Youth Golf: When Good is not Good Enough to Make the Cut

Every week in the PGA, the pros compete on Thursday and Friday for a chance to play for money during the weekend. The cut is typically established as the top 70 players. Sometimes a 10 stroke rule is applied and the tournament will take the top 70 players plus anyone else within 10 strokes of the leader. That seems easy compared to making my son's high school team.

My son, a freshman, competed for a spot on his high school team the first week of August. He was trying to make the JV team. The HS has two teams, JV and varsity. Each team has 12 golfers. The golf team has 24 total players for a school that enrolls 800 students. Needless to say it was very competitive. At the golf informational meeting prior to tryouts, the golfers were told that if they shot an 85, they would likely make the cut.

As soon as baseball ended in late July, my son, Nic, started practicing golf. He played at least 27 holes per day for 15 days. When the tryouts came around he was fairly confident that he could shoot 85. He was ready. I, on the other hand, was not mentally prepared for it. It would be one of the first pivotal youth sports events that I would not be able to watch. I would not be there to give him a supportive look. I would not be there to cheer him on or encourage him to keep his head up. He was on his own and I felt a deep void during the hours he was on the course.

The tryout consisted of three 18 hole rounds - Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The tryouts started August 6th at noon. My wife drove my son to the course. I think that she was more nervous than my son was. She watched him hook his first shot into the woods and walk off down a hill and out of sight. She would call me 5 hours later from a position high above the par 5 18th green. She gave me the play by play as he approached and tried to read his demeanor.

That conversation went something like this:

"He hit a drive down the middle. It was a good drive, but he is walking to the ball with his head down low. Oh this does not look good. 

He hit his drive the furthest, so he will have to wait. 

He just hit his second shot. He is in the fairway in good position. I can't tell his demeanor. 

OK he is approaching his ball.... He's hitting... the ball is high in the air... it looks good...oh no, it's short of the green and rolling down a big hill. Ugh. 

Wait! He's walking up with a big smile. Oh, maybe he is doing ok. 

It is his turn again. He hit it up, it's on the green. stop, stop, stop... it just rolled off the green.  He is in the rough behind the green. He is sitting 4. He will need to chip in for a par. 

He chipped on. He has a 15 foot putt.

Long putt. It looks good. It stopped right next to the hole. He just tapped it in for a 7. 

He is smiling. Is that a smile of relief. Or do you think he did ok?"

Despite the 7 on the 18th, my son shot an 86. He was made the cut established at 100 for the first day.

On day two he had an 8am tee time. I drove Nic to the driving range at our club at 6:30 am. It was still relatively dark. The range was not open yet, but the night before, Nic hid about 40 range balls in some tall grass so that he could warm up prior to the tryout. The second day was more of the same. He shot an 85. I felt the void again until he called me with his score. I was so proud. The cut for day two was set at 90. He made the cut again and was thrilled.

One more day and all he needed to do was shoot an 84 to secure his goal of getting an 85 average over the tryout. As he approached the 18th green, my wife called me to give me the play by play. He played the hole well. My wife described his big trademark smile as he tapped in a putt for par. He shot an 83.

He was the first group off, so he had to wait and wait for the official results. Once everyone was done, the coaches called the players over. The coach gave out 8 spots. 4 freshman and 4 sophomores and he cut 6 players. My son was not on either list. The coach then explained that 2 freshman and 2 sophomores are on the bubble. That meant the he had to wait until the varsity team established their team before he could lock up the final spots. He explained if the varsity team dropped down 4 players, the 4 bubble guys would be cut. If 3 players dropped down, then the 4 players would compete in a 9 hole shootout on Friday for the final spot. And so on.

The varsity did drop down 3 players, so my son had to compete for the final spot. He was deflated because all of the scores from the previous 3 days carried forward. He had the 2nd best score of the 4 remaining bubble players, but he was 9 strokes behind one of the sophomores.

He arrived on Friday with nothing to lose. He had played conservatively on the tight course all week.  He rarely hit his driver, which he can hit 300+ yards, thinking he could make 85 without it. On the final Friday, he pulled out the big stick and went for it. He played some holes well, but got into trouble on others and could not make up the ground. He was cut and he was devastated.

