I have my first high school varsity coaching position!

[RmoorePE]

On 9/7/2022 at 5:57 AM, Golfah said:

A quick observation from my son's HS team: have a session on golf rules and make sure the team knows the rules pertaining to all options available in penalty areas and lost balls cold.  There have been recent events where the opposing team has pushed an interpretation of a rule on our guys that weren't as confident in their rules knowledge.  They were railroaded into taking a drop/penalty option that was not optimum and they lost strokes.  

 

This. I have watched a lot of HS and youth golf and almost every match I see a place where a player costs themselves strokes or lets an opponent get a stroke on them by not knowing the rules. Even good players will get nervous in some situations make the wrong decisions. Not to mention parents in the gallery yelling out incorrect rulings etc.

 

By all means make sure your players know what lift clean and place is, and that if they don't utilize it at every opportunity they get some form of down grade. I have seen kids forget or just be in too big of a hurry to utilize the rules available to them and it costs them big time.

 

I was talking with the JV coach of our local HS yesterday. They have 18 players for 2 teams (JV and V) that send out 5 kids per team, per match. There are 8 kids who will not get to play each match. This team has course access every day, so the kids who aren't making the team are still getting to play a lot of free golf and that alone keeps them there. Plus they always get to challenge for spots each week.

 

With it being early in the season there is wild fluctuations in scoring. I.e. some of the #1 and #2 are getting beat by newcomers on JV in matches and the coaches are really overwhelmed trying to build the teams. They have the yearly chore of rooting out the pencil whippers, finding out who can play, sorting out the good players who are rusty, etc. Be glad you have a small roster of good players, that would make for a really fun season. 

[heavy_hitter]

6 hours ago, weavej1 said:

 

if you have never seen “the long green line” you might want to check it out.  I am well aware that golf and cross country are not the same, but there are some good ideas in there.  Easy to find on you tube.   Watching it should be a requirement to be a coach.

Awesome.

 

Great Coach Great Program.  All coaches should teach the lessons he taught.  I will argue he did a disservice to the other programs at the school and to about 200 boys on his team every year.  As an AD I would look at him and tell him to cut to 20.  Every kid doesn't deserve a trophy and every kid doesn't deserve to make the team.

 

Inspiring story, no it shouldn't be a requirement.  It is the "Every Kid Get's a Trophy" philosophy.  That hasn't worked out so well in today's society.

 

Edited September 12, 2022 by heavy_hitter

[TheGolfingRealtor]

Hi,

 

I was wondering if any coaches or AD's had some ideas on how to recruit for golf?

 

I feel like it would be weird to show up to a junior golf event and approach a kid as they are trying to prepare to play. "Hey, I want you to come play for me oh by the way it's $60k a year to go to school there."

 

One school we play has 51 kids in their golf program. We have 14, most have very little overall golf experience never mind competitive golf experience. 

 

Ideas, thoughts, suggestions...

[Abh159]

21 minutes ago, TheGolfingRealtor said:

Hi,

 

I was wondering if any coaches or AD's had some ideas on how to recruit for golf?

 

I feel like it would be weird to show up to a junior golf event and approach a kid as they are trying to prepare to play. "Hey, I want you to come play for me oh by the way it's $60k a year to go to school there."

 

One school we play has 51 kids in their golf program. We have 14, most have very little overall golf experience never mind competitive golf experience. 

 

Ideas, thoughts, suggestions...

 

What type of institution? Based on the $60k I would assume either a private college or private prep school.

 

If it's the latter I don't know that I'd bother with "recruiting". HS golf means next to nothing when it comes to the next step (college and beyond) so there really isn't any athletic incentive from a kid/parent's standpoint to transfer or attend a specific high school. 

[TheGolfingRealtor]

30 minutes ago, Abh159 said:

 

What type of institution? Based on the $60k I would assume either a private college or private prep school.

 

If it's the latter I don't know that I'd bother with "recruiting". HS golf means next to nothing when it comes to the next step (college and beyond) so there really isn't any athletic incentive from a kid/parent's standpoint to transfer or attend a specific high school. 

