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Hole in Fun: A Guide to Coaching Kids Golf with Playful Twist
Neil Plimmer, a PGA golf professional and co-founder of JOLF Ltd tells us his top tips on how to coach beginners and advanced golf to children and young people.
Included in this article:
- VOICE: Tips and need-to-knows
- How to plan a golf coaching session for kids
- VOICE: How to teach golf to beginners
- How to teach more advanced golf
- Coaching children golf: The FAQs
- How to motivate youth golfer players
- How to explain the rules of golf to kids
- What qualifications do you need to coach golf to children?
- Free Resources: Self-assessment tools which coaches reflect on their current practice
For many months of the year, golf fans around the world are entertained by the sport’s packed calendar of competitions. One or more of them will no doubt inspire youngsters to take up golf, providing coaches with more opportunities to adopt a child-first approach. Let’s examine how they can do that, and get a few hints about how to make golf engaging and fun for children of all ages, abilities and backgrounds.
How to coach golf to kids: Tips and Need-to-Knows
One man who is happy to provide his junior golf coaching tips is Neil Plimmer, PGA golf professional and co-creator of JOLF , a programme that was specifically designed to be child-first in its approach.
“We’d worked in golf for a long time and were offered the opportunity to write a programme,” he explains.
“The majority of programmes that were around at the time were very much adult led ‘you must do this, you must do that, this is how you hold a club’.
We wanted to put the learning in the hands of the children, so we wrote it in such a way that it was the child that was driving the process.”
Neil Plimmer JOLF Ltd Co-founder
Neil says JOLF uses the ‘each child, every time’ approach, ensuring that at every session children are happy, absorbed and playing on their terms, in their way and in their own time.
Take things back to basics
When coaching golf to kids, it’s important to start with a stripped-back version of golf. “Start from here, with this, strike that, over there,” says Neil.
“Presenting it to children in a simple, engaging way, allows them to take ownership of that and build it to look however they want to.
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“I always recall watching a child in a wheelchair with very limited movement of their body play golf. We set up golf for them on a table, presenting the game in the best way to help them own their experience.”
Be a facilitator of play
“I’ve found that some adults patronise children, especially when it comes to play because they don’t understand children and what the sport or activity needs to look like for them,” says Neil.
I’m probably as far from being a coach of golf as I’ve ever been. I’m more like a facilitator of play.”
Neil Plimmer JOLF Ltd Co-founder
How to plan a golf coaching session for kids
JOLF’s child-first, ‘each child, every time’ approach means there’s a lot less formal structure to Neil’s sessions, but that doesn’t mean there’s no plan.
“I always say I’m a designer of experiences and an architect of environments,” he explains. “When designing an experience, I’ll have an idea of what I want to achieve, but I’ll also be ready to follow the lead of the children as well, when setting up tasks.”
Neil works with children aged 4 -11 in primary schools, specialist education and community settings.
“Because we make very clear what we expect from the children, they understand what is required of them and what they can expect from me,” he enthuses.
“I tell the children the safety rules, show them the club, ball, tell them where the start and end are, then say: ‘show me what you’ve got’.
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Chart Your Course
How to teach golf to beginners
When coaching children golf, Neil adopts his stripped-back version of the game, and with good reason. Many of the youngsters may be holding golf clubs or having a go at the game for the first time, but they remain the drivers of what they do.
“When you want to develop children, you play alongside and support them on their journey,” Neil says. “A youngster may get half way down the second hole and turn to me and say: ‘I don’t quite know how to do this’, so we’ll have a chat.
“Often there’s very little ‘tell’. We trust that children are able to self-organise. It’s no different to them learning to walk or eat or talk. They have that ability because it’s in-built, but adults seem to spend a lot of time removing it.”
How to teach more advanced golf
When it comes to coaching youth golf among more advanced kids, Neil is crystal clear about JOLF’s aims: “we want them to love doing it,” he says. “If they do that from the outset, there’s nothing they won’t want to know about the game.
Once they make the decision for themselves that they want to invest their time, energy and resources into playing golf, then I think the game tends to sweep them up - it puts a rug around them and helps them.”
Neil Plimmer JOLF Ltd Co-founder
Coaching children golf: The FAQs
When it comes to developing methods of how to coach golf to kids, taking a child-first approach is crucial to ensure youngsters learn in their own way and at their own pace.
When it comes to developing methods of how to coach golf to kids, taking a child-first approach is crucial to ensure youngsters learn in their own way and at their own pace.
How do you motivate youth golf players?
Using equipment that will engage everyone is a great idea when thinking about how to teach children golf, says Neil. JOLF uses a six-hole, scaled-down version of a course, with trees, bunkers, water and flags.
“I tell the children the safety rules, show them the club and ball, tell them where the start and end are and let them go for it,” he says.
How do you explain the rules of golf to kids?
For younger children, JOLF has three golden rules: play safely, sensibly and fairly, supported by being ‘polite, kind and grateful’. “We set unbelievably high expectations of the children and their behaviour, and likewise all adults involved,” Neil explains.
When it comes to golf coaching tips for children and explaining the rules, our advice is add them in when required, but play that’s directed by the child often doesn’t need any. They know what’s right and wrong.”
Neil Plimmer JOLF Ltd Co-founder
Neil says the rules are discussed in the context of play, but points out the importance of distinguishing between “just whacking a ball around a field for the fun and enjoyment of it while doing it safely, sensibly and fairly”, and the game of golf proper.
“The latter has rules, scoring, format, boundaries that you have to adhere to. Our aim is for them to play independently, enjoy playing with others and learn as they play.”
What qualifications do you need to coach golf to children?
Anyone looking into how to teach golf to kids can learn about the PGA’s ASQ Level 1 Award in Coaching Golf , and find out more about becoming a volunteer coach.
For those looking to become professionals, there’s more information about the The PGA Training Programme here.
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About the contributors
Neil Plimmer has been a PGA golf professional for more than 20 years, and was involved in all areas of the game. Over 11 years ago he co-founded JOLF Ltd, a programme aimed at providing meaningful experiences of golf in schools and at golf clubs for children and their families. He has spoken across the world to coaches about JOLF.
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