Sometimes You Have to Paint the House

Life, like golf, is a game of balance. I've been offline from the blog, but not on the links either. I've been painting my house. It has been nice outside, with our balmy California summers. During the past year-and-a-half, my son and I played over 60 rounds. We even had our own 3-day, 54-hole tournament during Thanksgiving. No Claret Jug to take home, but we did keep a running 3-day score.

Every now and then it's good to take a little break from golf and take care of the other things that need attention. And right now it's the exterior of my house! I hope to be back on the links this weekend-- probably at Moffett Field.

In the next few posts, I'm going to fast-forward a little bit and cover some of my favorite family-friendly courses in the Bay Area. So stay tuned...

The Putting Green Can Be a Magical Place

The first time I took my daughter to the driving range, she was 7 years old. She had her shiny, new set of golf clubs. She was wearing proper golf attire, and she even had a little golf glove for her left hand. I was ready to teach her how to whack balls on the driving range. However, when we arrived at the practice facility at Palo Alto Muni, I was surprised by her amazement and awe. She walked around the putting green and was amazed at how "spongy" the grass was. She didn't even believe it was real grass at first. After all, the only grass she had seen previously was on lawns and parks. Even getting balls from the driving range was a new and somewhat cool experience. I let her put in the tokens and carry her own bucket of balls. And there were occasional squirrels and birds that would watch what we humans were doing. All-in-all, there were lots of amazing things for a young golfer to take in.

As you most adult golfers know, the short game in golf can have more impact on your scores as the long game. However, most adults spend most of their time whacking balls on the driving range rather than practicing putts, chips and pitches. So start your young golfer off on the right foot. Start their golf lessons by working on putting first. This has advantages, because most kids have swung a putter on a miniature golf course at a birthday party or two. So they're already familiar with a putter, and the putting grip and swing are much easier than the golf grip and swing. Sinking short putts is also a good way to provide some early positive reinforcement to make the game more enjoyable. Also, if you start with a very young golfer, the putting green is a safer place for your little Tiger-in-the-making. I remember starting my son at the age of four, and he was all too eager to explore on the driving range. So, we spent a lot of time putting early on!

Young Golfers Need a Low-Compression Golf Ball

Getting the ball airborne and hitting the ball straight are the two most important things for a young golfer when they're starting to play golf. Don't worry about distance. Bragging rights aren't important at this stage. And you don't want your young golfer to feel like they have to compete with you on the golf course. You will hit the ball farther than your young golfer, but that's only because you've got physics on your side. You're probably taller and heavier, you have longer arms and your clubs are longer and heavier. You have the advantage from the get-go thanks to Newton's Laws! So don't emphasize distance-- instead, focus on the quality of their shots!

So, what's the compression of a golf ball, you ask? The compression of a golf ball is actually a number that measures the stiffness (or resistance to being compressed). Compression is a number. The lower the number, the softer (and more squeezable) the ball. The higher the number, the stiffer (and more rock-like) the ball. Titleist has some very interesting articles about the history and aerodynamics of the golf ball. If you're an engineer or a golf nut, you should check out their site. Heck, it's kind of cool to be able to talk about a featherie or a gutta percha when you're waiting on the tee box.

A few years ago, Titleist had published their golf ball compressions on their website. I can't find them now, but I do have my notes from my Palm Pilot. Here are the compressions:

• DT Distance: 77-82
• HVC Tour: 80-85
• HVC Distance: 83-88
• HVC Distance-L: 85-90
• NXT Distance: 70-75
• NXT Tour: 80-85
  
• DT Solo: 60's

The Titleist DT Solo is a nice, low-compression golf ball. My son likes Nike golf balls, because he's a huge Tiger fan. Nike has several low-compression varieties marketed under "Soft" and "Soft Distance."

There are also some fun golf balls out there. Both of my kids were into colorful golf balls when they started playing. The Volvik Crystal golf ball comes in a variety of colors, mostly pastel, and it's outer coating is clear and crystal-like. The Maxfli Noodle Ice is a colorful golf ball with a clear cover.

Just remember to chose a low-compression golf ball for your young golfer. Try to get a golf ball with a compression of 70 or lower.

Starting with the Right Golf Clubs

One thing that kids notice right away is that adult golf clubs are heavy, and they're right. Even if you "cut down" the shaft on your old clubs, they will still be too heavy for kids. The club head is large and heavy and the shaft is too stiff and heavy. As a result, modified adult clubs will be more difficult to swing for the beginning child golfer.

