144 replies to this topic

[HenB0gan]

JBirdUt, on 07 October 2012 - 09:43 PM, said:

Daughter just shot 1 under in her U.S kids local, from 1900 yards.  She birdied four of the first six holes.  She had one bogie and one double.  The rest of the holes were pars.  This betters her best round by five stokes.  It was great watching her play at a level I wish I could play at.  It was great to see all her practicing pay off.
She will play in the Desert Shootout, in Phoenix, this next February.

Congratulations

[dpb5031]

JBirdUt, on 07 October 2012 - 09:43 PM, said:

Daughter just shot 1 under in her U.S kids local, from 1900 yards.  She birdied four of the first six holes.  She had one bogie and one double.  The rest of the holes were pars.  This betters her best round by five stokes.  It was great watching her play at a level I wish I could play at.  It was great to see all her practicing pay off.
She will play in the Desert Shootout, in Phoenix, this next February.

Man that's great.  How old is she?  My kid started at 10, but I wish I started her just a bit younger.  

It's quite a balancing act parenting a junior golfer.  You want them to keep up with it and not miss critical development of their game during these formative years, but you don't want to drive them away from it or make it seem like a job either.  My 13 year old loves the game, but I can see that she has lost a little of her motivation and drive to practice because it is more important (to her) to "hang out" with her friends, rather than go to the golf course with dad.  

Speaking with parents of other junior girls it seems like there is a hump to get over between ages 12-16.  A lot of hormones and emotions make it quite the roller coaster ride.  Rare is the kid with a singular focus to improve who is willing to make the sacrifices it takes (like missing a weekend party, etc) to rise to a high competitive level.

[JBirdUt]

My daughter is 11,  she started going to the range with me when she was 5.  Grandpa is a retired golf superintendent, so between the two of us she has been exposed all her life.  She didn't start playing in the U.S. Kids until early last year.

One of the organizations she has been involved with (LPGA girls golf) is striving to have girls continue on into their teens.  They acknowledge a large number of young ladies stop playing around thirteen.  Hopefully, with the success she's had she'll continue on.  Of course, Grandpa likes to play her a quarter a hole and so far they are essentially even.

[dkothari]

Miller192, on 02 July 2012 - 12:41 PM, said:

So here's a question for you guys.  I've got a soon who turns 5 in a couple of months and he's taken an interest in golf.  I took him to the club with me last week during twilight so he could ride along.  I let him tee it up from the cart signs and he loved it, and he wanted to play all 18.  He likes going with me to practice as well.

I hesitant to give him any real instruction but I'm wondering if you've got any different thoughts.  He's got a kids set of clubs already.

Any pointers here?

Hi there - I'm just started working with my 6-year old who has taken an interest.  I think you can start providing him bsic instruction - grip, setup, posture, etc.  and then just see his reaction.  If he's attentive and interested in doing things the right way, you can instruct him more.  If he doesn't want instruction and just wants to whack the ball - you'll know that too.  While there are general guidelines, every kid is different - and I think it's more of a "feel" thing with your kids.  I have one child that can't get enough golf/instruction, while the other who just wants to hit balls.

[BigTexGolfer]

OK, ran into a delima today with my daughter in a tournament and thought I would get the thoughts of some other parents with daughters playing tournaments.  My 13 year old daughter played a tournament today and was paired with a friend of hers that is also a member of our club.  There was also a third girl that was in the group they did not know.  My daughter and this girl are friends, hanging out at the club when possible and texting etc.  This is even though there has been some reported issues of this girl or possibly her mom saying she is a better player than my daughter, and despite the fact that my daughter has not only never lost to her in several tournaments.  Oreven as much as a friendly practice round.  I tell her do not worry about that, just go hit 'em, count 'em up, and low score wins.  After doing that several times the better player is generally revealed.

Things were going pretty well until the friend hit a shot that skipped off the water and landed on the grass about 6 inches from the water.  I was helping find the ball, and was standing about 10 feet from her when she decided to hit the ball.  I tried to warn her that the ball may be in a hazard and not ground her club, but before I could get the word grounded out of my mouth she grounded her club and hit.  My daughter immediately looked at me realizing what might have happened and they discussed it, and she agreed with my daughter she had grounded the club.  Now this water hazard had not stakes or markings to show what type of hazard it was or where the boundary was, so it was possible it was a moot point to ground the club.  But everyone in the group agreed it would be best to check with the rules official regarding if just the water itself was the boundary.  

