I wish it wasn't a practice round

[mdbuschsr]

I decided to take my son out golfing this afternoon. We played nine of the nicest holes we have ever played together. Maybe that's not saying much with him only being 10 and all, but I take him out quite a bit. He hit some of the best shots I have ever seen him hit. Like, Driver about 90 yards (but right of green). Then he hit a 9i back at the green from about 35-40 yards to 10 feet. Two putts and in. He played a really nice round!

I was absolutely killing the driver. Not fantastic distance, but it was actually going where I wanted and still with OK distance. My chipping was OK to mediocre. And with my usual 2-putt average, I managed a literal bogey round of golf. One double, one par, 7 bogies! I even managed a bogey on the 9th which is normally my BLOW UP hole (shot an 11 on it last round).

It was far from my best round scoring-wise. But it was most definitely my most consistent round ever!!!

[Fairway_CY]

I love the rounds with my son. He's also 10 years old and has a similar skill set to your son. Last time we were out, he hit some shots that left me wondering what he could do if he focused a little bit. His biggest issue is he's got a hard head and doesn't listen... like, ever. One hole, he killed his fairway wood (he's got a 4 club set consisting of a fairway wood, 5/6 iron, 9/PW combo and a putter)... then he chipped to about 15 feet... then took 6 putts because he was just whackin' the ball around. I finally got to the point where I had to settle him down... and from there on out, he played pretty well.

I never personally play well with my son... because I'm more focused on HIS game than my own... but I did have one of my greatest shots ever with him. Short little par 4, opening hole... I hit a poor 3 wood off the tee, then I semi-topped a 5 iron which left me a full sand wedge (about 70 yards) to an elevated green. I took dead aim at the pin and left the ball fly. I didn't see it when it landed, but it was on line. Felt like I hit it 'too good'... so when I got up there, I looked behind the green since it wasn't anywhere to be found ON the green. After about 45 seconds, I gave up and decided to look in the trap fronting the green... and as I walked towards the hole, I saw a pitch mark about 7 feet in front of the pin. I stopped to look in the hole as I passed by and there was my ball.

It was the first time I verified that the ball had been holed out on anything other than a chip or putt. There was one other time that I had 'holed out'... but it was my second shot on a par 5 with a 3 wood... and the ball was played around a corner. As I got to the green, I could not find my ball. Three guys... maybe early twenties (I was 18) on the next tee asked if I was looking for my ball... I said yes and they told me to look in the hole. There it was. But I didn't believe them. They looked like they were messing with me... and my shot, even though it was CLOSE to the direction I was aiming, would have had to bounced pretty hard to the right from the line it was taking when I last saw it. After they teed off... I put my ball down back in the vicinity of where I thought it would have landed and played out the hole. I've never counted that...

Anyway... got way off track. Glad you enjoyed the round with your son. They are, if nothing else, some of the more rewarding rounds you'll ever have.

CY

[soloredd]

I'm looking forward to playing a lot of rounds with my son. He's only 17 months now but he already likes the game. He has a set of 3 wooden clubs my sister made for him, along with a little pull cart that holds 3 plastic balls. He's constantly pulling that thing out and hitting balls. I don't mean like just whacking away at balls like a boy would do, he literally stands over the ball and has his attempt at a golf swing.

[yenner]

I'm envious of you all. My wife and I don't have kids yet and I would love a son to play different sports with. It's great to see that some kids these days still have good role models who want to spend time with them. :)

I do however have a 13 year old cousin and 13 year old sister-in-law. My uncle and I are taking them both golfing and it's the first year either of them have ever played. My cousin has only played once so far but she may be a natural. Time will tell. My sister-in-law is on the high school golf team by request and is having a blast. She called the other night to tell me she shot a 64 in a 9 hole tourney. Her previous 9 hole a week before was 82 I believe. It's going to be really great heading out with them Sunday to see how they do. :)

[sdgolfer]

My wife and I take our two boys out at least once a week. If it is not busy we let them tee off from the women's tees and play out a few holes. It is great to see them lean the etiquette of the game. They do very well for only being 4 and 5 years old. At times my 5 year old has out drove my wife then I normally mention it and get a dirty look from her but it is all in good fun.

[mdbuschsr]

It is both fun and challenging to golf with younger kids. I consider most rounds that I play with my son practice rounds. It's good to be ablet o work on the mental side of the game with the distractions that he brings to the course. He is getting better about it, and follows most of the rules of etiquette without reminder. He still has a propensity to walk through a putting line occasionally, and talk/laugh inexplicably during a swing.

The course I play has a set of tees just for the kids, laid out such that my normal average drive lands in the vicinity of his tee. They aligned themselves with The First Tee program, and run kids camps from time to time. I hope to get him involved in one soon.

[yenner]

It is both fun and challenging to golf with younger kids. I consider most rounds that I play with my son practice rounds. It's good to be ablet o work on the mental side of the game with the distractions that he brings to the course. He is getting better about it, and follows most of the rules of etiquette without reminder. He still has a propensity to walk through a putting line occasionally, and talk/laugh inexplicably during a swing.

My uncles other kid, Isiah, is a great kid but has ADHD I beleive and when he gets the giggles they don't stop. It doesn't matter who is doing what. He also gets extremely excited when he sinks a put and has jump on the green or lightly tossed his putter or the pin. He's learning but he's young.

I haven't golfed with either of the girls yet but I think they understand. Since Alex plays for the school she has to play by the rules and understands the etiquette pretty well. Elizabeth is old enough to listen and understand so it should be fine. My biggest problem is when my 23-27 year old cousins or friends who have played the last couple of years with me walk in a line, laugh or talk, or goof off with my shot. I don't care what they do with their shot/score since we aren't putting cash on the line but I am out to improve my game. Really frustrates me sometimes.

[mdbuschsr]

We adopted our son finally after a 3 year battle with the state. He has been diagnosed with more three & four letter acronyms than you could shake a stick at. ADHD, RAD, PTSD just to name a few. He, unfortunately, takes more medication in a week than I take in a year. We have found the best way to provide normalcy, is to do normal things as much as his behavior will allow. We tried baseball, but it was just too much standing around for him. We tried bowling, and while he liked it, he became overly competitive with the other bowlers. Soccer will be the next attempt at a team sport. Golf seems pretty good for him as he is only competing with himself, and is pretty much always on the move. Plus he gets to "do it" with us!

[yenner]

That's a great idea. Isiah is the same way. Medication every day. He's really a good kid and he's also adopted. His biological mother is a crack addict. Thankfully my aunt and uncle stepped in and gave this child a somewhat normal life. He loves to do anything my uncle and I do, which is a lot since we're only 7 years apart ourselves, and golf is no exception. He doesn't like to take advice too well though. He's 10 and has the world figured out. :) That'll change with time.

His sport of choice is football. He sometimes gets bored on the sidelines but when he's in it's all running, hitting, tackling, etc. Loves it.

Hopefully your son will find more activites he enjoys and it will help him stay motivated in other aspects of his life. :)