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Your child wants to start golf
You do not need to know anything about golf to do this well. This page is the whole thing in order: what to do first, what to buy, what to skip, what it costs, and what happens next. Written for Australian families.
1. Is my child old enough?
What you are actually asking: Can a 5-year-old really play golf?
There is no minimum age. What matters is whether they can hold a club that fits them and stay interested for fifteen minutes - not their birthday.
Australia's national introductory program, MyGolf, is aimed at ages 5 to 12. Below five is not too young to swing a plastic club in the backyard; it is too young for a structured lesson.
Judge readiness by attention span, not age. A child who can stick with one activity for fifteen minutes is ready for a group program. One who cannot will be ready in six months.
2. Let them try it before you spend anything
What you are actually asking: How do I find out if they actually like it?
Do not buy clubs yet. The single most common mistake is spending several hundred dollars on a set for a child who has never hit a ball.
The cheapest real test is a group program or a school-holiday clinic. Most introductory programs supply a club, so your outlay is the program fee and a hat.
A par-3 or nine-hole course is the second cheapest test. An hour there tells you more than a bucket of range balls.
3. Lessons: group first, private later
What you are actually asking: Do they need lessons, and what kind?
Group lessons are better value and more fun for a beginner, and the other children matter more than the coaching. A friend at the club is the strongest single predictor that a junior keeps playing.
Private lessons earn their cost at transition points - a new set, a growth spurt, a first competition season - not every week from the start.
Ask the coach how many children per group, what ages are mixed together, and what happens after the program finishes. That last question is the one families forget, and the gap after a first program is where most juniors quietly stop.
4. What equipment they actually need
What you are actually asking: What do I have to buy, and what can wait?
Far less than a pro shop will suggest. A child can start with one club that fits, a few balls, and a hat.
The bag matters more than parents expect: a heavy one gets left at home. Buy light before you buy features.
Golf shoes, a glove and specific clothing are all optional at the start. Closed flat-soled shoes and something they can swing in will get them through months of golf.
5. Sizing: height, not age
What you are actually asking: What size clubs does my child need?
Every junior brand sizes by height. The age ranges on the box are marketing layered over the real height brackets, because a nine-year-old can be 125cm or 150cm.
Measure with golf shoes on, standing against a wall, looking straight ahead. Write the number and the date down - you will want the comparison in six months.
If your child falls between two sizes, size up. One inch long is easier to adapt to than one inch short. Two sizes up is not a saving; it is a swing fault waiting to happen.
Cutting down adult clubs fixes length and nothing else. The head is still too heavy, the shaft still too stiff, the lie angle now worse. It is the most common false economy in junior golf.
6. Buying: new, used, and what is actually rubbish
What you are actually asking: Are cheap clubs a waste of money?
Cheap is not the problem; wrong size is. A budget set that fits will serve a beginner better than a premium set that does not.
Second-hand is genuinely sensible for juniors, because junior clubs are outgrown rather than worn out. A two-year-old set is often barely used.
What to avoid: adult clubs cut down, sets bought two sizes ahead, and any purchase made before the child has hit a ball.
7. Where they practise
What you are actually asking: Where do we go, and what should they practise?
Start on a putting green, not a driving range. Putting gives immediate success, needs no strength, and it is where scores are actually made.
Backyard chipping into a washing basket with foam balls is real practice and costs nothing. Ten minutes a few times a week beats one long session.
Short and frequent wins. Stop while they still want to keep going - that is the session that makes them ask to come back.
8. Where they play
What you are actually asking: Will a real golf club actually let my kid play?
Yes, and more readily than most parents assume. Public and municipal courses take bookings from anyone, and many private clubs run junior programs open to the community.
Start with nine holes, or a par-3 course. Eighteen holes is a long walk and a long afternoon for a child, and a first round that ends in exhaustion is a first round that does not get repeated.
Play from the shortest tees available, whatever they are called. This single decision does more for a child's enjoyment than anything else on this page.
