I've been asked this question a lot, and as a golf professional, its one I'll undoubtedly be asked countless more times. Most often, the inquiry comes from a young mother or father whose toddler recently picked up a 9-iron and showed great joy in thrashing around the backyard chasing a little white ball. When the little Tasmanian devil is asked if he enjoys golf, he'll answer with an enthusiastic "Yes!" and take another wild chop.

Or perhaps the munchkin is swinging at the grass - at this age it's often a 50-50 call. What we do know is tykes enjoy anything that involves swinging an object wildly around. Ever see a 4-year-old with a cardboard tube left over from a roll of wrapping paper? What are those things called anyway? I'm sure it can't be anything as simple as tube of cardboard.

Anyhow, where was I? Oh yes, at what point should I teach a diminutive club-wielding maniac how to direct his wild flails at an actual target? The question itself often gets my curiosity going. After all, have we ever looked at a young child bouncing a ball around the house and immediately said we should get him or her basketball lessons? Or watched as he tossed a tippy-cup at his sister with such great velocity that it made us think of looking for a pitching coach? Of course not.

So what's different with golf? Two reasons come to mind. The first and most obvious is that a parent looks at their offspring and envisions the next Tiger Woods. Please note the omission of the next Michelle Wie (more on her later). The kids are too young to have dreams at a tender age, so parents will dream for them.

And what's the harm in this? There is no harm, really. As long as parents accept that their children will grow with dreams of their own and those dreams might not necessarily mesh with those of mom and dad. These dreams, the child's dreams, are the ones they should be encouraged to follow, not the dreams of the parents.

Read the rest of the story at Cybergolf.com