I once taught a junior golfer who moved his feet so much that consistent contact was almost impossible. I told him to feel like his feet were glued to the ground.
A few minutes later, I tried to adjust his stance and move one of his feet. He stopped me.
“Nope. Glue.”
It was funny but it taught me something I remembered throughout my years teaching junior golfers and my own children. Kids can take golf instruction very literally and once an idea sticks, it can be hard to get rid of. The words you use when teaching them can make or break their start in the game.
Tell them what you want them to do
One of the easiest changes you can make is to stop telling kids what not to do.
“Don’t fall over” sounds simple enough but it doesn’t really give them anything to accomplish. “Hold your finish until the ball lands” does.
The same idea works throughout the game. Instead of “don’t hit behind it,” have them try to brush the grass in front of the ball. Instead of “don’t swing so hard,” ask them to make a finish they can hold for at least a few seconds.
Clear instructions about the behavior you want are easier to follow than simply telling them what to stop doing. For junior golf, I like giving them a job they can clearly complete. As a parent, I’ve noticed this concept often works outside of the golf course!
Give them one job at a time
Golfers love piling swing thoughts on top of each other. While it’s not good for anyone’s game, it can really do some damage when teaching young kids.
If you tell a junior golfer to keep their head still, turn their shoulders, shift their weight and finish on their front foot, they may try to consciously do every one of those things at once. They’ll also get frustrated and think they aren’t good at the game.
Pick one.
If today’s goal is balance, make the goal holding the finish. Let them hit a few shots with that one thought before adding anything else. Even if they are way inside on their plane or they aren’t transferring their weight properly, try not to stack the swing thoughts.
One shot, one job is a pretty good rule.
Focus on what the club or ball should do
This is one of the more interesting lessons from motor learning research.
Studies involving children learning sports skills have found benefits from what researchers call an external focus. Instead of thinking about what the body is doing, the player focuses on the club, the ball or the result of the movement.
There has even been research involving kids learning a golf putting task. Children who focused on the movement of the club performed better than those who were told to focus on the movement of their arms.
Instead of telling a kid to move their hands a certain way through impact, ask them to swing the clubhead toward the target.
Instead of talking about body position in a chip shot, put a towel on the green and ask them to land the ball on it.
With putting, set up a gate and have them start the ball through it. On a full swing, place a tee a few inches in front of the ball and ask them to clip the tee after impact.
Now the kid has something outside their body to accomplish. It takes a little forward thinking as an instructor to move the thoughts outside the body but it works.
Don’t ask if they understand. Ask them to show you.
If you ask a kid, “Do you understand?” most will say yes. Honestly, they just want you to release another ball so they can smack it.
A better question is, “Show me what you think I mean.”
That gives you an immediate look at how they interpreted the instruction. You’d be surprised how different it can be from what you think you explained.
If I had asked my glued-to-the-ground student to show me what he thought I meant before we started hitting balls, I probably would have figured out pretty quickly that his version of “glued” was more committed than mine.
Keep it simple and specific
Junior golfers don’t need a long list of swing thoughts. They need clear instructions that give them something specific to do. They also need the message tailored to someone their own age.
Don’t think that if you say the wrong thing you’ll ruin your kid’s golf swing. Instead, use this advice to help them get better faster.
And if you ever tell a kid to glue their feet to the ground, be prepared for them to take you at your word.
Let me know if you have other questions about teaching kids how to play golf.
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