If you are considering starting your child at the game of golf or they have shown an interest, this article is for you. It will help you to make their introduction more fun and captivating whilst highlighting some of the fundamental errors we often see when parents bring their child to the golf course for the first time.
Be Patient
Introducing a young child to the game can be soul destroying. A young child often has the attention span of a gold fish, they cant remember the advice you've given them, they cant move the way you are telling them, and often they are more interested in the butterfly on the wall than listening to you. This can be hugely frustrating for a parent who is trying to help, however patience is vital for your sanity and their development.
We must remember, these trainee humans are just learning how to use their bodies and it takes lots of time and experimenting to build new movements which are likely to be very alien to the child. We have to try and make their learning experience enjoyable and you must understand that if you lose your patience with them they will pick up on it and it will detract from their enjoyment.
Learn to keep quiet
I understand that parents advice on the range is driven through love and not wanting to see their children fail which is why you will often see parents in a bay telling their child "you lifted your head on that one" or "you bent you left arm”. Although some of the advice you give them may be sound regarding their technique, unfortunately they probably don't care about their left arm or what their head was doing, unfortunately they will probably see this advice more as nagging and just get frustrated.
If you can provide your child with a concept of how to achieve an outcome such as how to get the ball above head height through asking the right questions it will provide your child with a much richer learning experience. Once they have the concept you must let them experiment how to make the desired movements. Once they have found out the answers for themselves its a more robust learning experience and they gain a much greater sense of achievement compared to when you just tell them what to do.
Create ignition
The most important thing we can do for your child at this early stage of their development is to create a passion for the game. This is best done through capturing their imagination and thinking like a child rather than an adult. Children love bright colours, their friends, running around, and playing games. Use your imagination and think like a child to make the game fun for them.
Your main role as a parent is to develop your child as a person and facilitate their enjoyment of the game; therefore let them race the buggy, allow them to chop zombies in half with their golf club, hit water bombs at each other and help them to love the golfing environment. If they develop a love of the game then have no doubt they will develop their golfing skills. Not that we have to develop your child into the next Rory, but if we did, our biggest challenge isn't teaching them to swing it like him at 6 years old, its developing the intrinsic love for the game which will give them the drive to want to learn how to compete with him for the next 20 years.
My Junior Programme encourages a person first, athlete second and golfer third philosophy to create junior golfers who develop a life long love of the game. If you would like to discuss your child’s golfing development please don’t hesitate to contact me.