Elite juniors
Tom Jackson is General Manager of OslerBrook Golf & Country Club in Collingwood, Ont.
Elite junior players can often hit the ball longer and more precisely than adult golfers, but youngsters require a much different approach on the lesson tee.
This is due not only to the different way that youngsters learn—as well as their shorter attention spans—but also juniors have less history with the game.
Because juniors have been playing the game a relatively shorter period of time, they generally have fewer ingrained swing flaws than adults who have developed their swings over years or even decades.
Since juniors don’t have a lot of history and given that their bodies are still changing, I don’t have much history to change to teach what I believe is the correct method to swing the club.
Therefore, swing changes can happen fast, and if you are not careful, juniors can overdo them. We have a saying in teaching: “Not enough, too much, just right,” which means that not enough or too much of a good thing can be equally detrimental.
In order not to overload a young student and to effectively manage the pace of change, I strongly believe that they should have shorter and more frequent coaching sessions.
A week-long camp once a year or a lesson once a month is not sufficient. Elite juniors require constant attention and a detailed building plan if they are going to play at the highest level.
Based on their historical experiences and influences, adults are unlikely to adapt to change as quickly as juniors. Therefore, they require longer lessons with more time between to unlearn their history while incorporating changes that lead to improvement.
Whether I’m teaching juniors or adults, I have to change the student’s belief system before I can make a fundamental and lasting change in the way they swing the club and play the game.
Change the past and you change the future for the student.
Note: The teaching methodology presented solely reflects the views of the author.
Elite juniors require different approach