Junior and children golf is gaining vast attention these days in Singapore. Some schools are having golf as part of their Co- Curriculum Activities (C.C.A.). Today, many parents have enrolled their Junior in a regular golf learning and training program to enhance their Junior development skills.

At Asian Golf Centre (AGC), we offer a variety of golf programs to start the Junior. We provide special technical assistance to schools in their C.C.A. golf programs to allow Junior to develop their interest and fun, and excel in the game of golf.

Why must they start Young?
Golf is known worldwide as a life-long game of learning for all genders and ages because golf “is more than just a game”. It is not just a game of kinesiology knowledge; it requires high mental and physical skills for this exclusive sport. When a golfer is playing competitively, it requires total intellectual properties. Even the social and weekend golfers know that it takes years of practicing and playing experiences to master the game. These are reasons why you should consider seriously for your Junior to start golf as part of their intellectual skills development when young.

The Benefit to start young:
Every golfer who plays and enjoys the golf game would wish their parents have started them when they were young. It takes years to play a perfect game because the condition on the golf course and for every ball to fly to the target is never in perfect situation. This is what makes the game extremely challenging even for the adults. It is a game that demands decision, judgment, confidence, self-esteem and aggressiveness. A game that you learn the required physical, visual perceptual and cognitive skills, and eventually to utilize them collectively during the game. The highlight of playing the game also encompasses thrill, feel, excitement, fun and couple with pain and anxiety in many dimensions. The golf swing skills learning process will teach the junior more that just golf.

 1. The Learning of the Golf Swing Gross Motor Skills (Muscles co-ordination development)
The Human Motor Skill is the motion carried out when the cerebellum of the brain activates the nervous system to move the body muscles to achieve a task. Gross Motor Skill is the ability required to control the large muscles of the body, legs and arms for physical task activities such as running, jumping or climbing movements. The golf swing skills require a junior to swing the golf club in a correct movement pattern with the objective to produce a golf shot to fly the golf ball to the target. This is an exhibition of the Gross Motor Skills performance. The golf swing skills development will foster the improvement of muscles co-ordination, muscle strength,  boost fitness and the achievement of physical task performance. The best way to learn and improve the gross motor skills development is to engage in regular sport activities. The correct golf swing skills will teach the junior Gross Motor Skills on:

1. Body awareness - the physiology of the golf swing posture setup to prepare for a golf swing performance.

2. Balance - the ability to maintain equilibrium during the golf swing skill performance.

3. Laterality - the awareness of the left and right sides of the body during the golf swing movement.

4. Major muscles co-ordination - for the development of a proficient golf swing technique.

5. Flexibility - the range of motions that the body can perform easily without injury.

6. Agility - a component of physical fitness that describes changing the body's direction with speed and precision.

7. Mobility -  the capability of body moving or changing quickly from one state to another during the golf swing action.

8. Spatial orientation - the awareness of the body position in space during the golf swing execution.

9. Artistic - the esthetic and graceful manifestation of the body during golf swing movement patterns.

 2. The Learning of the Golf Swing Visual Perceptual Motor Skill (Hand-Eye Co-ordination)
The Visual Perceptual Motor Skill requires the eye/hand/body movements in co-ordination using the visual information receive from the eyes to direct the body for the deliberate movements in physical task activities such as throwing a ball into a target (basket) and in all racket games. The golf swing skills require a junior to develop the effective hand-eye co-ordination to swing the golf clubhead to impact on the golf ball with accuracy and consistency. This Visual Perceptual Motor Skill involves the vision processing using visual information. The golf swing skills development will foster the learning, planning and guiding of the eye/hand/body movements pattern. The golf swing is the most challenging way to learn and improve this skill because the clubface's area to impact on the golf ball is much smaller than in any other racket games. The golf swing skills will teach the junior Visual Perceptual Motor Skill on:

1. Visual memory -  the recalling of the visual information in chunks or temporal sequence during the golf swing teaching and demonstration by the coach.

