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When did you start your kids on golf?


Hazardous Lie
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Hi everyone,

I'm a "new" dad with an 18 month old son, and I can't wait to get my boy out on the course.  When did you start your kid(s) up?  If you could do it again, would you start sooner or wait longer?

I've heard 3 years as a common age.  Thanks in advance.

Seung

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I took my son out to play a couple of times when he was 5 and several times so far this year. Also set up a net in the yard for him to practice which has been a big help. He's got more rounds under his belt at 6 than I had at 18.

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Well apparently from the way my wife reacted, 4 months is too young!!!!

We took my new bundle of joy out last weekend (first warm weekend in what seems like forever) and she did enjoy riding in the golf cart and chewing on the steering wheel.

Personally, I can't wait until she is old enough to swing the club. We will probably go out late in the day and just let her beat the ball around the course.

One funny note, I have a 20 year old son. He got bite by the golf bug last summer and asked "Dad, why did you never take me golfing when I was a kid." I had to remind him that he was asked EVERY weekend if he wanted to go, but he was always wanting to do something "more fun than golf."  It is alot of fun now to play with him.

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Really only 1 1/2 years ago, when my son started HS. He decided he wanted to be on the HS team and we had about 4 months before try outs. We all know he was not going to make it but we put every foot forward. This year he did make the team and sits about 4th or 5th seat on a 7 man team.

But Scouts has been a big part of our life over the last 10 years. With him finishing his eagle next month this has been a good fill in for him and me.

But we have had a blast this past 18 months, every weekend we play, a few days off here and there we will make a tee time and skip work and school, range during the week, lessons and a few outing with TST guys.

A game that we can play together long after he leaves home. Not having a dad myself I look forward to the days we can get together for a round and a beer.

Golf is the greatest game ever!

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Mike M.

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@dzclarkcpa

That's funny about your son.  I did the same to my dad growing up.  He even bought me a complete set of my choice as a promotion gift when I made captain in the air force.  I didn't really catch the bug for another 5 years...  I'm now in Texas and my parents are in Maryland so I haven't played with him in years!!  Sad the things we do to our parents.

@Fromthecoast

Any lessons for your son?

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I started my son at 8 years old which, amazingly, almost feels too late given how competitive junior golf is here in Arizona.  There are some really talented kids playing on the various junior tours here.  My son has progressed well and has been working quite hard on his game.  I definitely think he could have started a few years earlier, preferably around 6, however, with a limited attention span.  Bottom line, it's never too early to get them started.

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Bottom line, it's never too early to get them started.

Ok sundevil, I am going to use your genius logic with my wife!!!

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My son has been hitting balls in the yard and riding along on a few rounds since he was about three.  He is six this year and I plan to take him out on the weekends and let him play a few holes here and there to see what interest he has in it.

Nate

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Well apparently from the way my wife reacted, 4 months is too young!!!!

We took my new bundle of joy out last weekend (first warm weekend in what seems like forever) and she did enjoy riding in the golf cart and chewing on the steering wheel.

Personally, I can't wait until she is old enough to swing the club. We will probably go out late in the day and just let her beat the ball around the course.

I have wondered about this. I do not have any children yet, but my wife and I plan to start trying this summer. I'd be lying if I said I haven't considered how a child might affect my time to golf, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. I wondered though about taking a child that's not quite old enough to walk yet and just letting them ride with dad on the golf cart in their carrier seat if the temps are real nice. Four months may be a little earlier than I had in mind, but I like the theory. Seems like they would enjoy riding around on the golf cart with dad, and I would really enjoy spending time outdoors with my child who isn't really old enough to do many outdoor activities yet. Could make it a family affair as well and have mom tag along.

Seems like it could also be beneficial in the long term as far as potentially instilling the idea of playing golf into your kids. If it's a pleasant, family experience from before they can even remember, perhaps that will carry into their adolescent and adult lives. I like what you're doing here.

