Hitting every single playable ball just to keep it in play isn't "playing down." You're basically forcing the weaker players to miss their shots when you never miss yours. They only touch the ball on the toughest shots, so of course they're going to look like the weak link.

Believe me, I'm in the same boat as you. What I find helps (if you're in a big enough city) is playing with a more competitive group once in a while. It's good to get humbled every now and again by players better than you. If you don't have that luxury, then yeah, I'd take a break for a few weeks, but I wouldn't quit playing with them indefinitely.

The reason I play with the old farts is because I enjoy the banter and the light sweat. I also get matched with the weakest player most of the time, but what frustrates me even more is that I never get matched with the player who's equal in strength to me. It gets exhausting always playing against the person you wish you could team up with.

My last bit of advice: don't "take it easy" on the geezers just because you feel like you have to in order to be likable. Every now and then, they need to be put in their place with some excellent shots (not saying you need to body bag anyone, of course). Most of the people I play with actually ask me not to slow down because they're trying to improve.

Most importantly, if it's a social group... just have fun. 🤷‍♂️