Early specialization and the ideal age to peak in golf

[ConcernedBoutCOVID]

Everyone loves to talk about multiple sports and late specialization, but does that only apply to someone who has aspirations (and a decent shot) at playing golf professionally after college?

 

My oldest is a junior and a lot of the early commits to the best schools as well as the ones getting recruited to the most desirable schools (define it however you want) are all early specializers who didn't do multiple sports beyond middle school (at the latest).  These players are trying to peak around the summer after their sophomore and junior year in high school to get the best chances at getting recruited for a scholarship or just admission to a competitive school.

 

They all seem to say that there doesn't seem to be enough time to focus on both schoolwork and golf and other sports (let alone other activities or just being a teenager). 

[Abh159]

On 1/1/2021 at 11:55 AM, ConcernedBoutCOVID said:

Everyone loves to talk about multiple sports and late specialization, but does that only apply to someone who has aspirations (and a decent shot) at playing golf professionally after college?

 

My oldest is a junior and a lot of the early commits to the best schools as well as the ones getting recruited to the most desirable schools (define it however you want) are all early specializers who didn't do multiple sports beyond middle school (at the latest).  These players are trying to peak around the summer after their sophomore and junior year in high school to get the best chances at getting recruited for a scholarship or just admission to a competitive school.

 

They all seem to say that there doesn't seem to be enough time to focus on both schoolwork and golf and other sports (let alone other activities or just being a teenager). 

 

I'm not really sure what you mean by "peak". To me that means to be at the absolute pinnacle of your career and in that case you should absolutely not be "peaking" when you are 15 or 16 years old. The top college programs look for kids that are both extremely talented but that will also keep developing. 

 

History dictates that multisport athletes tend to be more "well-rounded" than those that only focus on one growing up, but I think it really depends on what you or your kid's end game is. If their goal is to be 100% dedicated to golf and only want to get into a top program then it's not a bad idea to focus solely on golf once you get to high school. That being said I played baseball up until my Jr year and I ended up at a top-25 (golf) school. On the contrast, the #2 player on our high school golf team played basketball throughout high school as well and he ended up going to a top-25 (basketball) school to play.

 

At the end of the day you should let your kid do what makes them happy. Forcing them to focus solely on one sport (especially when they are young) is only going to increase the likelihood of them getting burnt out. And remember that you don't have to go to a top college golf program to play professionally. I'd be willing to bet 90% or more of the current PGA Tour members didn't play golf for a top program. Just look at Dustin Johnson... Coastal Carolina was barely in the top-100 when he started there.

[MB19]

I don't think there is a silver bullet here, other than to build the athlete along the way.  Part of that may include being a two or three-sport athlete in HS, or it may include ballet, gymnastics or martial arts to proficiency levels (say, level 8+ in gymnastics or brown+ belt in karate).

 

Whatever path is taken, it should definitely include having some fun.

Edited January 4, 2021 by MB19

[ConcernedBoutCOVID]

4 hours ago, Abh159 said:

 

I'm not really sure what you mean by "peak". To me that means to be at the absolute pinnacle of your career and in that case you should absolutely not be "peaking" when you are 15 or 16 years old. The top college programs look for kids that are both extremely talented but that will also keep developing. 

 

History dictates that multisport athletes tend to be more "well-rounded" than those that only focus on one growing up, but I think it really depends on what you or your kid's end game is. If their goal is to be 100% dedicated to golf and only want to get into a top program then it's not a bad idea to focus solely on golf once you get to high school. That being said I played baseball up until my Jr year and I ended up at a top-25 (golf) school. On the contrast, the #2 player on our high school golf team played basketball throughout high school as well and he ended up going to a top-25 (basketball) school to play.

 

At the end of the day you should let your kid do what makes them happy. Forcing them to focus solely on one sport (especially when they are young) is only going to increase the likelihood of them getting burnt out. And remember that you don't have to go to a top college golf program to play professionally. I'd be willing to bet 90% or more of the current PGA Tour members didn't play golf for a top program. Just look at Dustin Johnson... Coastal Carolina was barely in the top-100 when he started there.

 

I am just commenting on what we have observed among the best (top 50-100) players we have competed against.  They have already specialized in golf...for years.  And they are the ones getting all the attention from college coaches.

 

Specialization doesn't necessarily mean doing nothing other than golf - it just means not really investing a lot of time, energy and money outside of golf (travel teams, private lessons, specialized training).  I don't consider participating on an average high school sports team to be high intensity.

 

With regards to "peaking", you can obviously hit it farther, shoot lower scores and have a lower differential as you mature, but you can also "peak" relative to your age and stage of physical development.  But what is the point of "peaking" in your golf ability after the age of college recruitment if you don't plan on playing professionally?  What do you get by playing the best golf of your life in college or shortly thereafter, besides great memories? 

 

Seems like you get the most bang for your buck by focusing the most and playing your best when you are auditioning/interviewing for college coaches who will offer you a spot on a team, and either give you scholarship $ or help you with admission into a competitive school.

[Abh159]

6 minutes ago, ConcernedBoutCOVID said:

 

I am just commenting on what we have observed among the best (top 50-100) players we have competed against.  They have already specialized in golf...for years.  And they are the ones getting all the attention from college coaches.

 

Specialization doesn't necessarily mean doing nothing other than golf - it just means not really investing a lot of time, energy and money outside of golf (travel teams, private lessons, specialized training).  I don't consider participating on an average high school sports team to be high intensity.

 

With regards to "peaking", you can obviously hit it farther, shoot lower scores and have a lower differential as you mature, but you can also "peak" relative to your age and stage of physical development.  But what is the point of "peaking" in your golf ability after the age of college recruitment if you don't plan on playing professionally?  What do you get by playing the best golf of your life in college or shortly thereafter, besides great memories? 

 

Seems like you get the most bang for your buck by focusing the most and playing your best when you are auditioning/interviewing for college coaches who will offer you a spot on a team, and either give you scholarship $ or help you with admission into a competitive school.

 

I guess it's different for different areas of the country but I wouldn't agree with you that "participating on an average high school sports team isn't high intensity". My real life example included golf, baseball, and basketball. All of those sports are spring sports (played in the spring) in my state so in order to play two or more you are only getting to practice each half as much as everyone else. We also won state championships in all of those sports so trust me when I say that the competition was very intense and high level and they took up a lot of time.

 

To your question about why would you want to "peak" after high school if you don't plan on playing professionally... I guess that makes sense if someone is only using golf as a means to get into college, but in that case I'd ask why would a coach even want you? If you aren't going to keep improving then why waste a spot on someone who won't get any better than they were at 16?

 

This isn't necessarily an argument for or against specializing in one sport. My point is to say that each person is different and some will be better by only focusing on one sport while others will be better for being a multi-sport athlete. You can't base your decision on what everyone else is doing. Just because one kid isn't able to balance golf, school, and another sport doesn't mean that another kid can't. I managed to do it, my friend managed to do it, and I know a ton of other kids who did it also.

[Oh Hi Carl]

I have a child who is a college athlete (not golf) and have gone through the recruiting process.  It's fashionable for coaches and TV analysts to say how valuable it is to be a multi-sport athlete, but if a kid is a standout player in any sport, the coaches will give him/her looks regardless of whether they've played anything else. 

 

I think the multi-sport athlete angle may come into play a bit more for the kid who is maybe a borderline recruit.  That kid may play up other sports in which the kid has excelled as a way of suggesting that when the kid focuses totally on golf, he/she will take off.  Plus, the competitiveness and toughness that someone may develop in other sports could be seen as a bonus.   

Edited January 5, 2021 by Sonja Henie