If you are a parent to a junior golfer reading this article today, we have some easy to follow golf practice tips to help your kid’s golf game. Junior golfers reading this article, welcome also!
First off, we wanted to make aware that golfers can start competing at the age of 5 in tournaments across the U.S.
So if you’re trying to teach your kid to become the Jordan Spieth of his/her generation when they get older, start them young!
Here is a link to the US Kids Golf Championships, where you can learn more about the different tournaments available for your kid golfer from age 5 to age 14.
What’s cool about the US Kids Golf Tournaments is that they break down the golf course to manageable distance per age group. For example, a 6 year old may play a 9 hole course where the holes are 90 yards in length while a 10 year old may play a 225 yard hole.
So the kids can still have fun trying to shoot par and win for their age group.
Our Top 5 Golf Practice Tips for Kids
#1: Practice Putting the Most
As a young golfer, putting is going to quickly separate them from their peers. This is even true as you get into high school and college golf.
The best putters tend to have the best chances at winning tournaments and becoming the best ranked players (Jordan Spieth, Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas).
Use this Practice System – Foy Golf Academy Practice Plans
#2: Work on the Putting Stroke from Home
Start with golf practice drills that work on building your putting stroke.
If kids can develop the putting stroke early on, they’ll be ahead of the game and can focus more on speed control and other advanced putting drills in their teen and high school years, while everyone else is still trying to get their putting mechanics down.
Resource: Indoor Golf Drills
#3: Repetition, Repetition, Repetition
You need to put in lots of reps. Share with the golfer stories of how professional athletes training for hours. Like Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant shooting a thousand jump shots per day.
Take this mindset to golf also. Aim for 100 putts per day minimum and if you can get 200-400 putts per day, great!
If you can’t golf at the course, practice putting from home like we talked above. Hit putts to a coin on the ground to build skills starting the putt on line when it comes off the face of the putter.
For chipping, aim for 100 chips per day.
Work on distance control (how far you land the chip on the green for short, medium, and far away holes).
Also work on spin control by practicing flop shots and bump and runs.
Use this Practice System – Foy Golf Academy Practice Plans
#4: Find a Great Swing Instructor to Work With
One of the best tips for kids to improve at golf is getting the golf swing fundamentals down at a young age. Correcting out any slices or hooks early on.
Then the kid golfer can start focusing on advanced swing drills later to hone in their swing and land closer to the hole for birdie chances.
Always hit range balls with purpose. Visualize creative shots you may have to hit on the golf course and practice those types of shots. High draws, low fades, pitch and runs from the woods to escape trees, etc.
#5: Have fun
Not everyone wants to be on the PGA/LPGA tours and not everyone is going to either. So have fun playing golf as a kid. Enjoy the friends you make out on the course and at tournaments.
Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas became good friends as junior golfers competing against each other. Now they can say they’ve played in the final round of the Masters together as grown men. Pretty cool.
Always have fun and be respectful to the game of golf.