Private high school. One of the teams in our league brought a player up from IMG for his senior season, gave him tuition and room/board to try and win another league championship. This kid already has a 4 year full ride for college. It's a competitive league. 

[heavy_hitter]

10 minutes ago, TheGolfingRealtor said:

Private high school. One of the teams in our league brought a player up from IMG for his senior season, gave him tuition and room/board to try and win another league championship. This kid already has a 4 year full ride for college. It's a competitive league. 

A Florida High School?

[TheGolfingRealtor]

5 minutes ago, heavy_hitter said:

A Florida High School?

New England

[heavy_hitter]

7 minutes ago, TheGolfingRealtor said:

New England

I agree with @Abh159.  Knowing that HS golf isn't great in the New England area I wouldn't try recruiting anyone at all.  Just don't think it is worth it.

[Abh159]

21 minutes ago, TheGolfingRealtor said:

Private high school. One of the teams in our league brought a player up from IMG for his senior season, gave him tuition and room/board to try and win another league championship. This kid already has a 4 year full ride for college. It's a competitive league. 

 

Good for them, but again I don't really think that recruiting a kid for a high school golf team is all that necessary or logical.

 

I imagine you'd have to offer some pretty substantial stuff (aside from just covering the cost) for parents to be willing to send their kid off to a boarding school just to play golf. Not to mention the kid would have to be willing to leave all of his friends and family behind which is a tough sell for a 16-17 year old.

 

Does your school have a high rate of graduates go off to attend ivy league colleges? Does it have a history of alumni becoming key figures in major business/industries? Is the school willing to shell out $60k+ just to be slightly more competitive in golf?

 

If none of those are true I'm not sure what the draw would be for someone who is already on track to play college golf.

[TheGolfingRealtor]

5 minutes ago, Abh159 said:

 

Good for them, but again I don't really think that recruiting a kid for a high school golf team is all that necessary or logical.

 

I imagine you'd have to offer some pretty substantial stuff (aside from just covering the cost) for parents to be willing to send their kid off to a boarding school just to play golf. Not to mention the kid would have to be willing to leave all of his friends and family behind which is a tough sell for a 16-17 year old.

 

Does your school have a high rate of graduates go off to attend ivy league colleges? Does it have a history of alumni becoming key figures in major business/industries? Is the school willing to shell out $60k+ just to be slightly more competitive in golf?

 

If none of those are true I'm not sure what the draw would be for someone who is already on track to play college golf.

This is my first year so I am not sure. I know they heavily recruit for other sports and give out scholarships etc. Golf was competitive in the past as recent as 4 years ago (two D1 players) but now the pond is dry and it's time to restock it.

[Abh159]

21 minutes ago, TheGolfingRealtor said:

This is my first year so I am not sure. I know they heavily recruit for other sports and give out scholarships etc. Golf was competitive in the past as recent as 4 years ago (two D1 players) but now the pond is dry and it's time to restock it.

 

If you are dead set on "rebuilding the program" then I guess your first stop should be the AD, President, or whoever you report to and ask them what they are willing to do to be competitive again. If they say nothing then you have your answer.

 

If they are willing to spend a few hundred grand to let you recruit kids then I guess you can start doing that. Although like I mentioned before you'll need to offer more than just a scholarship. You'll need other reasons to entice them to leave their friends at their current school. Simply saying that your golf team is better isn't going to be enough for 99% of kids.

 

To give you a little perspective... My high school team won 4 state championships in the 5 years I played on the team. We had 6 players go on to play DI golf, myself included. In the 15ish years since then they have won 0 state championships and have only had 1 kid go on to play college golf (my mom still teaches at the school so she keeps me updated 😉). My point is that golf isn't like other HS sports (football, basketball, even baseball) were your performance in HS competition is critical to playing at the next level. People aren't going to relocate their families just so their kid can play on a better HS golf team because the ones who are good enough to play in college know that HS golf is irrelevant for the most part.

