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Kids golf question


TN94z
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I have an 11 year old that has been playing since he was about 7.  We didn't play much in the last 2 years but are about to start playing a lot again now.  The course that we are going to join doesn't have kids tees. They have the normal tees.

What tees should he play from and what should his scoring goal be?  I looked at the US Kids golf site and it said that 11-14 year olds should be around 42 for 9 and 84 for 18. I don't see how he could shoot that from the red tees because of the distance, but wherever he needs to play from is fine.

Bryan A
"Your desire to change must be greater than your desire to stay the same"

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We have a few courses here that consider the 150 markers family tees. I see guys out there that could obviously play from further back playing the course like a pitch and putt just to spend time with the family. In fact one course says tee it up where ever you want as long as you aren't slow. Others just stick markers out in the fairway but I've never seen a course with rated kids tees. If it was my kid I'd take him to the range and see how far he hits his clubs and prorate it from there. Make up your own scorecard and tees on the par 4's and 5's based on his drives and approach shots until he outgrows it. It will be personalized and he'll be able to measure progress. If he can hit a total of 275 with a wood and a 8i have him tee it up somewhere in that range in the fairway.

When I was a kid they had us playing from reds in the league I was in and I remember it being too long. I could barely hit a 4w over the lake at the park at the end of our street. In fact that was how we competed against the other kids in the neighborhood, clearing the water was a big deal. I drove by there a few months ago and remembered our little driving games in the park. The lake looked huge back in the day, it's maybe 100 yards across at the widest point.

Dave :-)

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My 11-year old daughter is a relative beginner and plays in from the 150 marker on par 4's & par 5's and the 100 yard marker on the par 3's.  Once she can routinely get the ball in the air and easily reach the green in 2-shots from the 150 marker we will move back to 200 yard marker.

This works out well because she knows where to go to tee it up without any direction and it generally allows her to play out most of the holes without holding up the groups behind us. If she is having trouble on a given hole we just pick up and move on to the next.  At this point I don't emphasize her score for 9-holes but will acknowledge the better scores on the holes she does finish.

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HI TN,

We have a Junior Golf Program at our club which has over 200 children involved each summer.

The kids progress in a manner as their ability improves and they have a great time together.

They start each session with practice / drills (putting, chipping, swing training) then head out on the course for the evening.

One unique event is when the set up a large inflatable Godzilla on the range and they hit "Birdie Balls" into the open mouth and belly area.

Below are the guidelines which they have setup as the child improves.

Club Rat

The Junior Golf Program is divided into groups defined by age and ability.  The Junior Golfer will progress through the program in accordance with their abilities.  All advancements are determined by the Junior Golf Committee based on their assessment of each participant according to the parameters set forth in this handbook.  Each golfer is monitored and their progress is tracked throughout the season.  Maturity and etiquette are also important considerations prior to advancement.

3 Hole Group

The 3 hole group will play 3 holes approximately 150 yards in length.  They play on designated Tuesday evenings during the season.  Each junior must be accompanied by a Parent/Guardian.  If a Golfer scores 21 or less for two consecutive weeks or if they reach their 8th birthday, they may be moved up to the 5 Hole Short Group.

5 Hole Short Group

The 5 hole short group will play 5 holes approximately 200 yards in length.  It is recommended that they be at least 8 years of age and demonstrate a level of maturity, etiquette and ability.  They play on designated Tuesday evenings during the season.  If a golfer in this group should score under 33 for two consecutive weeks, they will be moved up to the 5 Hole Long Group.  If they should score above 55 for two consecutive weeks, then appropriate placement needs to be discussed with the committee.  Age & endurance level will be a considering factor for placement.

5 Hole Long Group

The 5 hole long group will play 5 holes from the forward teeing ground, generally the red tees.  They play on designated Tuesday evenings during the season.  If a Golfer in this group scores under 37 for two consecutive weeks, they will be moved up to the 9 Hole Group.  If they score above 59 for two consecutive weeks, they may be moved back to the 5 Hole Short Group.

