Tips on timeline for 12 year old junior golfer

[ColdandUgly33]

My son really wants to play college golf, but I am confused by where he should be at this stage.  He is 12, started tournament golf at 7 and currently has a 7 handicap and averages mid 70's from 6000 yards and closer to par at his US Kids local distances.  He's not the biggest for his age and some of the larger, early bloomers in his age group (12-13) are driving 250-270 while he's at 210 or so.  We're staying patient and with his distance as we know it will get there with puberty.  He has competed in the US Kids Worlds, FCG Worlds, and continues to compete in the local events for US Kids, First Tee, JGANC, and JTNC.  He used to play AAU basketball in the Summer but decided to devote this time off school to golf while also doing BJJ. 
 

From what I understand, the AJGA tournaments are what truly matter and he needs to be ready by 14.  At this point I'm just trying to ensure he doesn't burn out but he asks to go the course every day and wants to play every tournament that fits into our Summer schedule.  Can anyone offer their own story of their child's timeline at this age? What pitfalls should we look out for?  What tours/tournaments/programs were worth it or not worth it?  At what stage do we need to really put the foot on the gas if we want to get into a D1 or D2 or when is it too soon? 

[heavy_hitter]

I will tackle this with a couple of different responses.

 

Size does not dictate swing speed.  I have seen small kids hit it far and  big kids hit it short.  Leg Strength and Chest strength dictate how far a Junior and Females hit the ball.

 

Puberty does not dictate swing speed or hitting it further.  It is going to give him a boost, but it is not going to be the savior.  During puberty get him on a work out program with someone certified in Golf Specific Training..  My kid did this at the end of puberty and gained a ton of swing speed.  He was put on a mobility and stability program along with Olympic type lifts.  He went from being around average or less in swing speed to be one of the longer kids out there.

 

Walk before you run.  I wouldn't worry about college until you get to that point.  Picking and going to a school is more about the best fit and playing time.  It makes no sense to go to a D1 school unless you can play within a year.  Going and sitting the bench 3 years is going to be miserable.  I would say the same exact thing about going D2 or D3.  If golf allows him to go to college then so be it.

 

AJGA has the best players playing in it.  If a player lives in California, Florida, Texas or a handful of other states they do not need to play in AJGA events to go to college.  It can help for sure, but is not the end all be all to playing college golf.  

 

Once kids hit 13 they should be playing 10-14 events the calendar year.  Not knowing where you live I can't help you there.

 

Less than 10% of the kids playing junior golf get recruited.  90% have to recruit themselves.

[Abh159]

@heavy_hitter offered up some solid advice so I don't have a ton to add. 

 

However, one thing I'll say is that I wouldn't necessarily worry too much about him "burning out". Most of the time I've only seen that happen when kids are forced to play/practice. Instead, just let him guide the way. If he wants to go out everyday to play/practice then great! If it comes to a point where he isn't all that interested in golf anymore then that is okay also. 

 

After all, he's only 12 years old. A LOT can change between now and the time he is ready to go off to college especially with several big life events coming up (puberty, drivers license, high school, and etc.). 

[ColdandUgly33]

1 hour ago, heavy_hitter said:

AJGA has the best players playing in it.  If a player lives in California, Florida, Texas or a handful of other states they do not need to play in AJGA events to go to college.  It can help for sure, but is not the end all be all to playing college golf.  

 

First off, thank you very much for your response.  I will be looking into golf specific fitness for him very soon, I've seen the dramatic results in other junior peers as well.  We live near Sacramento, Ca.  His main focus right now is still US Kids and First Tee.  Other than AJGA, which tours should we be focused on?  Would playing these tours too soon and putting up big scores look bad to colleges?

[heavy_hitter]

He doesn't need to focus on AJGA.  First Tee is a complete waste of time.  SCPGA has some of the best golfers in the world playing there with fields often better than AJGA Open fields.

Edited June 21, 2022 by heavy_hitter

[Abh159]

7 minutes ago, ColdandUgly33 said:

Would playing these tours too soon and putting up big scores look bad to colleges?

