Tips for my son

Get him working with Rob Noel.

After about 4 years of playing without lessons as a kid, one lesson with Chris Burkstaller exponentially improved my game. Only had a few more after that. Probably the only reason I'm any good today.

I think the earlier you get lessons the better. The less time spent forming bad habits/muscle memory, the better.

I know the Island is a bit of a drive but I'm just giving my 2 cents.

He’s actually very disciplined (on his own) with practicing his short game. He rarely ever picks up his driver first. He puts a lot of time into his wedges and putting. He got a sand wedge the other day and has been practicing hitting balls out of the bunker. “I’m a beginner dad, I’m sure I’ll be in the bunker a lot”

I have no idea who this kid is

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With all due respect, I know I’m not an expert, but from all my research and what a couple coaches have told me, it should be the opposite.

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Go read Jack Nicklaus’ golf my way. His instructor famously held his hair instructing Jack to max out his swing as a 13 year old. There are no keep it in play 270 yard hitters in the top 20 to be found.

My son is 9 and fairly solid right now. Took him to Leitz. He said let him keep hitting it as hard as he can and just being athletic and loving golf and come see him again around 11

So it seems “coach” them young maybe shifting

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There is only one club you use most every hole. Good putting will save the most strokes as he improves the rest of his game. Drive for show, putt for dough.

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Driving is far more important than putting

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My son is 9 and fairly solid right now. Took him to Leitz. He said let him keep hitting it as hard as he can and just being athletic and loving golf and come see him again around 11 So it seems “coach” them young maybe shifting

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Agree, plenty of time to learn the technical nuances of the swing. 15 seems more appropriate to AMV type training but at that age just have fun and compete with yourself and friends.

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Drive for show, putt for dough.

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That's old school advice, analytics says otherwise. Being able to shorten the course leads to shorter approach shots which statistically get closer to the hole. Shorted approach shots increase birdie chances. According to analytics, 1. approach shots 2. driving distance/ keeping it in play 3. short game 4. putting.

A typical 15 hcp golfer loses roughly: 3 strokes off the tee, 4-5 strokes on approach, 1-2 strokes around the green and 1 stroke putting. The majority of strokes lost come before the putter ever comes out.

Notice the Tour players increased desire to hit it farther. It doesn't really matter to them if they hit fairways, they want to get it as far down the fairway as possible to shorten their approach shot so they can get it closer to the hole. What good does it do you to be a great putter if you're putting for bogey the majority of the time because you can't hit greens in regulation and the #1 factor in hitting greens in regulation is how close one is from the hole after their drive.

Are the irons he has fit for him or are they just some old clubs y'all picked up. Having clubs that are fit for length, lie angle, flex and weight are extremely important to how the club reacts to the turf and ball. I'm not saying you need to go to Club Champion and try 15 different club head, shaft combo's and spend a ton of money. You can get this done at Edwin Watts, Golf Galaxy or maybe Dicks. You can buy good used clubs and have them trimmed if they are too long or 2nd swing has thousands of used sets that could match his specifications.

You’re 5 minutes from one of if not the best teachers in the state, doesn’t sound like you realize how lucky you are. He doesn’t need weekly lessons, buy him one every few months and let Rob know you can only afford to bring him once every few months and he’ll give your son some drills to work on in the meantime.

All I was doing was reminding the original poster that there's another club in the bag that is used more than any other club. All the other points are valid but I'll leave you with this.

For most amateur golfers, shifting focus from trying to hit long drives to consistent iron play and solid putting yields the best results.

Stripping a drive 280, hitting a 7 iron to 12ft, and 3 putting is what I see a lot because amateurs don't practice putting.