Competing in tournaments as youngest in an age group

[CTgolf]

Do you do it or wait until among oldest participants? If you have a 11 year old golfer, do you wait until the next year if the tournament age bracket is 11-12, or take a shot to potentially gain experience?

[thelefthandedgolfer]

Have entered both of my kids in tournaments as the younger kids, but knew they were competitive enough to compete. It really depends on what you want to get out of it. In all cases, expectations were set before hand and the tournaments were great events. Basically, there were reasons to play other than to "win", great course, great experience, good competition and finishing high wasn't the priority.

 

With that said, returning the next year to these tournaments as the older kids took on a different perspective and expectations adjusted(naturally).

 

I think it is great for the kids to play with better players than them. They learn so much from watching their peers.

[mrshinsa]

Have entered both of my kids in tournaments as the younger kids, but knew they were competitive enough to compete. It really depends on what you want to get out of it. In all cases, expectations were set before hand and the tournaments were great events. Basically, there were reasons to play other than to "win", great course, great experience, good competition and finishing high wasn't the priority.

 

With that said, returning the next year to these tournaments as the older kids took on a different perspective and expectations adjusted(naturally).

 

I think it is great for the kids to play with better players than them. They learn so much from watching their peers.

 

Repped. This is the same answer from me.

[DavePelz4]

The most important thing should be having fun and just enjoy playing. The experience picked up will be invaluable.

[heavy_hitter]

My kid is a young 2023. Played in US Kids Worlds twice and he was one of if not the youngest kid there. Expectations from him was to win. I have moved him up in age groups and expect him to win, and he has. If you can shoot scores in the 70’s or lower then you play.

[wildcatden]

Played my kid up earlier this fall. Got demolished. Played in a couple events for his age group recently. Got demolished. Baseball tryouts are in 4 weeks.

[tiger1873]

You should always start out being the youngest and eventually age up when it makes sense until your playing the longest tees you can.. at the very least you should be playing your age group with the understanding that other kids will be older.

 

I believe a player should be challenged at every tournament. I have always moved my kids up when You know there going to win every time even if they have a bad day. We stoped doing Us Kids locals when we knew we would get under par every time and everyone else was in in the mid 40s for 9 holes.

 

I think once they hit 13 the whole age part doesn’t matter because a lot tournaments are 13-18 anyways. At that point you should be more worried about what they score then age.

[kekoa]

I say compete and the expectation is to always win. If my kid falls into a certain age group and is the youngest, that has no bearing on my decision to enter. Whether he wins or get his Word not allowed handed to him, he will be better for it.

[md1m]

I will always play him in whatever category he falls into. He's playing for the experience, and the main thing we're working on is that he's playing against the course and not the other kids in his group.

[Bizzle80]

I have been hesitant to send my 5yo daughter out there for tournaments. She can play 9 holes with me from about 75-90yards and probably +1/+2 golf...but she is so tiny she just doesn't hit it very far so I am worried about the distances they setup. At 100+ yards she is nearly 3 shots just to get in with drives of 50-60yards. I just don't want her getting discouraged especially since for girls its 7 and under as the lowest age range.

 

I checked the recent results and its anything from kids at even par to +40 so should I be worried about trying it out?

[kekoa]

I have been hesitant to send my 5yo daughter out there for tournaments. She can play 9 holes with me from about 75-90yards and probably +1/+2 golf...but she is so tiny she just doesn't hit it very far so I am worried about the distances they setup. At 100+ yards she is nearly 3 shots just to get in with drives of 50-60yards. I just don't want her getting discouraged especially since for girls its 7 and under as the lowest age range.

 

I checked the recent results and its anything from kids at even par to +40 so should I be worried about trying it out?

 

At that age, I wouldn't worry and I say go for it. How does she react during practice rounds if she hits bad shots? Only thing I would worry about is if she was ultra aware and sensitive. Worst thing is for a child to have a total meltdown during a tournament and at 5 yrs old it could happen.

 

My son played his first tournament as a 5 yr old, but he was on the course playing holes since age 3.

 

Good luck

[thelefthandedgolfer]

I have been hesitant to send my 5yo daughter out there for tournaments. She can play 9 holes with me from about 75-90yards and probably +1/+2 golf...but she is so tiny she just doesn't hit it very far so I am worried about the distances they setup. At 100+ yards she is nearly 3 shots just to get in with drives of 50-60yards. I just don't want her getting discouraged especially since for girls its 7 and under as the lowest age range.

 

I checked the recent results and its anything from kids at even par to +40 so should I be worried about trying it out?

 

7 and Under Girls in our local is approx:

70 - par 3

140-150 par 4

190-200 par 5

 

I started my daughter in tournaments at 7, but that was after approx 2 years of hitting balls for fun on the range and playing our home course to a certain score. She had to reach a certain score at home before I felt comfortable entering her into a tournament.

 

My younger son, who started tournament golf at 5, hit balls while my daughter played in her tournaments. He did this for 2 years and by the time he was old enough for USKG, he was ready. Still, I was reluctant to enter him at 5 because, well, he was 5. Some days he would be ok, another day he hits a bad shot and couldn't deal.

 

I was pretty hesitant to start my son at 5 and he had a lot of prep. Looking back, we had plenty of time to start later, but I was excited to get them out there. Just sharing my experience.

[BertGA]

I have been hesitant to send my 5yo daughter out there for tournaments. She can play 9 holes with me from about 75-90yards and probably +1/+2 golf...but she is so tiny she just doesn't hit it very far so I am worried about the distances they setup. At 100+ yards she is nearly 3 shots just to get in with drives of 50-60yards. I just don't want her getting discouraged especially since for girls its 7 and under as the lowest age range.

 

I checked the recent results and its anything from kids at even par to +40 so should I be worried about trying it out?

 

Kind of depends on your daughter. Is she interested in the tournaments? Some kids really like it. For my daughter, it's a balance. She tends to do well at home, but the distractions and pressures of posting a tournament score drive her scores up. As a parent, my answer is that she needs to enter more tournaments to shake that off. As a player, her attitude is that she doesn't like playing tournaments, and prefers to just go hit balls or play 9 with me.

 

My daughter is about to turn 10, and I am starting to see that turn around, but it was a struggle for me to encourage her to sign up for events this season.

[tiger1873]

I have been hesitant to send my 5yo daughter out there for tournaments. She can play 9 holes with me from about 75-90yards and probably +1/+2 golf...but she is so tiny she just doesn't hit it very far so I am worried about the distances they setup. At 100+ yards she is nearly 3 shots just to get in with drives of 50-60yards. I just don't want her getting discouraged especially since for girls its 7 and under as the lowest age range.

 

I checked the recent results and its anything from kids at even par to +40 so should I be worried about trying it out?

 

I would not worry about what you score. In the 7 and under group there is a good chance she will actually win because no one else entered. If your lucky you get 1 or 2 other girls almost everyone gets a medal. The goal that age is just get them around and finish.

 

Youngest Daughter is 7 and she been doing tournaments for a few years. I see parents to who see one win at this age and they dream there the next Michelle wei or Lexi Thompson. I have seen what happens to those kids stay far away from them. Just have fun and let her play and make her own deductions so she can learn how to play.

[heavy_hitter]

My 13 year old will be playing in the same division as 18 year old seniors next weekend.