The Main Point

While Nic was playing baseball all spring and early summer, the kids who made the team had been playing golf.  It is just too difficult to make a competitive team in a big school when you are not dedicated to the sport. Nic has decided that he is going to give up on baseball and concentrate on golf.

He is a good baseball player, but he probably has a better chance of succeeding at golf. The perennial state-championship baseball team at his school is ultra competitive too.

Well, the good thing about golf is that the score determines who makes the team, not politics.

I am proud of my son. He handed the pressure very well. He set a goal and met it, unfortunately it was not quite good enough this year. Next year will be different.

Youth Baseball and Golf: Can a kid play both successfully?

Friday, a big meeting at work was canceled. Since my calendar was clear, I took a vacation day from work. My son and I played nine holes of golf in the morning and then we drove to Columbus, Ohio for game two of the Nations Baseball Ohio State Championship.

Conventional wisdom says that one swing messes up the other, so players should not play both sports. My son has played both sports successfully since age 6 , so I do not believe this to be true.

Baseball Age 9 

Golf Age 9

Golf Age 14

Baseball Age 14

During a recent golf lesson, I was surprised to hear the golf pro used a few baseball metaphors to communicate to my son. That piqued my interest, so I asked the Pro if he thought playing baseball and golf at the same time is detrimental to either swing. He said, with great confidence, "Absolutely not. The set-up, load and rotational mechanics are quite similar. And, the hand eye coordination of one helps the other and vice versa."

When I got home, I googled the question. I wanted to see what other experts were saying.

Don Trahan of Swingsurgeon.com agrees with my son's golf pro in a post called Golf Swing vs Baseball Swing

Regarding baseball coaches wanting junior golfers to stop playing golf because it ruins their baseball swing: in my opinion and experience, that’s BUNK....The good news is their golf swing was not compromised by their batting swing, and their batting swing did not cause problems with their golf swing.  I applied the exact same swing theory to swinging a bat as to swinging a golf club and it worked for both.

The Main Point

My son played a strong round of golf in the am and was 2 for 2 with 2 doubles in the baseball game that night. I think that a good athlete can do both without any trouble. 

Youth Golf Club Fitting: Sales Job or Con Job?

I went to get my son new golf clubs and I was talked into spending significantly more money than I had planned. Was this a great sales job or a con job? Perhaps the sales pro read about me in the first chapter of the book, "The Most Expensive Game in Town" What do you think?

My son is going to tryout for his high school team in August, so for his combined 8th grade graduation, Catholic Confirmation and 15th birthday, I took him out to get fitted for new golf clubs.

We went to the Golf Exchange because their TV commercial featured the latest computer technology for fitting golf clubs. After I saw the TV ad, I went to the website and noticed that Golf Exchange was a Golf Digest Top 100 Fitter, The Ping Fitter of the Year, a Mizuno Top 100 Fitter and the Callaway 2012 Fitter of the Year.

I was sufficiently convinced, so on my son's birthday, we went to the Golf Exchange to get my son fitted for new clubs. The pro immediately asked me a bunch of questions about my son's objectives, golfing history and swing. The pro then asked my son to hit his own 6 iron in the cage to get warmed up, while he fired up the computer to analyze my son's swing.

My son started hitting the ball and numbers jumped up onto a computer screen.

He than gave my son a club with some special impact indicating tape affixed to the club head. After each shot, the pro would read the tape and then remove the head of the club and replace it with another that connected at a slightly different angle. The pro would then again put indicating tape on the club head and hand the club to my son. This continued until the optimal club head angle was determined.

The pro then asked my son to hit his driver. After a few swings were recorded, the pro called over another sales associate and they started whispering back and forth. I edged closer to try to hear the conversation, but I could not hear it clearly.

I was curious, so I asked the pro if there was a problem. He told me that there was no problem with my son's swing, in fact your son's numbers are truly amazing. The problem is that your son's driver cannot keep up with his incredible swing and it might be difficult to analyze your son's "pro-like" swing inside.

