When to start on the course.....
 

Well I currenlty am mentoring an 11 year old child, and while helping him with his homework we got onto the subject of golf. I am actually really great friends with his mom, so I took him out to the range with my old clubs. they aren't the right size but he was able to hit some pretty good shots with them. even pitched in a couple at the practice green ( you should have seen his eyes light up). Now since introuducing him to the game, he wants to take it to the course. But I tell him that he needs to get a little better in every aspect of the game before we can actually play on the course. When is the right time to introduce him to the course? I know for me if i'm lagging behind someone that can only hit the ball 50 yards it frustrates me and I would hate to do that to anyone else. Any suggestions?

Take him to an executive course or a par 3 course if you have to take him anywhere but the range until he can keep up. Those kinds of courses are usually slow anyway.

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Great thanks for the suggestion smallville...i'll keep that in mind...I can't really remember how old i was until I was "good" enough to keep up on the course. I guess i'll just keep him going to the range and putting green until I can see that he's made enough progress to play on the course. any other suggestions anyone?

I had Jacqui play about 10 rounds on our executive course (3,400 yards, 18 holes - 6 par 4's and 12 par 3's) before we went to a "real" course. She was hitting pretty good by then and even broke 100 a few times. She also broke 100 a couple of times after we got her onto the real course last year (her first year).

Ditto on taking him to a par 3 muni track.

You may also look into getting him involved in the First Tee program, it's a positive program, and will get him some more exposure to the game along with some basic life lessons.

9 hole par 3 pitch and putt. It's a lot of fun and no one is in a hurry.

thanks for the replies guys....i'll try and find a local par 3 course

How far can he hit it off the tee?

with an oversized 1 wood (oversized i mean too long for him) about 100 yards...i'm thinking about renting him some smaller clubs to see how he does at the range.....

I took lessons as a kid and would go out during the week all summer. They just told me to watch behind me all the time and let anyone through who came up behind me. I played everyday except the weekends or when I was fishing, lol. Good of you for taking the time.

I always see little kids at the par 3 courses by me, and some of them are pretty good too. Little stinkers!!! http://www.thehackersparadise.com/fo...t-wits-end.pnghttp://www.thehackersparadise.com/fo...ies/angry2.gif

Take him on the course. If he's slowing things down have him pick up. Have him hit from where your drive stops. Have him squeeze in a few extra shots when there's time. Get him on the course however you can. It doesn't mean he has to play all of every hole, or even play on every hole.

We starting taking my daughter when she was ten in the Fall when the course was not busy. She really never finished a full round until the end of the next summer when she was 11. Even last year at 12 she often didn't finish rounds, but rather worked to learn the game at our home course. She did play in a number of 9 and 18 hole tournaments, both full size and par three.

Get him out there, you won't regret it, and you'll be amazed how fast the young can learn. They produce myelin at a furious pace. Maybe get him a lesson or two if possible to start him with a good grip and set up.

Getting my daughter interested is the best thing I have ever done. That an producing her, but that wasn't all me.

Kevin

Another option is to let him learn on course golfing backwards. By that I mean let him learn to putt on the greens, and when some what proficient with the putter let him chip and putt at the pins on the greens. As he becomes more proficient with the shorter, easier shots then move him back till eventually he is on the tee box.

I did this with all my Grand Kids when they were younger. The system works. The youngest one was 5 years old when she started. The 16 year old, and 12 year old can both break 90 more times than not.

What happens is the golfer has a decent short game by the time they start using their longer clubs on the course. they have the recovery shots for those wayward, long misses. Plus with a youngster, the adult can play from the tees, and youngster can compete with the adult by putting for par against the adults tee to green play. It's also good way to control slow play, that some folks like to gripe about.

Of course you have to throw in some longer shots, because all amateurs like to hit the long ball, regardless of age, or know how. http://www.thehackersparadise.com/fo...lies/clapp.gif

I'd definately go with a Par 3 course and play a good nine holes.. at least try this once to get him a taste of what's out there to offer on the course. If all goes smoothly sometimes just playing the courses will improve his game. Next stop if the season goes well is a membership the following year to develop his game!

clg82,

Here are two suggestions. Many courses designate a couple hours a week or so for a "junior league" or something similar. Most dedicated golfers know better than scheduling a tee time within 1.5 hours or so after the junior leagues because they know it will be slow play. But this is likely a great time to take your mentoree to the course... play will be slow and he will be surrounded by kids around his age.

Second suggestion: Take him to a normal course and allow him to play from your ball. So you both tee off, but then he plays from your 250 yard drive rather than his 100 yard drive and so on. It allows him to get great practice on the course, relieves him from added pressure and doesn't take too much time to play this way.

I was going to suggest almost the same thing. I had a thread recently when I played with a father and son. The son was 8 and this was the first time he was allowed to tee off from the forward tees. Prior to that, his Dad had let him drop it at the 150 and play in from there. As he progressed, he got to move further back. Seems to be a good method.

Thanks for all the great responces! I will definatley let him try from where my ball lands, if we are dragging along too much then i'll go "backwards" with him like you said. I am also going to rent a set of clubs for him to use for about 10.00 at the driving range, and i'll just have him bring his wedge and putter for the course! Thanks for all the suggestions, keep them coming!~chris