We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Junior (Kids) Golf Lessons Thread

My son turned 3 this past June and I started taking him to the course with me almost every time I played. I just made sure we had plenty of snacks and his little dvd player with headphones. Normally he likes to pull out the flag sometimes or get my ball out of the hole for me. He is also obsessed with carrying my divot tool. He started begging me for a club around August so I cut an old knock off driver for him and just put electrical tape as the grip. He did pretty good with it, its a 460cc head and super light. But I couldn't get him to stop holding it cross handed. My wife is left handed so I found an old set of left handed uskids golf clubs on ebay that I bought just before it turned cold. It almost seems like the clubs are too heavy for him, but he likes having his own bag for sure. Not sure what to do next as far as going right or left handed. Probably just see how he continues to develop, right now he continues to draw and color with both hands. I'm interested to know at what age would lessons start to be appropriate? He's definitely the type of kid who would listen to someone else other than me for instruction. With me he's a I know how to do it dad kind of kid. He will be 4 this year.
 
I've spent a lot of the past 6 days at home with my son, who just had his tonsils removed. He's 3. I finally got him to hold his putter correctly, which allowed him to 'fling' that ball a lot harder across the room. He was very proud of his accomplishment, and so was I.

~Rock
 
Did you happen to catch a new show on Esquire Network last night called "The Short Game"? I got about 1/2 way through it. It highlights kids golf at the junior tourney level, with fathers as the caddies.
 
Art M said:
my youngest son liked to go to the range and to practice putting. but the icing on the cake was driving the cart!
Click to expand...

Isn't that the truth. I take him a couple times a year out in the cart, but try to limit it. He'll be hoofing it if he keeps playing over time.

davis20 said:
My son turned 3 this past June and I started taking him to the course with me almost every time I played. I just made sure we had plenty of snacks and his little dvd player with headphones. Normally he likes to pull out the flag sometimes or get my ball out of the hole for me. He is also obsessed with carrying my divot tool. He started begging me for a club around August so I cut an old knock off driver for him and just put electrical tape as the grip. He did pretty good with it, its a 460cc head and super light. But I couldn't get him to stop holding it cross handed. My wife is left handed so I found an old set of left handed uskids golf clubs on ebay that I bought just before it turned cold. It almost seems like the clubs are too heavy for him, but he likes having his own bag for sure. Not sure what to do next as far as going right or left handed. Probably just see how he continues to develop, right now he continues to draw and color with both hands. I'm interested to know at what age would lessons start to be appropriate? He's definitely the type of kid who would listen to someone else other than me for instruction. With me he's a I know how to do it dad kind of kid. He will be 4 this year.
Click to expand...

I don't think there's an answer to that one, though I'm sure you'll hear some differing opinions. The clinic my boy goes to (he's five) has kids from 5-12. Some are ready and some don't seem to be. I think it depends on how interested they are probably.
 
davis20 said:
My son turned 3 this past June and I started taking him to the course with me almost every time I played. I just made sure we had plenty of snacks and his little dvd player with headphones. Normally he likes to pull out the flag sometimes or get my ball out of the hole for me. He is also obsessed with carrying my divot tool. He started begging me for a club around August so I cut an old knock off driver for him and just put electrical tape as the grip. He did pretty good with it, its a 460cc head and super light. But I couldn't get him to stop holding it cross handed. My wife is left handed so I found an old set of left handed uskids golf clubs on ebay that I bought just before it turned cold. It almost seems like the clubs are too heavy for him, but he likes having his own bag for sure. Not sure what to do next as far as going right or left handed. Probably just see how he continues to develop, right now he continues to draw and color with both hands. I'm interested to know at what age would lessons start to be appropriate? He's definitely the type of kid who would listen to someone else other than me for instruction. With me he's a I know how to do it dad kind of kid. He will be 4 this year.
Click to expand...

In the First Tee programs here I've looked into...the youngest group they have is 5-6, and it goes up from there. Also, I'm no expert, but if he is still coloring with both hands at 3, there is a good chance he's left handed. By 2 it was fairly obvious my daughter was right handed. Plus lefty's tend to be more ambidextrous than most.
 
gr8dryv said:
Did you happen to catch a new show on Esquire Network last night called "The Short Game"? I got about 1/2 way through it. It highlights kids golf at the junior tourney level, with fathers as the caddies.
Click to expand...

