Yesterday
Me: We are all available. Who do you want to caddy for you tomorrow?
Rob: Daddy.
Me: Are you sure?
Rob: Mom, you would be my third choice!
Today
Dad on the bag. His focus was on keeping it lighthearted and fun. The result was that Rob kept very calm, had lots of up-and-downs (as opposed to ups and downs), and lots of saves, even following less than stellar shots.
He scored better than the tour ‘Big Guns’ and came home with a medal!
I asked Max what lessons he came away with for the Junior Golf Nation out there.
One of the players in the 3 ball was relatively new to the game. He had a pretty good swing but no short game and no help from mom who just drove around in the cart and let him loose pretty much on his own. That can be a little intimidating for a new kid with little experience.
Max had to do a lot of helping with score-keeping and rules-following.
For example, both playing parties and parents (one a pretty seasoned duo so I’m surprised) was of the opinion that it was okay to lose the ball, re-tee and hit 2 – forgetting to count the ‘drop’ on the tee.
On one hole both playing partners landed in a hazard half-way up the fairway. One took a drop where he entered the hazard and the other chose to try and hit out of the hazard. On leaving the hazard they saw a ‘drop zone’.
Max suggested they play 2 balls, which they duly did, and check at the end on the ruling to see if US Kids would provide any leniency. They had not been provided with a local rules sheet or told of a drop zone at the start of the round.
The rule is that, once you drop or hit from a hazard, the ball is in play and it is too late if you subsequently see a drop zone. The moral of the story is : ask about local rules before the round, especially if it is course you have never played.
A general thought. Know the level of play you are putting your child into. There are tournaments all over the country that cater to every level. US Kids is in the business of developing young golfers (they are the best in the business) not creating PGA Tour players (what a round often feels like). As long as you keep pace of play, understand course etiquette and have a working knowledge of the rules you will be fine on this Tour. The young novice playing with no help held his own well, made some dicey decisions and to his credit never got too upset with himself. Max said later that if he had a knowledgable caddie the junior could have shaved a good 5 shots off the 9 hole round score. It helps to have experience on the bag. As the junior gets older it becomes more important not to throw your junior into the deep end. In a Hurricanes or GA PGA Junior Tour tournament for example, a child who shoots 150+ is probably out of his depth and will feel happier and develop his game and confidence better on another tour, Atlanta Juniors for example is a good bet for starting out (if you live in GA).
Later
Me: How was your day?
Rob: I really enjoyed it. Since I did not get upset I feel that helped me do well.
Me: What did Daddy do well to help you today?
rob: He helped with the putt reading.
Max: That’s it?