Question for the dads....

[PensacolaWahoo]

I have a 4 1/2 year old boy. He's been hitting balls off and on at the range with me since about last August. He's got his own bag, putter, 3W, 7 and 9 iron. I often wished that I started playing at an earlier age and want him to grow up playing golf. He seems to enjoy it (in short bursts), but his attention span is still extremely limited. Just wondering how early other dads out there have gotten their children involved and what type of approach you've taken as far as practice. I want him to try hard and do things properly, but I also want him primarily to have fun. Wondering if 4-5 years old is just too young to expect him to take anything seriously.

[BritBoy]

I started taking my sons with me at about that age. I started by just taking their putter with me and they would drop balls and putt at every green. After that we started taking a wedge and if I missed the green they would chip from my ball too. Next we started to have them tee off at the 150 marker, then red tees, and now at 11 and 13 they are playing off the white tees. The biggest thing I found was to no push it. If they were done, they were done, and they didnt hit another ball until they were ready.

Ease them into it and have fun out there.

[putterboy]

I got a uskids set for my daughter when she was 3 and she was having a little trouble with her form but she loved being just liked daddy. Now this year she is really getting the form down pat and I will next year (or the year after) look to put her in a fun lesson program (of course if she still enjoys it as much) right now she's so busy with soccer and swimming we'll she if she wants to add golf to that list.

I say open the kids up to as many sports as possible and encourage them to follow the one that makes them most happy. Good luck

[SFore]

Great topic! My daughter just turned two and I've actually taken her to the putting green with me a couple of times. She has her own little USKG putter and she obviously can't putt it using the normal stance and grip or whatever, but she defintely grasped the concept right away. She understands the ball goes in the hole and she likes to pull the flag out once they're in there and the balls roll all over the place and she thinks it's great. I'll also set a couple balls a couple inches from the hole and she kind of nudges them in and gets really excited, so it's fun. I just kind of want to familiarize her with the game and start grasping basic concepts and maybe some extremely basic fundamentals. And it's a great opportunity for me to spend some time with her outdoors and work on my putting stroke a little bit, so we're definitely going to make it a regular outing.

[PensacolaWahoo]

My boy is definitely a much bigger fan of the course than the practice range. He loves to ride. Problem is that i normally walk unless it's a weekend. And on the weekend it's so busy I feel a bit uneasy letting a 4 year old hack away around the greens. I let him walk 9 with me in April and I ended up carrying him 7,8, and 9. I'm not in the best of shape. Nearly killed me. It was fun though because the course was empty and he got to hit some 3W's and putt on all the greens. I can't wait for him to get just a little bigger so that he'll be able to play with me all the time. Not that I want to rush things.....

[JKilgore44]

As a former child, the best advice I can possibly give it to not push it on them. I had various things pushed on me (hunting mainly) and I ended up hating them. Not that I think you're pushing your son into golf, but let him get to the point where he's asking to go along with you. Then give him little bits of advice along the way and let him mature into a golfer. But 4 1/2 years is the perfect age to start introducing him to such a great game. Kids that grow up playing golf tend to be so much more mature and respectful, not mention appreciative.

[Dent]

Maybe you can get this from a different perspective, Im 15 so it wasnt too long ago when i first started. I started at around that age. my dad would take me to the Indoor Range and i would hit balls like crazy, I had an old wooden set and i started golfing at little par 3 courses when i was around 6. When i turned 7 I had a huge interest in the game and I got a new set of junior Wilsons. When i was 8 years old i played my first Par 72 course which i loved! I kept with it and I when i was little i never lost interest in it. Here I am today still playing. To teach your son right now is the perfect age. Of course all little kids have a short attention span, and thats normal but as they grow up just keep taking them and they should grow into it. Maybe keep him at the range for a bit and then take him to the courses in about a year or so.

[srjorion]

Has anyone run into trouble taking younger kids onto the course? I haven't taken my 4 year old out yet, but my brother-in-law was told he couldn't take his 5 year old son on the course one time due to insurance purposes. He was finally able to convince the head pro that he would leave his son in the cart for the entire round and that if anything happened he wouldn't hold the course responsible.

Just curious to see if it has happened to anyone else.