Edited October 12, 2022 by Abh159

[golfinbrad]

9 hours ago, TheGolfingRealtor said:

Hi,

 

I was wondering if any coaches or AD's had some ideas on how to recruit for golf?

 

I feel like it would be weird to show up to a junior golf event and approach a kid as they are trying to prepare to play. "Hey, I want you to come play for me oh by the way it's $60k a year to go to school there."

 

One school we play has 51 kids in their golf program. We have 14, most have very little overall golf experience never mind competitive golf experience. 

 

Ideas, thoughts, suggestions...

This all depends on the school.  I took over our local HS program this year.  There were 2 players last year with only 1 returning this year (other graduated).  I am in no other way associated with the school, so don't have the luxury of a teacher or school employee to get to know the kids in the classroom.  We only have 80 in a graduating class, so a small school.  Plus, we have 7 fall sports to compete with.  We are public, so it is all about fun, improvement and growing the game.  Know the school you are in and adjust your expectations.  We were able to get 7 players this year.  Players who aren't getting playing time in other sports will migrate over if the current players are enjoying it.  Is your season in the spring or fall?  In PA  it is in the fall, so I look for like baseball/softball players that don't play a fall sport.  It can be tough.  Good luck. 

Edited October 13, 2022 by golfinbrad

[TwistedSister]

30 minutes ago, golfinbrad said:

This all depends on the school.  I took over our local HS program this year.  There were 2 players last year with only 1 returning this year (other graduated).  I am in no other way associated with the school, so don't have the luxury of a teacher or school employee to get to know the kids in the classroom.  We only have 80 in a graduating class, so a small school.  Plus, we have 7 fall sports to compete with.  We are public, so it is all about fun, improvement and growing the game.  Know the school you are in and adjust your expectations.  We were able to get 7 players this year.  Players who aren't getting playing time in other sports will migrate over if the current players are enjoying it.  Is your season in the spring or fall?  In PA  it is in the fall, so I look for like baseball/softball players that don't play a fall sport.  It can be tough.  Good luck. 

 

Edited October 13, 2022 by TwistedSister
Wrong Quote.

[bcjim]

In my experience with private HS sports (pretty extensive), athletic scholarships are as much myth as reality. They do exist but not like some think. I'd be pretty darn surprised to hear many schools are handing out significant golf scholarships.  Especially if its a high dollar school. What is gained by giving a scholarship to a kid whose parents can most likely already afford it? And if its 60K to attend, which is pretty nuts, even 20K is not helping most kids who would need help.

 

At any high dollar private HS, there should be kids who know how to golf. Golf "coaching" is like swim coaching. That means you're an organizer, doing paper work, ordering uniforms and stuff, securing an odd practice round, entering competitions, figuring out the pecking order, etc. Your kids have other actual "coaches" for their sports (club team coaches, personal coaches, etc) they don't need "coaching", as in, teaching technique. They need a bus driver and a maybe a mental guru.

 

Other sports like football, Bball, etc coaching matters more there.

[TroyB123]

On 9/12/2022 at 10:02 AM, heavy_hitter said:

That is a ton of kids on both teams.

 

Unless there is a JV or B team schedule, my opinion is that the coach should hold no more than 10 on the roster.  It is a complete disservice to a kid to keep him/her around knowing they will never play in a match.  If they really want to play golf, they will work to improve and use being cut as motivation to work harder and get better.  Just keeping them around gives the kid no incentive as they already know they are going to be on the team regardless.  

I have to respectfully disagree with this post, but will give you it probably depends a lot of the situation.    My son is a freshman this year, and just finishing up the season.   The coach picks the roster and starters entirely on score average over 54 holes with a cut after 36 (starters are picked on a running average through the season).   He goes to a public high school with a relationship with a nicer private course than we belong to.   It's a 27 hole course that they play the 6500ish tees.

 

They had 35 kids try out, and kept the top 15.   When we contacted the coach, he said that averaging under 45 from those tees is typically what it takes to make it.

