Parent-Child Golf
Damaikis
Fairway Finder
Wow huge congrats! Way to go!
fishymehta
Ahh... life is good
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Just got a glance after this thread, after quite a long absence from THP due to my workload. IMHO, some parents work their kids way too hard on the golf course. They get mad when a few mistakes are made, and really just stress out the kid...
A short while back, my son had a tourney at a mid-range course (long but straightforward). He was playing with a 11-year old who had only been golfing for about 2-3 years. The boy's dad was caddying for him, and I felt bad for the little kid. He could only drive the ball around 160-170, albeit down the fairway, and it was hard for him to hit greens in even 1 over regulation. On a 550-yard par 5, it took him 5 to get on the edge of the fringe, and then a 3-putt quad (Lagged it to about 5 feet, then missed the putt). The kid's dad was quietly raging at him on the way to the next tee, and the poor kid ended up going double, double, triple, after missing 3 fairways in a row; the dad kept getting madder and madder, especially after he lost 3 Pro V1x's on the front 9. At the end of the round, he compared his son's 102 to my son's 83.... as if it was a fair comparison
Now why would you buy an 11-year old Pro Vs? He's going to lose a ton. Also, this dad was well out of line. I was tempted to tell him to leave the kid alone and shut up, but I didn't want to cause a fight. I personally found this disgusting, and wanted to know if it was just me, or this was universally mean behavior?
A short while back, my son had a tourney at a mid-range course (long but straightforward). He was playing with a 11-year old who had only been golfing for about 2-3 years. The boy's dad was caddying for him, and I felt bad for the little kid. He could only drive the ball around 160-170, albeit down the fairway, and it was hard for him to hit greens in even 1 over regulation. On a 550-yard par 5, it took him 5 to get on the edge of the fringe, and then a 3-putt quad (Lagged it to about 5 feet, then missed the putt). The kid's dad was quietly raging at him on the way to the next tee, and the poor kid ended up going double, double, triple, after missing 3 fairways in a row; the dad kept getting madder and madder, especially after he lost 3 Pro V1x's on the front 9. At the end of the round, he compared his son's 102 to my son's 83.... as if it was a fair comparison
Now why would you buy an 11-year old Pro Vs? He's going to lose a ton. Also, this dad was well out of line. I was tempted to tell him to leave the kid alone and shut up, but I didn't want to cause a fight. I personally found this disgusting, and wanted to know if it was just me, or this was universally mean behavior?
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Good luck Esox I wish your daughter well. My son is playing in his second HS tournament today. He just started playing golf in July and made the HS team as a senior. Although he has not made it on the varsity team tournaments yet, he is close.
bonknhead
New member
Wow Esox, that's awesome that Jr. Lancer did so well as did her team. Good luck in this second day of the state tourney. How did they do yesterday?
Esox
New member
Here's a separate thread about State, Bonk.
http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...h-School-Golf-Tournament/page3&highlight=esox
Kevin
http://www.thehackersparadise.com/f...h-School-Golf-Tournament/page3&highlight=esox
Kevin
GrantD
Formerly Known as DMB012
My wife had a Fall Fair at her school last night. The kid and I went over to hang out. She was in charge of a Putt-Putt game for the night. My son was all in to it. I think we have a little golfer on our hands.
DANNY.P
Lose Weight
Both of my kids play, just for fun. When they were young they were both more interested in driving the cart, than hitting a few golf balls. They are grown, play golf on there own. Best part now, they pay there own greens fees. Did not play golf much with my father when I was young. Back in those days my Fathers rule was no kids on the course, unless you were a caddy. Times have changed for the better for sure.
Teach him the drag putt early
My son is 9. I took him for his first lesson when he was 5. Way too early for him to be honest. It wasn't a complete waste of time however. I bought him a set of US Kids clubs when he turned 7 and took him for lessons. He did okay, but wasn't totally in to it. He still comes with me when i play golf. He will hit some balls on the range and play a few holes. I try to keep it as fun as possible for him. His swing has a lot of holes, but I am keeping the pressure as low as possible. I am going to start getting him in regular private lessons, at least every other week.
Ray Carey
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Hi Every one, IM Ray this july 4th my wife and I took our 7 year old and 4 year old to Pennsuaken CC in NJ we had a blast. We played best ball. The kids loved being out on the golf course with us. They really enjoyed seeing why mom and dad are always wanting to be on the golf course. They did well. WE only got in 9 holes. The best time we ever had as family.
Ray Carey
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Awesome!!
It's great that so many of you take your kids out onto the course. When I was younger my Dad and my Uncle would always take us golfing and would patiently spend 4 hours playing 9 holes as we hacked our way around teaching us as we went. If it weren't for that then I would probably have not a lot of interest in golf today. The fact that a parent wants to share something like golf with their kid is something special I think.