[PensacolaWahoo]

Has anyone run into trouble taking younger kids onto the course? I haven't taken my 4 year old out yet, but my brother-in-law was told he couldn't take his 5 year old son on the course one time due to insurance purposes. He was finally able to convince the head pro that he would leave his son in the cart for the entire round and that if anything happened he wouldn't hold the course responsible.

I've had my son out to 3 different courses without any issue. I have seen some of the nicer courses that won't allow children below 10 to play without prior pro approval. The courses that I have been to have allowed him to ride along for free without any complaint. I only allow him to hit short shots and putt around the green if it's during the week and the course is completely empty.

[erniebanks]

Maybe you can get this from a different perspective, Im 15 so it wasnt too long ago when i first started. I started at around that age. my dad would take me to the Indoor Range and i would hit balls like crazy, I had an old wooden set and i started golfing at little par 3 courses when i was around 6. When i turned 7 I had a huge interest in the game and I got a new set of junior Wilsons. When i was 8 years old i played my first Par 72 course which i loved! I kept with it and I when i was little i never lost interest in it. Here I am today still playing. To teach your son right now is the perfect age. Of course all little kids have a short attention span, and thats normal but as they grow up just keep taking them and they should grow into it. Maybe keep him at the range for a bit and then take him to the courses in about a year or so.

Are you sure you're only 15?

That's a lot of insight. Your kids will be very lucky.

[shortgame85]

This is a great thread and I applaud you for starting it. My eldest daughter and I started playing golf about the same time; that is, I was about 44 and she was 5. I bought her a set of Taylormade children's clubs ( two other sisters have since used that set ). Katherine has graduated to a Ping Moxie set. She is about to turn 10. She has a wonderful swing but she doesn't practice much. I think she likes the idea of golf more than she actually likes playing. She has learned quite a bit of the language, enough that we can actually discuss rounds I've played or tournaments we've watched on TV. She likes to play only if I go out to the course with her. Early on I pushed her a bit. The ultimate reaction from her was some measure of frustration that she couldn't more easily achieve some success at this endeavor. I decided that I should only gently encourage her to play. Eventually, I would try to devise some game for us to play, simple enough for her to grasp and have a chance at success. These games might include a putting contest on the putting green, whereby we would see who could putt the 9 holes in the fewest strokes; or go out to a hole on our course late in the day and just chip and putt several balls until she tired of the activity. Occassionally, we play a few holes together. Even at 9 years and 10 months, her attention span for this game is short. With a 4 year old, I would suggest great patience. Work on making up games you both can play together, like the putting thing I mentioned above. Above all, keep your activities at the practice range appropriate for his attention span and try to stop your activity before he tires of it. Keep him wanting just a little bit more. The jury is still out on whether my daughter will pursue the sport of golf. I've introduced her to it and, sometimes I think she plays only because it is an activity she knows she can do with me. If that's the only reason she plays, that's allright with me. I don't push her very hard to play, but if we do play, we follow the rules. She has come to respect that there is structure and discipline in the game of golf. She has even admonished me for trying to improve her lie the few times I've tried. If she learns from the better angels of the game something that she can apply to other facets of her life, I will be satisfied that her exposure to golf has been wothwhile. On the other hand, I would be less than honest if I didn't admit that, someday, I hope Katherine and I would, from time to tme, spend time together playing a round. I hope if that day comes, she will beat the fire out of me. In the meantime, I will just take the kids out on the course, exercise a lot of patience, give them an opportunity to learn and play, exercise some more patience and hope for the best. I wish you the best of luck with your son.

[Dent]

Are you sure you're only 15?

Definatly! Im very glad he started me at a young age. Now i see some of my friends starting golf and I definatly give them credit for starting. But as we get older and he golfs with me at a high end course I can find it very embarassing for him.

[J_Bone]

I just started bringing my 8 year old son and he loves it. Since he's only played for a few months, he isn't the best, but can't wait to get out and play. My local course lets him ride along while I allow him to drop a ball near the green and chip and put. Every time we tee it up, he asks "Can I hit off the tee?". So on the shortest par 3 I let him tee it up. He's reached the green 4 out of 6 times so it's time to let him hit more tee shots.
Every one I've payed with never had a problem with him riding along, actually quite the opposite. They all thought it was great and give him positive encouragement.