 

I've mentioned this exact same thing in several other threads where parents asked a similar question.

 

In my opinion, you shouldn't be entering / playing in tournaments you cannot be completive in. You should start off (regardless of age) playing local events which it sound like you're doing now. Once you can consistently win and/or finish high in those then you can move on to regional events. Once you can consistently win and/or finish high in those then you can move on to national events.

 

It's okay to "push the limits" every now and then by entering a tournament that might be beyond your skill level. However, entering something like an AJGA event only to finish near the bottom of the pack every time is a waste of both your money and his time. 

 

A college coach isn't going to give two poops about a 14 year old shooting 90 - 84 - 86 in an AJGA event. Honestly, they probably won't even scroll that far down the leaderboard.

[ColdandUgly33]

28 minutes ago, heavy_hitter said:

First Tee is a complete waste of time.

I disagree.  For the Sacramento chapter, it's been a perfect stepping stone between USKG and the more competitive tours.  Longer distances against other competitive kids at tough courses we've never played.  SCPGA is unfortunately too far away to play regularly.  Do you know anything about the JGANC and JTNC? 

[heavy_hitter]

11 minutes ago, ColdandUgly33 said:

I disagree.  For the Sacramento chapter, it's been a perfect stepping stone between USKG and the more competitive tours.  Longer distances against other competitive kids at tough courses we've never played.  SCPGA is unfortunately too far away to play regularly.  Do you know anything about the JGANC and JTNC? 

@leezer99and others can answer this better.  I am in Florida and know of SCPGA.

 

You asked the question and I gave an answer.  Colleges will never look at First tee.... ever.  In that regards, they are a waste of time.   Colleges are looking at 36 hole and more events.  Your First Tee looks like it may have some players, but this should be used as a filler event, not a players main event.

 

Colleges aren't even looking at a 12 years olds scores unless they are top 10 on Junior Golf Scoreboard rankings.  You aren't playing in an AJGA unless you are averages less than a 75.

[kekoa]

3 hours ago, heavy_hitter said:

I will tackle this with a couple of different responses.

 

Size does not dictate swing speed.  I have seen small kids hit it far and  big kids hit it short.  Leg Strength and Chest strength dictate how far a Junior and Females hit the ball.

 

Puberty does not dictate swing speed or hitting it further.  It is going to give him a boost, but it is not going to be the savior.  During puberty get him on a work out program with someone certified in Golf Specific Training..  My kid did this at the end of puberty and gained a ton of swing speed.  He was put on a mobility and stability program along with Olympic type lifts.  He went from being around average or less in swing speed to be one of the longer kids out there.

 

Walk before you run.  I wouldn't worry about college until you get to that point.  Picking and going to a school is more about the best fit and playing time.  It makes no sense to go to a D1 school unless you can play within a year.  Going and sitting the bench 3 years is going to be miserable.  I would say the same exact thing about going D2 or D3.  If golf allows him to go to college then so be it.

 

AJGA has the best players playing in it.  If a player lives in California, Florida, Texas or a handful of other states they do not need to play in AJGA events to go to college.  It can help for sure, but is not the end all be all to playing college golf.  

 

Once kids hit 13 they should be playing 10-14 events the calendar year.  Not knowing where you live I can't help you there.

 

Less than 10% of the kids playing junior golf get recruited.  90% have to recruit themselves.

For once, I agree with everything @heavy_hitter said.  Bravo!!  🙂

[wildcatden]

48 minutes ago, ColdandUgly33 said:

I disagree.  For the Sacramento chapter, it's been a perfect stepping stone between USKG and the more competitive tours.  Longer distances against other competitive kids at tough courses we've never played.  SCPGA is unfortunately too far away to play regularly.  Do you know anything about the JGANC and JTNC? 

 

JGANC - Some good events in the 12-18 age ranges.  Yardages vary. Some events very weak fields. Some stronger. Downside is many of the events are weekdays.