Ray Carey
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Took my son to a lesson with my pro at the club on Saturday. He has gone to him before, but the lessons have been sporadic with not much work between. Before I go into the lessons and the plan, I want to talk about my son.
He is 9 years old. He has dyslexia and is dysgraphia. He is a really good kid. To be honest, he is not a gifted athlete. We have done the soccer and baseball thing. The dyslexia makes it hard for him to track moving objects so he really struggled catching a ball or tracking it well enough to hit, so baseball was not his cup of tea. To be honest, he is actually pretty gifted in music and acting. He does very well on piano, has been taking lessons for the past 2 years and will be moving to guitar soon. he does very well with acting, has been in a couple of plays and is very comfortable on stage. But just because he is more artisically inclined doesn't mean that I am willing to abandon athletics altogether. He really doesn't want that either.
Generally dyslexic kids trend more towards individual sports. I have introduced him to golf and tennis. My introduction to both sports has been very low key and without much pressure. He had his first series of golf lessons when he was 5. For the most part, I just wanted him to learn the basics, like the stance, range of motion etc. My expectations were low, but even so, it was obvious that it was way too early for him to start playing golf. I have no regrets having him take lessons then. When he was 7 I bought him a set of US Kids clubs and started having him take lessons at the country club. Again, nothing serious. As I mentioned above, his lessons have been sporadic with no real hard work in between. I take him with me many times when I play and bring his clubs. He might play a couple of holes, or none at all. He might drive the golf cart or not at all. He still loves being on the golf course and always wants to come along.
It is easy to tell that he really wants to take the next step and get more serious about playing golf. I have made the decision that now is the time to change the game and make the commitment to getting him more involved and better at golf. He is ready to make the commitment. My expectations are reasonable. I don't expect him to turn into the next Tiger Woods. I just want him to be as good as he can get. I will be careful not to turn golf into a drudgery for him. I want him to enjoy the game and love playing golf. But at the same time, for him to get to a point to where he can get better, or good enough to enjoy the game, he is going to have to put in some work. I feel he is ready.
The plan is for weekly lessons at first stretching out to bi-weekly lessons as we go on. Between lessons, we will work on what was learned in his previous lesson so he can continue to improve. This is the key.
Since we are on a new page, i will call last Saturday's lesson the first one. His swing is still pretty much stuck in the starting blocks. His stance has gotten a lot worse. In the past, his posture has been excellent, a great athletic position. That is one thing that he picked up in lessons when he was 5. It has degraded thanks to sporadic lessons and the teaching influence of Dad. That was the very first thing that the Coach fixed. Very good. His swing needs a lot of work. He pretty much arm swings. His swing is very long, going past parallel. He really doesn't get on to his left side on the down swing either. His hips pretty much point out 45 degrees from the target line at impact at best. Coach worked on that too. In fact, that was the main focus to the lesson beyond double checking his posture before each swing. He did pretty well, but has a long road ahead. He is ready to roll and is excited, so all is good.
We went back Sunday and worked on some things. No pressure. Just focused on posture and turning his belt buckle towards the target. He still isn't very comfortable but is improving, if slightly.
Went back yesterday afternoon to hit balls. I remembered a great drill I read about when I first started. You have all seen it numerous times. It is the drill when you get in a golf stance and hold the driver in front of you with your left hand and throw the ball down the target line underhanded with your right hand (under your left arm). You cannot do this unless you clear your hips correctly. He really took to this and it really helped his hip turn somewhat. One thing that has always bothered me about his swing is that everything is really tight and slow, as should probably be expected. He really doesn't hit with enough power to be honest. I had him do the old Harvey Penick week wacker drill, by continually swinging his driver from start to finish and back again in a freer pace. I told him to make his backswing the same pace as the drill. His first swing, he hit a very nice 8 iron 70 yards in the air, perfectly down the target line. He was totally stoked. I tell you he could not wait to hit the next shot. That is all of what golf is about and to be honest, that might be the first time he has truly felt that sensation.
let's call the first week a great start. Next lesson is this Saturday. Wife is busy tomorrow, so we might hit the range if possible. He is excited and so am I. I will keep you posted on his progress.
He is 9 years old. He has dyslexia and is dysgraphia. He is a really good kid. To be honest, he is not a gifted athlete. We have done the soccer and baseball thing. The dyslexia makes it hard for him to track moving objects so he really struggled catching a ball or tracking it well enough to hit, so baseball was not his cup of tea. To be honest, he is actually pretty gifted in music and acting. He does very well on piano, has been taking lessons for the past 2 years and will be moving to guitar soon. he does very well with acting, has been in a couple of plays and is very comfortable on stage. But just because he is more artisically inclined doesn't mean that I am willing to abandon athletics altogether. He really doesn't want that either.
