Instruction
A Guide to Golf Fitness for Kids
In this series of five articles, I will be offering guidelines for golf-specific physical activity aimed at five different golfing demographics:
This article covers the physical activity that’s best for kids interested in the game of golf, and is beneficial for children who simply want to engage in golf as a hobby, as well as those who one day hope to play golf as a professional. What you’ll find is that in childhood, what’s good for a child’s physical development as a whole is also good for their golf future.
Kids
Fundamental movement skills (FMS) are what most people would call basic game play, i.e. running, throwing, catching, kicking and striking — all elements that used to make up typical lunchtime play sessions and after-school activities. With less time in school curriculums being devoted to sport, and an increasing amount of play is done with just two thumbs and controller, kids are not getting the FMS we as trainers and golf coaches would like to see.
A typical “play session” for young kids: Zero activity combined with poor postural habits.
You might ask what running, throwing, catching, kicking and striking have to do with getting better at golf – and rightly so. At first sight, golf only involves one of those movements, however, one of the major benefits of solid FMS is body awareness and control.
FMS is championed by knowledgeable golf coaches, physios and trainers who specialize in the development young players. They love to see a talented teenager with a multi-sport background who has good control and awareness of their body. It means that the teenager is able to detect the subtle changes in movement that a coach is trying to teach, or activate a certain muscle group that the physio or trainer wants to strengthen.
As a result, they are better able to make the necessary adaptations and improve their swing action a lot quicker than someone who has only swung a golf club the same way through their crucial development years.
Developing solid FMS skills also has far wider-reaching benefits than preparation for elite-level golf. The general benefits of good FMS are widely believed to indicate a higher participation rate in sport and are directly correlated with lower BMI and waist measurements. Perhaps most important, learning functional movement skills is great fun! I’ve been involved in plenty of FMS sessions for kids where they’re having so much fun that they don’t want to take the T-ball bat out their hands and do the actual golf part of their session.
Modified T-Ball: One person hitting, the rest running, throwing and catching with every play.
I can see how specializing early might be tempting — most of us have heard about Tiger Woods shooting even par before the age of 3, which can make parents feel as though their 8-year-old is way behind the curve. But who would encourage a child to drop every other subject and only focus on music on age 5 just because Mozart was composing symphonies at the same age?
With that in mind, why would we see it as necessary to stunt a child’s overall physical development by focusing on a single sport?
In an age where inactivity is fast being recognized as our culture’s biggest threat to health and well being, isn’t it better to encourage the kids to run, jump, kick, throw and strike while learning some basic golf skills and having fun doing it?
If you are interested in getting your child involved in improving their FMS while they learn to play golf, then do a little homework on the junior golf programs in the area and find out if they run sessions that incorporate well thought out physical activity in their sessions.
If you are a golf coach or trainer looking to up-skill in the kids department, check out the TPI Junior Certifications and Milo Bryant. They are doing a great job of teaching people how to effectively engage kids in fundamental movement skills.
Next week, I will talk about teenage golfers and how they can benefit from better postural awareness, good form and technique, and an introduction to the gym.
The LPGA Tour is kicking off its 2026 season this week at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, and the pros are dealing with something most Florida golfers rarely face: freezing temperatures.
“It’s colder here than in the UK at the minute, which is a first,” said England’s Charley Hull during Wednesday’s media day at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.
Even Lydia Ko, who lives at Lake Nona, seemed surprised by the cold snap. “We’re pretty much getting to below zero in celsius here, which maybe in other parts of the country they would be thankful, but when you’re in Florida it is a little bit of a surprise,” she said.
If the world’s best players are adjusting their games for cold weather, recreational golfers should, too. Here’s how to play smart when the mercury drops.
Understand What Cold Does to Your Game
Before you change anything, you need to know what you’re fighting against. Cold air is denser than warm air, which means your ball won’t fly as far. Period.
Hull noticed this immediately during practice rounds at Lake Nona. She mentioned hitting a gap wedge into the 18th hole during a previous win but needing a 4-iron during Tuesday’s practice round. That’s a difference of four or five clubs for the same shot.
Action item: Expect to lose 5-10 yards on every club in your bag when temperatures dip below 50 degrees. Plan accordingly and don’t be stubborn about club selection.
Layer Up Without Restricting Your Swing
Hull admitted she wore three pairs of pants during practice. While that might be extreme for most of us, staying warm is critical to playing well in cold conditions.
Your muscles need warmth to function properly. When you’re cold, your body tightens up and your swing gets shorter and faster. Neither of those things help you hit good golf shots.
