On Saturday, November 4th, First Tee – Silicon Valley had its first Free Parent Golf Clinic at Rancho del Pueblo Golf Course. Parents of children in our program were invited to attend a free, beginners level clinic where our FTSV coaches taught the basics of a golf swing. The event was a big success, with parents and coaches having fun, and parents leaving with concrete skills to build on as well as games and ways to practice with their young ones. We are excited to put on another similar event in the future, as well as to explore other engaging ways to get parents involved in golf and help everyone learn! Thank you very much to all who attended.
We here at First Tee – Silicon Valley know that golf can be a difficult, frustrating and intimidating sport to take up.
Anyone who has tried it for the first time has the experience of struggling to just make contact with the golf ball. With the Parent Clinic, our hope was to provide a pressure free, supportive place for parents of budding young golfers to learn the basics of how to swing a golf club, making the sport more approachable and fun for the whole family.
We started our clinic on the driving range, giving everyone a chance to swing the clubs, meet other parents and relax as we warmed up. Soon after, Coach Manny demonstrated a few of the same golf cues that we teach the kids, touching on the aspects of the swing including grip, body position, and backswing. Armed with new information, parents went back to attempting these new skills, with FTSV coaches walking around and providing direct coaching. Swings improved dramatically across the board! Confidence was built as everyone worked together, and folks who had never swung a club before left the range with the skills and belief that they can practice on their own and with their kids.
Moving to the putting green, Coach Joe instructed on the basics of the putting stroke. From there, parents played engaging games, practicing their new skills and having fun with one another. As we began to wrap up, Joe taught a few putting games that parents can easily play with their kids — no special materials required.
Not only were we able to teach helpful skills, during the FTSV Parent Clinic we discussed some of the strategies that we use in class to keep participants engaged and excited.
This includes how we integrate our life skills and our Try, Show, Try, Play structure model. Not only are these important aspects of FTSV effective with the kids, this approach to learning works for all ages and skills and can be implemented as home as well. Going forward, we hope to be able to spend more time talking with parents about our coaching philosophies and finding ways to collaborate!
A huge thank you again to everyone who attended and made this event a success.
We here at First Tee – Silicon Valley are excited to find more opportunities for events like this one. If you are interested in being a part of our next clinic, please email [email protected] for more information and to be contacted with more information in the future.
