The Do's and Don'ts of Junior Golf.

By Louis Honore Sr.

Chapter 4. The Competition (How to Prepare)

Someone once said if you want to be a millionaire, find one and do what he did. Most Jr. Golfers envision themselves on the PGA tour, fighting it out with Tiger and the other good old boys on Sunday. That’s OK, dreams are good things. He should have a Pro he likes and want’s to be like. Someone he can watch, follow at PGA tournaments and hopefully meet someday. Through the LPGA Pro-Am tournaments, we were privileged to meet, and got to play with, some of the top women golfers in the US. Each year we would participate in these events and I would volunteer my time to help out so that I could watch and talk to these great stars that I had seen many times on TV. They gave me great tips and insights in to training my boy, and they told me the many secrets of preparation to play tournaments, that many amateurs do not even have a clue on how it affects the way they play.

Arnold Palmer once gave a clinic that we attended and he said, you can’t play your best golf if you’re cold, hot, hungry, thirsty, sleepy or tired. Unfortunately I couldn’t get close enough to ask him what he did, but watching Pro golf on weekends, I noticed that they had bottled water in their bags, sandwiches and fruit also tucked in there. I noticed Tiger always took little sips of water as he went around the course and he would snack on a banana or apple as he walked down the fairway. I asked US Open winner Meg Malon about this the next time we saw her and sure enough she told us that drinking before you got thirsty, and snacking before you got hungry kept your mind from wandering as you stood over a putt or a shot you needed to nail down the fairway. Kids love to eat, and will look forward with anticipation for that hotdog or hamburger that they usually provide at organized events. The problem is that the kids began to think about it as their tummies grumble or they know that they are only a few holes away. Guess what happens to their game before and after that lunch break. Yep, in the toilet.

When we first started playing in tournaments for Western States and other organizations, we practiced just like all the rest and we ate when they ate. We prepared for the tournament the morning of the tournament, and I thought we were having fun. When my son turned 8 years old and we had been competing for several years, I said to him. “Boy, this is a lot of fun isn’t it son? And what he said changed the rest of our lives forever, and we never looked at golf the same again. He said, “I like it dad, but I want to win”.

I knew then that I had to do a better job of coaching him, and I had to learn how to do it. That’s when I began to ask questions of the Pros we would meet and the ones that taught him. We joined some of those organizations I told you about, and we learned how to prepare to play. I took him out of competition for a while and we began to practice almost everyday. I learned about clubs and fittings, about the swing and what it should look like, and I became his coach on the course and his father off. After I learned to do my job better, he went on to win many Western States’ competitions. He won several SCPGA tournaments and finished 10th at Jr. World, 10 and under age group. He won the Tournament of Champions at Newport Beach Country Club at age eleven, and has won numerous competitions on his way to a full golf scholarship, since he said, “Dad, I want to win”.

Here is what I learned about preparation.

You must prepare for the tournament the day before you play. Any last minute practice must be done on that day also, to work out any swing flaws he has and to rehearse what he must do the next day. You should not do a lot of practice on the day of the tournament, just warm ups. You must clean the clubs when you are done with practice, and you must wash the grips to get the residue oil from his hands off of them. Count the clubs, and put only the clubs he needs to play the course you’re going to the next day. You, the coach, decide which clubs goes in the bag, because you will have done your research. Par threes don’t need woods; take that weight out of the bag. Remember he or she carries his own bag and they are heavy. Buy some new balls and mark them for him to play with and putt with before he plays in the tournament the next day. If you cannot play a practice round, and you seldom will, get the scorecard and the yardage sheets from the clubhouse if you can. If not, get it off the website, most good courses are online and will give you a hole-by-hole description of their course. Sometimes they even give the yardage and the head pro advice on how to play each hole, on these websites. Get all the information you can before you head toward the course, its not cheating, its simply preparing for competition.

Take these scorecards or yardage sheets to the table and talk about your plan for the next day. Discuss the trouble shots and what clubs he should use on these holes. Remember any advice and instruction you give him must be given before he tees off. You cannot speak to the golfer until after he signs his scorecard and turns it in. That’s why preparation is so important. Although all parents do not observe all the rules, they do risk the disqualification of the golfer if they talk to him. Although young golfers believe they can stay up all-night and still play their best, the coach must turn the lights out a reasonable hour. Chances are you have a good drive to get to the course and you must allow time to get there and arrive at least forty-five minutes before tee time. Tardiness to tee times is covered in the rulebook, and more than five minutes late will get him disqualified.

Breakfast should be light and you both should dress appropriately for the weather. Remember cold golfers don’t play very well. Once you arrive at the course, have him check in and you both should read the tournament rules given out to each player. Sometimes they are different than course rules and govern specific things on the course for that day. Such as lift clean and place and ground under repair areas.

Get a small bucket of balls and do your warm ups. Hitting each club a few times, trying to stop on a good swing. Hit the driver last and go to the putting green next. Hit some lag putts with those new balls and finish by drilling four and five footers into the back of the hole. Its important to use the same balls he is going to play with to warm up on the putting green. Remind him of his targets and pre-shot routine and get to the first tee within five minutes of his tee time. He is then about as ready as he can get for that tournament. If they allow a gallery, stay far away from him so that your father’s reaction to a poor shot will not be important to him, he won’t see it. He’ll play better if he is not conscious of your presence. Make mental notes on his good shots to talk about on the way home. And when you leave the course, remember you are now the father and fathers always have good things to say. You can become the coach again, tomorrow.

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