 

My son has only been playing about 18 months, so that provided a pretty solid goal to strive for and he really worked hard all spring and summer leading into tryouts.  He made the team as the 13th spot with a 43.4 average and was one of only 2 freshman to make it.    

 

He didn't get in any matches, but really got a lot out of getting to play every day with good players at a course he wouldn't normally get to play.  Now that he's got a taste of being on the team, he seems extremely motivated to get his game to a point where he can average under 40 by next summer.

 

I feel like if he was simply cut this year, then he may well have moved onto to something else.  Also as a 108 lb 14 yo who hasn't been playing that long, under 90 from 6500 yards was a much more realistic target than under 80 which it would taken to be top 6-8.

Edited October 13, 2022 by TroyB123

[leezer99]

1 hour ago, TroyB123 said:

I have to respectfully disagree with this post, but will give you it probably depends a lot of the situation.    My son is a freshman this year, and just finishing up the season.   The coach picks the roster and starters entirely on score average over 54 holes with a cut after 36 (starters are picked on a running average through the season).   He goes to a public high school with a relationship with a nicer private course than we belong to.   It's a 27 hole course that they play the 6500ish tees.

 

They had 35 kids try out, and kept the top 15.   When we contacted the coach, he said that averaging under 45 from those tees is typically what it takes to make it.

 

My son has only been playing about 18 months, so that provided a pretty solid goal to strive for and he really worked hard all spring and summer leading into tryouts.  He made the team as the 13th spot with a 43.4 average and was one of only 2 freshman to make it.    

 

He didn't get in any matches, but really got a lot out of getting to play every day with good players at a course he wouldn't normally get to play.  Now that he's got a taste of being on the team, he seems extremely motivated to get his game to a point where he can average under 40 by next summer.

 

I feel like if he was simply cut this year, then he may well have moved onto to something else.  Also as a 108 lb 14 yo who hasn't been playing that long, under 90 from 6500 yards was a much more realistic target than under 80 which it would taken to be top 6-8.

 

Heard a great quote from a coach that recently passed away.  He would tell the kids he had a point system. If he pointed at you, that meant get on the bus.

[heavy_hitter]

12 hours ago, TroyB123 said:

I have to respectfully disagree with this post, but will give you it probably depends a lot of the situation.    My son is a freshman this year, and just finishing up the season.   The coach picks the roster and starters entirely on score average over 54 holes with a cut after 36 (starters are picked on a running average through the season).   He goes to a public high school with a relationship with a nicer private course than we belong to.   It's a 27 hole course that they play the 6500ish tees.

 

They had 35 kids try out, and kept the top 15.   When we contacted the coach, he said that averaging under 45 from those tees is typically what it takes to make it.

 

My son has only been playing about 18 months, so that provided a pretty solid goal to strive for and he really worked hard all spring and summer leading into tryouts.  He made the team as the 13th spot with a 43.4 average and was one of only 2 freshman to make it.    

 

He didn't get in any matches, but really got a lot out of getting to play every day with good players at a course he wouldn't normally get to play.  Now that he's got a taste of being on the team, he seems extremely motivated to get his game to a point where he can average under 40 by next summer.

 

I feel like if he was simply cut this year, then he may well have moved onto to something else.  Also as a 108 lb 14 yo who hasn't been playing that long, under 90 from 6500 yards was a much more realistic target than under 80 which it would taken to be top 6-8.

That is awesome.  Still don't agree with that methodology.  Coaches have done this for years within our program which has been to the state championships something like 12 straight years and 18 of the last 20.  Freshman only make the roster if they can compete to play and we have one this year.  6th man that averages 39.8.  We generally only play 18 hole and 36 hole events from around 6800 yds.  A couple events 7000 plus.

[J_Tizzle]

Boy high school golf was a ton of fun and a lot of it was due to having a pretty decent team and a fantastic coach (who is also still a very good golfer).

