Would you ever let a stranger teach your child?

[NCGolfer]

Random strangers...no.  I wouldn't even send my kid to someone I hadn't vetted with someone else or done some research on.  I hate unsolicited advice on the range probably more than anyone.  When it comes to my kids I think I'd be even more picky.

That being said, I think kids are actually better off if someone other than their parent teaches them.  They tend to drone out advice from their parents after a while.  Kids (at least mine) have a pretty healthy level of respect and interest in learning things especially if comes from a different voice than the one they hear all day.

Heck, my kids eat foods at school that they wouldn't touch at home.  "It just tastes different Dad."  

[WUTiger]

Yes, it's parental malpractice for someone who has never broken 100 to misteach a child to play golf.

Years ago, I saw one such dad trying to teach a 6-year-old how to play golf. Dad had no real idea what he was doing, as either a golfer or an instructor.

At the time, the club pro had a golf clinic for children, assisted by two female golfers from the local university (Div. II golf). I asked dad if he was aware of the clinic, and acted very indignant.

"I don't want some girl ruining my son's swing," he shouted.

So, dad proceeded to ruin the kid's swing himself.

[70sSanO]

If I saw a father spending quality time with his son or daughter, I wouldn't care if his teaching was flawed as long as both were enjoying the time together.  The only thing that would bother me is if the father was yelling at his son or daughter if the child was not doing it right in the father's mind.

I've taught our kids how to do a lot of things, including golf, and right or wrong, it didn't really matter as we had a lot of fun.  I guess the proof that it didn't matter resides in still enjoying a number of sports, including golf, together.

The biggest flaw in some parents is not incorrect teaching, it is living their failed athletic careers through their kids in the hope that their kids will bring the success they missed out on.

John

Edited May 28, 2017 by 70sSanO

[David in FL]

7 hours ago, 70sSanO said:

If I saw a father spending quality time with his son or daughter, I wouldn't care if his teaching was flawed as long as both were enjoying the time together.  The only thing that would bother me is if the father was yelling at his son or daughter if the child was not doing it right in the father's mind.

I've taught our kids how to do a lot of things, including golf, and right or wrong, it didn't really matter as we had a lot of fun.  I guess the proof that it didn't matter resides in still enjoying a number of sports, including golf, together.

The biggest flaw in some parents is not incorrect teaching, it is living their failed athletic careers through their kids in the hope that their kids will bring the success they missed out on.

John

I don't disagree with the sentiment, heck I'll even give it a big 'ole thumbs up.  But, just think how much more quality time that dad could have with his kid(s) throughout the years on the course, if they learned the game successfully, and subsequently came to enjoy it as much as their dad did.  Rather than becoming frustrated by poor results early on and potentially moving away from the game completely.

To me, it'd still be a pretty good day to take my daughter to a lesson, watch from a ways back with fatherly pride, and then head for an ice cream on the way home.  Especially if it leads to being more likely to spend time together later on.  Who knows, rinse and repeat with the grandkids some day?  

[iacas]

On 5/24/2017 at 11:36 AM, MRR said:

The father's golfing was fine, but he wasn't teaching his son any fundamentals.  The poor child had the club gripped like he was going to beat someone with a stick, swung with all his weight, kept his arms bent, and had the clubhead well past his hands at "impact".  Father's response was to have him tee it up higher and mentioned something about a wrist.

So?

I'll take what may be the minority view here… but so what?

You said the kid was young, so I'm picturing, I don't know, a 7-year-old kid. At this point, the father's main "goals" should really just be "let the kid whack a few balls, see if he has some fun." What you see as "a few fundamentals" might overwhelm the kid. After all, look at the list you just posted and what sorts of corrections you'd have to make to fix all of those things…

When I introduced @NatalieB to golf (granted, she was barely three), I cared about roughly three things:

• That she stood on the left side of the golf ball (righty clubs)
• That she put her left hand above her right hand
• That she had fun whacking golf balls "somewhere in the right general direction"

That's it. Every "fundamental" that came after that was a result of her expressing a desire to get better.

The last thing I'd have thought to do was to give her a list of a bunch of "fundamentals." That sounds like the opposite of fun.

The most important thing a parent can do to help their kids develop a passion for golf is to make sure they have fun around golf (on the golf course, at the range, etc.), particularly early on.

[Wanzo]

8 hours ago, iacas said:

At this point, the father's main "goals" should really just be "let the kid whack a few balls, see if he has some fun." What you see as "a few fundamentals" might overwhelm the kid.

Agree.

 

8 hours ago, iacas said:

• That she stood on the left side of the golf ball (righty clubs)
• That she put her left hand above her right hand
• That she had fun whacking golf balls "somewhere in the right general direction"

I like this list. I have to actively remind myself not to "correct" my girls when they are swinging. They are all basically brand new to golf. Trying to just have fun. 

[MRR]

On 5/28/2017 at 1:44 PM, iacas said:

So?

...

The most important thing a parent can do to help their kids develop a passion for golf is to make sure they have fun around golf (on the golf course, at the range, etc.), particularly early on.

As I said before, I may have been projecting, but I saw a child being very frustrated and not especially having a good time.

That's the sort of "instruction" that I had early on by my father that turned me AWAY from golf for 15 years.  It wasn't "having fun wacking at balls", it was "being 'taught' but not getting anywhere".  IMO, It's one thing if a child is simply having a good time and doesn't care about skill, it's another if the child does care and the parent incorrectly thinks that he is helping his child improve.

BTW, I don't think you are in the minority on this one.

[Let it Fly]

On 5/28/2017 at 1:44 PM, iacas said:

• That she stood on the left side of the golf ball (righty clubs)
• That she put her left hand above her right hand
• That she had fun whacking golf balls "somewhere in the right general direction"

This is the basic gist of a lesson I got a few Summers ago after crawling into our pro shop with the s***ks.

[boogielicious]

It reminds me of when I was coaching soccer and we heard the parents yell instruction to the players. When the players came to the sideline, we coaches would tell them to completely ignore what the parents were saying as it was generally completely wrong advice.