Getting the best start

Text: Johann Naudé.  Article from the June 2014 issue of Compleat Golfer Magazine.

Parents are generally keen to get their kids into golf at a young age. However, they need to be careful that they don’t do more harm than good.

Sadly, there are far too many golfers who end up leaving the game. For some of them, golf becomes too expensive or time-consuming. For others, the realisation that they are quite simply not as good as they thought they were is too difficult to come to terms with.

Regrettably, there is also a set of golfers who end up hating the game because parents, coaches or other authoritative figures – for reasons of their own or through ignorance – pressured them too much as children.

Having been involved in junior golf for a longtime, I find it disturbing that so many adults are able to take all of the enjoyment out of the game for children.

An incident I was unfortunate enough to witness a few years ago really drove the point home.

I was walking to my home club’s 4th hole with a few wedges in hand, hoping to recapture the confidence in my chipping that had, once again, gone AWOL. But what I found there wasn’t soft hands and equanimity at address (which, alas, is still missing); it was a father ruining what should’ve been his child’s playground.

Like a mad pedant he lectured his boy on technique and chastised him for the most trivial of mistakes. Not surprisingly, the boy, whose cap was far too big for his head, started crying after a while and ran back home. This same scene would replay itself many times in the ensuing months and, as far as I’m aware, is still repeating itself today. It sticks with me more than any other dysfunctional scene of that kind, because it was there at the 4th hole that I had learned the game, in a much more natural and – albeit by chance – healthier way.

As a coach, I’ve witnessed many other children being denied the freedom to learn to like (or dislike) the game at their own pace, which I consider key to a healthy upbringing. Of course, most parents know this by now. They know they shouldn’t pressurise their children or put too much emphasis on winning. Unfortunately, even if you’re the kind of parent who doesn’t force your child to play golf and you couldn’t care less whether they shoot 69 or 96, there’s still a good chance you’re messing things up. Let me explain.

It goes back to a Hungarian kineticist by the name of Istvan Balyi, who developed a model called Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD). Everyone involved in rearing a child should become familiar with this model. It is based on the idea that for each phase of development in a person’s life (prepuberty, puberty, etc) there is a corresponding type of training that will maximise their athletic potential.

This model describes the time frames or windows of opportunity during which the body will respond best to particular stimuli.

For example, a girl between the ages of six and eight will find it much easier to improve her suppleness than a girl aged 15. And boys between the ages of nine and 12 are particularly responsive to skills development.

What does this mean to you as a parent? Well, according to LTAD experts, if your child’s training is fashioned around these specific windows of opportunity, it will give them the best chance of eventually performing proficiently in a wide variety of physical activities. In other words, they’ll become physically literate.

An athlete who has developed strength, speed, suppleness, stamina and skill is not only a well-rounded athlete and individual, but also an athlete who has given themself the best chance of becoming truly great at their chosen sport.

What’s arguably more important is that if your child fails to take advantage of these windows of opportunity, there is a massively reduced possibility of them ever catching up with a child of equal innate ability whose training has followed LTAD guidelines.

But before you hit the panic button, it is worth noting that in South Africa a great number of our children develop these abilities naturally, thanks to our outdoor culture. We also have many progressive instructors who specialise in junior coaching and incorporate the LTAD model into their methods.

In addition to teaching your child how to use properly fitted golf clubs, these coaches will have your youngster performing a variety of exercises – such as activities with medicine balls and balance beams – that may not appear golf-related, but which in the long term will be hugely advantageous to your little one’s golf.

Gone are the days when your child is sent to the corner of the range to pound a bucket of balls with a sawn-off 7-iron while the pro props himself under the nearest tree. A child like this, who specialises in golf before peak height velocity (usually around the ages of 13 or 14), will likely suffer from physical imbalances and injuries, and possibly early burnout. More importantly, they may never become fully physically literate.

So, to pushy parents who insist that their seven-year-old gets multiple golf-specific lessons a week because golf is the only sport their child wants to play – it might be time to rethink that course of action. By all means get them to a junior coach who is well educated and will give them the best possible platform for development, but also let them enjoy other sports and activities that will improve their athleticism.

As I mentioned earlier, here in South Africa we are fortunate to have an outdoor culture through which many children – mostly unknowingly – pick up the abilities that amount to physical literacy. But this time-honoured and useful facet of our culture is slowly deteriorating on account of the steady rise in popularity of indoor hand activities such as PlayStation and Xbox, which are fun and generally harmless, so they don’t have to be cut out. But they’re not nearly as important for your child – and neither is golf-as becoming physically literate. So, lock them out of the house if you have to, but get the little ones into fresh air, give them some freedom, and let them play. It’s imperative that you do.

Johann Naudé is a member of the PGA of South Africa and a certified LTAD coach. He works full-time for Compleat Golfer. You can contact him on johann.naude@ramsaymedia.co.za.

Kids Golf FAQ

Question My six-year-old is very keen to come and play golf with me on the course. Is there any harm in him starting early?

Answer No harm, as long as their ’round of golf’ is unstructured. Let them play around and explore. This is the way to go if you’re interested in them playing with you as a 16-year-old.

Q Is it fine if I cut down my old clubs and give them to my kid?

A By cutting down standard-sized clubs you’ll make them extremely rigid – clubs not only unfit to swing, but a downright hazard to the health of your child’s vulnerable joints. This is a very cost-effective way of messing up your child. Rather see a PGA professional and get your child fitted with a junior set.

Q My kid is very talented and hits the ball really well. How do I ensure he becomes a top player?

A Terrific, but don’t get ahead of yourself. Many things have to fall into place, most of them  completely out of your hands, before your child becomes a top player. Seeing the right coach is important, but not as important as letting them enjoy the game on their own terms. Doing the above will give them the best chance of staying in the game and, seeing as you asked, becoming a top player.

Q How do I know which pros are qualified to coach my child and which are not?

A It should be a prerequisite that the coach you choose is either PGA qualified or enrolled in the PGA programme.This alone, however, does not necessarily make them qualified to coach your child. Many PGA professionals do not know about or follow LTAD, so it is up to you to question them about their knowledge of the LTAD philosophy and how it fits into their coaching methods. And while we’re at it: question coaches in general. You’d be amazed at what some coaches get away with because of their affable personalities.