 

Just some ideas:

 

1 - have just practice and just play days.  Make the practice days fun as much as possible.  Our coach got some of those pitching nets and set them at various yardages inside 100 yards and we'd all just hit wedges some days trying to learn the feel of a 50 yard shot.  Chipping we always played a game of 21, one guy picks a place to chip from, everyone chips, the closest gets 3 points and gets to pick the next shot, if you make it its 7.  hell we even just had contests to see who could spin it the most out of the bunker just for fun.  We also did lots of putting clock work and putting games, and I'd recommend as soon as tryouts are done, they play everything down, you have a leg up immediately over any team that plays lift clean and place.

 

2 - if you're a good golfer and really want to push the kids, play with them and play them for something.  Our course had a little snack bar and starting my freshman year our coach would buy us a hotdog after the round if we beat him, and I promise we all knew by the end of the season who beat coach the most.  By my sr year he stopped doing it because we went from 1 golfer who could shoot in the high 30's for 9 holes to where if he didn't shoot 36 or better he was buying 4-5 hotdogs every day.

 

3 - and this is probably the most important one for me, is teach them the mental side of the game.  I hit the ball so much worse than I did in high school anymore (and i've gained about 70lbs and now have a desk job) but I've gone from a low to mid 80's shooter to a 0.4 handicap playing maybe 1x a week at most.  And its all due to learning how to manage yourself around a golf course.  I'll never forget I was -1 through 4 holes and beating my coach as a freshman, I was short sided in 2 on a par 5 and tried to hit a stupid flop shot because those were the cool thing back in the day, slide under it, dumped it into the bunker and made an 8.  I was walking off the green and my coach just grabbed my lob wedge and said "you get this back when you learn to not use it all the time".

 

And just to mirror what I think a few others said, not sure what the size of your team is going to be, but keep 8-10 if you can.  Make them earn their way into the travel team.  I remember how excited I was to qualify to play in one of our big tournaments as a freshman.  By the end of the high school golf career we ended up going to state 2x and won probably 6-8 tournaments over the 4 years, and I made a lot of friends I still play golf with to this day.  Most of the kids won't play in college or after, but making golf a positive experience where they learn a sport for life is much more important.  

[Wham49]

I coached HS for 7 years, only stopping becasue my daughter is so busy and didnt want to miss her stuff. My lesson is let kids be who they are, no big changes in the swing during the season, talk with their swing coaches so you know what they work on and where they are going with the swing. and get them playing holes, not just range rats. I have seen way too many kids who look great on the range and dont want to play on the course or cant produce their swing on the course, including my own daughter. and let them have fun,  it is just HS golf after all

[Wham49]

reading theother posts, my school is different we run a no cut program in almost evrything, so believe it or not I had 35 players on my roster, we had a freshman, jv and varsity team. 5 play per, SO I did a lot of baby sitting. Most kids were good people but only had a handful that could actually play, But the kids who can play can really play, a couple got D1 scholars and are doing well, most just got free golf for a few months. That was taxing on me. If I had to do it again I would try to keep only 20, 15 spots for the teams and 5 prospects mostly freshman that I would hope to develop. It is a fine line between a perfect amount and way too many

[TripleBogeysrbetter]

5 minutes ago, Wham49 said:

reading theother posts, my school is different we run a no cut program in almost evrything, so believe it or not I had 35 players on my roster, we had a freshman, jv and varsity team. 5 play per, SO I did a lot of baby sitting. Most kids were good people but only had a handful that could actually play, But the kids who can play can really play, a couple got D1 scholars and are doing well, most just got free golf for a few months. That was taxing on me. If I had to do it again I would try to keep only 20, 15 spots for the teams and 5 prospects mostly freshman that I would hope to develop. It is a fine line between a perfect amount and way too many

I dont think there is a 100% wrong way or right way.

 

Just like you mentioned there is a 35 kids and a lot of babysitting but you can develop kids.

 

As long as the coach explains this at informational meetings or first few days of tryouts.  I feel its ok.  There needs to be clear communication with parents and kids.

