golf is a game of life, for life

Getting into golf - When?

I can remember receiving a phone call from a parent asking if I would give a golf lesson to a three year old who was showing a keen interest in playing golf. I was intrigued and said "of course", then the parent told me that they had tried several local golf pros who had said that it was too young an age to start golf.

The young man turned up and it was clear that he loved to play golf, he had great co-ordination and brilliant attitude and maturity for one so young. Over the coming years, the lessons continued and his standard improved, I felt that my role was to encourage, support and ensue that the sessions were great fun.

Just 10 years after his first golf lesson, this young man won the Reid Trophy (The English Boys’ under 14 Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship for the Reid Trophy, presented by Mr Malcolm Reid open to Boy Amateur Golfers of all Nationalities)

The short answer to when should a youngster start playing golf is anytime, but it does depend on several factors...

Level of interest - If the child has seen golf being played and expresses a real desire to pick up an object and start hitting a ball, then it's well worth introducing them to the sport in a relaxed, fun way.

Level of maturity - I have come accross children who are more mature at 3 or 4 years old than some children are at 5, 6 or even 7 years old this means it is very difficult to generalise with regards to the best age to start. This is however, a very important factor to consider because the danger of introducing a youngster to the game before the are perhaps ready, intellectually, could mean that they give up and never return.

Timing - Golf is one of the best games to get youngsters involved in and if there is a slight glimmer of interest in starting, it should be seized upon immediately. Their friends may have started golf lesson or they may have had a presentation at school or they might have seen Mum or Dad going off to play golf, whatever the spark may be it is worth pouring fuel on it.

Important note - If you have an aspiring Tiger Woods or Michelle Wie, it is critical that you get them suitable golf equipment at the earliest opportunity. There is so much good junior golf equipment nowadays, it's easily accessible and it's so important.

Why do I think it's such a big deal?

The best annalogy I can think of is to compare childrens golf clubs with their shoes. I know this sounds strange, but you wouldn't dream of putting their growing feet into ill-fitting shoes because it might have a damaging effect on their development.

I have seen many youngsters with clubs that are too long and too heavy for them and generally speaking this develops swing faults that stay with them for a very long time. There are players on tour with unique swing actions and most of this can be traced back to the early years when they had to manipulate the clubs to make them work. Seve and Monty are two very good examples of this.

Please consult your golf pro at the earliest opportunity, junior clubs needn't cost a lot and you can always pass them on or trade them in depending on whether your little Tiger takes to the game or not.

Start with putting - Even toddlers can putt and they love it, starting the game of golf with the short game and putting is an excellent idea. My three boys were all playing golf as soon as they could walk, they spent hours playing putting on the practice green and years on they are still pretty deadly at holing out because its second nature to them.

I can remember a group of lady golfers stopping and watching my eldest son while he lobbed golf balls into the air over the practice bunker. They were so intrigued and they wanted to learn how to do it, so my son obliged by giving them some tips and tuition to help them. The fun part of this is that he was only 4 years old at the time!

Start with SNAG - This is by far the best way to start and the best equipment on the market for getting people involved with golf. It makes learning the game fun and easy, it is specially designed using science and psychology to ensure simplicity of skills acquisition.

SNAG equipment is available from the SNAGeurope website and will be coming to a school near you. If you would like to introduce golf and SNAG to your school or college just get in touch with me and we can easily get things started.