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Youth golf: Why today’s big hitters are bad for beginners

By Christopher O'Day

NORTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 03: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his shot from the second tee during the final round of the Dell Technologies Championship at TPC Boston on September 3, 2018 in Norton, Massachusetts. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
NORTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 03: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his shot from the second tee during the final round of the Dell Technologies Championship at TPC Boston on September 3, 2018 in Norton, Massachusetts. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images) /
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Youth golf is exploding, thanks in large part to the PGA TOUR’s remarkable crew of young stars. But are they creating an unrealistic standard for starting young players?

In 2018, golf viewership went up 27% combined during the four majors, according to sports media watch. Tiger Woods looks to be back, and the amount of young talent in the game is astounding. Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy, and Jordan Spieth have made over $30 million combined this year. Even with cord cutting at an all-time high, people are still finding ways to watch. All the numbers say that golf is thriving. Yet all the same success is bad for youth golf.

The success isn’t bad for youth golf in that it’s hindering the growth of the game. Kids all over are getting out and playing, wanting to emulate the incredible athletes on tour. The reason it’s bad for the youth is one word.

Driver.

Wanting to do what they are seeing on TV, kids and teens are skipping the putting green, and heading to the range with one club in their hands. Once they are there, its commonplace to see them go through an entire large bag rarely putting away the driver.

The understanding for the issue is fairly simple. It’s why those who watch Steph Curry want to shoot 30 footers from downtown. The same reason kids swing for the fences in baseball. Deep threes, home runs, and long drives all just look cool.

Striping a drive is a great feeling. When it’s the only facet of the game that’s being worked on is when it becomes a detriment. The driver becomes a multi-layered issue as well. It’s not an easy club to control, regardless of your skill level. Driving ranges are losing more and more golf balls. Golfers on other holes, or even tee boxes next to you on the range, are in danger.

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The next downfall from the driver being the only club they want to swing is high scores. It applies all the way up to high school golf. When the driver is the only club a kid can hit, the rest of their game suffers.

It doesn’t matter if you can go 280 off the tee and hit most fairways. If you need to take four more shots and three more putts to finish the hole, you won’t be happy. I’ve had kids I coach get frustrated for that very reason. They don’t understand why they can hit similar to the guys on tour, but aren’t putting up good scores.

Golfers of all ages and skill levels can help out by spending more time on the practice green, and emphasizing the importance. Helping the youth to understand the feeling that nailing a great chip, or draining a 20-footer feels better than a good drive.

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Not everyone can go 350 off the tee like we see on tour. Everyone who takes the time to practice can become great around the green.  Take just as much, if not more time practicing putting and chipping. When you build from the green out, your game will grow much faster than the other way around. The quicker we can help youth golf out there grow their enjoyment for the game, the better it will be for golfers and golf alike.

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