On the second to last hole the girl hit a drive that was pushed way right and hit a mound that kicked it toward OB.  From our vantage point looked liked it definitely rolled OB, so I suggested she hit a provisional.  She said no I know where it is and they proceeded down the fairway.  4 adults and 3 kids looked for quite a while to find the ball, but initially no luck.  I told her dad if we did not find it even if it was not OB it would be a lost ball and she would have to re-tee.  At some point her dad informed her she would have to go back and re-tee and she broke out crying.  Embarrassed I guess to have to walk back and tee again in front of the girls behind us.  We continued looking while she went back and she hit a short drive, and then a second shot.  About the time she hit the second shot my daughter walked up the mound she hit and spotted the ball still in bounds.  My suggestion was to play both balls and hash it out with the rules folks, knowing that according to the rules she had abandoned the first ball at that point.  She was a basket case after that, but they got through the last two holes.  

I guess she finally cried enough mom decided to take over and help her make her case to the rules folks.  I sent my daughter to get her and tried to get the third girl to be in the conference.  She came back, and not want to be a part of the controversy.  Instead of letting the two girls and the rules people discuss the circumstances and rule, mom gets involved and twisted the story.  According to her we only briefly looked for the ball, and no way it was 5 minutes.  Also, she said I told her daughter she had to go re-tee, several times according to my daughter.  She also said her daughter proclaimed the second tee shot a provisional.  

On the first point, while I did not time us I did note the three girls in front of us were walking on the green about the time we started searching and were completely off the green before the girl headed back to the tee.  Add in a 175 yard crying walk, and I am guessing well over 5 minutes.  On the second I never spoke to her, only her dad and the other mom in the group and told them what would have to happen if the ball was not found, and to one of them the 5 minute window.  But never said ok go back now.  On the third point, she never told anyone much less my daughter who was her score marker it was a provisional.  Not that it mattered at that point anyway.  After discussion with the officials and rants from the mom, my daughter waved me over.  They had decided the best course was to let her play the second ball but with a wrong ball penalty since the girl picked up her second ball and played the first.

On the water hazard issue it was not harm no foul, since they are not marked the edge of the water is the hazard.  But, the girl stated in front of me at her mom's prompting she did not ground her club.  Despite me and my daughter seeing it happen from close range.

Now, after it was all said in done I had several thoughts.  First, the girls should have been left alone to make their case and live with the decision.  Two, in effect the mom and the girl affectively called me and my daughter liars.  Something I cannot abide by.  This being a girl and family new to tournament golf I can live with ignorance of the rules.  But, I will not allow my daughter to be made to look like a liar, nor myself for that matter.

So, how far would you take this situation?  I am considering calling the tournament organization tomorrow and discussing it, knowing both of them are signed up for another tournament next weekend.  Pretty much tell them I do not want my daughter paired with her under any circumstances.  If they are, I will have a rules official, a stop watch, and maybe a video camera with me.  As far as the friendship goes, I hope my daughter sees what type of person this would be when the chips are down and makes decisions accordingly.

Sorry for the long post, but this one really set me off today.

[dpb5031]

Over the last few years of junior golf with my daughter, most of the people we have come in contact with on the junior golf circuit have been really nice, but we have had several run-ins with "difficult" parents, and some pain-in-the-butt kids as well.  Fortunately, in several of the more difficult situations, I was caddying, so I was able to get involved and either provide clarification on the rules, call for an official, and in one aggregious case, dress down the out-of-line parent for his conduct which included poor etiquettte and outright cheating.

I would not go to the extremes you are considering; it's not worth the aggravation.  Just make sure your kid is familiar with the basic rules, and is not afraid to speak up and either politely question a ruling, or call for an official if needed.  If your daughter gets paired with this girl again, just have her watch closely and be prepared to speak up if needed.  It's a chance to learn some lessons about golf and life.

[dkothari]

Musky, on 16 April 2012 - 05:47 PM, said:

By joining the MAJGT and entering two events to this point, we have spent as much or more than we did to play a State PGA event once a week all last summer.

