With the grand opening of Little Si Links on Saturday, May 1, I know that a lot of you will be taking your kids to our new facility and a lot of new players will be taking up the game for the first time.

I am often asked, “What is the best way for me to go for my child with golf?”

There are a few things that I believe will either make golf a positive or negative experience for your child. The first impression that your child receives will have a definite impact on the outcome of his or her experience with the game. Either they will be enthusiastic and want to play the game more, or will have little or no interest and not want to play the game at all.

Here are some things I would suggest and encourage that you do:

• Make golf fun for them and something that they look forward to doing. How do you do that? Play with them. Show them that it is something you can do as a family and a way for you to get together. Make up games when you play and practice — a closest to the pin contest, putting contest, driving contest, and other games that come up along the way. Make the games fair for everyone involved. This will in turn keep them interested and give them the desire to perform.

• Encourage them on their good shots. Tell them not to worry about the bad shots. The good shots are the ones that you want to remember.

• Make sure that they have equipment that fits them. The most important factor is the length of the club. I don’t recommend buying new clubs for juniors as they will grow out of them too fast. A used cut-down club will do just fine.

• Get your child into a group lesson or clinic. They will see other children learning and playing the game and how fun it can be. I think you will find that a group atmosphere is non-threatening and a great way for a child to learn to play the game. They generally don’t have the attention spans for private instruction and this is a great way to improve your child’s ability, which in turn will make them want to play the game more. The better we get at something, the more that we want to do it.

• Take them out on the golf course. You don’t have to be “Tiger Woods” before you get out on the golf course. The more that you take a child on the course, the more they will see how important it is to practice. You can’t just tell a child the shots. They are going to have to see for themselves. After a few rounds, they will know what they need to practice and be enthused to do so. After all, what is the point of practicing if you can’t put it to the test? Little Si Links is a great place to introduce your children to the game, with nine holes ranging from 50 to 90 yards, a huge grass driving range, pitching green and full service practice facility.

• Spend time with your child on and around the putting green. The more time you spend chipping and putting with your child, the better they will be. The game is about getting the ball in the hole. This is where you get that done. At least one half of your practice time should be spent on your short game.

Here are some things that I suggest that you not do:

• Analyze and critique every shot your child hits. Most coaches and parents feel compelled to let their children know about everything that they are doing wrong, thinking that this is somehow going to make the junior better. Not to mention, oftentimes the adult is not really sure what the child is doing wrong in the first place. Spend more time on what is going “right” rather than what is going “wrong.”

• Working on more than one thing at a time. If you feel compelled to teach your children the game of golf and know what you are talking about, don’t work on more than one thing at a time. How many things can you think about in the two seconds it takes to hit a golf ball? More is not always better, especially in golf!

• Talking too much. A child does not want to hear about everything that they need to do. They want to play and see their results. I am not saying you shouldn’t talk to your children about the game, but spend less time talking and more time doing. A child’s attention span is not very long. Keep the game fun for them; don’t smother them in the details.

• Starting your children out with private instruction too soon. I would suggest that you not start your child with private golf lessons until they are least ten years old or extremely advanced. Most children do not have the attention spans to warrant private instruction. Get them into groups and let them learn that way.

• Spending the entire practice session hitting the driver. I know that most juniors want to see how far that they can hit the ball and by all means, I would encourage you to let them hit their woods — but not the entire bucket of balls. They need to know that the game requires different kinds of shots that go various distances. Ask them to hit the ball to various targets on the range that will require them to use all of the different clubs in their bags. This will show them that there is more to the game than just hitting the long ball, even though for most, it is the most fun.

I don’t pretend to have all of the answers and this list is by no means the complete do’s and don’ts of golf. I do know that I am the parent of three children of ages 19, 15 and six, and have taught the game to thousands of junior golfers over the last 20 years. This has been my basic approach during this time and it has proven to be successful. My goals have always been to make the game fun and enjoyable, while at the same time educating the student to learn more about the game and more about themselves. If I can hear a junior golfer say “I love the game of golf,” that speaks for itself. That is ultimately what it is all about, isn’t it?

I am looking forward to seeing all of you out at the golf course. You have to come and check out Little Si Links! It is perfect for taking your kids and teaching them the how to play the great game of golf! I would welcome your comments and or suggestions:

• E-mail Matt Campbell at matt@mtsigolf.com.