He asked me how far my son hits his driver. I hesitated thinking that he would not believe me, then I told him that he hits between 250 and 310 and on occasion farther than that. My son is 5 ft 8 and weighs 120 pounds, so I was waiting for that look from the pro that says, "I think that you are exaggerating a bit about your son." Instead, he said, "I am not surprised with these numbers. In fact, he is losing distance because of the incredibly high backwards rotation he is generating with his current club." He then told me that the right shaft on the driver will control that spin better and your son will be hitting 310+ consistently instead of occasionally.

The pro then showed the numbers to another pro in the shop. This sales pro happened to be the JV coach of a local high school. The JV coach was also amazed by the numbers and told me that my son can be a special player - we don't see numbers like that from 15 year olds very often.

The Main Point

If the pros at Golf Exchange were feeding me BS to get me to spend more than I intended, then they are the greatest bunch of actors in the world.

I bought my son Ping I 20s and scheduled an outside fitting for a new set of woods too. When I got home, I looked up the swing statistics for pros and they did match my son's numbers. I also read some Ping research that shows proper golf club fitting does make a difference.

Why would I not want to give my son every advantage as he tries out for the golf team. I sucker is born every minute, but a natural golf swing is not. I guess I will find out over the next couple of years which is more accurate.

Youth Golf: Establish a Team for Your School

Member of the 2 time City Championship Team

Three years ago, my wife and another mom helped start the first ever golf team for my son's parochial middle school (6th - 8th grade). That other mom happened to be the mother of one of the top junior golfers in the city, actually the world (finished 7th in the Junior World Championships in 2011). As if that were not lucky enough, one of the parishioners of the church happens to be a PGA teaching pro. These two founding moms convinced this PGA pro to be the coach. Most of the teams have a dad coach, so this was key.

The summer before the first year, the coach established clinics for any interested players. About 30 kids, both boys and girls, participated in the clinics. In mid August, the new coach set up a two day tryout tournament to determine the top 9 kids that would represent the school team. The kids who did not make the cut competed against each other weekly.

My son and the other founding mom's son made that inaugural team as 6th graders. In fact, an incredible 6 of the 9 players that made the cut that first year were 6th graders. The young team did very well in the first year and gained valuable experience. They came in second in the City.

Following year in 2010, they won the Cincinnati City Championship by an amazing 33 strokes. In 2011, they won all 23 matches by at least 11 strokes and repeated as Cincinnati City Champions.



The Main Point

Does your school have a golf team? If not, be proactive and go to the administration of the school and start a team yourself. A local pro from a city course may be very happy to help you start a program. The PGA pro who helped established our program had 50 kids participate in the program this year - that is immediate revenue and lots of future golfers.

Youth Sports: Expensive Shoes Obsession

Is your young athlete obsessed with expensive athletic shoes? Do you let him or her buy expensive shoes? Do you pay for them? If you do why? If you don't why? 

Share your point of view with me and my readers.

My son is obsessed with basketball shoes, baseball cleats and golf spikes.

My 14 year old son, Nic, is only 5' 6" but he has size 11.5 feet. I always tell him that one day he is going to be a big strong athlete or a short clown. Those constantly growing feet have cost me a lot of money over the years because every sports season since he was 5 and I have had to purchase him new athletic shoes. That's what dads do. Another thing dads do is put a reasonable budget on each shoe purchase and I have always done that.

Apparently in this Facebook super transparent world, the shoes still make the man.

My son likes to stand out. That's a problem when you play a team sport with uniforms. However, the one element of a uniform that Nic can control in most cases is his shoes. He uses his choice of shoes to make himself standout. Shoes have become a part of his identity and a reflection of his "full of life" personality. As such, he is currently obsessed with basketball shoes, baseball cleats and golf shoes. 

Over the last 6 months, Nic has purchased five pairs of basketball shoes for a combined total of about $550. You'll notice from my Youth Sports Costs list that only one is listed. I agreed to pay a portion ($80) of the only pair of these shoes (the white retro Jordans) that qualified as school shoes under his school's strict uniform policy. 