What are the State PGA events?  My kids are just starting to get into golf - they've only been on the course a couple of times.  They're not ready for serious competition, but I wouldn't mind having them get the "feel" by entering some easier tournaments, especially if they are more affordable.  Do you know if they have State PGA events in Illinois?  If you could point me to any links that you're aware of - I'd appreciate it.

[JBirdUt]

http://www.ijga.org/default.aspx
I don't know anything about Illinois junior golf.  Hope this points you in the right direction.

[Man In The Miura]

Unless you are specifically acting as her caddie, stay out of it.  Parents do too much talking.  I've learned nothing good comes from getting too involved.  Like you said, let 'em hit 'em, and count them up.  Kids need to learn to protect the field at some point.

[JorgeGomez]

Hello Golfers,

I understand very good this issue. I'm a golf coach and have seen a lot of this problems- opportunities in the golf area.

I wrote a book about Parenting Young Golf Champions.

My intention is not to sell this book in here. I'm a well know golf coach in Mexico and I don't have the necessity to sell this book that  have helped a lot of parents!

Just want to say that I can help with any issues that you can have with juniors and kids.

You can contact me, look my profile.

Just want to serve and help.

Good Golfing everyone.

[rflores2323]

This is a great thread.  I just got my 7 yr old daughter involved in golf.  We asked her what she wanted to do between soccer, tennis, and golf and she picked golf.  She is already in gym and taking mandarin classes as her other activities.  She is very excited and I signed her up for the first tee program in Houston.  This seems like a great program however not very competitive as per the program director.   I was thinking of putting my girl into a golf school which is 2 classes a week at Matt Swanson School of Golf to help her get the fundamentals of golf down.  I also just started the game and I am learning the rules etc so I am not the best instructor or teacher lol.  Does anyone have any experience with this golf school or share their experience with golf schools in general.  

Another thing is that I bought her a 7 iron from sports authority  to start with and the club seems very heavy.  Any suggestions on clubs?

[dpb5031]

rflores2323, on 06 November 2012 - 01:47 PM, said:

This is a great thread.  I just got my 7 yr old daughter involved in golf.  We asked her what she wanted to do between soccer, tennis, and golf and she picked golf.  She is already in gym and taking mandarin classes as her other activities.  She is very excited and I signed her up for the first tee program in Houston.  This seems like a great program however not very competitive as per the program director.   I was thinking of putting my girl into a golf school which is 2 classes a week at Matt Swanson School of Golf to help her get the fundamentals of golf down.  I also just started the game and I am learning the rules etc so I am not the best instructor or teacher lol.  Does anyone have any experience with this golf school or share their experience with golf schools in general.  

Another thing is that I bought her a 7 iron from sports authority  to start with and the club seems very heavy.  Any suggestions on clubs?

Not sure about the golf school, but look into either US Kids golf equipment or better yet, Ping's junior sets.  If you want your kid to learn properly and enjoy it, the proper equipment is a must!

Edited by dpb5031, 06 November 2012 - 06:38 PM.

[rflores2323]

Thanks i will look into those.  What about this set that my daughter found.  She likes the bag,lol.
http://www.callawayg...t-ages-5-8.html

[dpb5031]

rflores2323, on 06 November 2012 - 10:30 PM, said:

Thanks i will look into those.  What about this set that my daughter found.  She likes the bag,lol.
http://www.callawayg...t-ages-5-8.html

looks good...just be sure to check the recommended height specs.  If your daughter is on the tall side for her age you might want to consider going with the set recommended for the next higher age range.

[GoAromando]

Miller192, on 02 July 2012 - 12:41 PM, said:

So here's a question for you guys.  I've got a soon who turns 5 in a couple of months and he's taken an interest in golf.  I took him to the club with me last week during twilight so he could ride along.  I let him tee it up from the cart signs and he loved it, and he wanted to play all 18.  He likes going with me to practice as well.

I hesitant to give him any real instruction but I'm wondering if you've got any different thoughts.  He's got a kids set of clubs already.

Any pointers here?

When my daughter was 3 yrs old (Turned 11 last month) I would take her to the driving range with me and set her up at a table to color. At some point every time she would end up wanting to throw the balls or try to hit them. I stumbled across the US Kids "Red Set", for $90 I figured it would be cute to see her with them. (At the time we didn't know of any girls under 10 playing)

We would work on basics: HAVING FUN, safety on the range, stance, grip & "Hearing the Swoosh" past the ball. I didn't realize at the time how important this was. (I has a bad hacker - 95 to 105 & even now I'm only down to a 12 handicap)

"Hearing the Swoosh" now I realize it meant she had to do many things correctly. People would always stop to watch her swing and comment about her tempo & the ease of the swing. I just figured they thought it was cute to see a little girl on the range. Now I realize how hard it is for some people to develop.

