At 14, He’s Already Learning Something I’m Still Working on at 55 | The Denver Driver
I went to Foothills to work on my own game. The PGA Jr. League All-Stars were there, and I started paying attention.
I went to Foothills to work on my own game. The PGA Jr. League All-Stars were there, and I started paying attention. I went to the range this morning to practice. Nothing unusual about that. I've been working on developing a more consistent pre-shot routine, slowing myself down and generally trying to make my golf swing a little more repeatable. Then I noticed the kids. Foothills Golf Course was hosting a PGA Jr. League All-Stars competition, and players were beginning to warm up around me. I didn't know much about PGA Jr. League, so at first I just watched. Some of the kids looked nervous. There were slices. There were shanks. A few balls were skulled across the range. They were about to compete, after all, and being 13 or 14 doesn't make first-tee nerves disappear. But after a while, I started noticing something else. The kids who seemed particularly comfortable—and who were consistently striking the ball well—looked different before they ever started their swings. They had routines. Not identical routines. But their routine. Same setup. Same pace. No rushing around. No stepping up and immediately whacking the ball. And perhaps most noticeably, they didn't look like they were trying to kill it. Then I met an 18-handicap dad I started talking with a dad who was helping his 14-year-old son get ready. His son was paired with a teammate who was a year younger, and they were leading off. From Dad's reaction, I gathered that leading off was kind of a big deal. He explained the strategy for his son's opening drive. The goal wasn't to crush one. He just wanted to put a nice, easy drive into the middle of the fairway so his teammate would always have a good option. Don't we all? Then I watched his son prepare. He settled into his position. Let his arms hang relaxed in front of him. Positioned his feet. Long inhale. Long exhale. Then he started his swing. There was no rush in the backswing. It looked almost like a long stretch. His transition was smooth, and instead of attacking the ball, he simply continued through it into a complete, relaxed follow-through. Then he did it again. And again. Dad told me his son had been playing for a while but had really gotten into golf during the past couple of years. Dad didn't grow up playing. He's about an 18 handicap now. Then he lowered his voice a little, smiled toward his son and admitted something along the lines of: “He whoops up on me pretty often.” He didn't look terribly upset about it. The family had discovered PGA Jr. League somewhere along the way. He couldn't remember exactly how. “Probably my wife,” he said. However they found it, his son was all in. Watching his son, I understood why. I was a little envious I don't remember anything like PGA Jr. League when I was 13 or 14. Hockey was my sport, and I'm fairly certain my dad wasn't looking for another expensive activity to add to the family budget. He didn't play golf, either, so I didn't grow up going to the range with him or learning how to prepare for a shot. Watching these kids, I found myself a little envious—in a good way. You might think I mean I wish I'd been that good at 14. Hell, I wish I were that good at 55. But that's not really what made me envious. I wish I'd had the opportunity to learn the game the way these kids are learning it. PGA Jr. League is part of the PGA of America's youth-development system. The broader philosophy isn't simply about creating better golf swings. Golf's American Development Model emphasizes age-appropriate development, quality coaching and developing the whole athlete—including the mental and emotional parts of competing. Standing on that range, I felt like I was seeing a little bit of that in practice. I can't tell you that PGA Jr. League taught the kid I watched to take that long breath. I didn't talk to his coach. I can't tell you that the players with more deliberate routines were objectively the best players there. This wasn't research. It was one golfer standing on a range watching other golfers and noticing something. But it made me think. So I tried it I've been working on my own pre-shot routine this week. But watching these kids made me pay much closer attention to something else: effort. I swing too hard. I know I swing too hard. I've been told I swing too hard. And apparently it took watching a 14-year-old calmly prepare for a tournament to make me actually do something about it. So I backed off. Not 5%. It felt like I reduced my effort by somewhere between 25 and 50 percent. I wasn't trying to hit the ball as far. I wasn't trying to manufacture speed. I tried to make the backswing feel longer and slower and let the club come through. And I started hitting the ball significantly better. Maybe not as far. But much more consistently. The rest of my practice session changed. What happens when it matters? Watching the juniors also reminded me of something my son once told me about trying out for his high-school golf team. He said the coach paid particular attention to what happened on the first tee. Of course the coach cared whether a kid could play. But he also wanted to see how players handled the pressure of everyone watching that opening shot. Could they settle themselves? Could they go through their routine? Could they make their normal swing when suddenly the swing mattered? I thought about that while watching a 14-year-old breathe out, settle himself and make an easy swing designed to put a golf ball in the middle of a fairway. At 55, I'm still learning how to do that. Maybe that's what I envied most. These kids are being given an opportunity to learn early that playing good golf doesn't always mean trying harder. Sometimes it means preparing better, breathing, trusting the routine and making the swing you already have. I didn't get that lesson at 14. That's okay. There's nothing stopping me from learning it at 55.
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