The best golf games to play with a young child

It can be intimidating to take your child out to the range or the course. What if you’re too tough on them? What if you distract or slow down other groups? What if your child inherits your incurable slice?

Remember that his or her attention span is shorter. A session as short as 20 minutes might be perfect. How to spend that time? Brian Burgwyn, a U.S. Kids Master Kids Coach, says gamify our practice. “Sometimes, the best way to practice is where they don’t realize that they’re practicing.”

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A classic game to play with your kid on the practice green is tic-tac-toe because it teaches aim, speed control and strategy. All you need is something to mark the boxes with, like tees, string or chalk, and you’re in business. Depending on skill level, hit putts from five or ten feet from “the board” and see who can get tic-tac-toe first. You can also incorporate a rule where players can knock their opponents out of their boxes. This helps players develop their aim, distance control and strategic thinking. As your child’s skills improve, build up to longer-distance putts. You can also use this game with chipping.

“Bowling” is another fun game for the putting green. Anthony Rodriguez, Senior Program Director at the First Tee of Metropolitan New York, loves this game for juniors because it teaches kids how to account for stroke and distance while also developing speed control. To set this one up, place ten tees upside down in a triangular bowling-pin formation and spaced so a golf ball can’t quite fit between them. Drop two balls about eight feet away and try to knock down as many pins as possible. Score this like you would a traditional game of bowling.

You don’t always have to set up elaborate drills to keep your kid engaged. Burgwyn says making golf fun can be as simple as challenging your kid to hit a shot high, or left, or wherever! Sometimes you don’t even need golf balls. Dona Lerner, a U.S. Kids Master Kids Coach, says that hitting pine cones in the back yard is a great way to simulate the sensation of swinging through something. She also endorses enlivening bunker practice by swapping out golf balls for giant marshmallows. On really hot days, Burgwyn switches out regular range balls for water balloons.

Like many golf parents, you might be wondering if there’s a “right time” to take your kid to the course. Many junior golf coaches we spoke with agree: any time! If your goal is to grow a child’s love of the game, he or she must first feel comfortable on the course.

Instead of droning on about technique or strategy, make it fast-paced by having your child partner with you in a parent-child scramble format. You can start around the green to boost the child’s confidence and work back as the child improves. Not only will the kids learn valuable playing skills, a scramble is also a great opportunity to collaborate with them on the course.

When your junior is ready to play on his or her own, scale the course to his or her skill level. Start at about 70 yards away from the flag with minimal to no obstructions or hazards. The first time out, call a 70-yard hole a par 5. Once the child can consistently make par, change it to a par 4 and then a par 3. As your junior’s game progresses, use the Longleaf Tee System as a guide to figure out how long each hole should be for your child. The Longleaf Tee System is a joint initiative from the American Society of Golf Course Architects and the U.S. Kids Golf Foundation that’s designed to create a fun and fair course for every player. How does it work? Essentially, you allow driving distance to decide the yardages any golfer plays. For example, a child who carries the ball with their drive 100 yards would play par-4s between 146 yards and 214 yards. This allows the child the opportunity to use every club in the bag and develop a well-rounded golf game. If you want to get granular, you can refer to charts on the Longleaf website to set specific tees on your home course.

Scaling the course doesn’t only apply to yardages but also expectations. Because golf is often a recurring-cost sport, Lerner explains that many parents feel like they need to see their child improving at a certain pace to justify the money they’re spending.

“You can’t measure the success of your investment every time your kid touches a golf club,” Lerner reminds.

Minimizing expectations will reduce the pressure kids feel on the course and make their experience more enjoyable. That’s all you want for your child—to love golf, too.