My Pointers would be:

1) Let him practice & play with you as much as he wants. When he does want to let him do something else. (Have a back-up plan for him in the Cart or on the range) I would let my daughter hit the ball then she would run ahead pick it up & get back in the cart. We'd get to my next shot & she'd do it again. If she got bored she sit in the cart and color.

2) Make it fun & have rewards: We'd have putting contest & winner would pick the ice cream store (either way she got ice cream). I'd let her steer the cart if she hit a good shot.

3) Focus on the basics: grip, stance, aim

4) Have club that fit his size: US Kids has a Great series of clubs - Grace has had most of them.

Hope this helps.

[GoAromando]

@ dpb5031 - You have started a GREAT topic. As the 2013 season is starting I look forward to seeing people actively discussing Junior Girls Golf.

A little about my daughter, Grace (5th Grade - Turned 11 last month): She 1st started hitting balls on the range when she was 3 yrs old (US Kids "Red" set). When she could hit the ball consistently and understood the basic rules of golf, we started playing par 3 courses (4 yrs old). We she turned 5 she played her 1st tournament (US Kids Qualifier), but missed the scoring requirement by 2 strokes (she was just playing for fun, we didn't know much about US Kids). Our local PGA Junior program, then let kids start @ 6 yrs old.

Age 6 to 7 yrs old she played in the "Mini-9" tournaments (Par 3 & executive courses). She placed 1st or 2nd in all of them.

Age 8 she played the 9-Hole tournaments (Women's Tees) with the 10-12 yr olds and won consistently, including the tour championship.

Age 9 she moved up to 18 holes tournaments (Women's Tees) in the 12-14 age group, consistently placing 1st or 2nd.

Age 10 yrs old she played a mix of 18 Hole tournaments 12-14 yr olds (Women's Tees) & Multi-Day tournaments with 12-18 yr olds (5900 to 6300 yrds). Women's tees tournaments 1st in all - some by 10+ strokes. She played 3 Multi-Day tournaments, 8th of 20 @ 6300 yrds (1st time playing this distance), 1st 5900 yrs, 2nd 5900 yrds. Qualified for the Optimist International (wonderful tournament & org)

Age 11 (now), She has set her goals high for the year: Qualify for the Optimist International & place in the top 5, get her handicap to a 4 (currently 8.6), Skill-wise - keeps putts to around 30; Drives - she keeps up with the high school girls - fairways 80%+ - averages 210 on our soft-flat fairways - Course Management - avoids trouble - doesn't take low % shots.

Problem -

When she plays with our friends & family or girls in tournaments under 14 yrs old she will consistently shoot high 70s to low 80s from 6000 yrs. After good results last year, she decided to focus on Multi-Day 6000 yard tournaments. This has her playing with girls 15-18 yrs old this year. The 1st tournament last week she hit the ball beautifully, out drove her playing partners both days, had similar GIRs, but putting was very bad (50ish per round). Finished 6th of 10, but shot 15 to 20 strokes over her normal average.

My first instinct was to blame the results on her putting preparation over the winter. After talk with her and consoling her (lot of crying), she point out how nervous & intimidated she is playing with High School Junior & Seniors. (They looking adults to her & many don't even talk to her) This revelation got me to reflect on the spring tournaments she played in the past few years. She seemed to have slow starts, we normally chalked it up to getting new clubs over the winter (This year she switch last fall to prevent this) & having little time to play & practice during Jan & Feb (She practiced consistently through the winter - heated range). I realized every spring the older high school girls come out and played in the one day 18-Hole events to get ready for the summer tournaments. I think this could be the real issue with the nerves & stress manifesting itself in her putting & short game.

Question:

This year her plans will have her playing with the 15-18 yr olds 90% of the time. Do I help her though this by continuing to play the older tournaments? Working to improve her mental side & building confidence in her putting to withstand the stresses. Or keep her playing with the younger girls she where she consistently wins?

I look forward to your Opinions & Advise.