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I have wondered about this. I do not have any children yet, but my wife and I plan to start trying this summer. I'd be lying if I said I haven't considered how a child might affect my time to golf, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. I wondered though about taking a child that's not quite old enough to walk yet and just letting them ride with dad on the golf cart in their carrier seat if the temps are real nice. Four months may be a little earlier than I had in mind, but I like the theory. Seems like they would enjoy riding around on the golf cart with dad, and I would really enjoy spending time outdoors with my child who isn't really old enough to do many outdoor activities yet. Could make it a family affair as well and have mom tag along.

Seems like it could also be beneficial in the long term as far as potentially instilling the idea of playing golf into your kids. If it's a pleasant, family experience from before they can even remember, perhaps that will carry into their adolescent and adult lives. I like what you're doing here.

Her mom went as well. We had a great day and look forward to doing it again.  I actually have a 7 year old stepson. He loves to go to the course as well. He has his own set of clubs.....which never get used. But between steering the golf cart from my lap and chasing squirrels in the woods, he has a blast (he complains repeatedly when I happen to hit a fairway and thinks when I end up in the rough or woods, I am doing it for him).

We go out late in the day, usually the last ones on the course so we don't hold anyone up. I think just being around the game will HOPEFULLY instill a love for it. At least for my daughter, maybe its a change for her to have some daddy/me time....oh I so hope!!!

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There is no right or wrong time......

I bought a tee-ball set for my sons 5th birthday and he seemed to prefer hitting the ball off the ground pretending to play golf.  I went and immediately bought a set of golf clubs and he was in heaven.  He hit whiffle balls in the back yard until his hands bled...I'd tape his bleeding fingers up and he'd hit some more balls.   I started taking him to the "Big" course with me weekday evenings at age 5.  I'd let him bring a putter and a 9-iron. I'd drive to where my tee ball came to rest and he'd drop there and hit 1 or 2..........pickup....and then drop on the green to hole a putt.  he was in heaven......he loved riding in the cart and running and racing me to the green at times..LOL

We played together weekday evenings for 2 years until my wife had to travel for work for a year which put an end to our golf....... After that absence of play, he lost interest and is now onto other things.   He went on to get a black belt in taekwondo by age 11, then lost interest after reaching his goal of black belt.   Now he's interested in bowling...He's 11 now and loves to bowl......he's been bowling 3 years and his high game is 266.

I'll get him back to golf at some point......he has the talent to be a really good golfer if he gets interested again. IMO..........  it's just a matter of time...

He is fiercely intense for an 11yr old..........

I shot this clip of him last weekend bowling.......he bowls with a high level of intensity. Gotta love the little fist pump too...Hehe

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I wouldn't necessarily say I ever really "started" my son in golf. But I'll let you in on a little secret about parenting. As toddlers grow up they are watching you and they want to do what your doing in many cases when it comes to sports and other fun activities. As a crazed golfer I always had clubs laying around in my home office and a golf net in the back yard. When he was about 18 months old he decided it would be cool to get my old 1-iron from the corner of my office and drag it around the house. My wife got a picture of him standing with it and it's still my all time favorite picture from our kids photo's when they were younger.

From age 2 to 5 he had a set of plastic clubs and balls he would hit in our back yard when I would go out to hit balls in the net. At age 5 I got him his first set of US Kids clubs and signed him up for a junior clinic that was about an hour long once a week over the summer. It just took off from there and he started playing short par-3 courses and going to the range with me at age 6. At age 7 he could hit the ball far enough to handle 9 holes on full size courses from the most forward tees. I can't remember but somewhere around age 8-9 he started playing all 18 holes with me and at 10 he was playing on our local junior tour. Instruction wise he has worked with the same PGA Pro that he started with back in his first junior clinic over these past 11 years. The guy is great with kids and he knows my sons swing and can fix him in a few minutes when he gets off track.

