Core Value: Responsibility

An important core value that I believe juniors need to learn early is responsibility.  Responsibility is the state or fact of having a duty for something or someone.  In golf, we must first be responsible for ourselves, this includes how we respond to situations.  Most amateur golfers are willing to take responsibility for the positive outcomes but are quick to assign blame for the negative outcomes.  In my opinion, these people lack integrity.  

I hope to instill a desire in my students to own every decision they make and every action they take in golf and in life. 

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Golfers need to own their journey and take responsibility for their progress.   Here's an example of what that could look like for a junior:  

1. Your golfer shows up to class each week for the experience of learning a game and maybe make some new friends. 
2. After several classes, your golfer becomes very interested in the sport and asks for a set of golf clubs and volunteers to complete the curriculum.  
3. After several more classes, your golfer asks to practice in the backyard or perhaps go to the range. 
4. After several practice sessions your golfer asks to play a round of golf. 
5. After playing on course, your golfer may start setting incremental goals to improve their score, consider competing in a tournament against golfers their own age or ask about about private lessons.    

The key is your golfer is driving the activity respectully and courtesously.  Let it be their journey!!

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A caddie is a person that carries a golfer's clubs and provides assistance during match play.  In junior tournaments, parents usually play the role of caddie when they are allowed.   While this can create great bonding opportunities, it can also create some tense moments on the golf course.  Either the golfer blames their caddie, their parent, for the bad decisions they make or worse the caddie is unwilling to allow the golfer an opportunity to make a bad decision.  

Then, when the golfer progresses to a level of play where  caddies are not permitted, the parents are still coaching from the cart path or interfering with play by walking in the fairway. This kind of parental interference in tournament play should never be tolerated. 

At some point, parents have to be ok with being a spectator.  Allow your golfers to apply everything they have learned.  It is their game. Let them make their choices and adapt.  If you don't how will they become responsible for their own actions?

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