Training aids for youth. (seven year olds)

[DirtCheap]

My seven year old has his first tournament this Sunday, and every sunday after that for eight weeks.
He can't get enough golf, and I want to give him every opportunity to be the very best he can be.

Gear wise, what training aids would you recommend for a beginner that young? There are hundreds of training aids out on ebay but I have no idea which are good and which are junk.

We have a net set up in the house with a chipping/driving mat so he can practice his swing any time. I'm considering adding a putting mat of some sort. Other than that, I was considering getting him one of those lasers that goes on the end of his club grips to help him with his backswing.

Any ideas are appreciated.

DC.

[boogielicious]

@DirtCheap ,

I would just film his swing for him and show him how he looks.  Then show him video of other good players.

[DEsler]

I have a 13 year old golfer who started hitting it around at 4.  I didn't really work on full swing "techniques"  beyond basics ("Y" then "L" then "Y" )with him until he was 8 or 9 and built from the green outward. (not that I have the "right way", it is just how we did it)

If he loves golf and you want him to continue to love it, I would say you definitely need a putting green or somewhere to putt as an option in your in house training area (which I am jealous of by the way).

For training aids at 7?   I agree with the "film him and show him good players swings" suggestion above and really wouldn't do too much "training" at that age.  Impact tape is a good one though so he can concentrate on hitting the middle of the club face and it isn't bulky and doesn't feel like "training".  I generally would buy aids that addressed certain problems I saw in my son's swing when he was older.  (example: he would break his wrists too much in his back-swing which led to a habit of "casting" so I bought one of those "Swing-glyde" trainers and that helped.

#1 rule is "Keep it fun."  Putting and chipping contests with dad, give him a few shots per hole when you play on the course for nickles combined with gentle guidance.

The biggest challenge my son had was probably ME when I would occasionally forget that he is just a child.  Don't forget it (depending on how good your son is, it can be hard sometimes)  Sports burnout is real and happens to kids in all sports and we (the parents) are often at fault for it.

If you don't keep it fun you run the very real risk of overdoing it and pushing him away from the game and you don't want to do that.  Having a little golf partner is the best and when he gets to where he can beat you (it was the second half of last summer for me) it will be a great feeling.

I can't wait for my son to kick my ass all year long this season.  I hope some of this helps!

[SavvySwede]

Training aids aren't for seven year olds. Young children still have the natural learning ability of a still developing brain. It is only adults that have been ingraining bad habits for 10+ years that need to be strapped into a helmet to force them to keep their head steady.