Introducing a 4-year old to golf

[AndysDaddy]

I'm not a pro, but I have a 4 year old son. I got him a set of juniors (driver, 9/PW, 7/8, 5/6, putter). I just tee them up on some smooth-ground grass I keep mowed short (1 inch or so) and let him swing.

I try to keep him on the basics: "Swing through, don't chop (as he likes to do)", "Keep your eye on the ball", etc. Not too much though - if he gets frustrated, he'll just quit for a while.

I've taken him out with me on some "just for fun" rounds (begs the question: what other kind is there? [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] ) and let him hit on the tees and then pick up to where my ball is and hit again. Then putt out on the green.

What are your goals? I'm just trying to introduce the game and generate and/or judge interest levels. I try to keep it *very* casual. I'm not knocking anyone that tries more seriously with their kids, its just not for me.

I occasionally ask if he's interested in taking a "class" (like he has for tee ball, soccer, swimming) and get mixed results. If he shows enough interest next year, maybe we'll try one.

YMMV - I understand 4yo girls attention spans are *much* longer than boys (his average session length in the back yard is probably 10 hits or so). Mostly, I'd say make sure you and especially your daughter are having fun and don't worry too much about performance levels at this point.

JMHO