Generally dyslexic kids trend more towards individual sports. I have introduced him to golf and tennis. My introduction to both sports has been very low key and without much pressure. He had his first series of golf lessons when he was 5. For the most part, I just wanted him to learn the basics, like the stance, range of motion etc. My expectations were low, but even so, it was obvious that it was way too early for him to start playing golf. I have no regrets having him take lessons then. When he was 7 I bought him a set of US Kids clubs and started having him take lessons at the country club. Again, nothing serious. As I mentioned above, his lessons have been sporadic with no real hard work in between. I take him with me many times when I play and bring his clubs. He might play a couple of holes, or none at all. He might drive the golf cart or not at all. He still loves being on the golf course and always wants to come along.
It is easy to tell that he really wants to take the next step and get more serious about playing golf. I have made the decision that now is the time to change the game and make the commitment to getting him more involved and better at golf. He is ready to make the commitment. My expectations are reasonable. I don't expect him to turn into the next Tiger Woods. I just want him to be as good as he can get. I will be careful not to turn golf into a drudgery for him. I want him to enjoy the game and love playing golf. But at the same time, for him to get to a point to where he can get better, or good enough to enjoy the game, he is going to have to put in some work. I feel he is ready.
The plan is for weekly lessons at first stretching out to bi-weekly lessons as we go on. Between lessons, we will work on what was learned in his previous lesson so he can continue to improve. This is the key.
Since we are on a new page, i will call last Saturday's lesson the first one. His swing is still pretty much stuck in the starting blocks. His stance has gotten a lot worse. In the past, his posture has been excellent, a great athletic position. That is one thing that he picked up in lessons when he was 5. It has degraded thanks to sporadic lessons and the teaching influence of Dad. That was the very first thing that the Coach fixed. Very good. His swing needs a lot of work. He pretty much arm swings. His swing is very long, going past parallel. He really doesn't get on to his left side on the down swing either. His hips pretty much point out 45 degrees from the target line at impact at best. Coach worked on that too. In fact, that was the main focus to the lesson beyond double checking his posture before each swing. He did pretty well, but has a long road ahead. He is ready to roll and is excited, so all is good.
We went back Sunday and worked on some things. No pressure. Just focused on posture and turning his belt buckle towards the target. He still isn't very comfortable but is improving, if slightly.
Went back yesterday afternoon to hit balls. I remembered a great drill I read about when I first started. You have all seen it numerous times. It is the drill when you get in a golf stance and hold the driver in front of you with your left hand and throw the ball down the target line underhanded with your right hand (under your left arm). You cannot do this unless you clear your hips correctly. He really took to this and it really helped his hip turn somewhat. One thing that has always bothered me about his swing is that everything is really tight and slow, as should probably be expected. He really doesn't hit with enough power to be honest. I had him do the old Harvey Penick week wacker drill, by continually swinging his driver from start to finish and back again in a freer pace. I told him to make his backswing the same pace as the drill. His first swing, he hit a very nice 8 iron 70 yards in the air, perfectly down the target line. He was totally stoked. I tell you he could not wait to hit the next shot. That is all of what golf is about and to be honest, that might be the first time he has truly felt that sensation.
let's call the first week a great start. Next lesson is this Saturday. Wife is busy tomorrow, so we might hit the range if possible. He is excited and so am I. I will keep you posted on his progress.
Esox
New member
^^^^Awesome. Good on you and your son. From the tone of your post, I'm guessing he'll do great. You're going to love playing golf with your son.
I haven't posted here in a while. We're in to the off season here in Cheeseland and though my daughter had a really nice freshman high school season, she knows she could have been better. We recently watched a one hour show of the girls state tournament in which she participated. She was able to see the swings of many of the top girls, and realized what she works on with her swing coach will give her a better swing in the long run than girls that shoot around par. This really got her motivated. She also knows her putting kept her from being a top ten girl in the state at 14.
We have purchased her a three month range membership at a place with heated bays, and I've taken her three times a week for the last three weeks. She's working diligently on exercises to strengthen her surgically damaged wrist, and on balance exercises and cardio. Putting drills begin this weekend as we have to set up the Big Moss again. She is changing her swing from an inside takeaway to being more on plane going back and then dropping into the slot to hit a draw. She is doing several myelination drills without a club to improve this along with hitting balls. I have seen a change in her maturity level since the end of the season.
Her swing coach is heading to Palm Springs to work with a PGA pro and two Nationwide players for 10 days or so, and when he gets back we're starting weekly or bi-weekly lessons at the nearby dome.
The kid seems like she really wants to bear down and become one of the best, if not the best, junior female golfer in Wisconsin over the next year or two.
I'm so proud of her because she's becoming self motivated.
