High School golf and talent

[motteler621]

So I was watching some high school teams play against each other yesterday while I was at the course. I am still amazed how good these kids are. 3 school teams were playing each other and a few kids shot 1 under (35) on the front 9 and all the rest shot like 36; even par. How come these kids that are like 15-16 years old so much better than most people? I really believe some of these kids could go on tour in a few years with scores like that. I mean how many people on this board have handicaps of +2, which is what they would of shot if they shot the same on the back nine. This isnt an easy course either. I saw these two kids, both drives were in the left rough on a Par 5, they had no view of the green and like 5 huge trees in the way for their second shot. They would have to hit a shot extremely high and long to get over the trees onto the green. Most people would just just lay up and then hit the green. Not these kids, both kids took out what looked like a 6 iron and proceeded to hit a shot out of the rough over towering trees and greenside. That iron shot had to of gone 230 to reach the green. Yep, they got on the green in two on a par 5 out of the rough over huge trees and no view. I dont even see tour players do this much,lol. Is the athletic talent and capabilities just better in younger kids? I honestly think it would be a good match for some of these kids to play against someone like Steve stricker

[golfro]

there are some amazing high school athletes out there.

when I was playing for my HS team, I played at a 2 handicap. We had 2 guys who were +2 handicaps and the rest were anywhere from scratch to 5 handicap. I feel like Uncle Rico anytime i bring up my HS golf team...but we won state 2 years in a row and a lot of the guys on the team are playing mini tours and played in college. We also broke our state record both years.

A lot of these kids who are great players have been playing almost their whole lives. I know one of my close friends started golfing at the age of 5, competitively playing since middle school...went on to play college but lost his focus. But you take pure athleticism and mental strength that some of these guys have, and you have great golfers.

Unfortunately for a lot of high school athletes, they do lose their focus when they get to college and lose their vision of going on tour. A lot of people just don't realize how much dedication and practice it takes to go pro. I've seen some tremendous high school golfers go on to do absolutely nothing after high school. One of them dropped otu of college after failing his classes and now lives at home with his parents and works at the local pro shop at my home town...

Sad thing really.

[jamo]

There are a lot of good high schoolers out there. Trust me, I've been beaten by them haha. At the state championships last fall for high school two kids on one team shot a 67 and a 69 (par 70, and this was in early November, so the ball wasn't flying at all). One kid on my team (a sophomore and captain) shot a 73, and he's going to be scouted by D1 schools.

[flystraight]

I played my best golf on the HS team, even so I wasn't one of the best on the team. In fact, I learned to play golf the summer before high school because a friend told me that I'd get to play nice courses for free for four years. What made me good was playing every single day. If we weren't on the course, we were at the range - we'd hit bushels and bushels. Another factor was getting to know the home course so well. One could hit into blind greens because they've hit it from that spot 50 times before.

I didn't have the skills to play college golf, so naturally started playing much less after HS. My golf game has never been the same.

So to answer the original question, I think there would be a lot more skilled players out there if everyone got a chance to play that often and practice that much.

[golfro]

I played my best golf on the HS team, even so I wasn't one of the best on the team. In fact, I learned to play golf the summer before high school because a friend told me that I'd get to play nice courses for free for four years. What made me good was playing every single day. If we weren't on the course, we were at the range - we'd hit bushels and bushels. Another factor was getting to know the home course so well. One could hit into blind greens because they've hit it from that spot 50 times before.

Agreed with this as well. At my prime time in HS, I was at the range for 3-4 hours a day. During training season, we had 2 hour morning practices before school, with 9-18 holes after school or 3-4 hours of range/greens practice, every single day.

[shades9323]

Agreed with this as well. At my prime time in HS, I was at the range for 3-4 hours a day. During training season, we had 2 hour morning practices before school, with 9-18 holes after school or 3-4 hours of range/greens practice, every single day.

Our practice for our HS team was play nine holes after school.

[motteler621]

there are some amazing high school athletes out there.

What rank were you on the team as a 2 handicapper? Arent there 6 Vasity and 6 Junior varsity players? See my school didnt have very good golfers. We had two guys that were both 4-5 handicappers as num 1 and num2, then a player that was a 12 handicap as num 3 and then me num 4 as i was a 15 handicap. The last two slots were filled with guys who were 20 handicaps.

Thats one of the reasons I stopped playing high school golf after a few years because I would get matched against players that were number 4 on their teams but were scratch players, that I couldnt really compete with. I would of enjoyed it more I think, if I played on a high skilled team so I could actually beat some guys I played against,lol

[golfro]

What rank were you on the team as a 2 handicapper? Arent there 6 Vasity and 6 Junior varsity players? See my school didnt have very good golfers. We had two guys that were both 4-5 handicappers as num 1 and num2, then a player that was a 12 handicap as num 3 and then me num 4 as i was a 15 handicap. The last two slots were filled with guys who were 20 handicaps.

Oh our JV team was reserved for anyone who didn't make the Varsity team. I don't think they competed. It was just 8 varsity members and we didn't have rankings, just a captain, who was the +2 handicap.