That show makes me dislike some parents.....
 
adamw238 said:
That show makes me dislike some parents.....
Click to expand...

Ya, like I said, I only got half way thru it, but one of the dads stood out as a real jerk. Probably didn't help that I caught the last 10 minutes of Friday Night Tykes leading up to the show. Now those coaches and parents.... wtf
 
gr8dryv said:
Ya, like I said, I only got half way thru it, but one of the dads stood out as a real jerk. Probably didn't help that I caught the last 10 minutes of Friday Night Tykes leading up to the show. Now those coaches and parents.... wtf
Click to expand...

The show is based off of a documentary called "The Short Game" that should be on Netflix. The documentary film is amazing. Instead of focusing on the jerk parents, the film focuses exclusively on the kids. It is truly an awesome film. The show, in comparison, is a big disappointment.
 
Hawk and huhhh, thanks for the replys. I was leaning towards 5-6 for a structure type deal for him. For now I'm definitely just letting him have fun and do what he wants. I'd he wants to hit a ball fine, if he wants to play on the cart that's fine to. I just like directing the time with him.
 
adamw238 said:
That show makes me dislike some parents.....
Click to expand...

I agree with you 100%! I watched it once and couldn't watch it again. At some points I want to jump through the screen and beat the dad!
 
I've got a 5 year old daughter who is in love with the game. She too has had a club in her hand since she could walk. She's been to the range with me a couple of times and loves the putting green. Right now I just let her swing her swing and just remind her about her hands. Otherwise, grip it and rip it. It's awesome when watching their reaction to hitting the ball in the air...it's very similar to my reaction...lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I opened a can of worms and my son hit my 60* in the bunker and putt with my FGP. I don't know if it was the loft or additional weight but he was able to hit out of the bunker much easier with my club, but did say it was too heavy. He asked for heavier clubs, just not as heavy as mine.

Same thing with the FGP. He made his normal putting stroke and launched the ball across the green and said "wow". He said he had felt like he barely had to putt to get the ball moving and after a few strokes said it was much easier than his putter.

I talked with my wife and I think we are going to buy one club from US Kids and see how it goes. I'll cut down the FGP from 34" to 30" which is the length for the putter on US Kids and let him try that - just as soon as SeeMore can get a Giant FGP in my hands.
 
Dr RosenRosen said:
The show is based off of a documentary called "The Short Game" that should be on Netflix. The documentary film is amazing. Instead of focusing on the jerk parents, the film focuses exclusively on the kids. It is truly an awesome film. The show, in comparison, is a big disappointment.
Click to expand...

I've never seen the show. I did watch the documentary last year on Netflix. I would say that it was 80% focused on the kids. There were a few moments when I just wanted to jump through the TV and start yelling at the parents, particularly when the French mother just starts berating her kid for not making putts.

As for what age to start lessons, I think I was 5 or 6 when I first started taking mine. I can remember making some long putt (which was probably 10 feet, but hey, that was huge for me back then), and I got a free Welch's grape soda from the vending machine for making it.

Life was so much simpler back then.

~Rock
 
Great THREAD.

Great THREAD.

Love this thread and reading about other parents. Here is our short story if you are interested in reading how our family got into golf. All the Family: GOLF This article was also featured on the LPGA Girls Golf website.

So back on topic... I have two daughters, Bella-9, and Mia-6. Around 7 Bella started getting interested in golf and that really changed our lives. I am not a golfer (I try to be now.. lol) Here are some key things that has helped us along the way.

1. Make it fun...always have fun on the course when you are with them in practice or playing. I lost this #1 key point when my girl started playing in some competitive tournaments around town and started winning. We are a competitive family and we are showing our kids what winning and losing is. Not that everyone is a winner and should get an award for "participating" etc.. Our girls have weekly, monthly, and yearly goals and its ok to not achieve them as long as they are trying their hardest to get there. Well I started to focus to much on the winning part and lost focus on the fun part.. Well one tournament I could not be her caddie so my wife filled in, she won again.