My advice would be to let them see "you" swinging a club or putting on the carpet when they are young and there's a good chance they will want to get involved as well. If they do show interest and you can afford it I would highly advise getting them into a clinic for proper instruction and a set of clubs that fit. After that see where it goes. I also think it's healthy for them to be involved in other sports/activities as well. My son has played in a junior NBA basketball league since age 7 over the winter months here in the Northeast and enjoys that about as much as golf. He's much better at golf than basketball but I think it's healthier to not wrap your whole childhood into one single interest, just my opinion.

But be prepared, you may just create a golf-aholic starting them young. My son and I play 3-4 days a week over the summer plus the 10-12 tournaments he plays adds up to a lot of golf!

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Driver: :Cobra Amp Cell Pro 9.5*, Stock X-Flex

3 Wood: :Cobra Bio Cell 16*, Stock X-Flex

5 Wood: Cobra Bio Cell 20*, Stock S-Flex
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I didn't play golf when my kids were young but I'm sure if I did there would have been clubs in the crib with them. That's just the way we roll. :-D

I was rolling plastic baseballs across the floor to my son before he could walk or hold his plastic bat off of the floor but he knew to swing (slide) it along the floor and hit the ball, and even knew he had to start his swing before it got there.

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He's much better at golf than basketball but I think it's healthier to not wrap your whole childhood into one single interest, just my opinion.

Parker, I don't know that I have ever agreed with any statement more than this one. Having played baseball at a professional level (briefly) and been around it alot, nothing bothers me more than watching a talented kid spend 12 months a year throwing a baseball. The human body was not for that. I grew up playing baseball during baseball season, the football during football season, the basketball during basketball season. My arm got a chance to rest during non-baseball season, my bumps and bruises healed after football, and I forgot how bad I was at basketball midway through baseball so I would try again the next season.

Watching the burnout factor of young kids being limited dives me nuts, but it is a fact of the day and age we live in that parents feel they have to "specialize" early on. For mine, I will let them do as much as they want and make sure they enjoy it. The odds of being a professional athlete of any kind are so small and require such amazing genetics, that I believe it will happen for them whether they specialize or not.

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Parker, I don't know that I have ever agreed with any statement more than this one. Having played baseball at a professional level (briefly) and been around it alot, nothing bothers me more than watching a talented kid spend 12 months a year throwing a baseball. The human body was not for that. I grew up playing baseball during baseball season, the football during football season, the basketball during basketball season. My arm got a chance to rest during non-baseball season, my bumps and bruises healed after football, and I forgot how bad I was at basketball midway through baseball so I would try again the next season.

Watching the burnout factor of young kids being limited dives me nuts, but it is a fact of the day and age we live in that parents feel they have to "specialize" early on. For mine, I will let them do as much as they want and make sure they enjoy it. The odds of being a professional athlete of any kind are so small and require such amazing genetics, that I believe it will happen for them whether they specialize or not.


I agree DZ, if a kid has the desire and talent they are going to succeed or at least have that opportunity without specializing or making it their whole world. I think it's great that there are so many more opportunities for kids to play and practice sports these days compared to when I was younger but playing different sports or activities helps make a more rounded person for sure!

I was a one sport golf nut back in high school. I guess because I was good at it and not much else but hindsight I should have put more effort into playing something else in the off season. That's why I was happy when my son showed interest in basketball and it fits perfectly with the golf season. He may never be a pro at either golf or basketball but he's having fun, learning to compete and staying physically fit so that's all I could ask for as a parent!

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In My Bag:
Driver: :Cobra Amp Cell Pro 9.5*, Stock X-Flex

3 Wood: :Cobra Bio Cell 16*, Stock X-Flex

5 Wood: Cobra Bio Cell 20*, Stock S-Flex
Irons: Bridgestone J40-CB 3-PW, Project-X 6.0

Gap Wedge::Vokey: 52* CNC  

Sand Wedge: :Vokey: 58* CNC  

Putters: Scotty Cameron Newport II 

Ball: Bridgestone 330-S(2014)

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