Our school was notorious for being intense as far as golf goes. We used to recruit golfers from other high schools to come play for us. I actually lived a bit of ways from the high school I attended, but I opted to goto that school because of the golf team. Pre-season training and season training was quite intense...

[motteler621]

thats cool. I also watched alot of them tee off on the first hole. Most of them hit the ball dead straight but it wasnt that far. Prolly like 250 but really high. I also noticed all of them had that youthful golf swing which creates high shots.

[golfro]

thats cool. I also watched alot of them tee off on the first hole. Most of them hit the ball dead straight but it wasnt that far. Prolly like 250 but really high. I also noticed all of them had that youthful golf swing which creates high shots.

Yeah once in awhile, I see some high school kids golfing at the local range and they have great athletic swings. Awesome shoulder turn, left arm almost vertically up, up high, etc.

There's a guy that I see quite often here who golfs on the UNLV team who practices almost daily for hours...he's got one of the nicest swings I've seen in person. Very fast swing, drives 280-300 each time and clean contact. I had a great conversation with him about his swing and he does stretch routines every day to keep his body flexible. He plays a set of Ping S57's (i think) and it sounds so damn smooth and crisp at impact.

[jamo]

thats cool. I also watched alot of them tee off on the first hole. Most of them hit the ball dead straight but it wasnt that far. Prolly like 250 but really high. I also noticed all of them had that youthful golf swing which creates high shots.

Yeah, they all hit it very high.

[markpf189]

I was a better golfer than I am now when I was in high school..but I also played a lot more back then and took a few years off since then.

[kafka01]

So to answer the original question, I think there would be a lot more skilled players out there if everyone got a chance to play that often and practice that much.

I dont think its about the chance to play and practice that often - i dont know how golf for juniors is handled in your area, but if i look at our junior programs - the yearly membership fee for juniors is really low and comparable to other sports, they get free lessons, free balls - they have all the opportunity they can get. But do i see them every day after school practicing for 6 hours - no, even if they have the time, most of them dont have the interest or dedication. Thats what´s holding them back. Even the juniors that made it to the national cader arent practicing to their full opportunities. Now will they become the next Bernhard Langer or Martin Kaymer? Hell no, because they never understood during their early years what dedication and hard work is, and how to keep up this dedication over years and decades.

[chilly]

I've noticed a lot of the younger kids at my club are also very good. I think it's pretty simple, kids that are playing in HS have been playing since young with coaching so they have very good swings. They have a ton of time to practice that that age, and they have a coach watching them every day. I've also noticed that all of the better players that I've played with, played in HS or at the least started young and had access to a CC.

[golfro]

I dont think its about the chance to play and practice that often - i dont know how golf for juniors is handled in your area, but if i look at our junior programs - the yearly membership fee for juniors is really low and comparable to other sports, they get free lessons, free balls - they have all the opportunity they can get. But do i see them every day after school practicing for 6 hours - no, even if they have the time, most of them dont have the interest or dedication. Thats what´s holding them back. Even the juniors that made it to the national cader arent practicing to their full opportunities. Now will they become the next Bernhard Langer or Martin Kaymer? Hell no, because they never understood during their early years what dedication and hard work is, and how to keep up this dedication over years and decades.

This is very true. Not to generalize since there are exceptions but kids in HS are rarely mature enough or have the udnerstanding of dedication and hard work to really push themselves. Many of them will get down to single digit through the help of their coach, enough time to practice, free rounds, etc... but beyond that, for most kids, the lines between "fun" and "hard work" starts to blur. Fact of the matter is, a 17 year old would more than likely rather hang out with friends and party than to golf and practice all day.

that was my biggest problem. My father pushed me very hard at a young age to be dedicated to golf. At that age though, how dedicated can you REALLY be? I was dedicated until there was something else I wanted to do like hang out with friends. The rare occasion that a kid at that age really dives in and works extremely hard are the ones that go on to play in college...then it happens all over again. Partying, drinking, socializing, etc...its a test to their dedication once again. And from there, even on a more rare occasion, some will go on to play on tour and do great things...most unfortunately will let their talent goto waste.

[The Flush]

When you are an adult, playing golf is hanging out with your friends and partying.

[golfro]

When you are an adult, playing golf is hanging out with your friends and partying.

you got that right. only thing i look forward to after a week of work is to golf with some friends...but somehow lately, its become golfing with my coworkers and talking about work whle we golf.

whats happening to my life?!

[ohiolefty]

I see young kids at the range all the time. I'm 29.

What I like best isn't watching how well or how poorly they hit it, but their action through the ball. So athletic, and so un-tainted by wacky swing theories and thoughts. You watch them, and it doesn't look like there are tons of compensations in their swing, they just stand up and stripe it. If it hooks 20 yards, they just say "Ahhh sh*t" and hit another ball and that's that.

Conversely, you watch a lot of low cappers and they have gadgets and all kinds of crap going on and their practice sessions look like something the Taliban would subject a prisoner to for listening to American music.

I like to think I fall somewhere between those two extremes.