After the tournament we had dinner and my daughter with a very serious face we had to talk. Well to make it short... she fired me off the bag as she said it was not fun anymore and that she should be able to make her own mistakes and learn from them. She was 8. This was a LIFE LESSON for me and my daughter was teaching it, lol. From then on I made a promise to keep it fun and enjoy the game.

2. Equipment. As in anything you have to have the correct tools to do a proper job. In the beginning my daughter only had a 7 iron I bought from sports authority. Cheap and since I am not a golfer I had NO CLUE about equipment. When I started seeing that she wanted to play and did have some talent I invested in getting her a clubset. Well "santa" bought her some callaways 9-10 XJ Series clubs. Problem was that they were not the correct size for her as she is small and these clubs were too long and heavy for her. "Santa's" mistake. She started taking lessons at a little linksters clinic and the instructor said that US kids golf was great and that they were fitted to the child's height. GREAT. so I bought a new set of clubs for my daughter with the 6 clubs and she was on her way.

US kids clubs are great clubs and I also invested in another used set for my youngest daughter to start putting and chipping with etc.. My oldest daughter has been using US kids clubs now for about a year and half however she is starting to compete in alot more tournaments so it was time to update her clubs. We went for Flynn Golf and their new line 2015 VT MAX Velocity. See the clubs here These clubs are phenomenal. She has gained 15 total yards easily and it was muddy and wet so she didnt get a roll. With a roll she is going to be getting 20+ yards so these clubs are worth it.

One thing I can say is my girl is girlie girl so she wants color in her clubs so make it fun!

3. Drills. We started to do drills every night as our nighttime routine before we go to bed. She putts 75 putts (25 from 3ft, 25 from 5ft, and 25 from 7ft) that need to go in and then 25 lag putts (from 7 ft) that has to stay at the edge of a putting puck for control. This has helped her big time with her putting and her confidence in putting when she is in a tournament.

4. Quality Time and FOCUS. When we go play on the course we usually play 9 holes. We do different games like laying the ball in bad lies, we have to hit in a bunker and then out, we have to only use 2 clubs on a hole, pr first one on the green wins. Another huge thing I try to do is TALK to her and listen. This is 2-3 hours that we spend together that we are able to communicate. See what is going on in their heads and the world around them. Start to see them maturing etc.. Spend the time together.

5. Instructors. I stop trying to be an instructor or teach them golf. Yes I will tell them if they are lined up incorrectly or if they ask for my opinion on a club etc.. But I am not out there telling them how or what to do. Both my girls started taking the Little Linksters clinics and that has been great. They are able to learn some basic things and go and hit balls. They do private lessons also when they feel they need them and want to work on something technical. For instance bella was having trouble with her driver so she wanted to get a lesson to work on the swing path with that club.

I also got involved in the First Tee program and LPGA Girls Golf program. Both programs are great and really teach so much more than just golf. They teach life skills. This session in the First Tee program Bella wanted to volunteer and become a student mentor for a lower class level. She is advanced par level and is teaching the PLAYer level. This was awesome as she is now giving back and showing other kids.

Another great program is the PGA Team Golf. I highly recommend this program as its a team format and alot of fun.

All in All... I am still learning every day and I know its going to get harder and harder.... that is parenting. Throw in any competitive sport and it gets alot more complicated. I believe we learn so much from sports as it helps build character, sportsmanship, life skills, and most of all how to fail and get back up.

30aqefk.jpg




Short vid of bella practicing.



photo.php
 
rflores - you are the champion of golf dads. Love your posts dude.

Junior clinic tonight. I think there are two more left. Tonight is putting if I remember correctly. The boy loves to putt.
 
Sign ups for Girls Golf / First Tee open up next week. My daughter is very excited that 3 friends from school are signing up too so they can do the clinic together.
 
I take my girls out to the range with me every now and then, and have taken them golfing with me a 2-3 times.

Kind of letting them get involved at their own pace.