You are probably wondering how he buys his shoes if I don't buy them for him. Well, Nic is a hard worker. He mows lawns and watches a neighbor boy periodically to earn money to support his obsession with shoes. I keep telling him to put the money in his car fund (which I match dollar for dollar), but I guess shoes today are more important than a car tomorrow. I constantly remind him that his shoes will get him from point A to point B just like a car, but it's really tough to take a girl to the movies when the only mode of transportation you have is a pair of Pink Nike HyperDunks. I guess saving for the future is a lesson that he needs to learn the hard way though experience.

Here is a list of shoes he has purchased most recently to stand out. He also has purchased a matching headband for each pair.

Nike KD III Christmas Edition  (Yellow) KD is for Kevin Durant

Nike AirMax Flight 11 Reke Havoc (Purple) Tyreke Evans

Nike Zoom Kobe IV (Camo in Blue and Black) Kobe Bryant

Nike Jordan 5 V Retro Independance Day (White) Michael Jordan

Nike Hyper Dunk 2011 (Pink)

He bought these shoes online or at his favorite store the House of Hoops. The House of Hoops is a store within a store at select Footlocker locations. The closest one to our house is 100 miles away in Columbus. Fortunately for my son, we are in Columbus for soccer, baseball and basketball tournaments every other month. 

Nic was inspired to purchase the pink pair by watching the NFL breast cancer awareness campaign. During the month of October, the NFL players and coaches are raising awareness for breast cancer by donning pink (gloves, hats, shoes, sweatbands, etc.) for the A Crucial Catch Pink Campaign. 

The Main Point

You'd have to be crazy to buy multiple pairs of basketball shoes totaling $550 for feet that may still be growing. I'm not crazy, but my son apparently is and so are some of his friends. 

I am not really happy about his choice to spend money in what I think is a frivolous manner, but I also think that a person who works hard and earns his or her own money should be free to buy whatever they want to buy (as long as it is legal). I believe in limited government and freedom, so it's against my principles to mandate how my son spends his hard earned money or what color shoes he can and cannot wear.  It would take away all of his motivation to work. 

My wife and I have taught our son that you need to work hard to get the things you want in life. He has learned this lesson loud and clear. I hope that our message regarding the importance of saving money for the future is being heard too and that one day he will put it into practice.

What is your stance on expensive sneakers?

Youth Sports: Is your family obsessed?

Crazy Youth Sports Parents Series

Is your youth sports schedule as crazy as ours. I know we're not alone. Share your craziness here.

At the beginning of last year, I wondered how many official youth sports games my kids would participate in during the 2010. It was actually the impetus for this blog. They played in 225 games last year.

At the beginning of this year, I wondered how many practices my kids would participate in to prepare for all of the games the would play during 2011. Here are the astonishing numbers to date for this calendar year.

Today is August 15th or the 227th day of 2011. My two kids ages 10 (girl) and 14 (boy) have participated in the following schedule.

• 85 Basketball Games
• 12 Volleyball Games
• 32 Soccer Games
• 61 Baseball Games
• 1   Golf Matches - Started today.
• 191 Total Games
• 111 Total practices for all of the above.
• 302 scheduled events or 1.3 events per day.
• Over 10,000 miles traveled for games in 6 states.
• Over $9,000 spent

 

The Main Point

We're nuts. And we are not alone. 

Share your insane schedule with my audience. 

Youth Golf: City Championship

It takes lots of skill and a little luck to win a golf match. It takes passion to win a championship. Passion is what motivates an athlete to work hard between matches. Some kids have the dedication to succeed in sports and others don't.

Game 149

The nine golfers on my son's golf team have the passion and drive to succeed at golf. As a result, they won the Cincinnati City Championship by 33 strokes.

To make this very talented team, my son played 37 straight days. He then competed in a two day tournament tryout and qualified 3rd overall. He took one day off. Then he played 14 straight days before the first matches and the beginning of school. In total he played 52 of 53 days. I am sure that he has played or practiced 75 of the past 105 days. He certainly has the passion and work ethic needed to succeed. During this time, his ranking in Call of Duty plummeted from among the world's best. He lost his passion for video games, thankfully.

My son, Nic, played football for his school team and won two Cincinnati City championships (3rd grade and 4th grade). After his second year of football he decided that he did not have the passion to play the sport anymore so he did not sign up for football as a 5th grader. He went back to soccer and had a good time but did not have the passion for soccer. He contemplated going back to football, but his school established its first ever golf team when he was in 6th grade. He decided to tryout for golf. He made the inaugural team and has never looked back.