 

Listen you are on the practice squad and we need you to develop.

 

Our HS team only had I think 8 kids when the coach now took over.  He does a lot of development with the younger less experience.  He informs the captains of tee times and doesn't mess with swings (didn't when the son was there).  He is a PGA pro and it was one of his goal to be a HS school coach and build a winning program.

 

Maybe cause our son was older and already the 1 or 2.  We didn't get any of the memos he was trying to get kids to come out for a season that had some golf experience and try it.

 

If the team had a home match they would send 10 kids out.  Only 5 traveled no matter what.

My son's senior year a few parents. Figured their kids earned playing time.  So he let them play against my son and his 6'3 partner in crime lefty.  Both crush it off the tee.

 

I think the other kids shot mid 40s.  Son and buddy were both even. 

 

Both of the kids play now as seniors is my understanding.

 

Its hard to urge results even though parents might not like his system of development.  We went from maybe 1 kid in a regionals.  Now 5 years later back to back district championships.  Those teams have been close to winning regionals and then sending kids to states.

 

Over the summer my son, the lefty, and one other kid were back in town from college.  The coach invite them to lunch and wanted to thank  them for the district titles.  It was their hard work and dedication that had laid the groundwork. 

 

 

[golfinbrad]

9 hours ago, Wham49 said:

reading theother posts, my school is different we run a no cut program in almost evrything, so believe it or not I had 35 players on my roster, we had a freshman, jv and varsity team. 5 play per, SO I did a lot of baby sitting. Most kids were good people but only had a handful that could actually play, But the kids who can play can really play, a couple got D1 scholars and are doing well, most just got free golf for a few months. That was taxing on me. If I had to do it again I would try to keep only 20, 15 spots for the teams and 5 prospects mostly freshman that I would hope to develop. It is a fine line between a perfect amount and way too many

35!!!! I had 7.  Please send some my way.  I need bodies.  Right now I'm trying to just build a program.  Amazing to read the vast differences of school.  Bottom line we are all trying to grow the game. Good luck.

[Wham49]

11 hours ago, golfinbrad said:

35!!!! I had 7.  Please send some my way.  I need bodies.  Right now I'm trying to just build a program.  Amazing to read the vast differences of school.  Bottom line we are all trying to grow the game. Good luck.

careful with wanting bodies. I do not recomend that many. The other coach was pushing this, it was fine just that many were not interested in improving, just playing with their friends, so that was frustrating. Many of them were great kids which was nice to deal with cause I am a SPED teacher and I do not not get to get to know man of these type of kids

Edited October 14, 2022 by Wham49

[golfinbrad]

2 minutes ago, Wham49 said:

careful with wanting bodies. I do not recomend that many. The other coach was pushing this, it was fine just that many were not interested in improving, just playing with their friends, so that was frustrating. Many of them were great kids which was nice to deal with cause I am a SPED teacher and I do not not get to get to know man of these type of kids

No way I want that many.  We are losing 3 this year.  Being the only coach, 8 is the sweet spot.

[Wham49]

12 minutes ago, golfinbrad said:

No way I want that many.  We are losing 3 this year.  Being the only coach, 8 is the sweet spot.

for my situation it would have been 18-20. Needed 15 to cover the 3 different teams, but I always envyed the coaches who had less kids becasue they cuold get to know them better and work individually more. I was more of an overseer to cover everybody

[golfinbrad]

2 minutes ago, Wham49 said:

for my situation it would have been 18-20. Needed 15 to cover the 3 different teams, but I always envyed the coaches who had less kids becasue they cuold get to know them better and work individually more. I was more of an overseer to cover everybody

Very true.  Getting to know players is very important if you can do it.  I don't like more than 8, because then it become difficult to spend the time I like.  At least this way I can send 4 out and work with the others and then switch for the next practice.  I can't imagine creating a practice plan for 30 and it actually going as planned.