Action item: Wear multiple thin layers instead of one bulky jacket. Look for golf-specific cold weather gear that stretches with your swing. Keep hand warmers in your pockets between shots. And don’t forget a good hat because you lose significant body heat through your head.
Take More Club Than You Think You Need
This is where ego gets in the way of good scores. When it’s cold, the ball doesn’t compress as well off the clubface. Combined with denser air, you’re looking at serious distance loss.
The pros at Lake Nona are dealing with a course that measures 6,642 yards but plays much longer this week. If they’re adjusting, you should too.
Action item: Take at least one extra club on every approach shot. In temperatures below 40 degrees, consider taking two extra clubs. It’s better to fly the ball to the back of the green than to come up short in a bunker.
Adjust Your Expectations on the Greens
Cold weather affects putting in ways most golfers don’t consider. The ball is harder and doesn’t roll as smoothly. Your hands are cold, making it harder to feel the putter. And if there’s any moisture on the greens, they’ll be slower than normal.
Ko mentioned that she still sometimes reads the greens wrong at Lake Nona despite being a member for years. Cold weather makes that challenge even tougher.
Action item: Hit putts more firmly than usual. The ball needs extra speed to hold its line on cold greens. Take a few extra practice strokes to get a feel for the speed before you putt.
Embrace the Mental Challenge
Hull said something interesting about cold weather golf: “I like the mental toughness of it.”
That’s the right attitude. Everyone on the course is dealing with the same conditions. The player who stays patient and doesn’t get frustrated by the extra difficulty will come out ahead.
Action item: Lower your expectations by a few strokes. If you normally shoot 85, accept that 90 might be a good score in 40-degree weather. Focus on solid contact and smart decisions rather than perfect shots.
Warm Up Longer and Smarter
This might be the most important tip of all. Cold muscles are tight muscles, and tight muscles get injured easily.
World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul revealed she’s been protecting a wrist injury that bothered her late last season. Cold weather makes those kinds of injuries more likely if you don’t prepare properly.
Action item: Spend at least 20 minutes warming up before your round. Start with stretching, then hit easy wedge shots before working up to your driver. Keep moving between shots on the course to maintain body heat and flexibility.
The pros at Lake Nona this week will adapt and compete at the highest level despite the cold. You can do the same at your local course by following these tips and keeping a positive attitude.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “Playing Through” now on R.org, RG.org’s partner site, each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more tips!
Brooks Koepka is back on the PGA Tour, and whether you love him or hate him, the guy knows how to win when it matters. After his LIV Golf stint, the five-time major champion returns this week at the Farmers Insurance Open.
What makes Koepka fascinating? He doesn’t fit the mold. His swing isn’t textbook. He doesn’t obsess over mechanics. Yet he’s won three PGA Championships and two U.S. Opens, regularly making it look easier than guys with prettier swings.
So, what can average golfers learn from someone who treats the game so differently? Quite a bit.
Stop Overthinking Every Shot
Koepka describes his approach as “reactionary” rather than mechanical. While most tour pros grind over swing thoughts, Brooks sees the target and hits it. No mental checklist.
This might be the most valuable lesson for weekend golfers who’ve watched too many YouTube swing videos.
How to actually do this:
On the range, hit five balls where you stare at the target for three seconds prior to addressing the ball. Don’t think about grip or stance. Just burn that target into your brain. You’ll be shocked at how pure you hit it when your brain focuses on where the ball is going instead of how you’re swinging.
Next time you play, give yourself a rule: Once you pull the club, you’ve got 15 seconds to hit. Koepka is one of the fastest players on tour because he doesn’t give his brain time to sabotage him.
If you feel tension in your hands at address, you’re trying to control too much. Koepka’s grip pressure is famously light. Loosen up until the club almost feels like it might slip, then add just enough pressure to hold on. That’s your swing thought: soft hands, see the target.
This approach works better under pressure. When you’re standing over that shot with water left and OB right, the last thing you need is a mental checklist. See it, feel it, hit it.
Play to Your Strengths (Even If They’re Not Pretty)
Koepka uses a strong grip that wouldn’t pass muster in some teaching circles. But he’s built his game around what works for him, elite driving distance and recovery skills. He doesn’t try to be someone he’s not.
Here’s how to build your game like Brooks:
Look at your last five rounds and figure out where you’re actually gaining strokes. Bombing it off the tee, but can’t hit greens? Lean into it. Play courses where distance matters more than precision. On tight holes, grip down on your 3-wood instead of trying to thread a driver through a keyhole you’ll miss seven times out of ten.
