Play and Practice time

[kcap]

13yr old - prior to course opening last was hitting balls into a net for probably 30-45min 3x a week.

It was a struggle to get him to practice. It was much easier when he was younger.

course opened last week, and he has played 3x. Going forward- Will likely play 3x 9holes with a friend during the the week and 18 with me over the weekend.

Tournaments get his competitive juices flowing and thus he practice more. It has been hard to recreate that feeling.

I think scores will up a little- maybe a few strokes here and there for chip and putts - that’s it.

 

 

 

[hangontight]

Good to read this post. My son, 9, very similar and you said it best -easier to get him to practice when younger. Reminding myself to take the long view and don’t force it. Can’t wait for first tmnt to see if it Re ignites his fire. If not- all good, but selfishly hopeful. For Now we’ve been playing once a week and “practice” is really limited to chipping around the backyard a few times a week.

[wildcatden]

Speaking of practice time, what do you guys use to get the ball tee'd up higher for driver at the range? Our primary practice place is mats only. I'm guessing something like these?

 

[Evan_Par]

Just signed up for the US Kids local spring tour here. We missed the first event, but are going to play the remaining 5. First one is this Sunday so I'm going to try and get him to run through the bag each day and get 100 or so swings hitting into the net and then some indoor putting practice at night. We'll also try and get 9 in at our local course during the week.

[leezer99]

Tee Claw works well.https://teeclaw.com/about/

[darter79]

bring your own tee! I've used these before and you just put your own tee and adjust. There is a taller one as well. This has worked well for us when going to courses that have matts that don't take tees. Our course that has a Matt actually can take a real tee which is great.

Amazon.com : Pro Active Sports Dura Rubber Friction Tee Holder (1'') : Golf Tees : Sports & Outdoors

[tiger1873]

Find a different place to practice because hitting off mats sucks. Those probably would work though if your forced off to hit off mats. Depending on the mat we talking about you might be able to use a wood tee and just break it off your length or even get a tee lenth that makes sense. In a lot places they also let us tee off drivers on the grass in front of the mats. That though just depends on the setup you stuck with.

[wildcatden]

 

There are practice ranges in the area with grass, but the drive is further. However, our home club (5 minutes away) is mats only. Is what it is unless someone can sponsor us into Castlewood, Blackhawk or Ruby Hill.

[DannysDad]

Wow, this has been eye opening for me. My son is 8 and a second grader. Like a couple have written about, when he’s playing USKG he’s more competitive and will want to go putt and chip.

Here in Massachusetts we just got golf back and the practice areas are now open which they weren’t for several weeks after courses opened up.

I toss the idea out about practicing to him and sometimes he bites, often he doesn’t. I don’t want to force him to practice but try to remind him that it’s the best way to improve.

It may just be his makeup, I feel awkward saying “My 8 year old isn’t taking his game serious.”

[heavy_hitter]

8 year olds should play football/soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter, baseball/golf in the spring through summer. About being fun, learning different motor skills, and becoming athletic.

[ncalgolf]

I use those at the range - they work fine - usually i end up forgetting them at the range so i have a bunch in the garage.

[TripleBogeysrbetter]

Build the athlete first. You can teach them golf later.

[heavy_hitter]

Which can also help them with the correct motor skills to swing it faster. My kid gave up baseball at 9, football at 11, and basketball at 13. Wish he would have played baseball longer.... ah who am I kidding? I couldn't stand being at the ball park watching baseball.

[kcap]

Update to my previous post. A month later.

He has taught me a lesson my wife got her “I told you “ moment.

Practices a 5-6 days a week (3-4 hrs a day). Plays at least 1-2 rounds a week. Shockingly- prefers dedicated practice than playing with friends.

The tournament have got him focussed. For the first time he makes his own yardage book prior to a tournament. These books are actually quite insightful and based on how he wants to play each round.

I only type this because I have realized a few things over the last few weeks. We would argue a fair bit during the lockdown about his lack of practice. It was a complete waste of timen to argue. I can’t make him practice..

Have adjusted my role and I just motivate him Currently, he is focused on beating a local kid that is really good.

BTW: I do keep the right to complain in a month if he is completely demotivated and not practicing.

[DannysDad]

Oh he does, he loves baseball, basketball, swimming, soccer... He’ll play anything but says golf is his favorite because he gets to hit the ball every time. Too much waiting around in baseball, waiting to hit, waiting for a ball to get hit to him.

[MB19]

In my year of golf with my kids, it has definitely been hit and miss in terms of what works for them in terms of getting them swinging the clubs.

One thing I have learned is that if golf feels like a routine, they like it less. That means it is up to me to mix it up and add some novelty.

--Sometimes the novelty is a putting or chipping competition--kids vs me. Kid vs kid never leads to a good outcome, as my 7 y.o. son refuses to accept his 8 y.o. sister is his superior at anything (even if he knows she is just a little better at pretty much everything at this age).

--Sometimes (read: whenever it is an option) getting Sonic for lunch gets them hyped at the prospect of going to PGA Village for up to two hours of chip and putt bliss at that beautiful, free-to-the-public facility. That's a win for dad, too.

--Hitting in the garage on our bargain sim is great for rainy days and the occasional after-dark practice session, but it's definitely just a supplement... especially for my daughter who may or may not use golf as an excuse to be close to sandhill cranes, blue herons, egrets, turtles and other creatures of the golf scene here.

--After five months, they no longer like the Super Speed swing drills. I definitely need to find a way to make that fun for them again, because it's been slowly phased out over the past six weeks due to protest.

--Deciding to pull them from the local golf program's scramble team tournament format this weeks was a win for my family. The kids were all about competing and making some new friends, but the wife wasn't prepared to caddy multiple times per week at 3.5 hours per outing when the kids were split up. At 7 and 8, they are going to be fine this summer practicing/playing in the mornings until fall USKG starts back up. Maybe we enter a tournament in the meantime, maybe we don't, but what the family doesn't need is extra stress at this point in time.

--Getting the kids back into karate after the COVID layoff is going to give them another sport/activity that complements golf, and that's ideal. It sure couldn't hurt my son's crazy intensity if it were channeled into that discipline once more.

Over the winter, I printed up the drills from the back of the Daddy Caddy On The Bag book--I was going to test the kids every couple of weeks using these guidelines. We did the putting exactly once, and never followed through after that. Maybe the kids are too young for that, or maybe it is up to me to make that drill not seem like a drill? Either way, it's going to have to be fun to stick.

 

I'm not sure if there's a special sauce (other than the talent of your kid, of course) that will make them want to practice, or practice a particular area of golf. I've learned though, for my kids, is if it seems a bit novel and maybe if there's a trip to Sonic attached to it, the golf activity is likely to be a hit.

[TripleBogeysrbetter]

Son played until 13. I loved watching him play. I hated being around the other team parents. Everyone pretending to be nice and then secretly complaining your child plays more.

[TripleBogeysrbetter]