The Main Point

Kid needs self motivation, passion, to succeed at a sport. In other words, they need to love what they are doing to do it to their highest potential. Are your kids playing a sport they love or are they playing a sport you love?

Youth Golf: Substitute Coach

The head coach of the golf team had a conflict and was not available to coach the match last Wednesday. He sent an email out to ask for volunteers, even though it was my birthday I answered the call.

My duties were simple. I made the pairings. I handed out score cards to the players. I walked the course between my first and second team to spot balls and answer any questions regarding the rules. I collected the cards at the end of the match. I then verified the individual scores on each card. I selected the four lowest scores from the six players on each team. I added up the four scores. I compared my results with the coach from the other team. We announced the medalist (the lowest individual score) and the winning team.

The only coaching I did was with the number two player on our team. He started off (+7) on the first four holes. He was uncharacteristically spraying the ball all over the place. On the fifth hole, he hit a monster hook into an area loaded with trees. He immediately looked away in disgust and did not see the ball rebound perfectly down the fairway. Head down, he walked into the woods to look for the ball. I caught up to him and showed him where his ball was. I told him good drive. He looked at me strangely and did not say a word. I said, "Listen to me it looks like a really good drive by a really good player. Sometimes you just need a break to get on a roll." I looked him in the eyes, "This is your break. You are a good player, run with it." He calmed down and finished 10 over.  His score was good enough to be in the top 4.

Game 126

Conversely, my son, Nic, started off just one over after the first 4 holes. On the fifth hole, he hit what looked like a great drive down the right hand side of the fairway. Unfortunately it clipped a tree limb and got knocked down. Instead of punching out into the fairway, my son tried to thread the needle. He again hit a tree. His third shot hit more trees and he ended up just short of a green-side bunker. Unfortunately for his fourth shot, he had have one foot in the bunker and one foot out. Despite the awkward position, he tried to flop the ball just over the lip of the trap to a pin nestled right beyond the bunker. His shot did not clear the lip and rolled back into the bunker. He ended up with an 8. I watched the debacle from afar while I was with the number two player. I could not get over to him to offer advice.

Nic was pissed. He wanted desperately shoot low on my birthday. He could not calm himself down and started to struggle. With each shot he became more upset. While he did not throw clubs, he did start taking full John Daly-esque practice swings even for short chips. I did not get on him because it was my birthday and I did not want that as a memory. He finished with an 11 over and his score did not count.

His team won the match 162 to 176.

Game 128

The next day. He struggled again. This time he could not contain himself and slammed his sandwedge into the rock hard ground (It has not rained here for weeks) and bent the club. It's lesson time now. He is without a club until he finds a way to get it fixed with his own money and problem solving skills.

The Main Point

No matter how good you are at golf, golf is a frustrating game. Every golfer, regardless of handicap high or low, wants to play great every round, hole, shot.

The best golfers contain their emotions 99% of the time. My son contains his emotions about 80% of the time. 80% is a huge improvement over the last couple of years. If he wants to excel at golf he will need to continue to improve on that.

Youth Golf: It's a Team Game

Before the golf match, the coach told the team that every shot counts. He told them to keep their cool and do not let one bad shot lead to more bad shots.

Yesterday, my son's team came in second in a big regional tournament. They lost 285 to 287. They lost by a meager two strokes. 

There are six golfers active on a team during a match. The final score is made up of the four lowest scores among the six golfers. Yesterday my son shot a 77 and had the 3rd best score on his team. He shot a 77 despite getting a 9 on the 8th hole. He shot a 46 on the front (Par 35) and a 31 on the back (Par 27). 

After the match, two of the players were needling my son about his 9 on number 8. They reminded him that if he did not blow up on that hole they would have won. The two players needling him the most were the two golfers whose scores did not count at all. 

My son laughed it off while he reminded them that the team would have come in second if they did not even get out of bed. 

