Mistakes parents make when introducing their child to golf

With rare exception sports are good for kids. Even if the child never goes on to earn a scholarship or qualify for a professional career, sports are worth parent’s investment. Sports give your child the experience of teamwork and help build personal confidence and character. Sports often assist in keeping the child healthy and active along with teaching them a level of physical coordination that will influence and enhance other areas of their life. Sports introduce your child to new, often lifelong friends. Lastly, when kids are occupied with sports they have less time to engage in other destructive endeavors (something all parents should be concerned about at the earliest ages).

One sport that continues to grow especially among kids is golf. The rise of Tiger Woods as a golf superstar has caught the attention and imagination of children and parents alike. What a compelling story. Most of us have seen the footage of Tiger swinging a golf club at age three. I’m sure that all Tiger knew at the time was that swinging a club was fun. For his father, however, the goal was more advanced. Earl Woods probably would have had Tiger involved in golf even if he showed no immediate natural talent. But once he saw his son’s raw, innate abilities he dedicated himself to nurture and develop these amazing athletic gifts.

Michelle Wie, the fourteen year old golfer who is already playing at the men’s PGA level has also captivated the golf headlines. Taught by the famous David Ledbetter, she has is one of the most elegant swings I have even seen on anyone. Most golf prognosticators predict that Tiger will break all existing records and rewrite golf history and that for Michelle Wie the sky is the limit. We are literally watching some living legacies in the making. Enjoy.

Will your son or daughter be the next child superstar? Probably not, however, he or she can accomplish more in the sport of golf than either you or the child thought possible. You might also have a lot of fun along the way. As the head golf instructor at Golfland Training Center I have worked with numerous kids. In the process I have observed several mistakes that parents make when introducing their child to this wonderful sport.

Golf is a difficult sport to master and parents often underestimate what it will take to give their child a positive enough experience so they want to continue. As a child I played all the major sports. I succeeded in all of them, some more than others. However, by a large margin golf was the most difficult sport I tried. My dad, who loved golf, introduced me to the sport when I was ten. My interest lagged quickly and I never picked up another club until in my late teen years. It was only later, as a golf instructor that I finally understood why I rejected golf so quickly. Kids like IMMEDIATE feedback. They know little about deferred gratification, patience, or the virtue of hard work.  They just want to have fun. With all the other sports I received some immediate results, enough that I was hungry for more. In my experience golf gave me little of this and therefore I dropped it for other more enjoyable endeavors. Here is the bottom line: If golf is not fun the child will abandon everything related to the activity. Believe me, I did and I have observed this response numerous times as I watch parents try to introduce their child to golf on the Golfland driving range. 

Parents are often unaware that as difficult as golf is to learn, if taught properly, it allows children at the earliest age to experience more positive results than most other sports can offer. If this sounds contradictory than you have missed the key ingredient: if taught properly. Although all sports require numerous techniques, skills and drills to master, no sport has as many as golf. One of the ways I hook kids above the age of ten on golf is by telling them that with me they will learn several “secrets” about the golf swing that most other kids do not know.

Tom Rozof is an Instructor at Golfland Training Center in Wichita.

At Golfland we use video to record a person’s swing. We also have a database of professional golf swings that we use to illustrate the correct positions.

When you see these professional golfers in slow motion and are able to stop them at any point in the swing you quickly see how alike they are. Why? Somewhere along the way they were introduced to the secrets. If you are serious about exposing your child to the exciting world of golf then I encourage you to do one of two things.

• First, you can learn some of the fundamentals of golf yourself. One of the best books I know of is The Golf Handbook, by Vivien Saunders, published by Random House.  This book is easy to read, filled with pictures and illustrations and is small enough to fit into your child’s golf bag.
• Next, if you do not want to go the educational, self taught route then take your child to an instructor who knows how to work with kids. Don’t automatically assume that all instructors are equal to this task. I have heard my share of horror stories about kids who were yelled at, told they should give up the sport, and wore yet, endured their series of lessons never to return to the game. Of all the factors I know with kids nothing is more important than that the instructor be encouraging and offer repeated verbal feedback when the child succeeds at any level. This is imperative. Remember, your child’s first few experiences will often determine if they love or hate the sport.

Many parents make the mistake of putting old, inferior, and ill fitted golf equipment into the hands of their child with the hope that these cheap and often outdated tools will be enough to hook them on the sport. Rather than planning to give their child a successful exposure to the sport of golf, they put no creative thought or intelligent preparation into how they will approach this task. Think of it this way, when you manage to give your child a positive introduction to a sport like golf you are giving them a life long gift, one that could literally enhance and often dramatically change their life for years to come. Why would you jeopardize this opportunity by going about it with no forethought or planning? We now have whole companies who design and manufacture golf equipment specifically for kids.

Believe me, we have tried these clubs and they really do give the child a huge advantage in their quest to learn this difficult, yet addictive game. If you don’t have the $100 to $200 to make this kind of purchase then go to a custom club fitter (like Golfland!) and have them measure and fit your child so they can build you one or two properly fitted clubs. A good, custom made children’s driver will cost you between twenty and thirty five dollars. Start there. Once the child gets hooked you can then invest in a more complete set.

Parents are often unaware of the inexpensive golf programs available to assist their child, other than professional golf instruction. As a place to start in Wichita, call Don Harrison who oversees all the golf related activities available through the city of Wichita at 268-GOLF. At Golfland Training Center we believe in kids so much that we have partnered with the World Golf Federation to bring The First Tee program to Wichita next year. This program is the largest and most successful non-profit outreach to kids in the field of Golf. Their programs not only introduce your child to golf fundamentals, they also teach them about such character issues as integrity, honesty, patience, the value of hard work, the goodness of a personal vision for your life, and many other inner qualities that are lacking in so many kids today. If you want to know more just go to thefirsttee.org and brose around. You will see how exciting this program will be for our city. Golfland has just been designated by The First Tee regional director to be the site for the Wichita chapter. If you are a chamber member and would like to be involved or donate to this worthy cause just call Golfland at 688-5582 and we will relay the message to the separate board of directors that will oversee the entire project.

By now you might have gathered that I could say much more about this important subject. However, I have shared enough to start you down the right path. If every parent took to heart these suggestions we would see hundreds of new golfers emerge in our city over the next ten years. And who knows, maybe, just maybe your child will be the next Tiger Woods or Michelle Wie. If so, I want to be their instructor! 

If you are interested in contributing expert advice for Chamber members, please contact Beka Robinson at beka@wacc.org or 268-1151