Hi Im new

My son was 11 in August he has adult  26 handy cap belongs to 2 golf clubs he is only 4ft 5 in tall is starting to hit balls from the tee about 200 ft now has had coaching with the Essex Golf Coaching Squad for the last 3 years is waiting to hear if he has got in this year. He has to get his handy cap down to 18 or under this year to get into the ur 14 squad which he should be able to, the trouble is none of the really low handy cap boys will play with him the boys he is friendly with only play when the weather gets wormer so at the moment I have to walk round with him I do not play golf he is not allowed to go round by him self I am not really alowed to go round with him but do as I do not see why he should miss out on playing in the winter because the other boys are very snoby. I was just wondering if there was any one on here who has a son who needs a good player to go round with or even an adult he needs experance of playing with people better than him self. He has the potencial to becoming a very good player if only a better player can play with him to give him the experance.

Hi Heather,

I'm in Romford and would be happy to take your son out for a round of golf.

Just PM me and if I can help I will.

Russ

I surprised that your son is not allowed to play on his own.  At my club once juniors have an adult handicap they can play under the same conditions as adults and do not need to be accompanied.  It might be worth checking out some other clubs in your area.

All though it’s a private course there are right of way paths which the public can use so its for the safety of the children the rule is there, there are holes that are quite a way from the club house so the younger children can not be seen , my son is 11 and only the height of a 8 or 9 year old. These days you do not know who is about and children have to be protected. Even if there was not this rulling its not much fun going round playing by yourself all the time.

I think it is now a good time for you to take the game up as well, Heather. problem is then solved.

I can not a ford to Nats golf cost too much his coaching is £100 a month or more depending if he needs it just bought a full set of ladies Tylor made clubs which have been cut down for him that cost over £1000 eletric golf troley £200 have been advised to let him play with the same golf balls which cost £12 for 15 his golf clubs fees one £230 per year the other £175 and then before he goes out £2 - £5 to hit balls and to pritice at the range that is 4 times a week. So this year he has had over £2500 spent on him. Most of the boys in the Essex Spuad have the best clubs and have eletric troleys, always said I would never get him one, but if he is in comps, the other boys have electric troleys so then my son will be at a disadvantage the others will not get so tired as him so in the end gave in. I am lucky my son is a child actor and can pay for all this him self I am divorced so do not have the funds to pay. The boys who get into the Essex Coaching Squad get 5 coaching sections a year Ur12s 5 hours Ur14s full days. I was told when he was 8 by the junior club orginiser that he had a lot of natural talent and would need to have a lot of money spent on him over the years and he was right. If the boys do not have a coach then they are told that they should get one as it makes a differance  they could lose there place, Essex want to make sure that the boys are being looked after all the year round to make sure tha they do not get into bad habits.

Natural talent does not require loads of money to be spent on coaching. If you are paying that amount of money then someone is taking you for a ride.

A pity that I do not live in Essex or I would have been delighted to have helped in his development as a player.

Your Nathaniel is indeed a talented young lad and I wonder what choice he will make later on when he is a very good player and a well respected actor.

This is where my son has his coaching http://www.chrisjenkinsgolf.com/junior.html they are very good and know what they are talking about its very expencive but worth the cost

I have had a look at his website and it would appear that he is well qualified to teach the game, but it would be nice if he taught the way he plays it himself, as I assume that is what he is attempting to do.

I mentioned in the other thread when commenting on the range video that I thought Nat had a very nioe swing, much improved from when he was 8, but made comment that he had a closed clubface at the top of the swing as well as a flying right elbow. One would assume that he would swing the club more the way the instructor does himself.

I am posting two pictures below, the first is of Nat at the top of the swing showing clearly a closed clubface ad a flying right elbow, whereas the secon picture of the pro Chris Jenkins shows an open clubfac and a very nice tucked in right elbow not unlike the great Ben Hogan.

You are paying good money for your son to be taught correctly and if his current swing is the result of teaching by this pro then something is going amiss. I suspect that these instructional courses are in groups and not individual. and quite honestly any improvement in Nat's golf will come by his efforts alone and not because of instruction that is not specifically geared to him.

