of golf twice.
“Conditions change every day,” John explained. “Try to play when the wind changes, when it’s not so sunny out, or when it’s a little bit colder. It’s a whole different game that brings with it a new opportunity for me to challenge myself. And my buddies—we call ourselves the Goodfellows—they always make it fun.”
Beyond his lifelong love of golf, maintaining and improving his physical health as he ages is something that John holds great value in, because he saw how it added years and joy to his father’s life.
“My father was diagnosed with dementia in his 80s, and doing what I could to care for him while living several hours away, I hired a staff of caregivers to look after him and enrolled him in pool classes with a personal trainer,” John said. “When he started, he wasn’t able to make it the full length of the pool, but after a change in diet and consistency, he was able to go back and forth 12 times.”
“He lived well into his 90s, and I fully attribute it to the time in the pool,” John added. “My father never gave up.”
While John doesn’t remember exactly how he learned of Messiah Lifeways Wellness, he’s glad he did, in perfect timing—now, proudly promoting it to those with whom he crosses paths. Just like his father, he plans to keep moving and growing stronger every day, so that he can make up for 40 years without golf with hopefully 40 back on the green.
“I truly believe that the Messiah Lifeways Wellness Center is the best-kept secret on the west shore,” he said. “It’s helping me make the most of my retirement.”
