Helping young athletes learn to love learning golf
Even at first glance, one will identify that the school kids’ program conducted under the Leadbetter Golf Academy, Bangladesh is different from other junior golf programs. Children here run around chasing soccer balls and tennis balls being hit, kicked or thrown by them. Even playing games around the bunker, hopping, skipping and jumping across the tee box and giving each other high fives to celebrate a great shot. All of these are by design, as the goal of LBK school program is to turn the kids into athletes first, and then golfers.
In junior golf programs adopting a one-dimensional approach to teaching golf swing in isolation from the game, children are told what they’re doing wrong and then told how to fix it. This approach overlooks many facts about learning golf, not least of which is the realization that this simply isn’t fun for the young learners. Kids are not physically and mentally equipped to handle this type of curriculum, and it usually leads to undesirable consequences like burnout, overuse injuries, dislike of the game and aversion to future instruction.
In LBK School, one won’t see children hitting golf balls for 60 minutes, nor will coaches tell kids what to do. Most junior athletes wouldn’t last 10 minutes before expressing boredom so instead they get them to engage in games of baseball, tennis or tug of war, and then have them hit golf shots focusing on striking specific targets. The activities used in the practices all share the same “DNA” with golf.
For instance, a baseball swing and a tennis forehand both require a weight shift, trunk rotation, wrist hinge and a strike, all of which are found in the golf swing. This type of cross training allows coaches from LBK school program to teach the basic movements of golf, without having to talk about them.
LBK school program believes it is important for kids to have fun at this age and their programs will not only help a child to develop to their full potential in golf, but will also enhance their quality of life and health.
Helping to ignite their passion for the sport and allow them to figure out how to get the ball in the hole as quickly as possible.
LBK school athletes will become great golfers not by focusing on their backswing, but rather by fostering a love for the game and for sport in general, to create a generation of players who love the game and play it well.
For more information please contact The Leadbetter Golf Academy Bangladesh, (1st Floor of KGC Driving Range), Kurmitola Golf Club,Dhaka Cantonment, Dhaka-1206 or visit www.lga-bd.com
