This question is probably best asked of Tom but I'm, of course, interested what fellow members might have to say - especially those of you with kids learning to play. It's still early season here in MA but I went to the range yesterday (our one day of sun this week) and took my 13 year old son with me. He's had a handful of lessons over the years but most of what he's learned has come from me. He has a long way to go.
I had watched a few of Tom's clips before going so I had a few things on my mind which I wanted to work on.
I'm decent at teaching and explaining things but when I'm with my son I know I'm hitting him with information overload. His grip, stance, and other setup basics are serviceable at this stage but I want our times at the range to be productive. Yesterday, I tried to impress upon him the importance of keeping his arms straight and glued to his sides (with varying results). However, the fog of war set in and I muddied things by getting into a million other things, of course.
My question is this: what would be one (or two) things I might want to focus on next time we head out. I plan to show him some of Tom's clips in advance and would be interested in a few recommendations. Have fellow members had much luck sharing the wisdom with their kids? If so, what worked for you?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
James
Welcome to this great forum community, @Albert Lau!!
@burkholder.ronald offers some great advice in his reply. Much of the content here may be a bit too detailed and technical for the average 8 year-old, so I'd suggest translating some of the key points without overloading him, which you seem to already be doing. Beyond that, kids clubs for sure and keep it fun!!!
We've played a lot of rounds on a par 3 course last year that had junior tees. He had fun doing that. Actually he might have more fun fishing for balls in the ponds with grandpa than golfing. This year I found a Junior League at a local club so he could play with kids his age to not just have to golf with me and the grandparents. It starts this weekend, so we'll see.
Hi all. Got my 8yo into golf last year with a one week golf camp to learn swing basics. I'm an avid golfer myself and seen lots of improvement in my own enjoyment with Tom's method since going over the videos the last 2 months. Any experience from folks if they've applied Tom's methods to younger kids and what's the best way to start. So far for now, I got him to lean on the leading leg and keep the trail leg straight. It feels like it will take quite a while to develop all the pointers into his swing.
Sorry about the hit-and-run original post and thanks to everyone for the thoughtful replies. Just ended my ski season last week (out west) and, with weather finally warming up here in New England, am about to resume my (and my son's) practice. Thanks again!
@Ronald Burkholder it’s especially true that bad golfers would almost all benefit from a 4 knuckle grip. Why? They have no face control. The earlier a club gets “square” the easier it is to control the ball flight. If you watch good golfers, the clubface gets back to square (perpendicular to the swing arc) earlier which means it’s not necessary to catch-up through the ball. Better golfers tend to have pretty good face control and can hit high/low, or curve left and right by getting the face where it’s supposed to be for the intended shot. I am a pretty solid golfer and play to a low single digit handicap (4-6). I do tend to play with a weak grip, but still play a draw. However, I lose a full club distance by using the weak grip…and for sure would NEVER coach anyone to use my standard setup…it’s just that I hate the sweeper so much and it makes me want to break stuff…anyway, great job helping out your buddy.
@James Flood I have had this struggle with my son too. He’s in 8th grade and is going to play a regional qualifier for state. It was cancelled because of COVId and schools have decided to go ahead and play. Well, he hasn’t hit balls since it was cancelled. 1. We will draw a line in the ground. Focus on low point control. All ball striking from tee to green starts with low point control. No ball…use the line. Hit ground at line forward. 2. Same line, introduce ball. Chips, pitches… 3. Make it a little longer…half swings 4. Make it a little longer full swings. The most important thing is to combine low point control with swing path. When he stands behind the ball, where does he want to start the ball? Pick that spot…now release through the ground on that line. That’s it. Release toward target and hit the ground after ball. Goal is to build a repeatable ball flight. If the flight is repeatable, it’s playable. 2.
@James Flood - I just have this, based on my time spent with my grandson, who has been my golf buddy since he was six years old. He is 25 now. The most important thing is to have fun together as you travel on this journey toward mutual improvement in the PLAYING of this amazing game. Provide instruction on the fundamentals of grip, posture, and alignment. At 13 years old, you can introduce the ball flight rules using diagrams and demonstrations. He should be able to understand that the ball starts where the club face points at impact and curves based on the path at impact in relation to the club face. After that just let him free wheel it and work it out on his own until he is ready for more detailed instruction. Don't rush the process. Make it fun, praise the good results, have HIM analyze the bad results. If he can't tell you what happened, go over the fundamentals and ball flight rules again. Track results and try to notice trends. What worked, what didn't.
I assume you are/have started at the hole and are working back from there. In other words, putting, chipping, pitching, full approach shots, driving, in that order. He'll want to go pound the driver, but don't neglect the short game. Each session I would start with putting. We didn't stop until he could hole 3/3 from 3 feet. Then 1/5 from 10 feet, then 3/10 within 3 feet from 20 feet. Then chipping, come up with a similar goal based on his current capability, but up the expectation as he progresses. A lot of this takes time early on so you may have to start with a putting only session. Then expand each session as he reaches the putting goal, then the chipping goal, etc. Pretty soon you can get to the point where a quick 30 minutes on the short game earns a trip to the driving range.
My grandson played on his high school golf team. To this day my greatest joy is getting to play golf with him when he visits. I also took him to Pebble Beach when he graduated high school as the number 2 guy on the varsity team. Just two guys PLAYING a great game on some of the greatest courses.
Make it fun!
@James Flood - Great question! I've pinned your post in order to (hopefully) draw some more attention to it.