Golf is often considered as a sport of resilience patience, precision and mental strength. It is not a fast-paced sport, and as it unfolds slowly, it lays foundation of personal development among juniors who play golf. Today’s world is fast-paced, and youngsters in today’s times are more restless and impatient. Golf needs focus and self control, and juniors who play golf, come to terms with patience, resilience and self-control, to say the least, when they take to playing golf.

Children do not know how to handle emotions, manage stress and stick to routines. Patience is a rare quality, and access to a plethora of options in every spectrum of life, makes the children indecisive, as well as lose focus very quickly. Golf encourages children to slow down, think carefully, and then take a shot with precision, with focus.

Coaches all over the world often come across a the questions, “How soon can my child go to play on the course?” or “How do we know that our child has learned golf?” The simple answer to the question is: one cannot learn golf, or any sport whatsoever, overnight. For a sport like golf, it is more important to build patience, not just in the children’s mind, but also in the mind of the parents, because improvement in golf cannot come immediately. Globally reputed golfers like Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus say that they have never got a perfect golf swing. So, children who play golf, gradually come to terms with the fact that mastering a swing or perfecting short game is time consuming, and only by being patient, and putting repeated efforts over considerable time period, can one get close to mastering golf.

Waiting is an undeniable aspect of golf. Golfers need to wait before teeing off, during the round, and even in between shots and holes. Children who play golf on course learn to wait with patience while respecting others.

Children often fail to accept failures and mistakes, as children are always taught to carry out their chores and activities in an error free way. As they learn to play golf, they understand that errors are part of life, and that they are inevitable. As they develop a habit of playing golf they gradually develop the sense that errors are bound to happen on course between rounds, and one needs to deal with the pressure, without losing temper and letting frustration cloud their mind.

Being able to play good golf is a result of following a strict regime. This agility does not come in a short span of time. A junior golfer needs to put a lot of effort, follow structured training regimes, build proper exercise and warm up routines, maintain strict nutritional diet, work on gaining mental strength. Skipping any one of these can lead to poor performance, which is why it is important for junior golfers to follow a strict regime in order to perform well. From here comes the knowledge of discipline and  integrity.

The game of golf involves following etiquette. Children learn the value and importance of maintaining silence on the course, waiting for others to pass before taking a shot, ensuring the safety of others on course, and maintaining the pace of play.

Golf teaches punctuality. It is important to begin and finish the game within a stipulated span of time, and that cannot happen unless the golfers arrive on time. Golfers are taught from a young age to turn up on time, at least 10-15 minutes before teeing off, so that score cards can be collected on time, and the game is not delayed for others.

The rules are golf are harbingers of discipline for young golfers. As they learn golf, and slowly play tournaments and get to learn the rules of golf, they understand that the game is all about following strict rules of scoring, penalties, and self conduct. These in turn, impact the children at a greater level in their lives, as they learn the value of discipline, and the need to abide by rules.

Golf teaches emotional discipline. The most important thing that golf teaches is building mental resilience. A junior golfer needs to stay on the course for long hours. During the game, one even misses putts, or loses the ball due to the direction of the wind. All these improve attention span in the children and builds emotional stability. It also enhances strategic thinking among children, as they need to plan each shot, and manage nerves, when shots go wrong.

Discipline and resilience learned by junior golfers impact their lives far beyond the course. It is often seen that golf nurtures and shapes the lives of children, as the ones who play golf grow up to be more patient, confident disciplined, punctual, and mentally resilient than other children.