Do parents make good teachers of the basics in sports?
The golf balls were sailing off the tee with good distance and accuracy, and I was impressed.
No, I was shocked.
I had never seen my 10-year-old grandson swing a golf club before, and this visit to the driving range really opened my eyes.
My son-in-law had taken him golfing in Madison, Wis., and reported that the kid can play, or at least look good swinging a club.
I knew Mark had a good left-handed baseball swing, generating lots of speed at impact, but I had no idea how that would translate to golf.
OK, I'm not going to say he never dubbed a drive or never hooked or sliced or even whiffed as he hit ball after ball at the range. But the booming hits for somebody his size opened my eyes a lot wider than the misses.
When he hooked or sliced, he would ask my opinion on what he was doing wrong. I guess my daughter had told him I was a golf fanatic many years ago.
When the pace at this paper was much slower, I would play nine holes in the morning and putt on wet and slow greens and nine holes after work and putt on dry and fast greens.
Golf creates that hypnotic spell where you are forever deluded into thinking every shot will be as perfect as that beautiful iron you sailed to the green on your last round.
I finally decided I was spending too much time playing golf, and when my daughter started playing summer softball, I put the clubs away so I could spend more time with her.
I also didn't think it was right to be away from home that much.
I haven't pulled out the clubs in about 30 years. The bug has not bitten again, but I did get caught up watching the Ryder Cup and I always follow Tiger Woods on Sunday if he's in contention.
Besides, I don't need any back problems at my advanced age of 72.
I offered my grandson a few simple suggestions that day at the driving range, but I also realized I am not one to teach anybody how to play golf. He needs a qualified teacher if he's ever serious about the game.
Golf is not the easiest game to learn. I looked at a recent issue of Golf Digest, and there were so many published tips from professionals, men and women, that it was an overload of information.
This also poses an interesting question.
Should a parent ever teach a child the basics of a sport?
I guess the accompanying question would be, "Can gramps teach my grandson the basics?"
We're expected to teach our children those essential childhood skills like riding a bicycle, but where do we draw the line when it comes to sports?
If children are athletic, they can teach themselves the basics with some guidance. Parents don't have to be experts, but they should teach only one skill at a time.
It's easy to discourage a child, even the gifted young athlete, by introducing new concepts before they have a chance to master the old ones.
However, if the child is not that athletic the potential for frustration grows. Parents then definitely should study and learn more about the sport if they plan to play coach at home.
A parent's relationship with the child heading into any sport is important in making that experience enjoyable. If you're tense, the child will be tense. If you're not patient, the child will become nervous, and that's when the fun ends.
We don't want to teach our children bad habits, so it's important to be very careful during the teaching process.
If you get through the basics and your child still is interested, it's best to transfer him or her to the care of an experienced instructor or coach.
I could never teach my grandson how to play golf the right way, but I have other skills that might be helpful.
Rather than teaching him how to play a sport, I should stick with what I have been preaching in this column for 50 years.
I'll teach him how to be a good sport.