9. Etiquette and the rules they actually need
What you are actually asking: What do they need to know before playing with other people?
Three things cover almost all of it: never swing when someone is near, keep up with the group ahead, and repair what you damage.
The rules can wait. Playing order, lost balls, and how to take a drop cover the vast majority of situations a beginner meets.
Golf is one of the few sports where players call penalties on themselves. Framed as a point of pride rather than a rule, children take it seriously.
10. Membership, handicaps and joining a club
What you are actually asking: Do we need to join a club? What is a handicap for?
Not at the start. Once they are playing regularly, junior membership is the step that unlocks everything else - course access, junior competitions, other juniors to play with, and an official handicap.
Junior membership is where Australian golf is unusually generous. Many clubs price it at a small fraction of adult rates, and some at close to nothing. Ask before assuming.
A handicap is not a vanity number. It is the entry requirement for most competitions, it lets a child play a fair match against a parent, and it turns a season of scores into visible evidence of improvement.
11. If they get serious: competitions and pathways
What you are actually asking: What happens if my child turns out to be good?
The sequence is club competitions, then district and state junior events, then squads. Each step needs a handicap and, usually, an entry submitted well before the closing date.
The most common reason a ready junior misses an event is a missed entry date, not ability. Find your state association's junior calendar early and read it.
Be straightforward with yourself about the top of the pathway: very few players, significant cost, a great deal of travel. It is not the measure of whether junior golf was worthwhile.
12. How not to become the problem
What you are actually asking: How should I behave?
Ask 'did you enjoy it?' before you ask what they shot. Do not conduct a swing post-mortem in the car.
Keep instruction for the range. Technical feedback mid-round adds pressure and undermines the coach, and children read a parent's body language after a bad shot more closely than they let on.
Let them play other sports. The athleticism transfers, and a child whose whole identity is golf at ten is carrying a lot.
Watch for the difference between a quiet patch and genuine burnout. A lull is normal. Reluctance most weeks, physical complaints and flatness after sessions are not.
Buy now, buy later, or never
The order matters more than the budget. This front-loads the cheap things that decide whether a child keeps playing, and defers the expensive things that only matter if they do.
| Item | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Program or clinic fee | First | Usually includes a club. Cheapest way to find out if they like it. |
| Hat, sunscreen, water bottle | First | Non-negotiable at an Australian course, and you probably own them already. |
| One club that fits | First | A cut-down 7 iron or a junior wedge. Sized by height, not age. |
| Golf balls | First | Cheap or used. Beginners lose them. Any ball is fine at this stage. |
| Light carry bag | Month 2-3 | Once they are carrying their own clubs. Weight matters more than features. |
| Fitted half set | Month 3-6 | Once the interest has held. Buy for current height. |
| Golf shoes | When playing regularly | Flat closed shoes are fine until they are playing most weeks. |
| Glove | When they ask | Helps grip in heat and stops blisters. Not required. |
| Junior club membership | Playing most weeks | Unlocks course access, competitions and a handicap. |
| Full set, premium brand | Later, if ever | A beginner does not need 11 clubs. Most juniors never need the premium tier. |
| Rangefinder or GPS | Later | Learning to judge distance by eye is more useful at this stage. |
| Lob wedge, driver upgrades, training aids | Not yet | Hardest clubs to hit and the least return for a beginner. |
Prices for programs, lessons, memberships and green fees are set locally and vary widely, so we do not publish a national figure - ask your club, they answer this every week. The full breakdown is in what junior golf actually costs.