[lamebums]

Again, from the son's perspective here, so if this helps, great, if not, eh, bleh...

I started out when I was 6 or 7. I'd pulled up my father's set of clubs from the closet. He hadn't played in years (marriage did it), but I'd brought them upstairs, and bugged him about it. I'd lay them out on the floor like the good little kiddie I was, and realize how the driver was about as tall as I was, stood up. (Yeah, I was that short way back when.)

Eventually, I'd pushed a bit, wanted to play golf a bit, so he bought me a junior set from a yard sale (3 wood, 3 iron ,7 iron, putter. God, I remember that set, and believe me, did I hate that 3 wood for never getting the ball up in the air.) I'd golfed on and off at a par 3 (it was one of those things I looked forward to on the weekend - my father whispering in my ear at 6 AM on a Saturday "The early bird gets the worm", and I got the idea, and shot nine holes at the par 3 with him.

That went on and off for a few years. I'd gotten a weird assortment of clubs which I'd just recently gotten rid of (numerous drivers, persimmon and early metal clubs, a 4 wood from about 1960, I think, and an assortment of putters.) Now the garbage man can play golf, too.

In...I want to say 1999 or 2000, I got my first real set of clubs, a $200 set of Wilsons, which I'd used up until the end of last year. The rest, really, was history. Every time, though, when I wanted to play golf, it was always of my own accord, although he would suggest I go with him at times.

I just turned 18 a month ago - woohoo for all the perks of finally being able to sign for your own papers, getting the real membership, getting into "the club" (both varieties), and so on and so forth - and now I've really got the golfing bug. It's an addiction that gives my Mountain Dew craving a run for it's money (and if you knew me in person... you'd know how strong that was.)

Now, I outdrive my father by 50 yards, but he still kills me with his short game, a 9 iron from 1983 and a really hot putter.

The sad part about my golfing, though, is that I shot better when I was 7. At least back then, I couldn't hit a ball far enough to lose it.

[The Golfing Polack]

I started playing seriously when I was around 10 or 11. I'd watched my dad go out every Sunday morning for so long I wanted to see what the big deal was. I never had a junior set, as by that age I was tall enough for my dad's hand-me-downs and garage sale specials. My dad never really pushed me. I pushed him to start teaching me and take me to the course. I played the women's tees until I was probably 13-14, which helped a lot, other than being a little embarrassing. I'm 23 now, and when I have children I'm hoping that I won't have to push them to play golf, I want them to want to go with me to the range etc.

[Jeepthrills]

My sons have both shown an interest in the game the past few years. One is 9 the other is 12. We have taken them to the range a few times this season and took them to the course with us over Memorial Day. We were playing at a 60 par that is very family friendly. I try to keep them from getting too frustrated with it and I don't overwhelm them with fundamentals. If I see a major error I will fix it, but they both have relatively good swings. The problem is they both want to hit from the mens tees instead of from the front where they belong. Apparently there is not enough challange from the reds. What I will do is let them hit from the tees and if they are hitting it well I will let them keep playing. If they struggle, I have them pick up and drop from where I am hitting. We continue this for the round. If it gets too slow then I just have them hit from the tee and give them no more than 2 trys from where the ball ends up. I also try to only bring one at a time. I would love to be able to spend more time with them on the course. My dad did not play, but I play a lot with my father-in-law, brother-in-law and my wifes uncles. It has been great for my relationships with them. I consider them as much friends as family.

[JeffG]

Very interesting thread. I remember when I was a kid playing with both my parents, how excited I was the first time I got the ball in the air with my 3-wood.

Now i'm newly married, and excited about having kids and getting them out on the course. But for now, i'm also enjoying getting to play as often as I want!

[sandtrap]

toooooooo young to take it seriously. It's great that he likes it and terrific that you spend time with him to do it. By the way be happy that you get to play more golf because he is interested and your wife gets more me time when he's away with you. but I digress. Take it slow and have fun or you will just get aggrivated with the attention span and pokines. My boys are now 12 and 14 and live golf and they are good and I love to play with them now that they are more like the guys.

Encourage but don't over do it.