These tips work well for any age golfer
Pro Tips
How to Help Your Junior
Start Their Golf Journey
These tips work well for any age golfer
by Gianna Augustine, PGA
Junior golf has held a special place in my life for many years, from dominating the circuit in my youth to playing on the Kansas State Women’ s Golf team from 2010-2014, and now teaching juniors regularly from beginner to tournament champion.
Every golf professional in the golf business has a place, whether it’ s running tournaments, day-to-day operations, or teaching highlevel players. My love is teaching juniors who are new to the game. I love the opportunity to be the first introduction to the sport so many of us love. Over the last 15 years, as a U. S. Kids Golf Certified Instructor and The First Tee Certified Coach, I have taught juniors from Manhattan, KS, to Dallas, TX, and now at the Overland Park Golf Division.
This month, I’ ll share some tried and true ways to help a junior athlete( or any new golfer) start on their golf journey, or even reinforce taught skills they may have learned previously from a parent, during golf or group instruction at your local course. Ultimately, keep it fun, simple, and goal-oriented.
Golf Club Sizing
Before starting on the swing, be sure to have the right size clubs for your junior golfer. Clubs that are too long are heavy and can lead to poor contact, or worse, injury. A 7-iron standing straight up( see photo) meets just below the belly button. Today’ s golf club manufacturers such as Callaway, Tour Edge, and U. S. Kids have sizing charts( found on their websites) based on the players’ height to fit them for the proper set of clubs!
The Grip( Holding the Club)
Holding the club( the grip) is often the first-place teachers of the game start( the proper grip is shown in the photo on left). A lot of learning ability is agedependent. Fine motor skills movement( think writing your name legibly) is fully developed by second grade. Therefore, if you are teaching a young person below
age six and they chose to hold the club like a hockey stick( photo on left) or even switch-handed( photo on right), that is okay! The one hold position that is okay to fix at this age is holding the golf club like a broom with their thumbs pointed up to the sky; feel free to correct and position their thumbs pointing down toward the clubhead. Allow the child to self-discover their hold style for a bit, and then lean into trying correct ways. The goal for hold( grip) is to allow the junior to grip the club in the manner that gives them the most confidence to strike the ball every time!
Posture, Athletic Stance
The Swing, START SMALL
Posture is a quick opportunity to teach a child about standing shoulder-width-apart, knees flexed, and upper body hinged forward— the universal athletic posture. Posture in golf is the same as guarding in almost all team sports that they will experience during life( soccer, basketball, volleyball, etc.). The important thing to note here is that standing in this“ triple-threat-stance— knees flexed, body ready to move” allows for the arms to hang down from the shoulders with pure gravity, and that is where you hold onto the club.
At this point, your junior golfer is ready to hit the ball! Start them on a track for the success of simply making contact with the ball each time by teaching them a half swing or a simple chip shot. Gentle
26 JUNE 2026 TEE TIMES GOLF GUIDE