Any tips on teaching a 5 year old a proper swing?

[RyderJ]

As I stated in my first post, I just recently began playing golf again after a long hiatus and my 5 year old son has taken an interest in golf as well. He has been to the range a handful of times and I took him to walk a par 3-9 hole course a week or so ago. I really just wanted to focus on him having fun, not really worrying about how he swings the club just yet...until he began persistently asking me how to hit the ball better.

I want to teach him, but it seems all the drills I know contain a little more complexity than he is ready for at 5 years old. So, does anyone have any tips or ideas for teaching a small child how to swing a club properly? Thanks in advance...

[saevel25]

He's 5 years old, he wont hit a growth spurt for a while, get him a set of kids clubs so he wont be swinging something out of his league.

I would work on getting a routine set up for him. Getting him use to picking a target, lining up right, getting a comfortable stance, get a good grip on the club, and let him rip at it.

If he's loosing balance, try to see if you can get him to back down the swing, so he knows that swining in balance is the best for consistancy. You wont learn a swing if your falling over while doing it.

You can always take him for a lesson. A pro were i am at holds golf clinics for kids, he teaches about a group of 10 kids for an hour, letting them hit balls and adjusting a few things. But mostly letting them figure alot out. You can look around for that in your area.

[RyderJ]

Thanks for the response...and good advice!

He got a set of clubs for his birthday, and has been putting them to fantastic use...putting in the den into plastic cups, hitting shots in the backyard(starting to worry about this a bit though...lol) and he is at the range with me 3-5 times a week.

I think you may be absolutely right about setting up a routine for him because at his age, it's more about muscle memory than thought process.

Thanks again for the good advice!

[saevel25]

I would just try to get him to a good position at the top or the swing, and make sure he stays in balance. I think majority of golfers could play substantially better of they were not falling over while swinging. Also staying in balance promotes a centered swing.

For putting, i would just make sure he keeps his head still. teach him not to get excited to see were the ball goes. Alot of people tend to want to see the result, and you train your self to look up to soon.

[RyderJ]

We are going to the range this afternoon and hopefully starting a few routines with him...

Thanks again for the advice.

[uttexas]

keep it fun, most five year olds don't have the attention span to learn swing mechanics, they probably learn best from mimicry and games. I take my young ones to the range (the far end of the range where no one else is). They get sunscreen, hats, and plenty of water. We start out on the putting green for 10-15 minutes, then go to the range. I don't bring my clubs, so I can tee all their shots. The only thing I've focused on with them is getting their weight forward at impact.

[saevel25]

True, it is a 5 year old, its been 22 years since then, so i don't remember my attention span at that time. It might be nice to focus on maybe 1 or two key things and then see what swing he develops. I just think if he stays in balance than he will work his way to hitting it straight on his own. Hand eye cordination for a kid is really remarkable.

[RyderJ]

Just got back from the range today and focused mainly on keeping his head down and balance...the look in his eyes when he actually struck the ball nicely (for a five year old) was priceless. Anyways, thanks for all the advice guys...and watch out for my son in 15 years...lol (fingers crossed?)

[iacas]

I'd like to stress the "keep it fun" sentiment from above.

[RyderJ]

Keeping it fun was actually ALL I intended to do with him at this point in time...until he saw another kid around his age striking the ball quite nicely...at which point he asked me to teach him how to swing better. At this point in time, we go to the putting green and do some drills that are more like games to him than anything else, I'm just not real sure how to take the fun nature that to the driving range...any thoughts?

[uttexas]

I'm just not real sure how to take the fun nature that to the driving range...any thoughts?

The driving range can be a challenge. My type "A" child gets frustrated if she misses one. [VIDEO]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ERjCAqDV9s[/VIDEO]

[RyderJ]

Great video! Thanks for that...sending the wife to Target to buy a laundry basket right now...

Are those videos paid instructional videos? I haven't went to the website yet.

[uttexas]

If you double click the video, it'll take you to you tube where there is a series of golf drills for children.

