Still on the links at 98: 'It keeps you young, you know?'

BOISE - A group of golfers at Boise Ranch Golf Course have a long history together. It's a group that, if you can get into it, gets you a weekly game that's been going for more than three decades.

"Well, you gotta be old first," said Rich Elwood, describing the criteria. "I think the youngest player is probably 50-something."

These days you can expect about several foursomes from this bunch to get together to trek around course every week, almost religiously, which is fitting since most of them met at the local LDS temple.

"It's been great cause nobody swears," said the 75-year-old Elwood. "Even though we may want to."

Over the years, they've lost about 10 players from the original cluster - players who've gone on to play on much greener pastures, so to speak.

"We pick up more guys all the time," said 98-year-old Faye Messinger, the group's founding father.

In 1951, Faye brought a tractor up from Utah to the Treasure Valley, intent on farming. But he says the price of cattle went down while the cost of farming went up right after he moved.

"So I didn't start in farming business, I went into the insurance business," he explained.

One of his early customers was Gaylord Erickson. In 1952 he was a junior at Boise High School.

"He sold me the insurance for the first car that I had," said Gaylord, telling the story of how he first met Faye.

And for the last 25 years Gaylord and Faye have been golfing buddies.

Faye hasn't kept score in a long time, and he hits his ball off a two-year-old tee.

"I can't break it 'cause I can't hit hard enough to break it," he joked.

But he's still strong enough to make his way around the fairways on foot, putting his cart-riding partners to shame.

"I get a little tired but not until I get home," he said.