Question for the dads....

[bigD728]

My dad had me swinging a golf club as soon as i learned to walk. He cut the shafts of his old set in half and re-gripped them with electrical tape. He used this as an excuse to buy a new set of clubs. One of my earliest memories is hitting into the field behind my house with an old cut down 5 wood.

[ks8829]

I started my son at 4 years old hitting plastic ball in the house with plastic golf clubs.

I would practice putting games with your son and keep his interest in golf, having another friend join you might help with keeping things fun.

My daughter is 6 years old and began the First Tee program this year and enjoyed the fun activities the program had to offer. Private group lessons along with the First Tee program might be a good mix for you son in the near future. but other activities such as swimming, basketball, soccer, T ball are going to come up and possibly tug you away from golf.

My son is now 13 years old and has mildly continued with golf and can play 18 holes shooting in the 110 range. I entered him in the US kids golf tournament and a 12 year old boy shot 3 under from the reds for 18 holes. There are kids out there that have decide to play only golf and are very good out there. Parents can guide and direct their kids interest and I wish I did more to encourage my son to play more golf.

[royalwulff]

My youngest daughter is 12 and at first she didn't show much interest in golf. Then she started wanting to go out with me and watch and be my "caddie" and drive the cart. As my caddie I was able to teach her some of the rules and ediquite of golf. Then abut a month ago she asked to go with me to the range and I showed her just a couple of basic fundamentals and now she is really starting to enjoy going to the range and hitting balls and being with daddy, which thrills me to no end. I will let her take the next step like the last two as to when she wants to really start learning and playing, I thnk it is coming, when we go to the store she likes to go to the sporting goods section and look at the golf clubs that would fit her. Small steps at your childs pace and the interest will develop and the fun will remain.

[golf_junkie27]

My son just turned five and he has his own set. I've shown him the basics: How to properly hold a club, how to swing and how to stand.

When I take him to the range, he gets a bucket containing 100 balls and he wacks away. He loves to hit his driver, who doesn't right? He also likes to hit out of the sand trap. I think he likes that because he loves sandtraps.

I love watching his reaction when he hits a good shot. He gets this huge smile on his face and it's usually followed by "Hey dad, you see that bomb?"

[Chilidipper]

I have a 4 year old daughter and we started hitting very casual at 3 years old. Now she is starting to enjoy it more but still has a long way to go ;)

[albatroz]

Try to find out if there are Par 3 courses in your area . Normaly they are equip with youth instructors who train kids . Your child would be more interested if he or she can be in the company of children their age . Its like a kinder golf class with lots of fun but also golfing lessons . Children do get bored if they play with grownups .

[gbk56]

My daughter started when she was three. At first she just wanted to go to the range with me. Then she wanted to hit some balls. She then saw a starter set that she had to have, so at age three I bought her a starter set along with pink golf balls that she absoultely loved (I think I have Paula Creamer to thank for strating the whole pink thing in golf). She loves to go to the range and hit to the targets. She also loves putting. In the winter we practice chip shots in the house with a compressed foam golf ball. She is five now and I am now thinking of taking her to a par 3.

I think as parents, all we can do is introduce our children to things, and those things that they take an interest in, we should do our best to support and encourage them.

Sometimes my daughter gets frustrated because she cannot always hit the targets she is aiming for and that is when I try to guide her to be patient and help her with her swing.