[heavy_hitter]

1 hour ago, golfinbrad said:

Very true.  Getting to know players is very important if you can do it.  I don't like more than 8, because then it become difficult to spend the time I like.  At least this way I can send 4 out and work with the others and then switch for the next practice.  I can't imagine creating a practice plan for 30 and it actually going as planned.

100% agree with you.  HS golf is not recreational, it is competitive.  It is not the coaches job to grow the game (I hate that saying).  It is the coaches job to win matches.  There is no way a coach can keep more than 10 kids around while making practice meaningful and productive, UNLESS they have an assistant that can help.  Most golf teams have 1 coach.  The better programs in Florida all have kids playing 36 hole tournaments during the HS off season and are all around 8-12 man squads.  At our school if a kid isn't playing a lot of tournament golf in the off season, they aren't making the team.  It is that simple.  Keeping too many kids also causes parental problems.

[jah7838]

I coach HS golf in North Texas, and between my assistant and I, we have 15 golfers.  I'm in a situation where we only have 2 golfers that have broken 100 in a tournament and a few more that are younger that have the potential to do so by the end of the year.  My assistant and I are both competitive and want to win, but our school is pretty low in Socioeconomic status.  That means that most of our golfers have never been exposed to golf until they get to us.  We start with basics and slowly work our way up to hopefully taking a few of them to the course at some point.  

 

I only have 3 girls and the rest are boys.  Some of the kids have potential to be decent (break 90), but because of their home situations, golf isn't something that is a priority to them.  It's frustrating at times, but it's the type of kids we have.  The golf can be bad at times, but there is something to see them get excited when they do hit good shots on the range.  

 

We're working on building something, and we do focus a lot on short game.  We work on that daily, and we will each take turns taking a few kids on the course for 9 hole matches.  Usually pushups for the kids or myself at the end are on the table for the losers.  I usually have to give 4-5 shots if we're playing the longer of the 2 courses that we have access to.  

 

Overall, the job is enjoyable.  Just some long hours.  

[heavy_hitter]

Here is what I don't understand.

 

A bunch of coaches in here saying they work on short game, but their teams aren't great.  The two most important factors for those kids are 1. Strokes Gained off the Tee and 2.  Strokes gained approach to the green (Specifically 125 - 175 yards).  A close third are shots inside 75 yards.  These will take more strokes off the score quicker than putting and short game.  Not saying to ignore the short game, but I wouldn't be spending more than an hour a day on both maybe a couple of days a week.  

 

If I am talking a lineup of kids who are averaging 79 or better, I am putting a lot of work in on short game and putting a few days a week.

 

 

[jah7838]

1 hour ago, heavy_hitter said:

Here is what I don't understand.

 

A bunch of coaches in here saying they work on short game, but their teams aren't great.  The two most important factors for those kids are 1. Strokes Gained off the Tee and 2.  Strokes gained approach to the green (Specifically 125 - 175 yards).  A close third are shots inside 75 yards.  These will take more strokes off the score quicker than putting and short game.  Not saying to ignore the short game, but I wouldn't be spending more than an hour a day on both maybe a couple of days a week.  

 

If I am talking a lineup of kids who are averaging 79 or better, I am putting a lot of work in on short game and putting a few days a week.

 

 

I'm dealing with kids who have never swung a club in their lives and usually have never played other sports in their lives, so I'm starting from scratch with them.  Short game area is a good place just to work on basics of grip, stance and a chipping motion.    

 

Out of my 15 golfers, only 2 of them came to me with some sort of golf experience.  I have another that played baseball and hockey, so he's picked it up quick, and the rest have had no experience of playing golf. 

 

We spend about 20-30 minutes to start practice with chipping for warm up 3 days a week, and then go work on the range.  The other 2 days will be course, range, and short game depending on the kids at practice. We also have speed sticks that we're getting kids to swing just to get them swinging somewhat "athletically".  Not having played any sport growing up makes hitting a ball difficult for most of these kids.  

 

I would be right there with you if I had kids that are coming to me that have played golf before and just need to get more reps.  We currently don't have those types of golfers.