JTNC - 2-day 36 hole events (nearly all of them on the weekends) and the junior caddies themselves. Yardages are 6500+ for Championship division and ~6,000 for the lower First Flight division.  JTNC is very competitive and a great tour in NorCal.

[TripleBogeysrbetter]

I would like to offer my own opinion experience with this one.

 

My son started playing golf at 13.  Not tournament but like you wanna go to the range with pops golf.

 

He broke his wrist playing 2nd base and that was the start of his golf career.  He played his first individual tournament two years later.

 

He went from OMG i am not going to keep track of his scores on the ladies to mid 70s within a year.  The main goal was always to play college golf, but the first step was to get as good as possible before freshman season of HS.  Take someone's spot and be a 4 year starter.

He did.

He went back and forth with the number of tournaments. 

 

I feel like you should play in 3 different groups.  1. At your skill level 2. A little above 3. OMG Dad why did you sign me up for that

 

Teaches how to win.

You can see the finish line and you're almost there.

Boy I need alot of work.

 

As I mentioned my son's goal was to play in college.  He is returning for his second year on a partial Golf scholarship.  He played last year as a 18yo in the Conference championship as he put with "Grown a** men"

 

Until you're a blue chip kid, you are recruiting yourself.  Which is totally fine.

 

A lot of guys that my son played with are just as good or not slightly better, but all them waited for someone to contact them.

[TripleBogeysrbetter]

4 hours ago, Abh159 said:

 

I've mentioned this exact same thing in several other threads where parents asked a similar question.

 

In my opinion, you shouldn't be entering / playing in tournaments you cannot be completive in. You should start off (regardless of age) playing local events which it sound like you're doing now. Once you can consistently win and/or finish high in those then you can move on to regional events. Once you can consistently win and/or finish high in those then you can move on to national events.

 

It's okay to "push the limits" every now and then by entering a tournament that might be beyond your skill level. However, entering something like an AJGA event only to finish near the bottom of the pack every time is a waste of both your money and his time. 

 

A college coach isn't going to give two poops about a 14 year old shooting 90 - 84 - 86 in an AJGA event. Honestly, they probably won't even scroll that far down the leaderboard.

^^^ Solid advice as usual.

 

If you push to the point that a discussion 6 months ago about college in 6 years is your daily existence.  The junior will burn out.  If he likes soccer, baseball, street hockey let him be a kid.  There will be times he won't touch a club.  It's ok.

 

My kids usually put the clubs away after high school season and wouldn't touch them for a month.

 

As an example my college golfing son.  Went to the gym today and then fishing.  I think he is playing 9 holes later cause some buddies are free.

 

He isnt at the range hitting 200 balls or worried about impact.

[ColdandUgly33]

Thank you to everyone, I greatly appreciate all your feedback.  Bottom line, we have a long road ahead but just want to enjoy the journey regardless of where it takes us. 

[TripleBogeysrbetter]

11 hours ago, ColdandUgly33 said:

Thank you to everyone, I greatly appreciate all your feedback.  Bottom line, we have a long road ahead but just want to enjoy the journey regardless of where it takes us. 

Man that's the key.  My kids playing sports have led me to met different people in different cities and from different backgrounds.

 

To long of a post, but my oldest playing basketball led me to watch the last two NCAA tournaments and routing for certain players that I've known since they were 8yo

 

Specifically golf with my son I met so many families at tournaments.  The recruiting journey if you son goes that path is so fun by itself.  Sit back and enjoy the ride.

[leezer99]

The thing I'll add is that what seems important now you'll look back on and realize wasn't that important.  

[MountainKing]

There is no timeline. At 12 I was about scratch,  at 14 I was one of the best golfers in the state.   At 42 I'm just a weekend warrior watching a guy on TV who I used to beat regularly in events.   

[MountainKing]

@Medson no need to be sad.   I'm very happy where I've ended up and very happy to watch an old friend on tour! Just throwing that out there that development happens in different ways at different times.