Girls' golf -- how competitive in this area?

[Anonymous]

DD (10) recently started golf and seems to really enjoy it. We've also been told that she has some natural ability. Thinking ahead, is this the kind of sport where kids need lots of expensive one-on-one coaching to be good enough for their high school team? Just trying to get a sense of what's typically required to be competitive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD (10) recently started golf and seems to really enjoy it. We've also been told that she has some natural ability. Thinking ahead, is this the kind of sport where kids need lots of expensive one-on-one coaching to be good enough for their high school team? Just trying to get a sense of what's typically required to be competitive.

I've gone through this with three kids. They are now 22, 20 and 18 years old. Golf is a very expensive sport if you want to get serious about it, and I spent about 25k/year, per kids. None of them are playing golf in college but the oldest one found out that golf has really helped him with his corporate career. He played with the company CFO and was recently promoted over five other people who are much qualified than he is, and that his salary is more than doubled. Go figure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD (10) recently started golf and seems to really enjoy it. We've also been told that she has some natural ability. Thinking ahead, is this the kind of sport where kids need lots of expensive one-on-one coaching to be good enough for their high school team? Just trying to get a sense of what's typically required to be competitive.

It might be useful to enter your daughter in a local US Kids tournament. Just Google "US Kids Northern VA". By participating, you will get a sense of the skill level of other players your daughter's age, and you'll be able to get some feedback from other parents as to how they are helping their kids to improve their golf skills.

While many of the 9/10 year old girls in the US kids tournaments are beginners, some have amazing golf skills. They can effortlessly drive the ball 200 yards, and, in a tournament, some of them can finish just a few strokes above par on a 9-hole, 1900 yard, par 36 course. These kids have been playing the game for several years and are getting lots of private lessons. Some are getting 1 private lesson per week (cost = $100 to $150) and also playing a practice round each week. I think some of these kids will get division 1 scholarships.

But if your daughter's goal is to be good enough to play in high school -- as opposed to college -- you could take a more leisurely approach. I think an initial set of lessons makes sense, to get the fundamentals in place. But then she could get lessons less frequently. Also, there are lots of great tutorials on YouTube. You could watch them with your daughter and try to learn the game with her.

BTW, my daughter is 9 and plays golf. We just play as a family. We aren't getting lessons. We play a few times a month. And she sometimes participates in the US kids tournaments. She generally finishes in the center of the pack, shooting around a 50 on a par-36 course. If she decides she wants to invest more time in the game, I'll get her lessons. But right now, she is having fun playing once a week, and her level of enjoyment dictates my approach. I am not going to push her onto the Division 1 golf path -- with tons of lessons and practice -- unless that is what she wants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD (10) recently started golf and seems to really enjoy it. We've also been told that she has some natural ability. Thinking ahead, is this the kind of sport where kids need lots of expensive one-on-one coaching to be good enough for their high school team? Just trying to get a sense of what's typically required to be competitive.

I've gone through this with three kids. They are now 22, 20 and 18 years old. Golf is a very expensive sport if you want to get serious about it, and I spent about 25k/year, per kids. None of them are playing golf in college but the oldest one found out that golf has really helped him with his corporate career. He played with the company CFO and was recently promoted over five other people who are much qualified than he is, and that his salary is more than doubled. Go figure.

Wow. Did you feel like that level of expenditure was necessary just to compete at the high school level? Was that for both girls and boys or do you only have sons?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD (10) recently started golf and seems to really enjoy it. We've also been told that she has some natural ability. Thinking ahead, is this the kind of sport where kids need lots of expensive one-on-one coaching to be good enough for their high school team? Just trying to get a sense of what's typically required to be competitive.

I've gone through this with three kids. They are now 22, 20 and 18 years old. Golf is a very expensive sport if you want to get serious about it, and I spent about 25k/year, per kids. None of them are playing golf in college but the oldest one found out that golf has really helped him with his corporate career. He played with the company CFO and was recently promoted over five other people who are much qualified than he is, and that his salary is more than doubled. Go figure.

Wow. Did you feel like that level of expenditure was necessary just to compete at the high school level? Was that for both girls and boys or do you only have sons?

Well, the oldest one son played golf for one of the Big 3 private schools and he was the top golfer on the team.  He likes golf but not enough to play at his school of choice so he played sparingly during his time in college.  The daughter also played of at one of the big 3 private schools and she also played the #1 position but her goal is pre-med and she is not good enough to play for UVA so she only sparingly in college.  The youngest son likes golf more than his brother and sister but not enough to give up his dream school, Stanford, to attend a lesser school just to play golf.  He will be going to Stanford in the fall.  The youngest one has a +8 handicap.

