Over the weekend I read an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal about whether or not incredible athletes and performers were just born naturals at their craft.  The writer made some very good points and in the end he explained how consistent practice and an early start are how most of todays incredible talents have reached their point of success.

I often get asked by friends and aquaintances how my kids have learned to play the wonderful game of golf.  Many of them tell me how they are going to enter their children in a week long golf camp at their club and are looking forward to watching them learn the game.  I always think to myself, "if you think golf can be learned in a week, month, or year, you've got the wrong impression".

Now, I am no teaching professional and I haven't played 18 holes since my third child was born and she's almost 5, but I have studied the game, invented the Lag Golf System, and been around some great instructors.  Krista and I will welcome the day we can play golf together again.

The article in the Journal suggests that those that have reached the top of their profession have practiced some 10,000 hours to get to where they are today.  I disagree with that point but I do agree with what Annika Sorenstams swing coach recommends, and that is to constantly work on the fundamentals.  We don't live on a golf course and most you don't either so I wanted to explain how I've brought this wonderful game into our home.

Here they are:  Ali 4, Aspen 7, Austin 8, and Alex 4 months

First I invested in a great mat and net that we have at the side of our house.  What you see here is Setup= Ali, Top of swing = Austin, Down Swing Aspen.  We use alot of pictures and video.  Aspen likes Natalie Gulbis so we go on the internet and watch her setup etc.  Austin is a Tiger/Camilo fan.  Pictures are worth a thousand words.

Next we go over to the "Must Make" putting mat and practice making putts from 1 to 5 feet.  The focus here is to have all of the lines working together and then take the putter back and thru the line.

In West Texas Bermuda Grass goes dormant so I carve out a piece of sod and replace it with a chipping mat.  Here we work on ball flight including the "flop shot" and the "bump and run"

My favorite drill and the one that has improved the kids swing most is the slow motion drill.  I set the kids up in the kitchen and use the tile as their alignment guide.  It teaches them to be square and use the angles for ball alignment.  Here is Aspen demonstrating.

Last but not least we work alot on developing touch and feel around the green.  We use this Lag ring to Lag putt and chip and our goal is to get the ball into the ring.  If we can accomplish this, we'll eliminate 3 putts and lower our score.  Here's my silly Ali

If you're considering introducing the game of golf to your family you can take these simple suggestions and spend 10 minutes a day having fun and making up games.  I love to sit in my office as Austin hits balls into the net and then listen to him imitate Jim Nance as he makes the call.  He always wins and the crowd ALWAYS goes WILD!

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed sharing it and if you have any questions about club fitting, tournaments or anything else, comment here or email me at alEscamilla@cocktailMatch.com