[jollysammy]

She's 11, probably 5th grade, so she might just be now graduating from elementary school.  They are in high school and looking to graduate to college.  They left her world(age) years ago and feel they don't have anything to accomplish talking or relating to her, if anything they probably resent that she's there possibly making them look bad. They are trying to look good for possible college consideration, and they don't want to be upstaged by a kid who isn't even in middle school yet.  Besides the golf, what else would they have in common?  17 or 18 years old relate to subjects like boys, life, school, etc... a lot different than a 11 year old would.   So they ignore her and she's alone.  

One of the things my son prizes the most is the relationships he has established when playing in junior tournaments.  Yes, they are all competitors, but at most they are 1 year older only and they all tend to have fun together when the round is over.  Often I see them playing chipping games and laughing together.  

If you remove the fun aspects out of this period in her life, no matter how good she is, it may lead to burnout.

As a parent I'm aware of kids that are better, I just want my child to improve and get better too.  But I also have to be careful not to turn him off from the sport by making the journey become like work and worse yet, to have no friends developed along the way.  Be careful here...

[Sean2]

The difference between an 11 year old and 15-18 is almost a generation gap at that age. You said it yourself, she shot 15 to 20 strokes over her normal average, she was crying, etc. At that age that could really shake her confidence. Why push her? What's the rush? I have a very close friend who's daughter is a bit of a phenom (she played in the US Women's Open last year at age 14, won the Scott Robertson a couple of years ago, has won Doral a few times, etc.  At 11 she pretty much stayed with her age bracket. Maybe she can play with the older girls once in a while, but after you described what happened, I'd be a bit cautious.

[dpb5031]

GoAromando, on 24 April 2013 - 12:56 PM, said:

@ dpb5031 - You have started a GREAT topic. As the 2013 season is starting I look forward to seeing people actively discussing Junior Girls Golf.

A little about my daughter, Grace (5th Grade - Turned 11 last month): She 1st started hitting balls on the range when she was 3 yrs old (US Kids "Red" set). When she could hit the ball consistently and understood the basic rules of golf, we started playing par 3 courses (4 yrs old). We she turned 5 she played her 1st tournament (US Kids Qualifier), but missed the scoring requirement by 2 strokes (she was just playing for fun, we didn't know much about US Kids). Our local PGA Junior program, then let kids start @ 6 yrs old.

Age 6 to 7 yrs old she played in the "Mini-9" tournaments (Par 3 & executive courses). She placed 1st or 2nd in all of them.

Age 8 she played the 9-Hole tournaments (Women's Tees) with the 10-12 yr olds and won consistently, including the tour championship.

Age 9 she moved up to 18 holes tournaments (Women's Tees) in the 12-14 age group, consistently placing 1st or 2nd.

Age 10 yrs old she played a mix of 18 Hole tournaments 12-14 yr olds (Women's Tees) & Multi-Day tournaments with 12-18 yr olds (5900 to 6300 yrds). Women's tees tournaments 1st in all - some by 10+ strokes. She played 3 Multi-Day tournaments, 8th of 20 @ 6300 yrds (1st time playing this distance), 1st 5900 yrs, 2nd 5900 yrds. Qualified for the Optimist International (wonderful tournament & org)

Age 11 (now), She has set her goals high for the year: Qualify for the Optimist International & place in the top 5, get her handicap to a 4 (currently 8.6), Skill-wise - keeps putts to around 30; Drives - she keeps up with the high school girls - fairways 80%+ - averages 210 on our soft-flat fairways - Course Management - avoids trouble - doesn't take low % shots.

Problem -

When she plays with our friends & family or girls in tournaments under 14 yrs old she will consistently shoot high 70s to low 80s from 6000 yrs. After good results last year, she decided to focus on Multi-Day 6000 yard tournaments. This has her playing with girls 15-18 yrs old this year. The 1st tournament last week she hit the ball beautifully, out drove her playing partners both days, had similar GIRs, but putting was very bad (50ish per round). Finished 6th of 10, but shot 15 to 20 strokes over her normal average.

