Ian Poulter says why he fears for older golfers who are still playing professionally after noticing change to the sport

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Ian Poulter narrowly avoided LIV Golf relegation this season as he finished 48th in the Individual Championship.

Jon Rahm won the LIV Golf Individual Championship title despite his playoff loss in Indianapolis, where Sebastian Munoz emerged victorious.

Rahm won an $18million bonus for his success, with the LIV Golf Team Championship at Michigan bringing an end to the season this week.

The Cardinal at Saint John’s hosts the tournament, with Rahm’s Legion XIII heading into the event in first place.

That was, of course, also where he finished in the player standings, with Poulter teasing LIV Golf relegation before eventually avoiding that fate.

Ian Poulter shares why he fears for older professional golfers

The veteran finished one spot above the drop zone, but his Majesticks GC teammate Henrik Stenson had no such luck in 49th.

Poulter also kept up his social media status this season, including a match with YouTuber Rick Shiels at Real Club Valderrama.

READ MORE: Ian Poulter says who he thinks is the best golfer between Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer

And one of their discussions focused on age, during which Poulter noted: “I think all kids in general have become way better at an earlier age.

“The advances of technology, the data, the practice facilities, club fitting. It has come on leaps and bounds. He [Luke Poulter] is definitely way more polished than I was [at the same age].”

Shiels then asked: “Fast forward five or 10 years when all these 21 or 22 year golfers get on to the scene, what are we going to see?”

Poulter replied: “I think the curve [of improvement] has got a bit steeper the last 10 years. I fear for the 40-year-old golfer more so than the 30-year-old golfer.

“Because I don’t know what conditioning they are doing to make sure they are doing rest and rehab on their back and overall well-being, hitting it as hard as they hit it because these kids hit it really hard.

“I think their careers will have to be shorter, because they are just putting so much stress on their back. A lot of these kids are picking up injuries at a younger age. Why is that? Because they are training harder, hitting more balls and they are hitting it harder.

“What does that mean in 20 years’ time for them? The amount of balls and the travelling and all the stuff that puts stress on your body, we don’t know.”

Who is Ian Poulter’s son Luke Poulter?

Poulter has enjoyed a fantastic career, which includes three PGA Tour wins and a place in Ryder Cup folklore.

And fittingly as his golden days wind down at the age of 49, the perfect successor may be emerging in the form of his son Luke.

The 21-year-old has just been handed a spot in the Great Britain and Ireland team for the next edition of the Ryder Cup.

He’s part of a 10-man team for the biennial event that will next take place in California in early September.

Earlier this year, Poulter helped Great Britain and Ireland defeat the Continent of Europe in the St. Andrews Trophy in July.

And he also came agonisingly close to a 2025 US Open spot, having lost in a qualifying playoff to Austen Truslow.

Ian will be hoping the aforementioned injury problems have little impact on his son’s promising career, although such issues have been apparent with other young players in recent times.

And it is somewhat unsurprising given the distances and ball speeds many are recording from the tee, with 20-year-old Aldrich Potgieter topping both of those stats on the PGA Tour in 2025.