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Parent’s Guide: Start with a Realistic Assessment of Your Child’s Game

By Brendon Elliott, PGA
Published on

Over the next few weeks, I am excited to share my insights on navigating your young golfer, or soon-to-be young golfer’s journey through the game. Many of my thoughts come from years of observation as a successful youth golf coach combined with concepts I have learned more recently through my PGA.Coach ADM training.
As coaches and parents of youth players, it is important to be mindful that we provide a positive environment or we risk losing the opportunities to teach them valuable life lessons through golf. Failure to do so may create a situation where kids will not want to participate in the game at all.
I stress having fun and enjoying the golf experience as a whole in my coaching principles. This is not just something I stress as a means of promoting the game, it is truly a cornerstone of my coaching and teaching.
To begin, in this 8-part series, I wanted to emphasize the importance of recognizing where your junior golfer falls, according to age, and in terms of ADM, as well as where they may be specifically as an individual based on their current skill set. 
Regardless of how fast a young golfer may develop their skills, the mental and emotional characteristics that we typically see based on age, do indeed remain the same for most. While children are in the Learn to Play and Play to Improve levels, and for some, even in the Fundamentals level of development, it is my belief that it is absolutely OK to allow them to compete. What is important in these cases however is to keep in mind why kids play sports in the first place, and that is to have fun. You can never lose sight of that.
A Realistic Assessment of your Child’s Game
If you have a child that is showing a great deal of promise and you are thinking about, or they are asking you about, competing, I would suggest to you the following…
  • If they do not currently work with a PGA Coach, find one and see if they can give you a true assessment of your young golfer’s skills.
  • Take your child out to a junior golf event to watch and see how other juniors in their age group play in competition. 
  • Make sure that your junior golfer understands and plays by the rules of the game. This is not just for the sake of the integrity of golf, but more so to ensure they, and you as the parent, have an enjoyable experience while competing. 
  • Most importantly, make sure having fun and enjoying the experience — above all else — is at front of mind. This is one of the key components of ensuring the journey continues in a positive way.
Brendon R. Elliott, PGA

Sorrento, FL

Brendon Elliott

Director of Instruction, Freelance Golf Writer

[Brendon Elliott, PGA](https://brendonelliott.com/), is an award-winning PGA Professional, player-development coach and nationally recognized golf writer with three decades of experience in the golf industry. As of 2026, he has been a PGA Professional for 17 years and has earned more than 25 PGA Section and Chapter honors for his work in coaching, education and player development. In 2017, he received the PGA of America National Youth Player Development Award. ## Coaching Competitive Teenage Golfers Through [BE A GOLFER](https://beagolfer.golf/home), Brendon specializes in working with competitive teenage golfers who want to improve their performance, better understand their games and prepare for the demands of high school, junior tournament and college golf. His primary focus is [Remote Coaching](https://beagolfer.golf/remote-coaching), which allows him to remain actively involved in a player’s development regardless of location. Rather than relying on occasional lessons or isolated swing fixes, Brendon works with players throughout their competitive journey. His coaching covers much more than the golf swing. Players receive ongoing guidance in structured practice, short-game development, putting, course management, tournament preparation, performance analysis, goal setting and the mental and physical habits required to improve over time. Using video analysis, virtual coaching sessions, performance data and regular communication, Brendon helps each player understand what to work on, why it matters and how to make meaningful progress between practices and tournaments. Brendon accepts only a limited number of in-person students in Central Florida. His priority is building long-term [Remote Coaching](https://beagolfer.golf/remote-coaching) relationships with competitive teenage golfers and their families. The goal is not simply to help a young player hit better shots. It is to help that player become more prepared, more accountable and more capable of navigating everything competitive golf demands. Brendon’s career has included serving as a head golf professional, general manager, college golf educator, career development director, academy owner and longtime junior golf leader. He founded Little Linksters Golf Academy in 2008 and led the organization for more than 16 years before selling the academy in late 2024 and launching [BE A GOLFER](https://beagolfer.golf/home). ## Golf Writing and Media Brendon is also a nationally recognized and prolific golf writer and storyteller. He is the Senior Golf Writer for [Athlon Sports](https://athlonsports.com/author/brendon-elliott) and has written extensively about professional golf, instruction, player development, equipment, golf history and the people shaping the game. His work has also appeared with PGA.com, GolfWRX, PGA Magazine, MyGolfSpy and several other prominent golf media outlets. Through [One More Roll Golf Media](https://onemorerollgolf.com/), Brendon provides editorial content, feature writing, consulting and media services throughout the golf industry. His background as a coach and educator shapes the way he writes, while his work as a writer strengthens the way he coaches. He understands how to explain complicated ideas clearly, ask better questions and connect the technical, strategic and personal sides of golf.