My first instinct was to blame the results on her putting preparation over the winter. After talk with her and consoling her (lot of crying), she point out how nervous & intimidated she is playing with High School Junior & Seniors. (They looking adults to her & many don't even talk to her) This revelation got me to reflect on the spring tournaments she played in the past few years. She seemed to have slow starts, we normally chalked it up to getting new clubs over the winter (This year she switch last fall to prevent this) & having little time to play & practice during Jan & Feb (She practiced consistently through the winter - heated range). I realized every spring the older high school girls come out and played in the one day 18-Hole events to get ready for the summer tournaments. I think this could be the real issue with the nerves & stress manifesting itself in her putting & short game.

Question:

This year her plans will have her playing with the 15-18 yr olds 90% of the time. Do I help her though this by continuing to play the older tournaments? Working to improve her mental side & building confidence in her putting to withstand the stresses. Or keep her playing with the younger girls she where she consistently wins?

I look forward to your Opinions & Advise.

Thanks for starting this thread back up.  The junior girl's golf world is so entirely different than junior boys, largely because it is a much smaller community.  If a girl is talented and advanced at age 11 or 12 (like Grace), it is going to be very hard to find decent competition in most local events.  This is why I think it is very important to try to make it to the Optimist, US Kids Worlds and Regionals, Callaway Worlds, etc.  At the big tournaments your advanced junior girl will get to play against kids her own age.  In my daughters case (she's 14 now), it was as much about making friends and enjoying the experience as it was the competition.

There seems to be this "no man's land" in the junior girl's golf world for talented kids between 11 and 14. Most are not quite ready to compete against the older girls, and the local US kids stuff and other junior events lack competition and are not challenging enough.  I think this is why the AJGA created their Junior Allstar Series.  I still contend that every kid is different though, so there is no perfect way to go about things.

We are ramping up for the season now and have a tentatively planned schedule.  My daughter is the leading scorer on her middle school lacrosse team, so unfortunately there is little time for golf during the week.  She played in one IJGT so far and was the youngest in the field again.   She actually hit the ball great (12 GIRs in round #1), but lost her confidence early with the putter (very tough greens) and had 42 putts.  The second round was similar and she ended up 5th out of about 14, with most of the girls being high school juniors and seniors.  Funny thing is last year at 13 she won the same event against a deeper field (20 girls) and her chipping and putting is what got her the win. Improvement in golf certainly is not linear, especially with kids.  

I am hoping that my daughter chooses to play on the golf team next year when she gets to high school instead of lacrosse, but I am not pushing it and have told her that it is her decision.  She just really loves the team camaraderie of lacrosse, and being her teams best player, I think she likes the attention.  The HS doesn't have a girls golf team, so she will have to play on the boys team, which is another issue.  

Anyway, thanks for posting.  Let's try to keep this thread alive.  I love hearing updates on the kid's progress!

[dpb5031]

jollysammy, on 24 April 2013 - 02:35 PM, said:

She's 11, probably 5th grade, so she might just be now graduating from elementary school.  They are in high school and looking to graduate to college.  They left her world(age) years ago and feel they don't have anything to accomplish talking or relating to her, if anything they probably resent that she's there possibly making them look bad. They are trying to look good for possible college consideration, and they don't want to be upstaged by a kid who isn't even in middle school yet.  Besides the golf, what else would they have in common?  17 or 18 years old relate to subjects like boys, life, school, etc... a lot different than a 11 year old would.   So they ignore her and she's alone.  

One of the things my son prizes the most is the relationships he has established when playing in junior tournaments.  Yes, they are all competitors, but at most they are 1 year older only and they all tend to have fun together when the round is over.  Often I see them playing chipping games and laughing together.  

If you remove the fun aspects out of this period in her life, no matter how good she is, it may lead to burnout.

As a parent I'm aware of kids that are better, I just want my child to improve and get better too.  But I also have to be careful not to turn him off from the sport by making the journey become like work and worse yet, to have no friends developed along the way.  Be careful here...

Jolly brings up some good points.  You will begin to notice that the pressure ramps up with these kids when they get to be juniors and seniors in HS.   They are trying to get their scoring average down and to build their golf resume's so that they will get noticed by college coaches.  Every round and every stroke counts towards these ends and many of these kids put a lot of pressure on themselves.  It's very different when they're younger.

[twounderpar]

If she is taking over 50 putts then she is 3 putting almost every green.  That can be pretty discouraging.  Aside from nerves, I'm guessing the multi-day tournament courses are more difficult than the ones used for lower ages. Crying a lot is never a good thing.  I would only encourage you to put her into the older tournaments if she doesn't mind losing to the bigger girls by a good margin.