My good friend David Ley has vast experience in the instruction of youngsters and I am sure he will concur with my remarks.

At the time of the video Nats swing had gone very wrong but now after a months coaching  he has sorted out his swing his coach told him about the closed club fase and had saorted that out told him about his elbow as well so you will see a difference when I  veido his swing in the next few weeks,

Looking forward to the video, Heather. my interest lies in Nat getting what he is paying for and the last video you put up told me that he was not getting what he is paying for.

I think there is a missunderstanding Nat has coaching with Chrises partner Nick Rose not Chris but Nick dose not have a web site he is also a Essex Coach and has a lot of his boys in the Essex and England Squad. Nick is sprting Nat swing a bit at a time   but like I said when I fimed Nat because his game had gone wrong he is playing much better now.

Link to video of swing here on golfshake.com

No misunderstaning at all, Heather, you are obviously happy with the slapdash approach to your sons instruction, so don't let me interfere with that.

By the fact the Essex Squad orginisers are pleased that Nat is with Nick he coaches there Ur14s, the Essxe boys are winning comps all over the country and have been told its because of the coaching with Cris Nick and the othwr Essex coaches. As Nat has coaching with the Essex Squad I have to take there advice  from them to who I take Nat to for coaching so if they are happy with what Nick is doing  with Nat then I am.

I am afraid, Heather, that you are being duped and I feel sorry for Nat, knowing that his mother is being duped by an organisation that is only there to make money for themselves. If one boy makes it through to become either a county player or a pro even , then they take the credit and count it as a success.

If you really want your son to succeed then find him an individual pro who is interested in his future success. The current swings you have posted tells me that he has either been receiving very poor instruction or he just does not have the ability to absorb what he is being told.

Harsh, I know, but attaining scratch status is very difficult and he would need to be that in order to pursue any dreams he may have.

I've arranged to take Nat to the Priors course on this coming Sunday.

He's not played there before and it's a good course for him to play on.

I'm sure he'll enjoy it and I'm just hoping the weather is good for us!

Teaching him anything is not what I'm doing, just allowing him to play some golf, which must be good for him.

I'm looking forward to it.

Russ

Good on you, Russ. Perhaps you could take your video camera and let us all see how he is getting along.

For this first time I don't think it would good for Nat to have any added pressure put on him.  I'll let him enjoy his round of golf.

Maybe later on we could video our swings together.  I've thought many a time about getting my swing on video and putting it up here for you all to see.

I'll let everyone know how Nat gets along on Sunday, but I'm sure he'll be fine.  As long as he enjoys his round then that's all that matters.

Russ

Nat woke  up with a sore throat this morning so have texted and PM Rus to say that he can n ot play tomorrow hopefully he will get to play with Rus very soon.

Well Heather and Nat joined me and my regular midweek partner for a round of golf on the Priors course today.

Nat is 11 years old and not very tall, but he has a lovely swing.

He hits his tee shot with a lovely little draw and seems to swing effortlessly.

He is the same with his irons.

He didn't chip or putt that well today but that is not a problem.  He was playing a course he's never played before and he didn't get the speed of the greens, but that will come the more he plays there.

The fault mentioned in his video is no longer there.

As Nat gets older, taller and heavier I can easily see him becoming a single figure golfer before he's 16 years old.

Nat's only problem is that he allows a bad shot to affect him, but once he's got that out of the way his scores will come down quickly.

Hopefully he enjoyed his round of golf.

Russ

Yes Nat really enjoyed his game with you and Gary he was a bit tired he played Hainalt upper course for the first time on Sunday , Monday he went round Romford Wedensday he was in a comp at Crowlands Heath next time hopefuly he will not be so tired, It was great to go round with you as you could tell him where the greens where as you said when he can get over bad shots and get on to the next shot he will play a much better game but then  most of the boys his age are the same. Thank you Ross for taking time to give Nat a game of golf.