I'm the same height, 10 yrs younger, been in a car accident and had hernia surgery...all within the past year. My length wasn't effected that much because I did a lot of core work. That would be my suggestion. Hope that helps

Hello,
Being able to exercise would be a good place to start since you have recovered from your injury. A little extra fitness could never hurt. However, I believe that a lot of people neglect the importance of flexibility. I would recommend that you implement a good stretching routine when you exercise or before you hit the range to practice or even before a round. Increasing your flexibility will allow you to gain more range of motion and it should keep your muscles from getting fatigued too quickly. Best of luck

Hello. I feel you pain as well. Lower back problems and age. Will turn 70 this fall and on a real good day can hit the ball 150 with a seven iron, but with a normal easy swing it is a six iron. I am on the opposite side. I am six foot two and weigh 250, so I do not think that size is the factor. Think maybe it is exercise and age. My drives are in the 230-250 range, that is not trying to over swing the club. The good thing is I am still able to play and walk 18 holes three to four days a week and I am the youngest in my foursome (79, 75, 74) and I have the highest handicap at 10. One suggestion. Have your clubs recalibrated to make your irons stronger. Had a friend who did this because he was more concerned about the numbers on the clubs. I'm just sayin'. Me, I have come to grip with the fact that I am getting older and take one more club. ha..ha... Cheers, Chuck.

I am the same height as you and 51 years old and have actually gained distance. I was able to get my driver speed at 100 mph today. I have been practicing at swinging faster (not harder) while making solid contact. Most importantly I have worked on making a bigger back turn which results in more distance.
All this is impossible without a daily workout routine that includes weight lifting and flexibility stretchs. Your workout MUST include lots of leg workouts i.e. Romanian deadlifts, squats and dumbell squats. You must work all body parts but do not lack on legs as that is where most of the power comes from.
To work on club speed use an alignment rod and swing it as fast as you can 10 times, do 3 to 5 sets of 10 swings daily. Most golfers make the mistake of swinging a weighted club and all that does is slow your swing down as your muscles and brain will try to over compensate to prevent injuries.
This may sound a bit korny but I purchased the Zep swing trainer and use it daily. It may not be completely accurat but it gives you your club speed, hand speed, back swing degrees, club plane, hand plane and more but it gives you something to visually look at and work on.
Good luck with your goals and play well.

I've gone through similar stage. Discovered that I was shortening my backswing without noticing it. Now I concentrate on getting by back to the target on backswing and my distance came back. Hope that helps.

I'm 5'2" and 115 lbs soaking wet, at 39 years. I think my saving grace for keeping up to pace with my friends is my flexibility.

I probably turn way to far, think a John Daily kind of turn. However, that long rotation is probably what helps generate club head speed.

Ensuring a good hip back turn and a well timed forward hip turn have really helped straighten my swing out.

I'd say work on your flexibility and to a lesser extent your core and leg strength.