Weird Life And Business Lessons I Learned Teaching My 5 Year Old Son Golf

Finally, a report about Bobby at the world 6-under IMG champs
What a great, crazy experience. 100s & 100s of kids from all over the world [but only Bobby from the UK in the 6-under] & some very serious competitors from China, Japan & the Philippines [some a bit too serious]. You really get to learn how important a role the caddies have [I need to improve] & how well IMG organised the event. It's such a gift to be amongst so many talented kids.

I'll share the result in a moment, but that's probably the least important part. Bobby was the 2nd youngest competitor out of a registered field of 37 kids 7 & under. Because we played the FCG world champs 1st, we only had one & a half practice days. Lesson one for Daddy-caddy: more practice days ahead of the comp. Bobby showed great potential in his practice rounds & looked like he might shoot for a top 10 finish.

Having a 5 year old means [& any parent knows] you need to plan to leave the house 3 weeks before you can actually get out of the door, which meant we turned up each day with not enough prep time. We had to rush 50 balls, & only a few putts. Next year I will make sure we turn up at least 90 mins before. I feel I let Bobby down in this area & because we were always rushing he rushed some of his shots [a lot of his shots].

Day 1 we played with Woorin & Alfredo. Bobby loved these two boys & after a few holes to settle in they got on great. Bobby got a 2 shot penalty on the 2nd for grounding his club in the bunker. Harsh because he's not even been taught what that means, but I'm told rules are rules so that was that [despite seeing at least 2 other kids ground their club]. He was blissfully naive of it all which was great, & when he found out he asked why & that was a great lesson as he started to practice not grounding the club. On the 6th he hit the ball backwards in his practice swing & asked to play it again. I said he can't because it's a competition [I'd told him about this at least 735 times!] - again another harsh but pertinent lesson. He had a couple of little tears at this stage but I'm proud of how well he just gets on with it & that he got the real life lessons he needs.

His first round was full of promise but probably 8 shots more than he is capable of, leaving him in 30th place, & top placed 5 year old. Round 2 was similar, Bobby shot some great pars, had quite a few birdie putts but hadn't had enough practice on the greens & couldn't get to grips with the speed. Each round he had 2 nightmare holes out of the blue where he lost concentration [who can blame him]; 3 shots better but still 6 shots off what we thought he could shoot. His final round was his worst. I clubbed him up wrong on 17 & he went in the water [my bad] & after a good hole came a bad one. I think he was very tired at this point but he kept playing with no prompting.

This was the first time Bobby had ever played 18 holes, & he did it 3 days in a row. It was HOT HOT but he played & loved it & never complained. He seemed in flow & each day seemed to enjoy it more. He even said to me: "Daddy, we get to play Golf while Mummy does all the boring stuff". He made many new friends: Alfredo, Enzo, Rajah, Trey, Santiago, & I am sure we will see them all next year. Trey & Bobby can play in this age group again. On the last round there was Carlos & his son Carlos, Alfredo & his son Alfredo, & Rob & his son Bobby; see I'm not the only crazy caddy-Daddy! Bobby grew, did many things himself he's not done before [like line his shots up, go through his routine] & can now complete 18 holes without a buggy.

Some interesting highlights: 

>One 6 year old girl had a hole in one on the 1st
>One competitor got banned for life because his Dad slapped his son twice across the face
>Language was not a barrier for the kids & they communicated & played great [the ones I saw]
>The difference between age 5 & 6 is huge. Bobby was using a driver when the 6/7 year olds were using mid irons
>Bobby met 2 of his heroes from the documentary "The Short Game" - Amari Avery & Zama, & exchanged badges with them. He was chuffed about that In the end Bobby finished 29th. He averaged a bogey a hole, probably about 6 shots a round off what we think he can shoot at this stage. He did have some birdies which he loved, but his practice rounds were much better. The competitive element brings all sorts of new challenges, which we have now had experience of. 

The winner was -7 which is amazing, & 3rd was +15 [+5 per round]. Bobby will for sure be right up there next year with all the lessons we got & the trajectory he is on. 

Here's what I learned:

1. Know when to coach & when to leave alone [& that's hard]
2. Be prepared [get there early, make detailed notes about the course, get the club selection right]
3. Arrive at the course a week before for some more playing time
4. Don't take it too seriously. Some of the kids didn't look like they were having fun. They want to still be enjoying it in 20 years time. Bobby was the youngest, smallest & definitely most fun
5. Don't have any expectation of placing or result, just enjoy the process
6. Slow things down. Which means I have to slow down to encourage Bobby to slow down. A slower routine & he'd have shot easily 10 better

I feel we have all grown a lot on this crazy journey. Bobby's game will instantly be at another level once we hit the UK, & we have memories we will never forget. Bobby has been a cheeky chap & a lot of fun & I'm proud to be his Daddy-caddy. One day I will have to pass the reigns to a coach but I will hold on to this role for as long as I can.

We're off for another round now but this time will be purely for fun. I bet he shoots his best round of the week!

Update: Bobby had his best round since he's been out here now that it doesn't matter! Would have put him in top 20. Ha!

Rob