The Main Point

During a golf tournament every single player can look back at his or her game and find one or two shots that they could have played better to save a stroke or two. It might have been a errant drive that went OB. It might have been a short putt that lipped out. Of course every player can look back on their game and find one or two lucky shots saved a stroke or two. I might have been a shot through the trees that did not hit a single limb. It might have been a 40 foot putt. Golf is a team game.

Game 122

I walked and watched the entire 18 holes of Nic's match. Well actually, I missed the 8th hole. It started to rain and I ran back to the car to get an umbrella. That's the hole he blew up on. The 8th hole is a tricky par 4 hole with a huge tree that blocks the left side of the green and OB that runs down the right side. The green can be reached in one, but target golf is probably the better play. My son is aggressive at this stage of his golfing career.

He approached the tee with a driver in his hand and rain dripping off his visor. He approached the hole with the intent to put the ball near the green. He pulled his first aggressive drive OB into the woods. He got mad and tried to make up for it with an even bigger drive. He again pulled the drive into the woods. He ended up getting a 9 on the hole. He did not heed the coach's advice and let one bad shot turn into two. He almost let two bad shots turn into three.

He approached to par 4, 236 yard 9th hole still seething. The hole is a dog leg right with trees protecting the green. I was standing under my umbrella next to the green, I did not have time to get to the tee after my run to the car. I got down as low as I could to see Nic on the tee box from under the trees. I could see the swing and then I could hear the ping of the ball making contact with the driver. Then I could hear the ball clipping the top of the trees. I scattered to avoid getting hit with the ball. The ball landed 10 feet to my right and darted passed several trees trunks and rolled up to the green. He was about 10 feet short of the green and 20 feet from the pin. It was a good shot. It was a lucky shot. He later told me that he swung his club as hard as he could still angry about the 8th hole. I told him to remember what his coach had said that every shot counts. He calmed down and had one of the lowest rounds on the back nine.

Youth Golf: How to Make the Golf Team

If you son or daughter wants to make the golf team it takes skills, practice, performance under pressure and passion because golf is typically very competitive and the margin for error is low. In baseball tryout you can miss hit a few balls and still make the team. In a basketball tryout you can miss a few shots and still make the team. In a football tryout you can miss a couple of blocks or tackles and still make the team. In a golf tryout, every shot counts.

Last year, my son's catholic school started a golf team consisting of 6th, 7th and 8th graders. A PGA teaching pro, who is a parishioner of the church, volunteered to be the coach. The coach conducted a 2 day tryout. Each potential player played 18 holes over a two day period. The players with the top nine scores were selected to be on the competitive A team. The A team played against other schools and clubs. The other 30 or so kids played on the B team. The B team competed weekly against each other.

Last year in 6th grade, my son, Nic, posted a total score of 101 and was the ninth golfer to make the team. I remember that he worked hard to secure that spot in the weeks preceding the tryout. During the season he became more and more confidence and improved with each match.

As the 2010 tryouts approached, Nic was busy playing baseball. Many of the competitors for the nine coveted spots did not play baseball so they had more time to work on their golf games. Nic heard that many of the kids had improved greatly. Nic knew he needed to make up for lost time, so once baseball ended, Nic dicated himself to golf. In fact, he played 37 straight days leading up to the tryout tournament. Some days he played 27+ holes. When Nic was not on the course he was in the back yard with his pitching wedge or in the basement making a miniature golf course.

The tryout was Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. My son shot an 82 (10 over par) and secured the 3rd position on the team. He was 6 over par after the first 3 holes of the tryout. I am proud that he kept his composure. He improved 19 stokes over last year. All of his friends who also worked hard made the team.

The Main Point

Self motivated people who pursue a goal with passion always succeed. The key is self motivation. My son would not have made the team if I was pushing him to do something he did not want to do. One parent of a kid who did not make the team said, "I wish my son had Nic's drive. If he did he would had a better chance."

Youth Golf: Son Pushes Father to Improve Game

I have spent lots of time and money getting my kids lessons for the sports over the years. During this time, I have spent little time or money on myself. I have been a member of the same country club for 11 years and my high golf handicap has not moved much during that time. How could it when I spend so much time catering to my kids?

