As a golf professional I am often asked about junior golf instruction and the training process for juniors to become elite players. It’s often a complex response, but in the end there are a few key elements to success that I will outline here. While this article will focus on junior golfers, it could be applied to any golfer at any age that wants to improve their game.
Make it fun:
Golf is a game. If the game and the process of learning it is not fun for the golfer, they WILL NOT succeed and become great golfers. The junior golfers that love it and can’t get enough are the ones that will succeed.
Be consistent with your training:
Unlike soccer, baseball and hockey, golf generally does not have scheduled practices and scheduled games. Unfortunately, this is where many golf families begin to struggle and ultimately fall behind. They will fit golf practice in as it works around the rest of the schedule. This is a recipe for disaster and it will not work!! Set up your own schedule and follow it. Schedule practice time and time to play and do it well in advance so that it is in the calendar just like the schedule for the team sports. You must understand that that being consistent with your raining is critical to success in this game. A golfer that practices one time per week is not going to be a good golfer.
Set Goals and reevaluate them regularly:
Every golfer should set goals at a minimum two times per year. Set goals for areas of your game that need to improve, set scoring goals, and set practice goals. Write these goals down and share them with your team (Family, coaches, trainers, etc). If you can set up a way to track progress on these goals, this is even better. Be organized and consiste as this will lead to success.
Put in the Work:
While all of these bullet points will help you be successful, there is no replacement for putting in the work. Of all of the sports, golf may require the most amount of time to see true results. Especially to get to the elite level. At the younger ages, this requires a commitment from the player as well as the family as the junior golfer will need rides to and from the golf course or the training center. There will also be a financial commitment that goes along with this. But after more than 20 years of teaching this game for a living I can assure you that all of the elite golfers put in substantial time honing their craft. The reality is that there is not enough time in the day to practice as much as you need to if you want to be really good at this game. Elite golfers should be training at a minimum five days per week. I understand that different seasons will lead to different commitments and schedules etc., but five days per week is a good place to start. You’ve got to want it if you want to get good.
This article covers a few of the keys to become elite. There are many, many more topics that could be covered in this article, but start with these, find yourself a good coach and organize a plan for success.
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