What to look out for during practice rounds...

[vkurup]

A 8 year old son of a friend of mine is playing on Surrey's 'tour'. At this stage, it is a knockabout and he went to play a practice round on Foxhills Par 3 course. It was a daddy caddy kind of session. It was his first time at Foxhills and was an alright day, though he found the greens very tricky.

The question is what should people look out on practice days on. If you get the course planner (difficult for a P3 course) and if you have your GPS, can you do enuf homework without needing to get on the course.


GM feature idea>> would be awesome to see some course notes of a caddy or a player as a feature in the mag. Dont need the whole course, but you could do a tee-to-hole notes and analysis for a P4/5.

 

[Bratty]

I wouldn't get too detailed, but would always buy a course planner if available. Probably look at distances to hazards off the tee/likely second shots, and then check direction of green slopes, e.g. back to front, left to right, etc.

Great idea for a GM piece; I'd read it with interest.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Get a course planner and if GPS are allowed use that. How serious is this "tour" and if its a practice round only, do whatever you need to learn the course without delaying other players of course

 

[vkurup]

Get a course planner and if GPS are allowed use that. How serious is this "tour" and if its a practice round only, do whatever you need to learn the course without delaying other players of course

He is not yet on the serious kids 'tour'.. but the Rookie YIG circuit.. http://www.surreygolf.org/Juniors/Rookies.aspx

the boy is very committed, but rather than just grip and rip, would be more useful to have a look at a course and set about planning A course of attack..

 

[HawkeyeMS]

He's an 8yr old kid, just make sure he enjoys it

 

[vkurup]

He's an 8yr old kid, just make sure he enjoys it

Agree with you, but the kids these days get very hot under the collar if they don't win.. so good for him to have a game plan.. he plays his social gn Hoebridge P3 and regular 9 hole course.. all this is part of learning..

The GM idea was applicable to regular hacks like me.. how to plan oN for a corporate day out and impress the boss..

 

[Deleted member 15344]

At that age it shouldnt be about winning it should be about enjoyment

Kids should be learning enjoyment and fun and learning that's its not all about winning and some times it's ok to lose

If an 8 year old is getting hot under the collar about not winning then there is issues

Game plan at 8 years old ?! Sorry but no

 

[CMAC]

At that age it shouldnt be about winning it should be about enjoyment

Kids should be learning enjoyment and fun and learning that's its not all about winning and some times it's ok to lose

If an 8 year old is getting hot under the collar about not winning then there is issues

Game plan at 8 years old ?! Sorry but no

agreed!

 

[3565]

Hmmm I wonder if Tiger Woods father said the same thing to him at the age of 8,

"Son, just go out and enjoy yourself"

think not some how.......

There is no harm in him wanting to win and preparing some game plan (even at 8) so long as he knows, to lose, you need to be gracious about it.

 

[NWJocko]

Hmmm I wonder if Tiger Woods father said the same thing to him at the age of 8,

"Son, just go out and enjoy yourself"

think not some how.......

There is no harm in him wanting to win and preparing some game plan (even at 8) so long as he knows, to lose, you need to be gracious about it.

And what a well rounded individual Tiger turned out to be eh!!???

I would say grip it and rip it would be more appropriate for an 8 year old rather than a game plan, only my opinion of course.

 

[Deleted member 1740]

A 8 year old son of a friend of mine is playing on Surrey's 'tour'. At this stage, it is a knockabout and he went to play a practice round on Foxhills Par 3 course. It was a daddy caddy kind of session. It was his first time at Foxhills and was an alright day, though he found the greens very tricky.

The question is what should people look out on practice days on. If you get the course planner (difficult for a P3 course) and if you have your GPS, can you do enuf homework without needing to get on the course.


GM feature idea>> would be awesome to see some course notes of a caddy or a player as a feature in the mag. Dont need the whole course, but you could do a tee-to-hole notes and analysis for a P4/5.

Most important is there a halfway hut......

