How Do Juniors Learn
What do we see in junior golf? For the most part the trend in junior golf equipment is improving. The word is out on cut-off adult clubs, most now know they are too heavy and stiff for juniors. Instead we see many juniors swinging proper length, weight, and grip sized drivers and fairway woods. Most often the first junior club purchased for a new junior golfer is a wood of some form. On one side as an instructor I am happy to see kids with properly fitted equipment, however I cringe when I see a junior head to the range with their parent toting a new driver ready to swing for the first time. Why do I cringe? I know that they will hit some well, but most poorly, and they will never have consistency. Lets look at a few similar examples:
Would you ask your child to read a complex sentence before they had ever seen the alphabet? In time you could teach them to memorize the words, but would that be reading? Absolutely not.
Would you ask your child to complete an advanced math equation prior to seeing and learning numbers? Absolutely not. The numbers they see in the equation would have no meaning, nor would they ever have an approach or method to differentiate or apply the numbers.
The junior driver is like a complex sentence or advanced math equation. It like the sentence or math equation, is not the basic unit we build from to learn.
To use a sport related example, when we teach our children to swim do we put them in the deep end and say, "Go for it". Absolutely not. The first step is to get into the water, the shallow end. The second step is to have them put their head under water. Then learn to kick their feet, etc... If we do not follow these steps, the child will thrash their arms struggling to keep their head above water, and have no fun.
To me seeing many juniors swing their new drivers is just like a child thrashing in the pool. Will that child every enjoy swimming? They may enjoy the cool water, but swimming will always be frustrating. Could a child who never learns the alphabet enjoy reading?
So how can we break golf down into an "alphabet". This does not mean simply teaching them a setup, pre-shot routine, or teach short-game first. This means that we truly give them an "alphabet" that gives them an approach to hit any shot, just like we use the alphabet to read any word.
Sound to good to be true that is only because you have not experienced ShoutGolf.