Kids need to have fun on course, and also focus on other sports to grow their game
First in a series
When my son Connor was 3 years old, I went to a golf shop and had one of my clubs cut down to about 30 percent of its size.
Arriving home, I placed a ball in the yard, put the club in his hands and ...
Cracked up as I watched him take a right-handed swing with a left-handed club.
The best laid plans, right?
As the years went by, our entire family helped foster the love of the game in Connor in myriad ways.
With another season upon us, I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to share some of what we learned along the way, as well as some fantastic advice from Cog Hill's Kevin Weeks, Butterfield's Mike Carbray and PGA Tour pro Kevin Streelman.
Let's get started.
The first few years
Whether your son or daughter gets started at 3, 4 or 10, it's imperative they're having fun. Always make sure to leave the putting green, range or course before they ask.
You want them begging for more.
"You have to remember that they're young people and they don't have a long attention span," said Weeks, who was Illinois PGA Teacher of the Year in 2005, '07 and '09, "Break it up. You hit a few putts, you go watch some butterflies. You hit a few chips, you go catch frogs or go look at the birds. On the way home, stop for ice cream or something."
As difficult as it can be, don't critique every shot. It's OK to give small bits of advice here and there, but it's important to let kids figure things out on their own.
"Don't worry about where the ball goes," Weeks said. "Don't be the teacher. Be the parent, be the facilitator. And let 'em have fun."
Dribble, run and throw
One of the best advice columns we ran last year came courtesy of Carbray, who has 20 years of teaching experience and was named Illinois PGA Teacher of the Year in 2018. He was adamant that kids must not focus solely on golf if they expect to improve over the years.
"If you look at professional golf today what do you see? I see athletes," Carbray wrote.
"People like Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland come to mind. All played other sports in their childhood - they were very good at these sports. They did not specialize in golf until very late. The movements they learned sampling these other sports as kids are a big reason they are holding the trophies on Sunday now."
Carbray then listed over a dozen sports that help kids improve balance, coordination, power, striking and accuracy.
Our son played baseball, football, basketball and was a four-year member of the Hinsdale Central track and field team. All of that running strengthened his legs, and in three years he went from hitting a wedge 110 yards to 140. A 7-iron that went 130 is now going 165 or 170. Exploring other sports was probably the primary reason he qualified for the seven-time state champion golf team as a senior.
So get them off the couch and outside as often as possible. They'll thank you when that little white ball starts flying straighter and farther than they ever thought possible.
As they get older
Once your child has caught the "golf bug" and wants to start improving, it's imperative they spend most of their time around the putting green. Nothing lowers scores faster than eliminating three-putts and being able to get up and down from a variety of locations and distances.
"If they're in the game with the thought of, 'Hey, I want to be good at this' they need to be much more about small goals, small tasks that they're trying to get better every day," Weeks said.
"So a lot of chipping and a lot of putting. Then we hit the shot over the bunker. Once they can do that then they move them to 25 to 40 yards, making sure the technique is there and they're doing it correctly."
A Weeks student didn't touch a driver between age 6 and 8. Her parents were all about the process. They didn't celebrate good shots and didn't despair over bad ones.
Streelman, who is from Wheaton and has won more than $20 million on Tour, has two children. Rhett, his 4-year-old son, absolutely loves the game. And like most kids, he doesn't want any help. Even from his PGA Tour dad.
Streelman grew up playing Arrowhead, Cantigny and other Illinois courses and wants to pass along his love of the game to Rhett. Streelman's not worried about technique or what clubs are in Rhett's hands.
Want to hit the "big dog" little guy? Go for it.
"I want Rhett to hit it as hard as possible," Streelman said. "That's something that's hard to teach later down the road. ... As far as hitting it harder, a lot of people either have that when they're young or they don't.
"That's kind of something I had when I was young - I just wanted to hit it as hard as possible. Then later I learned how to hit it straight."
So have fun out there, everybody. Because after all - that's what this great game is all about.
"Understand that this is the only game we can play with our friends and our family for four or five hours outside for our entire lives. It's awesome," Streelman said. "To me it was a family thing.
"Some of the best memories of my life were me, mom and dad just trekking around the Northwestern suburbs to every public golf course that we've got."
Next up: A hidden gem course