With the worldwide popularity of golf these days it is not surprising that a growing number of children are expressing an interest in the game. However, this is not a cheap sport and parents are frequently concerned that this could well be just a passing and expensive fad. So, how do you decide whether or not you should encourage your child to pursue an initial interest in golf?

This is a difficult question to try to answer and will to a very large degree of course depend on your experience with your child. For instance, if this is yet one more in an extensive line of interests that have quickly fizzled out then you may justifiably feel reluctant to jump in with both feet. But, if this appears to be a real interest then you should give your child encouragement and take steps to assist him at least enough to see if this is going to be something he will stick at.

The first thing you should do is to arrange for your child to take a few lessons to show him what the game is all about. It will also provide you with the chance to get an assessment of your child's potential as a player from a professional. This does not mean that you want to know if your child will be the next Tiger Woods, but merely whether he has the temperament, aptitude and outlook and thus the potential to master the game enough to get a genuine and lasting enjoyment from playing it.

If following this course of lessons the professional is happy with what he has seen and your child is still as enthusiastic as he was when he began then it is time to get behind him and provide him with the encouragement and support to go forward. For instance, this is the time to buy him his first set of junior golf clubs and to make arrangements for further lessons so that he can get up and running by himself. This is also an excellent time to see that he makes friends with other kids in the area who are also starting to play golf.

This is also the time to ready yourself for what might turn out to be a bumpy road and to understand that you will have to keep an eye on your child's progress and offer both encouragement and assistance where needed.

Golf can be a hard game to play and, unlike a lot of sports, it involves less physical strength and more mental agility, patience, practice and coordination. But these are qualities that it can be hard for a child to master and it is not, for example, uncommon to see a teenager struggling because he is gaining the physical strength to send the ball considerable distances but cannot seem to summon up the coordination needed to get it to go in the direction he wants it to. It is on occasions like these, and there are going to be a lot of them, that you have to be about to lend a helping hand.

One of the beauties of golf is that it is not only dependent upon fitness and physical strength and, as a consequence of this, it is frequently seen as an ideal sport for children who would not naturally turn towards sports like baseball or football.