U.S. Kids Golf (USKG) was founded in 1996 when former golf professional and engineer Dan Van Horn had trouble finding clubs for his five and eight-year old kids. That year, Van Horn began developing Ultralight kids clubs, designed to be 25% lighter than adult and most junior clubs. The company first shipped its products in 1998 and has since become the world’s leading provider of junior golf equipment.
The mission of U.S. Kids Golf is simple: to help kids have fun learning the lifelong game of golf and to encourage family interaction that builds lasting memories. I have become a huge proponent of the company, because unlike other club manufacturers, I’ve found USKG to be the only one that has a set of clubs for kids of every age and size.
The company offers three models and nine sizes of clubs from 39″ to 63″, and they’re affordable. Even if you were to buy all nine sets throughout your child’s golfing life, it would only cost you around $2,000.
Since 2012, U.S. Kids Golf Coaches Institute has presented Certified Coaching Seminars to nearly 3,000 industry professionals in 80 locations throughout the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Italy, and the United Kingdom. They’re usually offered several times a month, but Thursday’s seminar at Troon North Golf Club in Scottsdale was USKG’s only visit to the Grand Canyon State this year.
Dale Balvin, a PGA Professional who works primarily out of The Westin Kierland Golf Club in Scottsdale, suggested I attend the seminar after I was fortunate enough to shadow him at one of his wildly successful summer junior golf camps. Balvin has also run the USKG Local Tours in Arizona for years. I was mesmerized by how fast-paced the camp was conducted and by how fast the time went by. The kids were having so much fun going from one station to another and one game to another that they had no idea they were learning how to play golf! Later, when I asked Dale where he got the games for his program, his response was simple, “U.S. Kids Golf.”
The seminar was led by Vice President of the USKG Foundation Academy John Bryan and USKG Foundation Director of Player Development John Godwin. The Academy focuses on helping young golfers to learn and play the game by assuring there are programs scaled to their needs. Bryan has been with U.S. Kids Golf since 2004. Godwin is a PGA Master Professional who competed on the PGA, Australian, and Asian Tours after graduating from Florida State. Both men are experts in their field.
The seminar was divided into morning and afternoon sessions with a buffet lunch in between. In the morning, we defined the “high quality learning experience” and qualities of great youth golf coaches. When a player is absorbed in the fun of playing and practicing, experiencing a challenge balanced with skill sets, and utilizing tools appropriate to better learn and perform in an environment which is safe to explore in its boundaries, that’s a high quality learning experience. A player develops confidence through guided discovery regardless of performance, learns that discipline and structure helps them to improve, and experiences positive interaction.
We also learned about game-based learning. Game-based learning powers the fun, which is the No. 1 reason both boys and girls say they participate in sports. That’s what Dale was doing with the kids in his summer golf camp. Games simulate playing “the game” and become a gateway to a guided discovery approach to learning. Kids learn best while playing, and games are used as a mechanism to engage them. Natural ability blooms when it’s unimpeded by over-coaching. Learning should be fun and the information easy to understand. Kids want to be out on the course, so you have to simulate play in your practice whenever possible and create a balance of practice area learning and on-course experiences. Traditional block practice methods of banging balls out on the range are boring for kids because they’re too technique driven. Games trigger an energized learning environment, provide structure, build confidence, and create motivation.
In the afternoon, the conversation shifted to the state of the industry. According to the National Youth Sports Association, only three million kids in the U.S. ages 7-17 played golf in 2015. Seventy-percent of golfers don’t take up the game until after the age of 18! What does that mean? It means that golf has to emulate other sports, first in how it’s taught, and then in the scale of both courses and equipment.
Scaling the course is probably the most important aspect. Forward tees are essential, and U.S. Kids Golf has come up with a formula to help golfers identify and select the tees from which they should be playing. A player’s 7-iron should carry approximately 64% of their driver carry distance. USKG Family Courses have tees that are significantly shorter than what we’re used to seeing today: 1,523-2,060 yards for nine holes and 3,046-4,120 yards for 18 holes. Both courses are eligible for USGA Course Ratings.
The other scaling that has to happen is in the form of equipment. This is something I have some familiarity with dating back to my days at the Golf Academy. In fact, it’s what I wrote my Club Fitting Certification paper about. The worst thing parents can do for their children is to cut down an old set of clubs. They end up being too stiff and too heavy, and result in an incredibly low ball flight if the ball gets up in the air at all! Kids should grow out of their clubs, not into them. The proper club length and weight develop swing plane, hand speed, power, balance, and tempo. To often, what ends up happening, is that parents graduate their juniors to longer clubs too soon. In the short term, the increase length results in greater clubhead speed and more distance, but in the long run, it results in slower hand speed and a loss of distance over time.
There were supposed to be two outdoor sessions, one before and one after lunch, but the morning session had to be cut short on account of rain. We must’ve caught the rainiest day in Scottsdale in the last six months! When we were finally able to go back outside at the end of the day, this time there were junior volunteers out at the practice area for a live demonstration. We got to watch them play few of the games we discussed in the morning but couldn’t see in action, and then we went out onto the range for a fitting demonstration.
Most of these kids were better players, and although they’d only been playing for between 2-4 years, were already swinging “big boy” equipment. They were definitely getting increased clubhead speed because of the added length, but most of the them would have benefited for shorter clubs that they could swing even faster. I didn’t learn to play golf until I was 19, and if I had it to do over again, I would learn to swing as fast I could. You can always learn to dial it back, but it’s really difficult to learn to ramp it up. Distance is something that comes with time, but it’s developing swing speed (not clubhead speed) that’s most important. It was an eye-opening demonstration.
The cost of the all-day seminar (8:15a-4:30p) was $195. Within 30 days, you have to take and pass (80% or better) a 39-question USKG Certified Coach Exam online in order to receive your certification. The un-timed exam can be paused at any time, and you can use your notes. Once you pass, you can join the USKG Certified Coach Facebook Group to interact and share ideas with other Certified Coaches. You also get access to the seminar slide presentation, portions of which were generously borrowed here for this post. I think you’ll find that the information, instruction materials, and networking you’ll do are all well worth the price of admission. Even if you take away just one thing, and it makes you a better teacher, it’s worthwhile.
Positive Coaching Alliance
An unexpected but added benefit of registering for the USKG Certified Coaching Seminar was gaining access to the Positive Coaching Alliance’s Double-Goal Coach online course. It’s included in the cost of your U.S. Kids registration. The Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) was founded in 1998 by former Director of the Public Management Program and Global Management Program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business Jim Thompson as a way to help those involved in youth and high school sports create a positive, character-building youth sports culture.
In order to get your USKG Certification, you’ll have to go through the 90-minute PCA course and again, score 80% or better on a 20-question exam to pass. It’s pretty interesting and well worth your time. Be sure to download and save all of the resources available to you during the course so you can take them back to your junior program. It’s another great certification to add to your portfolio, which also adds value to your brand. Here’s a short video overview of the program: