I started playing golf when I was seven. My grandfather, my uncle and my father all played and we had a big yard so I picked up a club and started messing around. Nobody pushed me. Nobody really asked me to practice or play. Mostly I just liked it. It was nothing fancy either, all I had for a while was an old cut down 7-iron. But not every kid is like that.
As a mom to two kids (9 and 12) who love golf, I can look back now and point to five things that made the difference for us.
1. Play and practice in front of them
Kids want to do what their parents do. So enjoy your golf in front of your kids. Putt in the living room. Watch the Masters together. Check out a new training aid. Let them see all of it from a young age. It doesn’t matter if they’re in the cart eating Goldfish and not participating at all. Let them see you doing the thing you love to do.
Kids are always watching, and that’s the important first step.
2. Start young and keep clubs within reach
My kids had US Kids clubs when they were two and we just keep clubs around at all times. Having them accessible makes it easy to grab a club whenever they’re interested and it makes them feel like they’re part of it right from the start instead of waiting on the sidelines until they’re “old enough.”
When my kids were really little, they cared less about the clubs themselves than they did about the accessories. A golf towel they picked out. A headcover they liked. It sounds silly but it matters. Kids buy into ownership before they buy into the game itself.
Having real clubs is important. We gave ours real clubs early and taught them how to take care of those clubs, what each one is used for and what it isn’t used for, when they were still little. It’s a small thing but it teaches respect for the equipment right alongside respect for the game. Now they’ve graduated to PING junior golf clubs and they take great care of them.
3. Play team scrambles
As a family of four, we play a ton of two-person team scrambles and it might be my favorite format in golf. The kids contribute and it’s so much fun. You don’t have to make it a full family match every time. Sometimes it’s the kids and me in a three-person scramble while my husband sits out and we just see how low we can go or play from a different tee box entirely.
It keeps the game loose and takes the pressure off.
I also find that it helps my kids learn strategy and etiquette in a way that solo play doesn’t. If they were just playing their own ball, they might not be watching what I do off the tee or around the green. In a scramble they’re locked in on my shot because it might end up being the one we play so they’re absorbing course management and etiquette without ever knowing they’re being taught anything.
4. Don’t underestimate colored golf balls
I know how this one sounds. Just trust me on it.
I have a degree in education and ended up homeschooling my kids so I’ve spent a lot of time around young people and I know how they learn and what drives them. Cool golf balls, and cool tees, matter more than most parents assume. It’s a small thing that makes the game feel like theirs and not a shrunken version of an adult’s game.
5. Adjust everything to the junior level
I started my kids playing from 100 yards out. Once they were basically driving greens from there, we moved back to 200. Then to the front tees. My daughter is nine and still plays from the front tees. My son has moved back a set and I’m almost ready to move him back another but not too soon.
Give them success at every level. Let them make birdies and pars, drive greens, chip in, whatever it takes. As soon as the game gets too hard, and we all know it’s hard enough already, you’re going to lose them.
Final thoughts
Every parent will have different goals for their kids. Mine has always been to give them a skill/sport that they can use for the rest of their lives. I hope we are well on our way.
When I finished writing this article, I asked my kids if they had anything to add or if I missed anything. They both laughed and said “underline the colored golf balls part.” Maybe that’s really all you need to know. And if you want to know our favorites, Vice wins all day.
Fake
38 seconds ago
I played when I was a kid and left golf until I was in my early 30’s. I was always frustrated as a kid. I remember my dad (who meant well) having me play from the front tees when I could barely hit a driver. It lead me to constantly being frustrated and never feeling like I was good enough since I couldn’t hit the ball far enough. Don’t repeat those mistakes, and have grace for families teaching their kids in the course.