Koepka knows he can scramble, so he’s not afraid to miss greens. If you’re deadly from 50 to 75 yards, start leaving yourself those distances on the par 5’s instead of going for them in two every time.
Know when to take your medicine. Koepka in the trees at the PGA? He’s punching out to 100 yards, not trying to bend a 6-iron around three oaks. You’re in the rough with a flyer lie and water short? Hit your 8-iron to the middle and move on. That’s not playing scared, that’s playing smart.
Save Your Best for When It Counts
Here’s a wild stat: Koepka’s putting average in majors is often more than a full stroke better per round than in regular events. He elevates when pressure is highest.
How does an amateur tap into that gear? It’s not about trying harder, it’s about caring differently.
Here’s what actually works:
Decide which rounds matter to you. Club championship? Member-guest? That annual trip with college buddies? Circle those dates and treat them differently. Koepka doesn’t care much about regular tour events, but majors? That’s when he locks in.
Two weeks before your big round, change your practice. Stop beating balls mindlessly. Play nine holes in which every shot has consequences. Miss the fairway? Hit from the rough on the next hole too. Three-putt? Twenty push-ups. Koepka’s practice intensity ramps up before majors because he’s rehearsing pressure, not just swings.
Develop a between-shot routine that resets your brain. Koepka is famous for his blank expression after bad shots. Try this: After any shot, take three deep breaths while walking, then find something specific to notice, a tree, a cloud, someone’s shirt. That’s your reset button. By the time you reach your ball, the last shot is gone.
The Bottom Line
Brooks Koepka’s return reminds us there’s no single path to success in golf. His “substance over style” approach proves that results matter more than looking good.
You don’t need a perfect swing; you need a reliable one that holds up under pressure. You don’t need to hit every shot in the book; you need the shots you can count on. And you don’t need to play great every time; you need to play great when it matters.
Welcome back, Brooks. Thanks for the reminder that golf is ultimately about getting the ball in the hole, not winning style points.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “Playing Through” now on R.org, RG.org’s partner site, each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more tips!
Blades Brown made a big impression last week in the California desert, and not just because he’s only 18. He put up numbers that would catch any weekend golfer’s attention. Most of us won’t hit 317-yard drives or find 86% of our greens in regulation, but there’s a lot to learn from how Brown managed his game at The American Express.
Here are three practical lessons from his performance that you can use on your own course this weekend.
Step 1: Give Priority to Accuracy Over Distance Off The Tee
Brown’s driving stats are impressive. He averaged almost 318 yards off the tee, ranking 12th in the field. More importantly, he hit 76.79% of his fairways, tying for fourth place in the tournament.
Think about that ratio for a second. Brown could have swung harder, chased more distance and tried to overpower the course. Instead, he played smart golf and kept his ball in play.
Your Action Item: Next time you’re on the tee box, ask yourself a simple question before pulling the driver. Do you need maximum distance here, or do you need to be in the fairway? If there’s trouble lurking or the hole doesn’t demand every yard you can muster, take something off your swing. Grip down an inch. Make a three-quarter swing. Do whatever it takes to find the short grass. Brown’s approach illustrates that fairways lead to greens, and greens lead to birdies. He made 22 of them last week, along with an eagle.
The math is simple. When you’re hitting three out of every four fairways like Brown did, you’re giving yourself legitimate looks at the green with your approach shots. That’s when scoring happens.
Step 2: Commit To Hitting More Greens
This is where Brown really separated himself. He hit 62 of 72 greens in regulation, an 86.11% clip that tied for first in the entire field. Read that again. An 18-year-old kid tied for the lead in one of the most important ball-striking statistics in professional golf.
How did he do it? By keeping his ball in the fairway (see Step 1) and giving himself clean looks with mid-irons and wedges.
Your Action Item: Start tracking your greens in regulation. You don’t need a fancy app or a statistics degree. Just mark down whether you hit the green in the regulation number of strokes. Par 3s in one shot. Par 4s in two shots. Par 5s in three shots.
Once you know your baseline, set a goal to improve it by 10%. If you’re currently hitting five greens per round, aim for six. The beauty of this approach is that it forces you to think strategically about club selection and shot shape. Brown’s strokes gained approach number was positive (0.179), meaning he was better than the field average. You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be on the dance floor more often.
When you hit more greens, you eliminate the need for heroic short game shots. Brown only had to scramble 10 times all week, and he got up and down 70% of the time. That’s solid, but the real story is that he rarely put himself in scrambling situations to begin with.
