Drive, Chip & Putt

If  you follow golf you may know that Patrick Reed won the Masters Tournament earlier this month but the real highlight at Augusta National was the Drive Chip and Putt Championship. Junior golfers had an opportunity to compete in three skill areas and it was inspiring to see talent at such a young age.  As a result, one of my students expressed interest in registering to participate in this year's qualifiers.  

Whenever I receive inquiries like this I am very cautious because I want to be sure that it is truly the student who shares this desire.  Too often the student is placed in a position to live out the dreams of the parent and quite honestly coaching a student who is working towards their parents' goals is not fun.  When a student enjoys golf, they look forward to the lessons and they are excited to practice even if they are only in the backyard doing drills. This is important because preparing for a competition like the Drive, Chip and Putt will take a considerable amount of discipline and focus.  

In this case, I know competition was not even on Mom's radar.  He simply got swept up in all of the promotions for the event and when he watched the Championship on television, he thought I can do that.  If he wants to try, I am all for helping him attain that goal.  Anything is possible.  He would be competing as a 7-9 year old, giving him plenty of time to make it to Augusta National before he turns 16.  

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