Aside:
Some of the worst parenting I've ever seen has been b/w a father and child at a range. Dad's getting frustrated with their kids for making the same mistakes repeatedly, kids getting frustrated in return...

Please don't ever be one of those dad's (I'm saying this to myself too).
 
rflores2323 said:
Love this thread and reading about other parents. Here is our short story if you are interested in reading how our family got into golf. All the Family: GOLF This article was also featured on the LPGA Girls Golf website.

So back on topic... I have two daughters, Bella-9, and Mia-6. Around 7 Bella started getting interested in golf and that really changed our lives. I am not a golfer (I try to be now.. lol) Here are some key things that has helped us along the way.

1. Make it fun...always have fun on the course when you are with them in practice or playing. I lost this #1 key point when my girl started playing in some competitive tournaments around town and started winning. We are a competitive family and we are showing our kids what winning and losing is. Not that everyone is a winner and should get an award for "participating" etc.. Our girls have weekly, monthly, and yearly goals and its ok to not achieve them as long as they are trying their hardest to get there. Well I started to focus to much on the winning part and lost focus on the fun part.. Well one tournament I could not be her caddie so my wife filled in, she won again.

After the tournament we had dinner and my daughter with a very serious face we had to talk. Well to make it short... she fired me off the bag as she said it was not fun anymore and that she should be able to make her own mistakes and learn from them. She was 8. This was a LIFE LESSON for me and my daughter was teaching it, lol. From then on I made a promise to keep it fun and enjoy the game.

2. Equipment. As in anything you have to have the correct tools to do a proper job. In the beginning my daughter only had a 7 iron I bought from sports authority. Cheap and since I am not a golfer I had NO CLUE about equipment. When I started seeing that she wanted to play and did have some talent I invested in getting her a clubset. Well "santa" bought her some callaways 9-10 XJ Series clubs. Problem was that they were not the correct size for her as she is small and these clubs were too long and heavy for her. "Santa's" mistake. She started taking lessons at a little linksters clinic and the instructor said that US kids golf was great and that they were fitted to the child's height. GREAT. so I bought a new set of clubs for my daughter with the 6 clubs and she was on her way.

US kids clubs are great clubs and I also invested in another used set for my youngest daughter to start putting and chipping with etc.. My oldest daughter has been using US kids clubs now for about a year and half however she is starting to compete in alot more tournaments so it was time to update her clubs. We went for Flynn Golf and their new line 2015 VT MAX Velocity. See the clubs here These clubs are phenomenal. She has gained 15 total yards easily and it was muddy and wet so she didnt get a roll. With a roll she is going to be getting 20+ yards so these clubs are worth it.

One thing I can say is my girl is girlie girl so she wants color in her clubs so make it fun!

3. Drills. We started to do drills every night as our nighttime routine before we go to bed. She putts 75 putts (25 from 3ft, 25 from 5ft, and 25 from 7ft) that need to go in and then 25 lag putts (from 7 ft) that has to stay at the edge of a putting puck for control. This has helped her big time with her putting and her confidence in putting when she is in a tournament.

4. Quality Time and FOCUS. When we go play on the course we usually play 9 holes. We do different games like laying the ball in bad lies, we have to hit in a bunker and then out, we have to only use 2 clubs on a hole, pr first one on the green wins. Another huge thing I try to do is TALK to her and listen. This is 2-3 hours that we spend together that we are able to communicate. See what is going on in their heads and the world around them. Start to see them maturing etc.. Spend the time together.

5. Instructors. I stop trying to be an instructor or teach them golf. Yes I will tell them if they are lined up incorrectly or if they ask for my opinion on a club etc.. But I am not out there telling them how or what to do. Both my girls started taking the Little Linksters clinics and that has been great. They are able to learn some basic things and go and hit balls. They do private lessons also when they feel they need them and want to work on something technical. For instance bella was having trouble with her driver so she wanted to get a lesson to work on the swing path with that club.

I also got involved in the First Tee program and LPGA Girls Golf program. Both programs are great and really teach so much more than just golf. They teach life skills. This session in the First Tee program Bella wanted to volunteer and become a student mentor for a lower class level. She is advanced par level and is teaching the PLAYer level. This was awesome as she is now giving back and showing other kids.

