I love my kids. I love golf, too. While diaper duty came at the expense of my total rounds at first, my children are now at the right ages to get on the golf course with me on a regular basis. I have to say: I enjoy playing, especially playing well, but there may be nothing more enjoyable for me in golf than seeing an ear-to-ear grin on my kids face after a well-struck shot. Introducing my kids to this game has only heightened my own love for it. What follows is some helpful advice for parents looking to start their children on a golf journey as well.
Let’s be clear: I wouldn’t dream of telling anyone else how to parent their children. I like to think I’m a decent golfer and a decent dad but I’m certainly far from perfect on either of those fronts. I am constantly striving to get better at both. My goal with this article is to provide you with a few nuggets to consider for getting your kids off to a solid start in this great game of ours. If after reading this article, you take away one or two tidbits that help you do that, mission accomplished.
The Cardinal Rule
If you take nothing else away from this article, remember this one thing: MAKE IT FUN. If your kid is not having fun on the course or at the range, you’re doing it wrong, regardless of your goals or your kid’s goals. Now is not the time to burden your little one with expectations of scholarships and trophies. Sure, perhaps your offspring has the DNA to make it as a professional golfer one day. The odds of that are low, for all of us, but it’s entirely possible.
The thing is that for little Timmy to decide he wants to win the Masters when he grows up, he’s got to fall in love with the game first or that goal won’t stick. Your job is to start that love affair and that means making golf synonymous with fun. The time to push Timmy may come but it’s certainly not at the beginning of his golf journey. Do your best to make every outing fun and you’re certain to have him coming back for more.
Keeping It Fun
So, how do you keep it fun? For starters, drop all expectations. Your first nine holes with your child will not be like a nine with your buddies, at all. Take them out for a twilight nine, peg them up from 100 to 150 yards out, and turn them loose, all while being a fountain of encouragement and enthusiasm along the way. But there’s a good chance they won’t last a full nine. If they say “Dad, can we go?” after five, the answer should be an emphatic “yes.” Always leave on a high note. Telling your kid “in three more holes” risks turning it into a chore and the fun-meter starts plummeting. And don’t sweat the fees; you’ll find a lot of courses won’t charge you for your new playing partner anyway.
If you’re the type who’s going to be frustrated not playing your game, let it go. The objective now is to get your kid hooked. That might mean picking up and moving on to the next hole for pace of play’s sake. It might mean letting them hit a few balls into the water hazard, on purpose, because it’s fun. Maybe they want to splash around in the bunker a bit. Say yes. Yes is fun.
Reinforce The Fun!
Saying yes also means lightening up on the etiquette thing at first, too. Remember, the theme is fun. “Don’t talk in my backswing” is NOT fun. Emphasize care of the course and respect for the other golfers. As for the rules of the game, slowly introduce them over time as their love for the game grows. Again, you want to emphasize fun and I think most would agree the rules of this game are not the fun part. Once your kid is hooked and can’t wait to go to the course, then you can start introducing some rules and etiquette. As they start to develop a swing and some confidence, challenge them a bit more with longer distances and possibly even the forward tee box on some par-3s. But these introductory rounds are crucial to forming a strong association between golf and fun, for you and your new golf partner
One more tip to peg the fun meter. Let them drive the golf cart. No, don’t toss them the key and turn them loose the first time out. Put your young one in your lap and closely supervise but give them a chance to pilot you both around on the cart path. (Maybe wait until you’re well clear of any eyes from the clubhouse first. Yeah, I said it.) And on the subject of carts, bring a bungee cord so you can more easily strap in junior’s smaller bag.
Know Your Own Golf Limits
I’m a dad and a decent (and improving) amateur golfer. What I’m not is a golf coach and neither are you. (Unless you actually are, in which case your lucky kids hit the intro-to-golf jackpot.). My “instruction” to my kids when starting out has included only the very basic of basics. Like, which-end-of-the-club-to-hold basic. Maybe how to take a stance with respect to where the target is and some semblance of a grip. Beyond some very basic advice to help them make contact, that’s about the extent of any instruction I’ve given them.
If you want your child to learn some golf swing fundamentals, don’t take it upon yourself to teach them. For one thing, most of us know just enough to be dangerous. Now’s the time to teach your new golfer good habits. Don’t waste the opportunity to set them off on a solid start with advice to “keep your head down” or whatever tip you just gleaned from YouTube or the golf magazines. Trust me: Turn them over to a professional as soon as your young ones show any real interest.
Junior Golf Clinics
Chances are that there are plenty of junior golf clinics in your area that offer an inexpensive and FUN way for your kids to learn the fundamentals of the game. These clinics are almost always run by teaching pros with plenty of experience working with young players of all ages. They know how to keep kids engaged and, if your kid enjoys the clinic and wants to do more, maybe then you can look into the occasional private lesson. The point is that they’ll learn a golf swing the right way and have a lot more fun doing it than having you hovering nearby stressing over their shoulder turn.
If you just can’t help yourself, one little gem I will offer that many junior golf coaches agree on: Give your kids tasks rather than positions and techniques. “How close to the pin can you hit this putt?” resonates a lot more than “Rock your shoulders” or “Keep your lead wrist flat”—know what I mean? If Junior is decidedly over the top in their swing, draw a smiley face on the golf ball, position that face to the inside and tell him to smack it in the nose. Challenge their hand-eye coordination in this manner and you’ll be amazed at how quickly they’ll sort it out. But, again, tread lightly here. Get your burgeoning golfer to a professional coach whoactually knows how to teach a swing.
Get the Equipment Right
Golf is not a cheap sport and junior golf is no exception. However, the right equipment is one area you can’t afford to skimp on if you’re trying to raise a golfer. Age-appropriate sticks are a must if your goal is to help a junior golfer build a solid swing and maximize their enjoyment. Old adult clubs or cutting down your old backup set might be tempting from a cost-saving standpoint but the resulting clubs are going to be way too heavy for your kid to play effectively. Force your child to use them and you are virtually guaranteeing two things will happen. One, they’ll self-organize into some kind of movements to try and make solid contact. Two, they’ll ingrain bad habits in the process. Just like that, their swing will take a giant step backwards.
Fortunately, plenty of companies make appropriately sized clubs. TaylorMade, COBRA, US Kids Golf, and Lynx are just a few of the many companies offering quality clubs specifically for kids. These sticks are built with lightweight components at the right lengths to help kids develop a sound golf swing and learn the joys of a well-struck shot.
A fantastic place to start is All Kids Golf Clubs, an online retailer specializing in junior golf clubs. All Kids carries everything from beginner sets to individual clubs for competitive junior golfers, and from nearly every manufacturer in the youth golf space. All Kids Golf Clubs should be one of your first stops when shopping for golf equipment and apparel for juniors. Get a set of junior clubs (usually a high-lofted driver, hybrid, couple of irons, wedge and putter) and you’ll be making a solid investment in your kid’s golf future.
Priorities
One final but uber-important piece of advice: Remember your priorities in these first rounds. I can promise you, in one of the many cruel workings of the golf gods, there are going to be rounds with your kids where you’ll figure out that you are absolutely striping it. The thought will inevitably spring to mind, “Hey, I could shoot a low one today.” Shortly after you have that thought, little Timmy will have other ideas ranging from chasing that squirrel to calling it a day altogether. Deal with it. Your son or daughter is your focus right now, not your game. I’ve gone entire holes without playing a shot in these rounds and if your kids are like mine they will really respond to that sort of undivided attention.
Don’t miss the chance to give that to them. Trust me, get this introduction to the game right and plenty more chances to go low with your new playing partner will come.
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