My son started out the year shooting around 120 on our home course which is very difficult. He was delighted when he broke 60 on a nine. I bought him new clubs and one lesson and all of the sudden he was breaking 50 with regularity. During the last two weeks, he shot 90 on the course two times. I have only broken 90 on the course two times in the 11 years I have played it. Pathetic I know, but I do not play with any regularity.

Several weeks ago, my son beat me, and has been beating me consistently ever since. I decided to take lessons. I found an excellent PGA teaching pro who was willing to coach me at 7am in the morning before work. This is the only time of the day that I could commit to that did not interfere with work or my kid's schedules.

I struggled for the first couple of weeks, but yesterday I broke 90 and beat my son by 6 strokes. My son was rooting for me.

The Main Point

Was I taking the lessons for me or was I taking the lessons for my son so that I can give him competition? I have always wanted to play golf better, but I did not have the motivation to improve until my son pushed me.

A few years ago, my son and I were playing in a father son tournament. He was doing pretty good for an 8 year old and I was playing my usual mediocre golf. We were matched up against a former PGA pro who was a 2 handicap golfer and his 12 year old son. My son was better than the 12 year old, but I could not compare.  After the match which we lost by a wide margin, my son said, "Dad, I would like to win this tournament one year." I told him, "Nic, you are going to have to get a better Dad"

So I am going to improve for him.

Youth Golf: Are You Prepared For Your First Loss To Your Kid? (Part 2)

Nic at age 3

Yesterday, I wrote in a post that I was preparing for the day when my son would eventually beat me at golf. I really didn't think that it was going to happen today.

My son Nic (age 13) hit every drive 225+ and did not miss a fairway all day. I struggled on a few holes and my son ended up beating me by 5 strokes. He was on in regulation countless times and if not for several 3 putts, he would have beaten me by much more. He even had his first eagle putt on the 408 yard par 5, 12th hole. (White Tees)

The Main Point

If you do not want your kid to beat you at a sport before they are adults, I recommend that you do not allow them to start playing at 3 years old. Don't buy them the latest equipment, and absolutely do not buy them lessons or send then to golf camps.

Youth Golf: Are You Prepared For Your First Loss To Your Kid?

Are you prepared for the first time when your kid legitimately defeats you in a serious game of skill. Losing at Candyland is one thing, but losing at golf or tennis or any other sport is another thing completely.

On Friday, my son wanted to tryout his new clubs. He talked his mom into playing a round of golf. They decided to play at the local public course where my son will play his golf team matches in the fall. If, of course, he is fortunate enough to make the team again.

My son shot his best ever score on the course and beat his mom for the first time ever. He beat her by 7 strokes.

On Saturday, my son wanted to show me how well he was hitting the ball and talked me into playing a round of golf. We decided to play at our club which is a very difficult and long course compared to the public course he played the day before. (White Tees 72.2 rating and 129 slope 5640 yards / I played the Gold Tees 71.8 rating 132 slope 6553 yards)

I am a golfer, but I am not very good. My handicap index is 19 which means I shoot between 90 and 100 but plenty good enough to beat some upstart kid. Right?

We were having a great time and he was hitting the ball really well. He loves his new Maxfli Varsity clubs. (See my post regarding these clubs.) Then my son, Nic, got hot. He got a par 5 on the long 4th hole, a par 3 on the 5th hole and lipped out a par putt on the 6th hole for a bogey, 5. He took the lead after 6 holes.

Feeling the pressure on the 7th tee, I popped the ball up and it landed on the ladies tee. (Embarrassing I know.)  I then tried to make up for this terrible drive by hitting my next shot as hard as I could. I hit it well, but OB. I was sitting 3 on the ladies tee while my son's 225 yard drive from the forward white tees was beautifully positioned in the middle of the fairway.

I composed myself and was not going to let him beat me. Not yet. I crushed a hybrid that jumped over his ball and rested 100 yards from the pin. He hit his next ball over the green into the water. I was bummed for him. I hit my approach shot 5 feet from the pin. He chipped it close. I sank my putt and he missed. We tied the hole at 6 each.

I ended up getting a birdie on 8 and a par on 9 to beat him by 3 strokes. Nic ended up with his best 9 ever on our club course and he was thrilled. What impressed me most was that he was rooting for me as much as I was rooting for him. I guess a son never wants to see his hero lose.