Another great program is the PGA Team Golf. I highly recommend this program as its a team format and alot of fun.

All in All... I am still learning every day and I know its going to get harder and harder.... that is parenting. Throw in any competitive sport and it gets alot more complicated. I believe we learn so much from sports as it helps build character, sportsmanship, life skills, and most of all how to fail and get back up.

30aqefk.jpg




Short vid of bella practicing.



photo.php
Click to expand...


That is incredible!
Wow!!!
 
Wow, a lot of good info in here. My youngest (now 3) will be my fifth child I have introduced to golf. All five of them have a different relationship withe sport. Right now my 15 year old eldest daughter has been playing on the boys varsity team for two years and has been recruited heavily by colleges (it helps that she has a 4.0). In her case, once she reached a certain level of play/learning, I had to take a step back and find her a coach. We tried lessons with a few people - the one we chose started by telling me privately that I could watch the lessons but would have no input. He wanted me to work on course strategy with her and put her into different situations on the course since I have a lot of tournament experience. But her swing, short game and putting are his to practice with her. Sounds drastic when you consider I was her coach for 9-10 years but I saw the wisdom of this immediately and it has worked well. No 15 year old worth her salt really wants to listen to her dad much :)
 
One thing about little kids and golf is that sometimes it's fun and sometimes you want to strangle them :)

Last night was the latter. Putting clinic was just a clusterf*** all around, which didn't surprise me much I guess. 24 kids taking turns putting for an hour indoors is not the recipe for a productive night lol.
 
Hawk said:
One thing about little kids and golf is that sometimes it's fun and sometimes you want to strangle them :)

Last night was the latter. Putting clinic was just a clusterf*** all around, which didn't surprise me much I guess. 24 kids taking turns putting for an hour indoors is not the recipe for a productive night lol.
Click to expand...
Ain't that the truth lol. My little guy can be focused one minute on a putt and diving into bunkers the next. I need to take a deep breath and remind myself he's only 5 yrs old.
 
Yea it's harder some times than others.

I always try to make sure that he knows I don't care if he hits the ball awesome or makes a bunch of putts. Just that he acts the way he's supposed to at the clinic. Challenging in that environment though. A room full of bored kids will find something to keep themselves entertained and with each of them holding a golf club it gets interesting lol.

Like I said before though - looking back I think 30 minutes and less kids would be a better learning environment. Live and learn :)
 
Sounds like the instructor could have done a much better job. And your boy is 5. Kids gonna be kids.
 
Hawk said:
Yea it's harder some times than others.

I always try to make sure that he knows I don't care if he hits the ball awesome or makes a bunch of putts. Just that he acts the way he's supposed to at the clinic. Challenging in that environment though. A room full of bored kids will find something to keep themselves entertained and with each of them holding a golf club it gets interesting lol.

Like I said before though - looking back I think 30 minutes and less kids would be a better learning environment. Live and learn :)
Click to expand...

That makes think with a grin on my face of the first year our junior golf program put on clinics for kids in that age group. I was fortunate enough to at that point have three kids go through that stage so I had a pretty good idea of attention spans, etc. The pro involved was pretty young, did not have kids and really had not worked with anyone younger than high school age. He insisted that each hour clinic should focus on one topic for the entire hour and he wanted to start on the putting green. I suggested that we might want to have stations, break up the group a little (there were 15 kids) and focus more on getting them to enjoy golf while maybe gaining some skills in the process.

At that point, he wanted to stay with the hour-long topic and asked what was the worst that could happen. I described sword fights with putters, long jump competitions in the bunker and divots being taken out of the green. Sure enough, just under 1/2 hour in, the pro turns around and sees a swordfight and bunker jumping happening at the same time. To his credit, he started laughing and immediately pulled the plug. The rest of the classes went very well and the pro had a blast.
 
Funny stuff. No doubt that it's to expected with kids that age. Always interesting to see just how different they are when you get a group of them together. I wonder what having a quiet kid is like. Safe to say I'll never know lol.

He did get some progress on his putting stroke, so there were some definite positives. Just didn't need the last half hour.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top