As far as playing high school varsity golf, it really depends on the school. For schools with rich golf tradition like Langley or McLean HS, you will need to shoot consistently bogey round or better to make the team.  Schools like Annandale or Falls Church, the team is not very good so they will take just about anyone.  YMMV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD (10) recently started golf and seems to really enjoy it. We've also been told that she has some natural ability. Thinking ahead, is this the kind of sport where kids need lots of expensive one-on-one coaching to be good enough for their high school team? Just trying to get a sense of what's typically required to be competitive.

I've gone through this with three kids. They are now 22, 20 and 18 years old. Golf is a very expensive sport if you want to get serious about it, and I spent about 25k/year, per kids. None of them are playing golf in college but the oldest one found out that golf has really helped him with his corporate career. He played with the company CFO and was recently promoted over five other people who are much qualified than he is, and that his salary is more than doubled. Go figure.

Wow. Did you feel like that level of expenditure was necessary just to compete at the high school level? Was that for both girls and boys or do you only have sons?

I'm not the original poster, but rather the 2nd poster who suggested you test the waters by entering your daughter in a US Kids local tournament. These are friendly, fun tournaments and the kids quickly become friends with each other. You'll be able to pick the other parent's brains in regard to their coaching strategies.

IMO, you don't need to spend 25K a year unless your goal is to develop a collegiate-level player, or unless you want your daughter to be the very best on the high school golf team. If one's goal is to simply make the high school team, and if she has natural athleticism, I think you could use the following low-cost teaching sequence:

Phase 1: a package of 5 or 6 group lessons (a small group of kids being taught at the same time), with a cost of around $300, in which your daughter will be introduced to the basics: how to grip the club, how to stand, posture, basic swing mechanics.

Phase 2: a package of 5 to 10 individual private lessons, spaced at one-month intervals. Cost = between $100 and $150 per 60-minute lesson

Phase 3: play golf! Try to play at least once every couple of weeks. Stick with small courses, like East Potomac Park's red course, or Jefferson's 9 hole course, or Burke Lake. You may be able to link up with other parents who are introducing their kids to the game, so that a group of 2 or 3 kids can have fun playing together.

Phase 4: enter a few local US Kids tournaments, just for the experience. In fact, you can do this right away if you want. Don't be nervous about going up against well-trained, experienced players. There are plenty of beginners who enter in these tournaments.

If she is athletic, if she enjoys the game, and if she continues to play on regular basis, she can become a solid high school golfer. And if she has natural talent, she may leap-frog over other kids who have invested thousands of hours in private lessons and practice rounds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD (10) recently started golf and seems to really enjoy it. We've also been told that she has some natural ability. Thinking ahead, is this the kind of sport where kids need lots of expensive one-on-one coaching to be good enough for their high school team? Just trying to get a sense of what's typically required to be competitive.

I've gone through this with three kids. They are now 22, 20 and 18 years old. Golf is a very expensive sport if you want to get serious about it, and I spent about 25k/year, per kids. None of them are playing golf in college but the oldest one found out that golf has really helped him with his corporate career. He played with the company CFO and was recently promoted over five other people who are much qualified than he is, and that his salary is more than doubled. Go figure.

Wow. Did you feel like that level of expenditure was necessary just to compete at the high school level? Was that for both girls and boys or do you only have sons?

I'm not the original poster, but rather the 2nd poster who suggested you test the waters by entering your daughter in a US Kids local tournament. These are friendly, fun tournaments and the kids quickly become friends with each other. You'll be able to pick the other parent's brains in regard to their coaching strategies.

IMO, you don't need to spend 25K a year unless your goal is to develop a collegiate-level player, or unless you want your daughter to be the very best on the high school golf team. If one's goal is to simply make the high school team, and if she has natural athleticism, I think you could use the following low-cost teaching sequence:

Phase 1: a package of 5 or 6 group lessons (a small group of kids being taught at the same time), with a cost of around $300, in which your daughter will be introduced to the basics: how to grip the club, how to stand, posture, basic swing mechanics.

Phase 2: a package of 5 to 10 individual private lessons, spaced at one-month intervals. Cost = between $100 and $150 per 60-minute lesson

Phase 3: play golf! Try to play at least once every couple of weeks. Stick with small courses, like East Potomac Park's red course, or Jefferson's 9 hole course, or Burke Lake. You may be able to link up with other parents who are introducing their kids to the game, so that a group of 2 or 3 kids can have fun playing together.