The Main Point

It seems like yesterday when I bought my son his first set of clubs, snoopy clubs. He was three. Ten years later he is ready to beat me. I am OK with that, but I am going to make him earn it. At the same time, I am going to get him / give him the instructions to do it.

I vividly remember a hot day in the summer of 1977, that is the day I beat my dad for the first time at tennis on a court in Clark, New Jersey. I was 13. It was the greatest feeling in the world. I don't think that I beat him again until several years later. I went on a business trip with him to Austria. We played tennis on a red clay court after one of his meetings. I beat him in our one and only international match. I still remind him that I am the family's international champion.

I recommend that you make your kid earn their first win. It will be so much more special.

Youth Golf: Buying Clubs for a Teen Boy

Do you have a young teen son who plays golf? If you do, you know how hard it is to buy them the right size golf clubs. 

Most junior clubs are too short and the men's clubs are too long. Many boys in this age range, the ones who have not had their growth spurt yet, opt for women's clubs. 

Last week, by son broke his 7 iron on his Walter Hagen Junior Set. We were already contemplating buying him new clubs because his junior set was limited in the number of clubs and because he was getting too tall for them. With golf team tryouts in 2 weeks, my wife and I decided to buy him new clubs.

We went to Golf Galaxy tonight to buy some clubs. During the drive over to the store, I tried to prepare my son for the possibility of buying lady's clubs. I promised him that there would be some clubs without any overtly feminine markings. 

When we got to Golf Galaxy we were greeted by a very knowledgeable salesman. I told him that we were looking for left handed clubs for my son. The clerk sized my son up by eye and he told us that we had three options. 

• We could buy what he called a varsity set - clubs made for boys older than 12.
• We could buy lady's clubs.
• We could buy a really light set of men's clubs. 

We shopped last year and neither Golf Galaxy nor Dick's Sporting Goods had any clubs between the junior sets and men's sets. So we were thrilled to try the varisty set. 

We tried the Maxfli Vasity set described below. The clerk took the clubs out of the box and my son went to the indoor driving range to try them out. He immediately loved the feel of the clubs. They were a heavier than his junior set and the steel shaft irons did not flex. He felt more in control.  

The salesman said that my son swings too hard to consider a women's set and was a few inches too short for a men's set.  He strongly recommended the varsity set. My son did not need convincing he was sold. The 15 piece set was on sale for $199 (from $299), so I did not need any convincing either. 

The Main Point

Kids grow, golf clubs do not. When your young golfer is growing you almost need to buy them new clubs every year. Fortunately Junior Club sets are affordable. I am not sure how Maxfli and Golf Galaxy sell a 15 piece golf set for $199, but I am not going to ask.

The following description is from the Golf Galaxy website.

Golf Galaxy

Maxfli Varsity Set for Ages 12 Years and Over. Height Range: 58" and over. 15 Piece Set includes:

• Oversized Titanium Face Driver -Oversized Titanium Face Driver provides forgiveness and Titanium distance. Strategically placed weight screw is low and back to provide high launch and longer carry.
• Stainless Steel Fairway Wood -Stainless Steel 3 wood features a fixed screw to lower the center of gravity to help hit shots higher and longer.
• Hybrid Utility Irons -Easy to hit 3i and 4i utility hybrid clubs with combine the distance of fairway woods and the accuracy of irons. Hybrids also feature a fixed screw to lower the center of gravity to help hit shots with a higher ball flight.
• Wide Sole Undercut Irons (5,7,9,SW) -Wide sole undercut irons move the center of gravity low for more distance and accuracy on all shots.
• Alignment Putter -Soft, milled face alignment putter has a high moment of inertia to reduce twisting on miss-hits.
• Lightweight, Durable Stand Bag - Lightweight stand bag features a durable nylon construction, dual carry strap to evenly distribute weight and five pockets to store all of your golfing needs.
• Graphite Shafts - Ultralight graphite shafts increase clubhead speed for maximum distance.
• Premium Headcovers -Multi material construction is durable and protects clubheads and shafts
• 600D Polyester Rainhood -Protects clubs from rain and moisture during play or while in storage.