The ten mistakes that cost the most
These cost either money or enthusiasm, and enthusiasm is the expensive one.
| Mistake | Do this instead |
|---|---|
| Buying a full set before the first lesson | Borrow or use the program's club until the interest holds |
| Sizing clubs by age, or buying two sizes ahead to 'grow into' | Measure their height and buy for it now; size up only one bracket at a boundary |
| Cutting down your old clubs | A cheap junior club that fits beats an adult club that has been shortened |
| Starting on a full-length course | Par-3 or nine holes, from the shortest tees |
| Keeping score from day one | Count good shots, fairways hit or putts holed for the first few rounds |
| Weekly private lessons from the start | A group program, and private lessons at transition points |
| Practising only full swings at a range | Putting and chipping, where most shots in a round are actually played |
| Coaching from the side during a round | Say nothing, or say 'take your time'. Save technique for practice days |
| Specialising in golf early and dropping other sports | Keep the other sports; the athleticism transfers into golf |
| Pushing through a flat patch | Let it be quiet. Interest usually returns if it is not forced |
What the first three months could look like
- Weeks 1-4. A group program or holiday clinic. Putting and chipping at home with whatever club they have. No purchases beyond a hat and a few balls.
- Weeks 5-8. If the interest has held, measure their height and buy a fitted half set - new or used. First trip to a par-3 or nine-hole course, from the shortest tees, no score kept.
- Weeks 9-12. A regular junior session at a club, and a second nine holes. Start counting something positive: fairways hit, putts holed. Ask the club about junior membership.
If they are still asking to go at the end of that, you have a golfer. If they are not, you have spent very little finding out - which was the point of doing it in this order.
Questions parents ask first
- What age can a child start golf in Australia?
- There is no minimum age. Australia's national introductory program, MyGolf, is aimed at ages 5 to 12. Children under five can happily swing a plastic club at home, but structured lessons generally suit them from about five, when they can stay engaged with one activity for fifteen minutes.
- What size golf clubs does my child need?
- Junior clubs are sized by height, not age. Measure your child in their shoes, standing against a wall. If they fall between two size brackets, size up rather than down - a club an inch long is easier to adapt to than one an inch short.
- Does my child need a full set of golf clubs?
- No. A beginner needs far fewer clubs than a full set. Many juniors start with a single club that fits and add a putter and a wedge as they play more. A half set covers everything a child needs for years.
- Can my child use my adult golf clubs?
- Not usefully. Adult clubs are too long, too heavy and too stiff for a child, and cutting them down fixes only the length - the head weight, the shaft stiffness and the lie angle are all still wrong. A cheap junior club that fits is a better purchase than a shortened adult one.
- Are cheap junior golf clubs any good?
- Price is not the problem; fit is. A budget set in the right size will serve a beginner better than an expensive set in the wrong one. Second-hand junior clubs are a genuinely sensible option because juniors outgrow clubs rather than wearing them out.
- Do kids need golf shoes to play?
- Not to start. Flat, closed, comfortable shoes are fine for months of golf. Golf shoes become worth buying once a child is playing most weeks, or when they are slipping in the wet.
- How much does junior golf cost in Australia?
- The starting cost is lower than most parents expect: an introductory program fee plus a hat. Equipment is the main variable, and junior club membership is often heavily discounted. Costs set by clubs and coaches vary widely, so ask locally rather than assuming a national figure.
- What is MyGolf?
- MyGolf is Australia's national junior introductory program, administered by Golf Australia and the PGA of Australia and delivered by accredited coaches. It is aimed at girls and boys aged 5 to 12, and participants can receive an enrolment pack including a club, cap, string bag and ball. Session length, price and inclusions are set by the delivering venue.
- Do golf clubs in Australia let children play?
- Yes. Public and municipal courses take bookings from anyone, and many private clubs run junior programs open to the community. Some clubs restrict when junior members can be on the course, so it is worth asking the pro shop about junior tee times before booking.
- Does my child need a golf handicap?
- Not to start playing, but they will need one to enter most competitions. A handicap also lets a child play a fair match against a parent or a stronger player, and it turns a season of scores into visible evidence of improvement. It usually comes with junior club membership.
Where to go next
Last reviewed 12 August 2026. Program details, fees and club policies are set locally and change between seasons - we say so on the page rather than quoting a figure we cannot stand behind.