Kevin
I haven't posted here in a while. We're in to the off season here in Cheeseland and though my daughter had a really nice freshman high school season, she knows she could have been better. We recently watched a one hour show of the girls state tournament in which she participated. She was able to see the swings of many of the top girls, and realized what she works on with her swing coach will give her a better swing in the long run than girls that shoot around par. This really got her motivated. She also knows her putting kept her from being a top ten girl in the state at 14.
We have purchased her a three month range membership at a place with heated bays, and I've taken her three times a week for the last three weeks. She's working diligently on exercises to strengthen her surgically damaged wrist, and on balance exercises and cardio. Putting drills begin this weekend as we have to set up the Big Moss again. She is changing her swing from an inside takeaway to being more on plane going back and then dropping into the slot to hit a draw. She is doing several myelination drills without a club to improve this along with hitting balls. I have seen a change in her maturity level since the end of the season.
Her swing coach is heading to Palm Springs to work with a PGA pro and two Nationwide players for 10 days or so, and when he gets back we're starting weekly or bi-weekly lessons at the nearby dome.
The kid seems like she really wants to bear down and become one of the best, if not the best, junior female golfer in Wisconsin over the next year or two.
I'm so proud of her because she's becoming self motivated.
Kevin
Esox
New member
She can develop the skills to play college golf on nice scholarship of that I have no doubt. The mental toughness and hard work is up to her.
Kevin
another lesson yesterday. It appears that the topics from the previous lesson are taking hold pretty well in his swing. His posture is better and he is getting on to his left side better on the down swing. Today, they worked on keeping his left arm straighter. It completely breaks down in his backswing. He really saw the light on that one and is convinced he will be "great" soon. We will see, but it is great to see him so stoked. Next lesson is next Saturday. We will make sure the last 2 lessons have taken hold. Next step is to work on his hands on the downswing. He (like many or most amateurs) casts the club out from the top of the swing. We will work on him holding the angle. It might be difficult, so it might take a while until we go there. He is coming along nicely.
He is building a very nice foundation. When his body strength catches up as he grows, he could turn into a nice player.
He is building a very nice foundation. When his body strength catches up as he grows, he could turn into a nice player.
Esox
New member
I have so much fun watching my kid work on her swing.
Kevin
Kevin
I'm so close to buying my almost three year old daughter her first set of clubs. They'll be pink for sure. I just don't know when to start her!
Tapatalking on my iPhone!
Tapatalking on my iPhone!
3 is probably very early, just manage expectations. Good luck either way.
Our lesson last Saturday was a bit of a setback. My son is working his way into some bad habits and has some things to work through. We will be doing some drills this week.
Our lesson last Saturday was a bit of a setback. My son is working his way into some bad habits and has some things to work through. We will be doing some drills this week.
McKillian
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My son (7 yrs) announced this weekend that he was "done" with figureskating and wanted to play Golf instead. Let´s just say I wasn´t devastated. So we´re planning to start up lessons this spring, I´ll see if there´s a chance we could take lessons together. Really made up about this as we tried it some this past summer but he wasn´t really into it then. Fingers crossed he´ll like it more this time. Or at least have the patience to try it proper.
ColinJames1975
New member
My daughter is only 7 months old so it will be a few years before she gets to playing any kind of golf. She does already have the little plastic pink disney princess set which I bought as soon as we knew we were having a girl. It is mainly in her room for decoration at this point. I love reading this thread though, because I am really hoping someday she decides she wants to play golf, and it will be something we can enjoy together. As it has been mentioned many times by others I will not be trying to force it on her, I just hope she takes an interest at some point.
Icey,
I have 3 daughters, 5yr/3yr/7months and will have the same dilemma as you and
many others on the board - when to start your kids playing golf. I played golf
in HS, tennis in college and taught tennis for 8 years during and after
college. I ran a junior tennis program at a club during the last 4 years. What
I'm about to say is the plan I have for my girls and I'm sure will be adjusted
as they develop their physical and mental skills as children.
Having taught and played tennis, I will tell you that this is a wonder tool for
young children (even starting at 4) to begin to develop eye/hand coordination.
My 5 year old started taking some lessons at 4, just 30 minutes every week or
so. It was great watching her get better and better with very quick results.
Proper form is a must but she is starting to really swing with a bit a power
and some good results. I am going to continue doing this till she probably 7ish
and will then start some golf with her. Why? Tennis is giving her great results
that will lead into the golf arena. The tennis swing (forehand) and golf swing
are very similar in mechanics. She is learning the golf swing right now without
even knowing it, and at the same time is getting great eye/hand work along with
what all kids want to do........moving around!!!
I am not trying to have any of my girls be the next Michelle Wie......far from
it. If they played HS or college tennis, golf or whatever sport, I would be one
happy dad.
Every kiddo is going to be different, and you know your kids better than anyone.