Parents, help or hinderance to young golfers?

[louise_a]

This morning I took out one of our junior girls, her dad came along to pull her bag and seems to be telling her what club to use how to stand etc. She didn't play very well. Now on Monday our Lady Captain took her out and she scored a lot better.
I realise she is young and her game is liable to be very up and down, but it makes me wonder whether her dad's presence had a negative effect on her.

 

[Norrin Radd]

i know its not golf but when i coached junior football some of the parents were pushy towards their kids and would be yelling at them ,many was the time a quiet word was needed to get them to realise they werent helping their son .
im sure its the same with all junior sport ,
having said the above when it comes to individual sports then parental help can work ,look at Tiger for the best example.
but not evey kid is a Tiger.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

The answer is yes. When my son started playing in junior comps or in matches I would watch his 1st tee shot then leave him to it. I never walked the course with him. He needed to make his own decisions, sort out the problems that will occur and also socialise. He wouldn't have done any of that with me there.

He is 17 now and I have asked him if he was happy with my approach. The answer was a definite yes and he told me he always felt sorry for those kids who had their parents follow them around. They weren't allowed to relax, grow into the round and just enjoy it. He also said that after a bad shot, if the parent was one who kept quiet then the kid would look towards them for an answer why the shot went wrong. They didn't think to work it out for themselves.

A neutral going around with a junior is a different thing as they are not mum or dad. Big difference.

 

[Three]

Massive hindrance.

 

[Capella]

Has anyone watched the docu "The Short Game" on Netflix? Some really annoying over ambitious parents in there

I think it is good when parents support their children, drive them to comps, cheer for them if they win etc., but I really think it is better when they are not caddying for them or following them around on the course for the whole round.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Seen a lot of pushy parents in many sports. A huge hinderance and they often look like rabbits in headlights and too scared of making mistakes and getting shouted at to perform anywhere near their potential. Our club has banned parents from following junior matches around the course