Phase 4: enter a few local US Kids tournaments, just for the experience. In fact, you can do this right away if you want. Don't be nervous about going up against well-trained, experienced players. There are plenty of beginners who enter in these tournaments.

If she is athletic, if she enjoys the game, and if she continues to play on regular basis, she can become a solid high school golfer. And if she has natural talent, she may leap-frog over other kids who have invested thousands of hours in private lessons and practice rounds.

Meanwhile, they will be competing against kids whose parents have country club memberships that enable them to be on the course more often and working with club pros

[Anonymous]

Serious golfers move to warmer climates.

[Anonymous]

If she is athletic, if she enjoys the game, and if she continues to play on regular basis, she can become a solid high school golfer. And if she has natural talent, she may leap-frog over other kids who have invested thousands of hours in private lessons and practice rounds.

Meanwhile, they will be competing against kids whose parents have country club memberships that enable them to be on the course more often and working with club pros

True -- but about two-thirds of the girls at in the US Kids tournaments do not fall into the country-club category. At least, this is my estimate based on my child's experience in the 7 and 8 year old age bracket, and now the 9 and 10 year old age bracket. And sometimes the "regular" kids do beat the country club kids. My point to the original poster is this: don't be intimidated by the amount of money that some parents spend on golf training for their kids. If your daughter has fun playing golf, and if she has some natural ability, then there absolutely is a low-cost path forward that will allow your daughter to be a solid high school golfer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

If she is athletic, if she enjoys the game, and if she continues to play on regular basis, she can become a solid high school golfer. And if she has natural talent, she may leap-frog over other kids who have invested thousands of hours in private lessons and practice rounds.

Meanwhile, they will be competing against kids whose parents have country club memberships that enable them to be on the course more often and working with club pros

True -- but about two-thirds of the girls at in the US Kids tournaments do not fall into the country-club category. At least, this is my estimate based on my child's experience in the 7 and 8 year old age bracket, and now the 9 and 10 year old age bracket. And sometimes the "regular" kids do beat the country club kids. My point to the original poster is this: don't be intimidated by the amount of money that some parents spend on golf training for their kids. If your daughter has fun playing golf, and if she has some natural ability, then there absolutely is a low-cost path forward that will allow your daughter to be a solid high school golfer.

This is true if your kids attend Annandale or Falls Church HS. It is very unlikely if your kids attend Langley, McLean, Sidwell or Potomac where kids with wealthy parents practice everyday at Westwood, Riverbend, or Trump CC and those kids have just as much talents, if not more than your kids. Just saying.

That being said, just have your kid try out golf, just don't have any expectations that your kid will make the HS varsity without financial resource. Is it possible that your kid will be a better golfer than another kid at Langley? Everything is possible, but highly unlikely, if your kid and the Langley's kid has the same natural ability, work ethic. The Langley kid will come out better because his family has CC membership and better teaching pros at his disposal.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much to both of you! This is very helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks so much to both of you! This is very helpful.

One more thought: if they can't make the HS team, they could continue to play in individual events - say, through US Kids. So they could still compete, even without being on the HS team.

Also, if the HS provides access to free coaching, and if the coach is willing to make space for "bench warmers", that would be a good opportunity to continue to improve, perhaps gradually playing one's way into the starting line-up. However, I'm not speaking from firsthand experience, since my child is only 9 years old now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Serious golfers move to warmer climates.

Serious golfers are able to play when it is 40F. It isn't a big deal. Just wear a thermal under-layer.

You can play in the NOVA area 10 to 11 months a year. During the brief period in which it is truly too cold to play, you can practice in your garage.

[Anonymous]

Back in the day, my brother got a job as a caddy at an exclusive club in Massachusetts. Besides making great tips, the club permitted its caddies to gold at certain times of the day.

My friend's son who lives in Cape Cod, now a caddy at an exclusive club, earns time to play and plays on his HS golf team (don't know how competitive).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Serious golfers move to warmer climates.

Serious golfers are able to play when it is 40F. It isn't a big deal. Just wear a thermal under-layer.

You can play in the NOVA area 10 to 11 months a year. During the brief period in which it is truly too cold to play, you can practice in your garage.

Complete nonsense. I played last week in 52F in windy condition at Raspberry Falls and it was not a good feeling. That's why you see serious golfers either live in FL, Texas, Arizona or California.