Juniors
Somewhere for them to start, indoors, all year
Small group classes taught by PGA professionals. They can bring their own clubs or use ours, the weather never cancels anything, and nobody has to be any good on the first day.
About four classes a month
One class a week, ongoing — roughly $37 a class.
The usual starting point. Enough to build a habit without taking over the week.
About eight classes a month
Two classes a week, ongoing — roughly $27 a class.
For juniors who have caught the bug, or who are playing competitively and need the repetition.
When classes run
Classes run on several weekdays after school and at weekends, across both locations.
Magic City Indoor Golf, Hoover
Weekday afternoons and Sundays, usually 4 to 6pm, or 1 to 3pm on a Sunday.
Whispering Pines (formerly Pine Tree) Country Club, Birmingham
Saturdays, 9 to 11am and 2:30 to 4pm.
Which days run depends on the level and the term, so the booking page is the one to trust for this week. Call if you are not sure which group fits.
Before the first class
New to our booking system? The enroll link asks you to log in, and has a Register now option for new families. It takes a couple of minutes.
Bring their own clubs if they have them. If not, we keep U.S. Kids junior sets, so there is no need to buy anything before finding out whether they enjoy it.
Would rather talk it through? Call (205) 593-4543.
The four levels
Juniors move up by passing distance challenges from our Operation 36 program, not by age or by how long they have been coming. Each level is a real step, and they stay where they are until they have earned the next one.
1. Beginner
Exactly what it sounds like: a junior who has not played before. The work is contact, grip and getting the ball airborne.
Moves up by
Passing the 25 and 50 yard challenges.
2. Beyond Beginner
The swing is repeatable and the distances start to stretch. This is where most of the group moves from a range habit to a golf habit.
Moves up by
Passing the 100 and 150 yard challenges.
3. Advanced Lite
Past 150 yards, and starting to play tournament golf, often a fair amount of it. The scoring game matters as much as the swing from here.
Moves up by
Shooting in the 70s in tournament play: breaking 40 for nine holes, or 80 over eighteen.
4. Advanced
Shooting in the 70s and down, playing tournaments seriously, and in a good number of cases playing for a college golf scholarship.
Where it goes
Tournament golf, and in a good number of cases a college golf scholarship.
Once they are past Beginner, get them on a golf course
A simulator bay teaches a swing. It cannot teach a bunker, a downhill lie, or what to do when the pin is tucked. Our recommendation from Beyond Beginner onwards:
- Two of their four monthly classes on the golf course, so they are learning bunker play, pitching and the shots a bay cannot set up.
- One individual 30-minute lesson a month alongside the group class, to work on whatever the group format cannot reach.
Course sessions run at Whispering Pines (formerly Pine Tree) Country Club. Ask us which of your junior's classes to move across.
Summer camps & the Jr tour
Camps run through the summer, and there is a junior tour for those who want to compete. Both fill up, so ask early rather than late.
One-to-one instead?
If group classes are not the right shape — or your junior wants to go faster than a group allows — Aaron Holden works well with younger players and charges $60 for a half hour.