2. Visual spatial - the mapping of location and correct distance of the target and the direction concepts of the body alignment to perform the proficient golf shot performance.

3. Visual analysis - the matching and identifying of the golf swing skill and golf shot performance.

4. Visual motor integration - the hand-eye co-ordination and visually guided mobility for all the golf swing skills' intensities; golf putting, chipping and full-swing movement patterns.

5. Visual auditory integration - the matching, identifying, decoding and encoding auditory to visual information from the sound of golf clubface at impact on the golf ball.

6. Visualization - the ability to create image of a golf swing performance and the golf ball flight trajectory performance.

 3. The Learning of the Golf Swing Skills will enhance the Cognitive Skill (Mental Skills)
The Cognitive Skill is the mental ability to process the knowing, thinking, reasoning, awareness, perception, decision-making and judgment. It also includes the interpretation and processing of information such as the speed, direction and distance of the ball travelling in sport activities. The golf swing technique learning is an extremely physical endeavour, it requires junior to be proficient in all the three mentioned skills: gross motor, visual perceptual and cognitive. With regular practices the junior will be able to prioritize the conscious and sub-conscious needs of the skills involvement during performance. The golf swing skills will enhance the junior cognitive skill on:

1. Basic Cognitive Process - the cognitive process involves in obtaining and storing knowledge of the golf swing movement patterns.

2. Learning and Acquisition - the cognitive process of acquiring skill or knowledge of the golf swing technique for task application.

3. Remembering and Memory - the cognitive process whereby past success experience of golf shot performance is remembered; "he can do it" from memory;

4. Belief - the cognitive process that leads to ability, judgment, convictions; "seeing is believing".

5. Perception - the process of perceiving.

6. Mental and Attitude - a complex mental state involving beliefs, feelings, values and disposition to act in performing the proficient golf swing technique.

7. Ability and Power - a possession of the mental qualities required to achieve golf swing performance and outcome goals.

8. Feedback - The return of information about the result of the golf swing performance or task; an evaluative response.

 4. The Psychological Development (Mind and Emotion)
Sport scientists consider the golf swing technique as one of the most complex sport skill. The ability to apply all the three skills correctively will foster a junior learning capability and enhance their intellectual properties. Achieving the intricateness of the golf skills requirement gives junior the sense of achievement, competitiveness and feeling that they are really growing up and reaching maturation. Junior grows at different rates and they progress varies. In their process of learning and achieving good sport skills they are likely to be more:

1. Confident and self-direction.

2. Formulating the emotion of self-concept and self-image.

3. Developing a system of conscience, morality and value judgments.

4. Acquire the physical, visual perceptual, cognitive and social skills necessary for proficiency in other task activities.

5. Start to understand the idea, function and arbitrary nature of the rules in all games.

6. Learning and improving language and words to interact with other players and friends.

7. Establish the sense of identification and self-esteem.

8. Experiencing the fun, enjoyment, thrill, sensation of the game task activities.

Embracing sports at a young age, we are gearing our junior towards the Government's vision of "Towards a Sporting Singapore". A future champion may emerge who will do the parents and Singapore proud.

With our vast junior coaching experiences, Junior from the age of 6 years old is the right age to engage on the regular golf learning and training program under our professional supervision.

 AGC Ultimate Golf Coaching Goal

AGC ultimate golf coaching goal for the Junior Golf learning and Training Program is to inspire Junior the similarity to academic education in game format that everyone can be successful by following the tutorage and discipline of teachers and parental guidance in and out of school education curriculum. And the happy days to be thankful to their parents for introducing golf to them.

View pictures of Junior during golf learning lessons:

Junior learning what is sandbunker playing for the golf game

Junior learning the importance of pitching and chipping shot performance for the golf game

Junior learning what is putting for the golf game

Junior enjoying the fun of the game on the golf course