Junior Golf Lessons
Not everyone can have junior golf lessons and become a child golf prodigy like Tiger Woods. It is most important to keep the game fun when introducing your child to junior golf lessons and playing golf. Have you ever noticed how a junior just taking up the game of golf? If allowed, they will take a very natural golf swing. The young golfers are not thinking about golf instruction or golf mechanics. Let your child enjoy learning the game by their own trial and error until THEY are ready to take the game more seriously. You can keep it fun away from the golf course by keeping a junior golf journal at home. Remember we play the game because it is fun.
Up until the child is in High School, practice sessions should be limited in time so the junior is not over-whelmed and should only be taken to the practice facility if the child wants to go and have fun. This will keep the junior motivated to go and practice more often.
In keeping golf fun, refrain from giving a junior golf instructions and let your junior swing as hard as they want from time to time during their full swing practice. As for your junior’s golf grip, just make sure the right hand is lower than the left hand for a right-handed golfer. Remember keep the fun and non-restrictive and do not worry about a proper grip, yet. It would be more beneficial for you junior to play a game such as being able to count to three without losing their balance no matter how hard they swing.
To keep your juniors motivation high and to allow your junior golfer to learn to feel the club, start with putting and chipping drills. Here are some easy ones to use:
Putting
Ladder drill – Using a sleeve of balls (three), Place a golf ball at four feet, eight feet and twelve feet from the putting cup. Begin with the four foot putt. If you make the four foot putt, then move to the eight foot putt. If you miss the four foot putt, then start over again with the four foot putt. Repeat this until all three putts are made.
Pull back drill – Pick a long putt in which you need to lag. Hit your putt. Did you make it? If then the answer is yes, then great. If not, move the golf ball a putter length further away from the hole. Keep this up until the golf ball is holed.
Chipping
Over the bag – This is a simple fun way to learn how to chip. Place a golf bag off of the green and set up to chip three to six feet behind the bag. The closer to the bag you place your ball, the bigger the challenge. Now making your chipping stroke your goal is to clear the bag while getting the golf ball close to the hole.
Chip to par – Pick several positions to chip from. Use one golf ball and as you would on the golf course, chip the ball as close to the hole as possible. Then proceed to putt the ball into the hole. Add up your strokes and go to the same spots and try to lower your overall score. These drills are easy to turn into fun games or challenges.
Consider private junior golf instruction or a summer golf camp taught by PGA Professionals if your junior shows the interest. If this becomes an option, use references from friends and co-workers to find the PGA professional that would be right for your child. Again, the main goal is to keep it fun and not try to make your golfer into a mechanical machine.