 

[Break90]

1)Hit it
2)Find it
3)Hit it again
4) Repeat until its in the hole

All the 'gameplay' an 8 year old needs IMHO

 

[vkurup]

I agree it should all be about the enjoyment.. but..
The kids get up social golf every weekend-ish and it is always a knockabout. Sometimes I join the pair and you can watch that the kid is constantly watching and soaking it all up (and learning the bad habits ) So have to be extra careful about not using any particular language when I hook, slice, thin, fat every other shot. Interesting has a very calming influence when you know you can get upto the usual ball screaming..

I think it is a not a bad idea to get the kids into some game plan (same as when they play footie at school). But as LiverpoolPhil mentioned, they need to learn how to lose or rather not win everything. As long as they know that there is something else beyond hit-find-hit-repeat and that they can reduce their frustration and learn in the process then they are on their way. Also, given their fickle attention span, dont want him to give up because it is too difficult.

At this stage, since they are on P3 courses, i think it is all about learning more about the greens. depending on the hole, the kid can drive some greens and on some he gets there in 2 or 3. But then would spend 3-4 putts closing it out. I am not saying he needs aimpoint, but if there is a better way for kids to manage greens - which would be based on what they observe during their practice rounds then surely it will help.

I am guessing that kids in the 10-14 range get into full on coaching where the coach spend time with you on the course. So he will go into the process in due course.

 

[garyinderry]

Par 3 then it's aim for green all day isn't it.

Could be one or two where a miss on a certain side might not be a bad idea.

Other than that go for it.

 

[ColchesterFC]

I agree it should all be about the enjoyment.. but..

I'm sorry but I've deleted the rest of your post because in my opinion it's absolute garbage. At the age of 8 it should ALL be about getting the kid to enjoy playing the game and nothing more. If they don't enjoy it then they aren't going to want to keep doing it and if they show any aptitude then there's plenty of time later to work on other stuff IF the kid wants to.

I've got a 5 year old that loves coming to the driving range and coming out on the Par 3 course with me. Admittedly I'm not a good enough golfer to teach him how to be good at the game so I limit my advice to...

1) Keep your head still and watch the ball
2) Concentrate on what you're doing
3) You need to hit this a bit harder/softer than the last one

I think the biggest problem with junior golf is parents living their lives vicariously through their children and pushing them too hard at too young an age.

 

[Oxfordcomma]

At age 8 I'm guessing they are year 3? To those of us of my age, that's first year junior school!

I've coached two teams of that age at football, and I don't think it's about a game plan at all. It's about just doing things right, and surely golf has to be the same? In football, if the other team is running straight past the defence then you practice tackling the next week. In golf - if he's taking 3 or 4 putts to get down, it's not about a game plan, it's about spending 1 session less on the range each week and one session more on the putting green ...

 

[3565]

And what a well rounded individual Tiger turned out to be eh!!???

I would say grip it and rip it would be more appropriate for an 8 year old rather than a game plan, only my opinion of course.

Dont get me wrong, I'm one of the biggests loathers of Tiger goin, I'd rather watch paint dry then watch him and that includes him duffing his way round recently.

 

[Foxholer]

...
I've got a 5 year old that loves coming to the driving range and coming out on the Par 3 course with me. Admittedly I'm not a good enough golfer to teach him how to be good at the game so I limit my advice to...

1) Keep your head still

Quite possibly the most dangerous piece of advice you can give!

As for the OP...Nothing wrong with wanting to be competitive! But not winning shouldn't be a disaster!

Simply walking the course, or playing a pre-comp round should be sufficient preparation imo. That way, there shouldn't be any real surprises.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Hmmm I wonder if Tiger Woods father said the same thing to him at the age of 8,

"Son, just go out and enjoy yourself"

think not some how.......

There is no harm in him wanting to win and preparing some game plan (even at 8) so long as he knows, to lose, you need to be gracious about it.

This is by the looks of it a tour open to kids U14 with handicaps less than 36, we aren't talking about the elite here. I don't know what this kids handicap is but if I understand it right he will be playing against other kids 5 years his senior, he needs to enjoy himself.

 

[1948griff]

The answer is clearly Pro V1s in the rough!!!