Dating is two people going out for a good time. (from the mans view: the hunt for sex). It doesn't necessarily have marriage as a goal. In fact I've heard dating referred to as "practice for divorce" as it normally involves lots of break ups and different 'partners' along the line.
In the June time frame I will start looking for a new wife. I don't have time to date. I will court instead.
(BTW, I'm 45 and I plan on having my late wife's parents help me in the process as my parents live quite a ways away. Of course my parents still get an up or down vote. I have a large number of church ladies sorting through the available women who meet my basic requirements to narrow the field to some I can be introduced to. I figure they know me and they know the women so it's easier for them to pick who will work well with me than it is for me to try randomly)
Here's an excellent treatise on courtship vs dating:
Amd some more resources:
The Courtship Connection
(sorry for the double post, lost my place)
I want to wish you luck or at least wish you well, but I can't wish that on a woman. I know we disagree, but I'm a firm believer that May-December relationships are absolute hell on the younger party once the aged member of the relationship truly gets old.
I'm 42, and I could easily keep up with a woman of 22. However, when I'm 72 and she's 52, her life would just suck to high heaven. She'd still be young and vital, and stuck to a guy playing connect the liverspots in the mirror.