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It's hard to get young golfers to embrace the patience that is required to learn to play golf.
As we all know, instant gratification is not one of the game's specialties. It can take years to cultivate certain golf skills (sadly, some of us never get there).
This is where trained professionals step in to help make learning the game more digestible - and fun - for children just starting out.
Coaches from First Tee are trained to make golf enjoyable and simple for beginners and experienced players alike. They’re the heart of First Tee’s developmental program, sharing not only golf skills, but also life lessons that extend far beyond the course.
First Tee is celebrating its coaches during First Tee Week from May 19-25. To showcase their creative side, several coaches have shared their favorite golf activities for kids — the go-to games and drills that get smiles going and skills growing. These creative ideas might just inspire your favorite young golfer's next practice session.
Joie Ruggiero, First Tee – Hawaii
Stick Shift is a quick and simple game that encourages healthy competition while exploring distance response in putting.
Participants will line up individually or in teams on one side of the putting green. On the other side of the green will be a finish line using cones or string. Each player will have an alignment stick, pointing toward the finish line. Players take turns putting so that their ball finishes within the distance of the alignment stick. If it does, the alignment stick gets flipped over end-to-end, and the next player tries to do the same thing, keeping their ball within the distance of the alignment stick. The first player or team to flip their alignment stick over the finish line wins.
Ian Kelley, First Tee – Tallahassee
Kelley likes to hold a fun competition of Tic-Tac-Toe Chipping, boys versus girls.
The objective is just like regular tic-tac-toe, but this game teaches target awareness and selection. The game forces the players to select a landing spot, set their feet at the target and set their hands correctly, before encouraging them to keep their head down and their eyes on the ball.
The strategy of the games also requires participants to communicate with their partners as they collaborate toward the goal of getting three squares in a row. Afterward, Kelley asks the kids questions, like:
- How did you judge your distance with each shot?
- How did you adjust your shot as your targets changed?
- What's the biggest lesson you learned while chipping?
Erin Kelly, First Tee – Manhattan
Putting Piggy Bank is a game that can be adjusted depending on the age and skill level of the players. For beginners, use sidewalk chalk to draw a large piggy bank on the green, before scattering poker chips inside the piggy bank. Place cones in a wide circle around the piggy bank – these will be the points from which players putt.
In this game, players work on speed and distance response by attempting to stop their ball inside the piggy bank, allowing them to claim a chip. The player who earns the most chips is the winner.
You can adapt this game to more advanced players by replacing the piggy bank with concentric rings to create a bullseye. Each ring is assigned a different value – for example you may place $5 chips in the inner ring, $3 chips in the middle ring and $1 chips in the outer ring. You can have players putt from longer distances or different angles to keep things exciting. After everyone takes the same number of turns, the player with the most “money” wins.
Sami Penor, First Tee – Orange County
In Rainbow Putting, kids practice preparing to swing and distance response. Start by lining up two parallel strips of flagging tape about 3 to 5 feet apart. The area between the tape is called the "zone," and the objective of the game is for players to land their ball in the zone. Next, line up a series of colorful cones perpendicular to the tape, starting about three feet from the zone and extending all the way back to 20 or 25 feet.
Players begin by putting from the first cone, attempting to stop their ball in the zone. If they’re successful, they step back to the next colorful cone and try again. If they stray outside of the zone, they’re eliminated.
With larger groups, it’s fun to use a longer strip of tape so multiple players can putt at once, which makes it more exciting.
Laura Reid, First Tee – Canada
One of our favorite activities this winter in our Annapolis Valley schools was the Hockey Net Team Challenge. This was a game developed locally in the schools because hockey nets seem to be accessible in almost all the gymnasiums.
The object of the game is for each team to chip 10 shots into the net – teaching not only short game skills but also teamwork and communication.
Groups can be divided into four teams, and each team has a hockey net about 20 yards away. Players shoot one at a time, earning a point for their team if they make it in the net. The first team to 10 points wins.
Following the game, the kids high five or shake hands with the team they played – just as they would on the course – and ask them to congratulate each other. Watching the kids cheer each other on, the smiles and the teamwork made this game a fun way to end class.
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