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LEMONT PARK DISTRICT JR. GOLF PROGRAM
I am quite often asked at what age a child should start playing golf. The answer is: it is up
to the individual child. I worked with a 4-year old junior, who could pay undivided attention
for 30 minutes. By the age of five, this child was taking one-hour lessons regularly. I have
worked with 17-year olds, who had attention spans of about 10 minutes.
When evaluating whether a child is ready for lessons, there are certain things to look for:
- Is the child really interested?
- Does he/she enjoy going to the range or putting green?
- Will the child listen to direction?
- Does the child want to take lessons?
If the answer to any of the above questions is no, no matter what the age, the child is probably not ready.
When looking for a teacher or junior program, don't look for the cheapest program. Generally, the cheaper the program, the higher the ratio will be between students and teacher. Ask who will be teaching the class and who the assistant instructors are. Ask about the experience of the teachers - what is the record for developing good players, including how many students currently have college scholarships, how many are All-Americans, etc. Find out if parents are allowed to watch the lessons. (My advice is that parents watch the lessons, but hold all questions until the last five minutes.)
Finally, do your homework. Evaluating golf lessons as you would evaluate the other schools
your child attends will pay dividends down the road. No instruction is better than bad instruction.
--Kevin Weeks, PGA Teaching Professional
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