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For many of us, the end of the U.S. Open on Father’s Day provides the excuse for an ideal golf-centered day: play in the morning, neglect household responsibilities in the afternoon, then relax. force-feeding someone else’s side chips and nervous putts in the evening.
Inevitably, this week is also one where we reflect on how the game we love is shared across generations. I still get to watch and talk golf with my dad, and I’ve been playing with my own boys since they were swinging spatula-sized clubs.
The fact that both boys are still avid golfers as teenagers is a gift in itself. My oldest son plays in college and his younger brother can already outplay me with his 4 iron. When people ask me what I’ve done well with my kids at golf, I usually mumble something vague and not very helpful . It’s because I always believe that my best advice is heeded in this story I wrote last year about all the things I’ve done wrong.
In all honesty, golf parenting can be broken down into different sections, and I did pretty well when the first goal was simply to make the game fun. It was more when my eldest started getting serious that I was generally beside myself – and where I could still be wrong. All this came to mind recently when I saw This interview with one of the best quotes on any golf topic, Padraig Harrington. When he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame by his son Paddy this week, it was clear that Harrington’s success extended beyond three major championships, but in the way he raised his children . And when it came to golf, the elder Harrington exercised restraint on purpose.
โI usually get them home before they get tired,โ Harrington said of his early tours with his children. โSo the best thing you can do with a kid early on in golf is tell them, ‘Hey, we need to go home.’ Don’t wait until they are tired and foggy. Wait until they’re really enjoying themselves and then go home.
There are now many opportunities for young golfers to improve quickly, but as Harrington pointed out, children’s golf skills can always develop. But that won’t happen if they don’t want to be there in the first place.
โIf your child gets good at the game, that doesnโt necessarily mean they love the game,โ he said. โIf your child enjoys the game, chances are they will become good at it. Love should come first. ยป
