With this burst of enthusiasm, there are plenty of players who introduce their kids to the game. Wanting to make sure they don’t pick up any ‘bad habits’ they impart all their ‘knowledge’ onto the young players.

As well-meaning as it is, I believe this does more harm than good. Most kids will learn from watching than having a try themselves. It doesn’t matter if things are not done correctly. It takes a long time to learn this game, but it is vital that fun is a big part of the learning if the young player is to continue playing the game.

Let the juniors watch a bit of golf on TV, then play some games at the range on the practice area or on the course when it’s quiet.

All too often I see adults ‘helping’ the young golfer hit the ball. Several pieces of advice on each swing and even some hands on swings to help them get the movements right.

Picture one shows a scenario I often see at the range. ‘Keep your head down’ while offering a ‘helping hand’ pushing it down to emphasise the point. You’ll see in picture one, just how uncomfortable and cramped the junior looks. How can a player swing freely with adult ‘helping’ like this?

Ask them to watch a great player and see if the can copy the start position. You’ll see in picture two how much more athletic and balanced this position is. Kids are great mimics. They can make a pretty good fist of something even if the shot doesn’t turn out as expected. But the best thing about it is, most young beginners don’t bother about missing the ball, sending it off line or duffing it.

They have an intrinsic understanding that it’s all part of the learning process. Perhaps adults could learn some vital lessons from the juniors, rather than the other way around.