These days, you can choose from a variety of golf clubs especially designed for children, and the prices are all very reasonable. When I had started teaching my daughter four years ago, I purchased a starter set of kid's clubs from the local Wal-mart. However, after a few sessions on the range, we both realized that the clubs were a bit heavy. Although they were marked as kids clubs, the club heads were still rather large.

After some research on the web, I found US Kids Golf Clubs. They offer four different sizes of golf clubs, each set designed for a specific age range and height. The club heads are much lighter than adult clubs, and the shafts are very flexible. In fact, you can see them "whip around" on the downswing. The additional shaft flexibility helps younger golfers get the ball airborne. And the lightweight clubs helps with club head speed and good form. Both of my kids play US Kids Golf clubs, and they are easy to "pass down" to the younger child once the older child outgrows her set.

These days, nearly every golf club manufacturer offers children's clubs that you can find at your local pro shop, golf specialty store or sporting goods store. Nike also a complete line of youth clubs, and they have the additional "Tiger" appeal for your young golfer. (As an aside, my son is a huge Tiger fan, and he dresses in Tiger's traditional red and black when we play on a Sunday.) I've also seen youth sets from La Jolla Clubs, Callaway, Ping and Cobra.

Now don't go overboard on the equipment purchases. A starting youth golfer only needs a handful of clubs:

• A putter
• Two short irons: pitching wedge, 8-iron
  
• One mid iron: 6-iron
• A lofted wood, such as a 5-wood
• Make sure that your irons and woods have very flexible graphite shafts.
  

As you can see, I have not included long irons or a driver on the list, because these clubs are harder to hit (even for adults). The shorter, lofted clubs will be easier for your young golfer to swing, and your young golfer will get more enjoyment from hitting a well-struck shot rather than crushing one out to another zip code. At this stage, you should emphasize hitting well-struck shots that get airborne and fly straight-- not distance. You can always purchase additional clubs later once your young golfer has mastered the clubs in this starter set.

Getting Started: Some Resources that Will Help

As you know, golf is a game about course management and thinking about your next shot-- what club to use, should you lay up, should you pitch out to the fairway instead of taking the tricky shot through the trees to the green? Before you take your kids out to the driving range for the first time, some preparation will make the experience much more enjoyable. Here are some resources I've found quite useful:

• The Baffled Parent's Guide to Teaching Kids Golf by Detty Moore is a quick read that covers the basics of the swing and provides some nice drills you can use on the driving range.
• Butch Harmon's Ultimate Golf is a DVD that covers the short game, long game and course management. Since Butch was Tiger's coach at one time, it's
  
• Ultimate Golf Techniques by Malcolm Campbell is good pictorial book that covers the basics of the golf swing, rules and course management.
• How I Play Golf by Tiger Woods is a great book for getting your little guy interested in the game-- lots of pictures, and personal tips from Tiger.

In the next post, I'll talk about getting started on the driving range and how to keep it fun.

Welcome to "Golf with Your Kids"

Welcome to a new blog that will contain a collection of experience, tips and advice for enjoying the great game of golf with your children. My colleagues and friends all know my great enthusiasm for the game of golf. I've been playing for the past seven years, and along the way I've managed to teach both of my kids the sport.

Many years ago, my daughter and I had taken private lessons together from Mark Madayag at Palo Alto Muni. Along the way, we practiced together and played together at several 9-hole executive courses. Now, she has graduated to an adult set of women's clubs, and she can hit 'em straight and long. She can also play the game whenever she's in the mood. She's a teenager now, so you'll understand why it's hard to get her on the links. But when she does play, she has fun on the links. And there are plenty of birds, squirrels, and the occasional rabbit that add to the experience. Once, a flock of wild turkeys flew overhead when we played the short course at Santa Teresa.

I had introduced golf to my son at the age of 5, and now he's an 8-year old with a 34 handicap. When I started teaching my son, I was able to apply the lessons I had learned from my daughter's golf introduction. So, I've been my son's only swing coach, which is pretty cool for me and him. I had told him the story of how Sergio Garcia learned the game from his dad and how Sergio's dad is still his coach. My son was inspired by that story, and he has been a rather good student. In the past 18 months, my son and I play have played nearly every weekend. At the start of 2007, he "graduated" to 18-hole muni coures, where he now hits from the white tees.

In this blog, I plan to share advice on how to teach your kids the game. I will cover basic swing mechanics, and I will spend more time on how to teach your kids so that it's fun. (Remember, that's the reason you're out there playing golf-- to have fun.) All too often, I've seen kids and their dads on the driving range, and you can tell that no one is having fun. I will also share my experiences with local golf resources-- programs as well as family-friendly golf courses.

So, welcome aboard! I'm looking forward to help you golf with your kids...