What age should a kid start?
Around 6 or 7 works for most kids, but the honest answer is: when they want to. Attention span matters more than age. A motivated nine-year-old progresses faster than a six-year-old who was signed up by a parent.
Equipment: less than you think
- Don't buy a full set. A junior 7-iron, a wedge, and a putter cover the first year.
- Length beats brand. Cut-down adult clubs are too heavy and teach bad sequencing. Junior-flex shafts are worth it.
- Arizona sun rules. Hat, sunscreen, and a full water bottle every session — non-negotiable in summer.
What a good session looks like
If you watch from the side, you should see short bursts, games with scoring, and kids swinging a lot. Lecture-heavy junior instruction is a red flag. Kids learn golf the way they learn every other sport: by doing it, with feedback.
Skills we prioritize, in order
- Making solid contact — everything else is downstream of this.
- Short game and putting, because it's where kids score.
- Etiquette and pace, so they're welcome in any group.
- Full-swing mechanics, once the first three are habits.
How our camps run
Junior camps run in multi-day sessions with small groups so every kid gets real coaching time. Current dates and registration are on the events page.
Not sure whether your child is ready? Call (520) 244-7682 and we'll tell you honestly — sometimes the answer is "wait a season."
Want a plan built for your game?
Private lessons, Saturday clinics, and junior camps are running now.