Show Kids How to Swing a Golf Club

Learning how to swing a golf club can feel exciting and maybe a little confusing for a child, but you can make it simple and incredibly fun. This guide is built to do just that, offering a step-by-step approach that skips the technical jargon and focuses on feel, fun, and fundamentals. We will walk through everything from making the grip easy for small hands to turning practice into a game they’ll want to play again and again.

First Things First: Keep It Fun!

Before we touch a club, let’s get the most important rule straight: this has to be fun. The single biggest mistake when we a show kid how to swing a golf club is making it feel like a chore. Kids have short attention spans and an incredible built-in detector for anything that feels too much like homework. The goal isn’t to create a perfect-looking swing on day one. The goal is to make them laugh, get them to hear that "swoosh" sound of the club, and finish the session wanting to come back for more.

Here’s how we keep it light:

• Keep Sessions Short: 20-30 minutes is plenty. As soon as you see their focus starting to fade, it’s time for a juice box and a new activity. End on a high note!
• Celebrate Every Effort: Did the ball only move three feet? Awesome! Did they miss it completely but made a great balanced finish? High five! Positive reinforcement is your superpower. Focus on what they did right.
• Use The Right Equipment: Don’t give a child a heavy, cut-down adult club. Lightweight, junior-specific clubs are vital. They are easier to swing and help prevent bad habits from forming as they try to manage a club that's too heavy. Plastic clubs in the backyard are a perfect place to start.

Remember, you're not just a coach, you're the Director of Fun. If they’re enjoying themselves, they will want to learn.

The "10-Finger" Grip for Little Hands

How a child holds the club can seem complicated, but it doesn't need to be. Forget about interlocking or overlapping grips for now. The simplest and most natural way for a child to teach kids golf is the 10-finger grip, also known as the baseball grip.

Here’s how to explain it in three easy steps:

1. “Shake Hands with the Club”: Have them hold the club out in front of them with their non-dominant hand (the left hand for a right-handed golfer). Tell them to “shake hands” with the grip, placing their hand on the side of the club so their thumb is pointing roughly down the shaft.
2. The “Palm on the Thumb”: Next, they’ll bring their dominant hand (the right hand for a righty) and place it just below the top hand. A great way to explain this is to have them cover their top thumb with the palm of their bottom hand. It should feel like their hands are working together as one unit.
3. All Ten Fingers on the Club: Check to make sure all ten of their fingers are touching the grip. There shouldn't be any gaps between their hands. Just like holding a baseball bat, both hands are fully on the handle, connected and ready.

This grip is intuitive for kids and gives them the most control and leverage with their smaller hands and developing muscles. It promotes a feeling of a unified, powerful swing without the physical awkwardness of the more advanced grips.

The "Ready for Anything" Stance

Once they have the grip, it’s time to get into a good setup position. Instead of confusing them with hip angles and spine tilts, associate the golf stance with other athletic movements they already understand. The golf stance is an athletic stance, just like getting ready to catch a ball or guard someone in basketball.

Break it down with these simple cues:

• Feet Apart Like a Skateboard: Tell them to set their feet about as wide as their shoulders. A fun way to say this is, "Stand like you're on a skateboard." This gives them a B solid, balanced base to swing from.
• Bend Your Knees a Little: From there, ask them to bend their knees slightly, like they're getting ready to jump. This "unlocks" their legs and helps them feel athletic.
• Take a Bow: The next step is the tilt from the hips. Have them keep their back pretty straight and simply "take a bow" or "bow to the Queen." This will tilt their upper body over the ball without them needing to slouch.
• Let Your Arms Hang: With this athletic tilt, their arms should hang down naturally from their shoulders. The club should rest on the grass a comfortable distance from their feet. A common fault is reaching for the ball, this natural arm-hang position prevents that.

For ball position, keep it simple. For most beginner shots with an iron, the ball should be right in the middle of their feet. As you show kids how to swing a golf club, this setup will put them in a balanced, ready position every time.

The Swing Itself: Making a "Whoosh!"

The kids' golf swing shouldn't be taught as a series of complex, disconnected parts. Think of it as one fluid motion, like a pendulum on a grandfather clock. The goal is to create a rhythmic "tick-tock" and make a "whoosh" sound as the club brushes the grass. This is one of the most effective and enjoyable ways to teach kids golf.

Step 1: The "Tick" - Low and Slow Away

Start with the backswing. We're not aiming for a big, tour-pro-length swing. A shorter, more controlled swing is better for learning good contact.

• Lead with the Belly Button: Tell them to start the swing by turning their chest and belly button away from the target, not by just lifting their arms. It’s a turn, not a lift.
• Paint a Line: To keep the club on a good path, have them imagine they are painting a straight line on the ground with their clubhead for the first foot of the backswing.
• Wrist Hinge: As they turn, their wrists will naturally start to hinge upward a bit. You can cue this by telling them to “point the toe of the club to the sky” when the club shaft is parallel to the ground. This gets the club in a great spot without overcomplicating things.

A good checkpoint is when their hands get to about waist-high. For a young beginner, this is a more than adequate backswing.

Step 2: The "Tock" - Brushing the Grass

Now for the fun part: swinging down and hitting the ball! The focus here isn’t power, it’s making contact with the ground.

• Start Down by Turning: Just like the backswing, the downswing should be led by the body. Tell them to unwind and "turn their belly button so it faces the target."
• Brush the Grass: The single most effective thought for a beginner at impact is to ``brush the grass`` with the bottom of the club. Have them practice this without a ball first. If they can make the club "whoosh" by hitting the grass at the bottom of the swing, they are learning the correct low point. The ball just gets in the way of a good swing.

Step 3: The "Ta-Da!" Finish

Often overlooked, the finish is one of the best indicators of a good swing. A balanced finish means they turned through the shot correctly and didn't just swing with their arms.

• Face the Target: Instruct them to finish with their chest and belt buckle pointing directly at where they want the ball to go.
• Pose for the Camera: Tell them to “hold their finish,” posing like a statue. Their back foot should come up onto its tippy-toe, and almost all their weight should be on their front foot.

A great phrase is "tick...tock...TA-DA!" This makes the full motion a single, rhythmic concept they can remember.

Practice Games That Aren't Boring

Drills are for pros, games are for kids. Turn every practice session into a challenge or a fun game. This approach to beginner golf for kids is far more effective than just mindlessly hitting balls.

• Target Town: Set up a variety of targets at different distances - an upside-down umbrella, a bucket, a hula hoop. Assign points for hitting each target. This turns practice into a fun competition.
• Hit the Dandelions: This is a wonderful game for learning to hit down and brush the grass. Find a patch of dandelions or put down some tees and challenge your young golfer to "mow them down" with the club. It gives them a visual focus that isn't the ball itself.
• The Ladder Game: Have them hit their first shot, then challenge them to hit their next shot just a little bit farther. Then a little farther. It’s a great way to learn distance control and makes them focus on making solid contact instead of just swinging out of their shoes.

Final Thoughts

Teaching a child to swing a a golf club really comes down to forgetting perfection and focusing on fun. By using simple language, relatable analogies, and a game-based approach, you can provide a wonderful introduction to a sport they can enjoy for a lifetime. Focus on celebrating the small wins, keeping them laughing, and always ending before they're ready to stop.

As your young golfer grows and their general questions about the game become more complex, you might find yourself needing a little backup. Tech can be a fantastic supplement to your coaching, and we designed Caddie AI to be your personal golf expert, right in your pocket. It's built to give immediate, simple answers on anything from hitting different types of shots to understanding complex rules or course strategy, helping you confidently guide them a long their way.