Group vs Private Lessons: Choosing the Right Start for Junior Golfers

Choosing between group and private lessons is typically one of the first decisions to make when introducing your child to golf. Both options offer advantages and can significantly influence your junior golfer's development and enjoyment of the game. 

Group lessons provide a social environment where young golfers can learn alongside their peers, encouraging camaraderie and teamwork. These sessions are also often more affordable and allow children to observe and learn from others.

On the other hand, private lessons offer personalised attention, enabling more rapid skill development and tailored instruction to meet your child's unique needs. These one-on-one sessions help to address specific areas for improvement and accelerates progress.

In this blog post, we will explore the benefits of both group and private lessons, helping you make an informed decision that best suits your child's personality, learning style, and goals. 

Whether you opt for the social interaction of group lessons or the customised approach of private coaching, finding the right fit is key to nurturing a lifelong passion for golf.

Understanding Group Lessons

Group lessons at Grooves Golf are offered in three tiers, with a group for ages 3-6, one for 6-16, and one for 10-16 year olds.

Junior golfers can also take part in golf camps - which provide an excellent opportunity to develop skills and make new friends along the way.

Benefits of Group Lessons

Regardless of the group programme you sign your child up for, they get the opportunity to learn from their peers - picking up tips and tricks from other young golfers. These sessions are also incredibly sociable and put communication on par with skills building and golfing tuition.  

Finally, group lessons are more cost effective than private sessions.

Things to Consider

Of course, every benefit comes with a consideration. With regards to group lessons, it’s important to note that players receive less individual attention as instructors divide their time during each session between multiple students.

The rate of learning will also vary depending on others’ progress and how well the whole group adjusts to each lesson. So, if your child is particularly keen to learn quickly and develop performance-based skills, group lessons may be a bit stop-start for them.

Understanding Private Lessons

Conversely, private lessons are very targeted and can be booked as a one hour single session or in a block of five sessions.

Benefits of Private Lessons

The main benefit of private tuition is the tailored and targeted instruction. Coaches are able to hone in on a junior player's skills and help them to develop those skills, with unpicking and improving things that they struggle with. This approach to customised coaching improves strengths and helps the player to overcome weaknesses, progressing at a rate that works for them.

Things to Consider

Private sessions are more expensive that group lessons - due to the fact that one-on-one tuition will be provided from an expert coach.

What’s more, private sessions are less sociable when compared to group lessons. However, it’s entirely possible to get the best of both worlds by enrolling in private lessons as well as participating in junior golf camps.

Which Type of Lesson Should You Choose?

There are several things that you need to consider before deciding on group or private coaching.

Your child’s personality will play a major role in determining whether they will thrive in a group setting, or whether they need some private tuition to grow their confidence first. Their experience going into the lessons will also help, with beginners generally well suited to group lessons where the basics remain a focus of each session.

We also recommend thinking ahead to their long term goals, and whether golf is something they want to persevere with and keep doing. If learning how to play golf is a real passion, then investing in private coaching is generally an excellent approach to support their goal.

Grooves Golf’s Approach to Coaching

Here at Grooves Golf, we work with both adult and junior golfers - developing tailored packages that bridge the physical, mental, and sociable benefits of the sport, and that put emphasis on the development of basic and more complex skills.

As part of our commitment to all players, we are as flexible as we can be with group and private sessions and can build programmes to suit individual needs and goals if and where we can.

Click here for more information about all of our junior golf coaching options and feel free to get in touch via our contact page if you have any questions.