Calling all young Tigers

What age do you get children into golf? I have been asked this question a lot, and as a golf professional, it’s one I will be asked countless more times.

Most often, the inquiry comes from a young mother or father whose toddler recently picked up a nine-iron and showed great joy in thrashing around the backyard chasing a little white ball. 

When asked whether they enjoy golf, they answer with an enthusiastic “yes” and take another wild swipe.

At what point should I teach a diminutive club-wielding maniac how to direct his wild flails at an actual target? 

The question itself often gets my curiosity going. 

After all, have we ever looked at a young child bouncing a ball around the house and immediately said we should get him or her basketball lessons? 

Or watched as he/she throws a tippy-cup at their sibling with such great velocity that it made us think of looking for a pitching coach? Of course not.

So what’s different with golf. The first and most obvious thing is that a parent looks at their offspring and envisions the next Tiger Woods. 

What’s the harm in this? As long as parents accept that their children will grow with dreams of their own.

The second reason is that a lot of parents are a bit skeptical of their ability to teach their kids how to golf.

Sports like basketball, baseball and football are played by kids all over the country and parents see no harm in teaching a child how to shoot baskets or to throw a baseball or football.

But there’s a stigma when it comes to golf that if you don’t teach someone the correct way from the start they’ll develop a number of unrecoverable bad habits. 

So parents who dream of their children becoming the next links superstars but are too afraid their lessons will teach them only how to slice, seek out a local PGA professional.

So what does all this have to do with me teaching a four-year-old with well-intentioned parents how to golf?

Parents shouldn’t think they’re missing the boat if they don’t get their kids golf lessons at a tender age.

They’re not going to fall behind other kids enrolling at the David Leadbetter Academy with a golf bag in one hand and a diaper bag in the other. 

And, perhaps most importantly, they’re not going to take a wealth of knowledge away from me or any other golf pro that is going to turn them into a star. 

What you can do is enroll them into a FMS- Fundamental Movement Skills programme that will encourage the learning of movements for ALL sports. 

This is achieved by a series of fun but structured activities that will build hand-eye coordination, balance and motor skills.

I’ve taught kids younger than a lot of the socks I own. 

Here are some tips to getting your kids (and yourself) to enjoy golf: 

n Take them to the range  but thinking you’re going to be able to hit balls too is a mistake. You’ll only end up babysitting while trying to practice.

Let them watch and hit a few balls and keeping the session very short is key, otherwise you will frustrate yourself and your kid. 

n You need to find a very small golf course to take them on, taking them out initially on a full size course is recipe for disaster.

At Tucker’s Point we have created a fun size course which is ideal for the whole family to enjoy, it’s fairly flat and each hole is less than 60 yards long. 

n Try and get a friend of theirs involved. The child will be much more apt to stick with golf if they have friends they can play with when you’re not around. 

n Once they are a little older, seven plus, a lesson shared with a friend is an ideal way to actually get out and play and is the stage where individual coaching will really pay off. 

Before that age, formal instruction in golf should be avoided, by both parents and coaches. 

BUT you can take them to the range and course from three years up, so that they can enjoy being around golf. However, let them play and keep the instruction to a minimum.

At Tucker’s Point we have a large junior golf  programme of over 40 children signed up from two-and-a-half years old, with the focus being the development of movement skills required for sport rather than technical aspects of the golf swing.

Paul Adams is the PGA director of golf at Rosewood Tucker’s Point.