9 Hole Group

In the 9 hole group, the boys and the girls will play from the red tees.  They play on Wednesday mornings during the season.  Participation depends on ability to complete 9 holes.  If a golfer shoots 55 or lower for 2 consecutive weeks, upon committee and golf professional approval, they will be moved up to the 18 Hole Group.  If they should score 80 or above, they may be moved back to the 5 Hole Long Group.

18 Hole Group

The 18 hole group will play 18 holes, with boys playing from the red or white tees and girls playing from the red tees.  They will play on designated Wednesday mornings during the season.   Should an 18 hole player score a score of more than 140 for two consecutive weeks, they may be moved back to the 9 Hole Group.

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My son took the game up when he was 8 and we were lucky enough to have a 9 hole par 3 course (1000yds) in our neighbourhood. I played for two years on that course with him about three times a week and it really primed him for playing a normal course, from the ladies' tees, at the age of 10.

By the age of 12 he became club champion achieving a handicap of 4 by the end of the season, and beat players of a much better level.

He's not a big lad by any means but he has a short game to rival any tour pro. I think the lesson to be learned here is...

Forget about all the complicated power stuff and learn how to get the ball in the hole.

BTW, he's never had a professional lesson.

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What I did with my son from a very early age, much younger than 11, was let him hit from the same tee box that I hit from.  If my ball was inside the 150 yard marker, he got to drop the ball where my ball was and hit from there without a tee.  If I was outside the 150 yard marker, he got to tee it up next to the 150 yard marker and play in from there.  If he happened to hit his ball inside the 150 yard marker on his own tee shot from my tees, then he played his ball in normally.  He was a pretty decent young player but gave it up at age 12 because of baseball.  Last year at age 17, he announced he was quitting baseball and going to make the high school golf team.  I told him he couldn't break a 100 and might want to reconsider.  He practiced for 8 months almost every day and played most every day.  He made the golf team with the 3rd lowest score in tryouts.

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My 8 year old son played junior golf this year.  Tees on par 4 holes were set at the 200 yard mark, par 5s at 250 and par 3s varied from 75 yards to 125 yards.  At age 9 50 yards are added to each of the par 4s and 5s and the 3s are again varied.  Whenever we went out to play together I teed off from my regular spot and then I drove him to the appropriate distance on the fairway for the 4s and 5s and he played from the forward tees on par 3s.  Worked well for him.  He typically shoots high 40s for 9 holes, which is the number of holes he would play in a tournament for his age group.

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My buddy's kid is 10.  Just moved "back" to the red (ladies) tees at about 5200 yards.  He's shooting consistently in the 105-110 range playing everything down.  That feels about right.....

In David's bag....

Driver: Titleist 910 D-3;  9.5* Diamana Kai'li
3-Wood: Titleist 910F;  15* Diamana Kai'li
Hybrids: Titleist 910H 19* and 21* Diamana Kai'li
Irons: Titleist 695cb 5-Pw

Wedges: Scratch 51-11 TNC grind, Vokey SM-5's;  56-14 F grind and 60-11 K grind
Putter: Scotty Cameron Kombi S
Ball: ProV1

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My buddy's kid is 10.  Just moved "back" to the red (ladies) tees at about 5200 yards.  He's shooting consistently in the 105-110 range playing everything down.  That feels about right.....

That's where I had him tee up the other day. I think I will leave him there.  It can't hurt with the exception of his score being higher.  But as long as he understands about his progression, then I think he will be okay.

105-110 seems pretty descent considering there are a lot of adults that can't make that score.

Bryan A
"Your desire to change must be greater than your desire to stay the same"

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Have him play from the reds. Will help him work on his full swing. Once he gets a little of the rust off he should be shooting about 120 or so an improve dramatically. If people are waiting then pick up and move on
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I have an 11 year old that has been playing since he was about 7.  We didn't play much in the last 2 years but are about to start playing a lot again now.  The course that we are going to join doesn't have kids tees. They have the normal tees.

What tees should he play from and what should his scoring goal be?  I looked at the US Kids golf site and it said that 11-14 year olds should be around 42 for 9 and 84 for 18. I don't see how he could shoot that from the red tees because of the distance, but wherever he needs to play from is fine.

