Teaching kids to become lifelong golfers is not about winning. Golf is hard and takes time to develop one’s skills. If a child advances to a level that is appropriate to take their development to a more serious, competitive one, that’s a bonus and should be developed. But having fun and enjoying the game makes for true, lifelong golfers.
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It is important to understand why kids specifically play any sport, regardless of the level they play at, and that is to have fun. Plain and simple. The race to nowhere that we find ourselves in, with the idea of kids having to be accomplished, the best or get a golf scholarship is not growing the game. In many cases, it causes kids to get burned out and leave the game. Fun is always the most important thing and should always be at the center of growth programs as well as programming for the elite player.
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So, whether it be a five-year-old junior golfer, a twenty-something young tech professional, a middle-aged African American woman or a sixty-year-old male veteran with a prosthetic leg, here are suggestions for course operators and owners, PGA Professionals, and Instructors as well as anyone else vested in growing the game.
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Course operators that are more tolerant of golfers in development will surely see increases in play and revenue. Welcome golfers. Educate rather than ridicule and be open and welcoming. Then and only then will we see true growth within our game. It is easy to forget but so important to try and remember if we truly want to grow the game, we were all beginners once.