My 16 year-old daughter also started playing multi-day events pretty young, but in her case she did not mind losing. It just motivated her to practice more.  Most of the time, the pairings were by ability and scores, so she did not play much with the girls shooting  around par. Putting was the last thing to improve as she aged. I remember one tournament (she was 9) where she 3 putted 5 times and 4 putted once and still almost broke 100.

Winning often and shooting around par (even on short courses) are really good for developing confidence though.

Good luck

[dpb5031]

I agree with the above post.  Winning breeds a certain confidence that only it can provide.  IMHO, this is where Michelle Wie's parents went horribly wrong in developing her as a player.  They never let her settle in and dominate in her own age group, the way she undoubtedly would have with her prodigious talent.  Tiger, on the other hand, never moved up to the next level until he dominated his age-appropriate competition first.  He won everything in junior golf, and in most cases did it more than once.

I call it the confidence bank, and it holds true for any level of player in just about any sport.  If you make steady and increasingly larger deposits to the confidence bank it will be set up to provide you with a nice return on investment (ROI) when you need it most.  Every time your child gets a "W," as Tiger likes to call his wins, that is a significant investment in the confidence bank.  Hit the green and birdie the final hole...another deposit into the confidence bank.  Make a clutch putt to get into a playoff, or maybe to make the cut...chalk up another significant deposit.  Win a playoff...same deal!

By now you get the point.  Deposits to the confidence bank can start at a young age,  perhaps on the putting green in a contest against dad, a friend, or a sibling.  It doesn't really matter.  The knowledge and self belief that you have what it takes to come through in "the clutch" is invaluable.  These experiences are all little deposits that will eventually have that confidence bank bursting at the seams, to eventually be be drawn upon when it really matters.  Think Tiger at Bay HIll on the final hole, or his US Open win at Torrey Pines.  Poor Michelle Wie had all the talent in the world, but unfortunately her confidence bank account was poorly funded over the years.  Now, when she needs it most to succeed on the LPGA tour, the receipt coming out of the ATM machine is reading "insufficient funds."

[Yes sir]

Hello all just found this forum.  My daughter is 13 only child and she has had a golf club in her hand since she was 3 years old. She has been with a swing coach since she was 9, and now I'm throwing her to the wolves. This will be the first year of tournament play. As an overbearing dad I believe I should of had her playing sooner. She shoot in the low 80's, but it took me to find out how good she really was once I realized I was being one of those idiot parents. Now that I've back up and gotten out of her way she showed me what she's made of. Reading these post brought light to what my daughters going through with none her friends playing this great game. What I wanted to know has any of your daughter brought any of there friends to the game and how? How can girls golf grow? I'll post her scores of her tournaments throughout the coming months. Thanks again for a great forum

[dpb5031]

Unless you belong to a club with a strong junior program, tournaments and summer camps offer the best opportunity for your daughter to meet other girls who love the game.  My daughter especially likes the regional and national multi-day tournaments for that very reason.  It is so much more fun for them to be together with other girls who love the game and enjoy tournament competition.  My daughter has junior golf friends from all over the country now.  They stay in touch through social networking sites, and regularly follow and comment on each other's tournament scores/performance. It can certainly get expensive and time consuming for parents to have kids touring around the country though!  It's like a full time job setting up my daughter's tournament schedule for the season.  I try to pick maybe two or three venues per year max that might require substantial travel (flights, hotels, etc.), and the rest we try to do within reasonable driving distance.  Good luck to your daughter and get her going in those tournaments ASAP.  My kid played in a tournament at Atlantic City Country Club yesterday.  She shot 82 from 6000 yards in 25-30 mph winds (with 4 three putts).  Her highlights were a birdie on the 18th hole and a true 300 yard drive on the second hole (dead downwind on a dry and firm fairway)!

[Sean2]

^^^I couldn't hit a 300 yard drive even with those conditions! Nice score under some terrible conditions! Subtract those three putts and wow. :-)

My friend's daughter will be playing in the US Open Qualifier next Monday. She qualified last year (at 14). This year the competition is stiffer. She's won three tournaments so far this year...in one she shot a 66 on the final day. She has the Scott Robertson the weekend after the qualifier, which she won the year before, but didn't play last year.