:doh:

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My son is 7, and I tee him up from 150 yards. On par 3's, it depends on the hazard as to where he tees it up, or I put it down after the hazard.

As to an 11 yr old, it depends on his level - if he can do women's tees (red), do it. On par 3's, you might use some discretion.

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That's [quote name="TJBam" url="/t/70573/kids-golf-question#post_909238"]:doh:  <-- my reaction to what 11-14 year olds "should" score, and my mental comparison to my scores. [/quote] That's what actually led me to this post. I wanted know at what distance these scores were coming from. I couldn't find it on their site.

Bryan A
"Your desire to change must be greater than your desire to stay the same"

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At 11years my son was about 18 over off the white tees, but played since 7-8 years old. His friend was about 12 over and played since he was 5years old, and now at 14 is a 3hc. When my son was 12, he scored 118 at Tukwet from the tips. Soon after, he played a normal course from the blues and broke 90 on a 70/120 rated courses, and scored roughly the same throughout the season. He was so demoralized after Talega last year, but he got so much better after that butt kicking round. He needed to push the envelope. One of his friends is a better golfer, but gives up after a bad front 9. He is better off developing confidence from the easier tees. So, choose the tees depending upon your kids personality.

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"I'm hitting the woods just great, but I'm having a terrible time getting out of them." ~Harry Toscano

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If you want him to improve get him to play the game Tiger used to play as a kid. He would have to play from the same tee as his dad/coach and as soon as he was in a position where he could reach the front of the green with the longest club in his bag that shot counted as his regulation approach. For example if a hole was 400 yards and he could only hit it 150 yards max he would hit it 150 down the fairway off the tee, 150 off the fairway to a position further down the fairway then play a 100 yard approach. That approach would effectively work as his 2nd shot because it was his first plausible opportunity to hit the green. Does that make sense? It's a great game, because it encourages the plotting of shots and makes the short game count.
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At 11years my son was about 18 over off the white tees, but played since 7-8 years old. His friend was about 12 over and played since he was 5years old, and now at 14 is a 3hc. When my son was 12, he scored 118 at Tukwet from the tips. Soon after, he played a normal course from the blues and broke 90 on a 70/120 rated courses, and scored roughly the same throughout the season. He was so demoralized after Talega last year, but he got so much better after that butt kicking round. He needed to push the envelope. One of his friends is a better golfer, but gives up after a bad front 9. He is better off developing confidence from the easier tees. So, choose the tees depending upon your kids personality.

I meant Tukwet and not Talega, two So. Cal. outings ago.

:ping:  :tmade:  :callaway:   :gamegolf:  :titleist:

TM White Smoke Big Fontana; Pro-V1
TM Rac 60 TT WS, MD2 56
Ping i20 irons U-4, CFS300
Callaway XR16 9 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S
Callaway XR16 3W 15 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S, X2Hot Pro 20 degrees S

"I'm hitting the woods just great, but I'm having a terrible time getting out of them." ~Harry Toscano

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If you want him to improve get him to play the game Tiger used to play as a kid. He would have to play from the same tee as his dad/coach and as soon as he was in a position where he could reach the front of the green with the longest club in his bag that shot counted as his regulation approach. For example if a hole was 400 yards and he could only hit it 150 yards max he would hit it 150 down the fairway off the tee, 150 off the fairway to a position further down the fairway then play a 100 yard approach. That approach would effectively work as his 2nd shot because it was his first plausible opportunity to hit the green. Does that make sense? It's a great game, because it encourages the plotting of shots and makes the short game count.

I suppose this advice could apply, but the age group for this kind of play is usually 6-8 year olds. Most 11 year olds can hit farther than 150 yards. My 11 year old nephew plays from the ladies tees, or whites. Depends on his mood.

:ping:  :tmade:  :callaway:   :gamegolf:  :titleist:

TM White Smoke Big Fontana; Pro-V1
TM Rac 60 TT WS, MD2 56
Ping i20 irons U-4, CFS300
Callaway XR16 9 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S
Callaway XR16 3W 15 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S, X2Hot Pro 20 degrees S

"I'm hitting the woods just great, but I'm having a terrible time getting out of them." ~Harry Toscano

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Note: This thread is 3525 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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