The Coordinator and Head Coach for golf programs at both Ambrose Treacy College and St Aidan’s Girls College, Flynn has engaged with 252 school students in the past 12 months.

At The Brisbane Golf Club, Flynn is the Junior Program Coordinator and Head Coach, overseeing 80 students across eight levels of development. She is also the Coordinator and Coach for the High Performance Program.

Here she outlines the strategies she uses to communicate effectively with juniors to not only improved their performance but to embed a life-long love of the game.

How we communicate with juniors is crucial in developing their passion for golf.

Golf is a game of discovery, and when kids first start showing an interest we need to feed that desire for experimentation.

How we do that is dependent on the language that we use.

I have seen many well-meaning parents with the best of intentions try to tell their kids what to do and how to do it.

My philosophy is to give juniors the core basis of the golf swing, let them hit shots and then provide me with the feedback on why the ball went where it did.

Where was our ball position at set-up?

Have you checked the alignment of your feet in relation to the target?

Did we take the time to read the putt correctly?

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Let them answer and move on.

As they progress, that language remains important.

Don’t tell them where not to hit it; ask where they think the best miss is. Plant the seed of a positive thought that they can apply to the next shot.

Early on in their learning, it also needs to be fun.

Technique can come later. Get them playing games. Relate what they are doing to other sports they may have played. Make it competitive and give them an incentive to complete the exercise to the best of their ability.

And don’t be afraid to let them hit drivers as hard as they can.

After all, what’s more fun than that.