Why Golf Might Be the Best Gift You Can Give Your Kids

There’s something about watching your child try something new that makes every parent pause. You’re not just seeing them kick a ball or swing a club — you’re seeing flashes of who they’re becoming. And sometimes, what they don’t like tells you just as much as what they do.

For years, I had a complicated relationship with sports. Basketball had been my life growing up — my outlet, my identity. But when my dreams of playing at the next level didn’t pan out, the disappointment was deep. I didn’t just fall out of love with the game; I started to resent the entire system. For a while, I didn’t want my kids anywhere near it.

But parenting has a funny way of calling you to rethink everything.

Golf Found Me When I Was Looking for Balance

I wasn’t looking for a new sport. I was looking for something calmer, more cerebral — a way to help my kids develop discipline and confidence without the high-stakes burnout that often comes with youth athletics. Football? Too rough. Basketball? Too loaded with my own history. Then, one day, while my dad had the Masters on in the background, it clicked: What about golf?

At first, I wrote it off. Who really gets excited about watching golf on TV? But then I imagined my kids on the course — quiet, focused, learning something at their own pace. That’s when it shifted from “maybe” to “why not?”

From Courts to Courses: A Different Kind of Competitive Spirit

I had the chance to speak with Joseph Bronson, a former Division I basketball player who didn’t discover golf until his mid-twenties — and now, decades later, he’s played on nearly every major course you can name. What struck me wasn’t just how much he loved the game, but why he loved it.

For Joseph, golf wasn’t just a hobby. It was a mindset. It was where discipline, emotional control, humility, and integrity all came together — not just in theory, but in action.

In basketball, if you lose your cool, you might foul out. In golf, you might lose everything.

Raising Kids Who Compete Without Burning Out

When Joseph introduced his son to golf at age six, there were no lectures, no pressure. Just a weekly 45-minute session at the local range, where learning felt like play. Over time, as his son’s confidence grew, so did his commitment. By the time he was 13, he was shooting an 80 at St. Andrews in Scotland.

The lesson? Give your kids space to choose excellence, rather than forcing it on them.

It reminded me of how I’d pushed my daughter into soccer — a sport I wished I’d played more of myself. Every Saturday in the freezing cold, she hated it. Cried through the whole thing. I pushed, thinking it was building grit. But it didn’t. It just made her dread the game.

Then she discovered gymnastics on her own — and lit up. She practices every week, shows me her new moves, counts down the days until class. No pushing needed.

Golf as a Life Teacher

More than any other sport, golf teaches you how to handle yourself. Not just how to swing or putt — but how to breathe, how to stay calm when everything goes sideways, how to be gracious when you’re behind, and how to lose without unraveling.

You don’t learn that from a participation trophy.

You learn it when you duff a shot and have to walk it off. When you miss a two-foot putt and still have to shake your opponent’s hand. When you realize your biggest opponent is your own ego.

These are the lessons I want for my kids. Not because I need them to be great golfers — but because I want them to be good humans.

Final Thoughts

Golf isn’t about trophies for everyone. Sometimes, it’s about Saturday mornings, sodas at the clubhouse, and long walks on quiet fairways with people you love. It’s about learning to focus, to fail, and to try again — all without the noise.

So whether it’s golf, gymnastics, chess, or something else entirely, the real goal is this: help your kids discover what lights them up. Then get out of the way, and let them chase it.

If you’re a dad wondering where to start, Joseph Bronson’s books — Golf Chronicles, More Golf Chronicles, and Pardon Me — are full of wisdom, stories, and sharp insights into the game. And by “game,” I don’t just mean golf. I mean life.

Let your kids play. Let them fail. Let them grow.

And never settle for mediocre — on or off the course.