People can get into a rut when they retire, as life tends to become mundane.

Some try to keep active walking the dog or looking after the garden, while others, unfortunately, become couch potatoes and drape themselves in front of the television all day.

Whatever your pastime, I think it is very important to keep the mind active and to set a goal each day what you want to achieve.

Golfers have no problem with retirement and indeed, many of them become better golfers as they have the time to concentrate on the game they love.

Non-golfers on the other hand find the game a total bore. To the doubting Thomases I say: don’t knock it until you have tried it.

Cricket, to the vast majority of Irish people, was condemned as a boring and sissy sport until the recent World Cup, in which little Ireland did so well.

Some sports fans even went to the trouble of looking up the laws of the game and became hooked.

Golf similarly takes some time to get used to but once you have mastered the basics it grows on you and is an ideal way to spend the leisure hours in retirement.

The driving range at Limerick County Golf Club presents the ideal opportunity for non-golfers to try their hand at hitting the little ball for the first time.

Limerick County has installed the very latest in driving range technology and it is a joy to hit 50 golf balls out there.

All you need to start is one or two golf clubs, pay €7 for the 50 balls and you are away.

You place the balls in the little holding area on the tee box, press the button and the ball automatically rolls onto the tee for you to hit, You don’t have to bend down to replace the ball—once you hit one, the other is placed automatically for you.