[bunkerputt]

What you really need to do is stress the importance of flat-loading your feet so you can snap-load your power package to amplify both lag and drag pressure through impact.

Had to dust off that old gem...

I've got young boys and here's what I do:

1.  Let him not like golf if he wants.  He may just not be a golfer.  Kids are different.  If he doesn't like it, it's OK.

2.  Get clubs that are light.  You can't buy kids clubs that are too light.  I've rarely run across one that wasn't too heavy.

3.  Get him swinging "high to the sky, high to the sky" on both backswing and follow-through.  That's all the technique you need.  It's rhymes so it's easy to remember.  Then just tell him to hit it.  We say "chop it" because my oldest son misheard me say "chip it" once and it stuck.

4.  If he asks questions, keep the answers short and simple.  Don't take it as an invitation to launch into the N major theories of the golf swing.

Don't exasperate them.  Just a little medicine is all you need in golf.  This is especially true with young boys.  Be proud of them with the game they've got.  Odds are, they aren't going to be on tour.  You can do a lot of damage trying to make them into tour players.

[jshots]

I remember when I was little my grandpa really only put much importance on two things in regard to technique and I can picture him telling me, to keep my feet in the same spot and to keep my left arm straight. We would work on grip and other things but those were the big 2 things because I can still remember him telling me. I also always used to get told how pretty my swing was as a little kid not to toot my own horn or anything blah blah blah.

[nachosgrande]

My father always just told me to hit it as hard as I could.

A good way to help him develop a feel for solid contact might be to spend more time hitting chip or pitch shots.  Once he gets a good feel for those it should start to translate to his full swings on the range.

Also, if you want to go the instruction route at some point you might want to look into the First Tee program in your area ( I think they start at age 7).  Cheap (or free) instruction and it will be fun for him since he'll be around other kids his age.  I know some folks whose little ones participate and they love it.  Looks like there's one based in Modesto. http://www.thefirstteecentralvalley.org/Club/Scripts/Home/home.asp

And like others have said...just keep it fun.

[ohiolefty]

Not to get all Harvey Penick, but....

1 golf ball. 1 iron...generally something like a 7 or 9 iron that is cut down so that  he/she can swing it. 1 putter cut down that they can use. one practice green.

Make a game of it...make it fun. But, keep the kid with a club and a putter and have them learn to get up and down. Starting a kid around the green and teaching them that golf is about feel, being lined up right, and getting that white ball in the hole in as few shots as possible is a lot better than having a kid standing in the middle of a driving range trying to hit full shots, falling down, and wondering why they can't do what everyone around them is doing.

[The_Pharaoh]

Originally Posted by RyderJ

I want to teach him, but it seems all the drills I know contain a little more complexity than he is ready for at 5 years old. So, does anyone have any tips or ideas for teaching a small child how to swing a club properly? Thanks in advance...

Why you should listen to me:

1. My son will be 5 in November

2. I'm a golf instructor

3. I have given hundreds of hours of golf instruction to kids aged 3-15

What you should do:

Buy him a 9 iron and a putter. Then just let him have fun and work it out for himself for the next year. Don't push him, don't get technical, just take him to the range/putting green whenever he wants to go. When he turns 6, and only if he wants to, send him to golf school (an hour a week) which specialises in TPI or teaching kids with games. The important thing to remember with kids is that you are teaching them to be athletes first, golfers second. The weekly sessions need to be fun! I cannot stress that enough. The moment you start talking grip, posture, alignment etc. they immediately switch off and want to go home or do something else.

What I do is play games with them to develop skills that are great for any sports they play. We even have games of baseball/rounders as the baseball swing is similar to the golf swing. Other examples include obstacle courses for balance and tug-of-war for strength. Another good idea is to make two teams and give them points for winning games or doing something well. This helps them be more competitive. I have had great success with this formula, the kids love it and look forward to their golf class every week.

Obviously, more golf specific games are added as the child ages.

I hope that helps!