Step 3: Minimize Mistakes And Stay Patient
Here’s the stat that jumps off the page: Brown made only three bogeys all week. Three. In four rounds of professional golf against the best players in the world.
He also made just one double bogey. That kind of clean card doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when you play within yourself, avoid the big miss and trust that pars are never bad scores.
Your Action Item: Before your next round, decide that you’re going to play boring golf. No hero shots over water. No driver on tight holes just because you can. No aggressive pins when there’s a safe side of the green.
Brown’s performance shows us that consistency beats flash every single time. He didn’t lead the field in any single strokes gained category, but he was solid across the board. That’s how you post numbers and cash checks.
Give these three steps a try. Your scorecard will thank you.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “The Starter” now on R.org, RG.org’s partner site, each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more tips!
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Pingback: Swing into Action: Top Golf Exercises for Kids – Linked Greens
brian d
Jun 1, 2015 at 12:56 pm
the parents of that kid in the opening picture may consider getting that kid a basketball… Looks like he could be dunking by middle school
Jeez Utz
May 28, 2015 at 2:26 pm
Play outside???
That’s for the poor kids!
Nick Randall
May 28, 2015 at 2:23 pm
Hi Guys,
Just to be clear, I’m not saying never play another video game! I too played loads of video games as a kid, in my teens and early 20s on multiple platforms and got so much enjoyment out of it. I’m suggesting that adding some physical activity to the context in which they play golf will help them become a more athletic person overall.
There was literally one sentence devoted to the video game topic. It would be nice if people leaving comments could actually consider the entire context and message of an article before charging after the one section that they don’t agree with…………
Golfraven
May 28, 2015 at 2:17 pm
Good article but I actually hoped to read more about golf for kids. Rest is fairly common sense for parents who already engage their children in physical activities. However looking forward to reading more.
Nick Randall
May 28, 2015 at 2:27 pm
Hi Golfraven,
Thank you, wanted to stay distant and vague with recommendations. Firstly because it isn’t my direct area of expertise and secondly because you don’t really need to get specific at this age – teach the fundamentals of the golf swing, make it fun and include varied game based activity.
Cheers
Nick
TR1PTIK
May 28, 2015 at 11:07 am
I don’t see any problem with this article. Yes, kids can (even should in some cases) play video games as it can be a good stimulant for the brain (depending on the game at least). However, I think what the author should have emphasized a little better is that kids don’t get as much playtime and physical activity at school anymore. Therefore, parents should get out with their kids and be active. It’s good for the kids and it’s good for you.
Nick Randall
May 28, 2015 at 2:29 pm
Hi TR1PTIK,
Thanks again for constructive feedback
Nick
TR1PTIK
May 28, 2015 at 4:37 pm
You’re welcome. I enjoy reading your articles. While it may seem like common sense to some, this article is a good reminder to make sure your kids stay active, and you don’t have to push them into any one particular sport – it’s best that you don’t. When I was growing up I played baseball, soccer, golf, and rode bmx to name a few – I also played plenty of video games. Now, even though I’ve put on a few years (and a few pounds) I am still quite athletic and have fairly good muscle control which helps me when working on swing changes with my instructor.
Dave S
May 28, 2015 at 9:26 am
This is overly simplistic. There needs to be a balance, yes, but most people in their 20s and 30s grew up playing NES, SNES, Sega, PS, Xbox, etc. A LOT! I was a very good athlete and I played countless hours of video games as a kid. I also spent countless hours shooting baskets, playing football, running around w/ friends, etc. It’s true that no kid should spend their entire childhood indoors in front of a screen, but that actually does have some value – just like physical activity. We live in an ever-increasingly digital world. The skills kids learn in solving puzzles, using strategy and not giving up (on a hard level they can’t beat) are valueable as well. If you think video games didn’t help prepare our current generation of UAV pilots you’ve got your head in the sand.
ZQ
May 28, 2015 at 7:55 am
Lol it’s ironic that many of the best players in the world grew up playing Playstation, SNES etc, in that exact position and did just fine eh. They also played other sports. Didn’t buy too much into biomechanics and developed what is becoming more and more elusive to the new generation = FEEL. Let kids be kids man, this is too much.
Ryan K
May 28, 2015 at 7:41 am
Nicely done, can we just take the golf specificity out of this article and make it required reading for every parent?
Nick Randall
May 28, 2015 at 2:25 pm
Thanks Ryan, whist I don’t work in other sports or much with non golfers…….yes I think everyone could benefit from lots of varied active play when they are young.