• Help your kids improve their golf scores early on with games.Young boy admiring his dad on the golf range image by Vanessa van Rensburg from Fotolia.com
  
  Golf is among the most challenging games in sports. It often takes years of practice to become proficient in the game and many golfers begin their training at an early age. For kids who show an interest in golf, it is important to help them develop the proper skill and technique of putting, chipping and driving while having fun at the same time. Encouraging kids to play golf games on the course, and playing the games with them, will help them develop a love for the game along with a better score.
  
  

Horse

• Kids love to play the game of Horse on the basketball court, but the same concept can apply to golf on the putting green. Horse is a game in which a player tries to duplicate the shot of another player. One player places the ball somewhere on the putting green and taps the ball into the hole. The second player places the ball in the exact same spot and tries to make the same shot.
  
  If the first player makes the shot, and the second player makes the same shot, the game continues. If the first player makes another shot, and the second player misses the hole, he is given an "H." The game continues in this manner until one player or the other receives all five letters of the word "horse." The objective is to avoid becoming the "horse."
  
  

Best Ball

• Best ball is a type of golf play that is common in charity tournaments played by adults, but kids can gain a lot of confidence in their game by playing best ball with one another or with a more experienced player like a parent.
  
  Best ball is played just like a regular round of golf, except all the players on one team hit a ball from the tee and the team chooses which shot was best. The other shots on the team are picked up and all of the players take their second stroke from the spot of the best-hit ball. The game continues like this, including chip shots and putts and one score is recorded for the entire team.
  
  When kids play best ball, it allows them to improve their score dramatically and, in many cases, every player on the best ball team will have a few moments in the game when their stroke was the best ball. This helps the best-played shots stand out and builds confidence in the young player's ability to compete in the sport.
  
  

Chip And Putt

• Chip and putt is a game played on and around the practice green at the golf course. Using a wedge and putter only, kids compete to chip onto the green and then putt the ball into the hole in as few strokes as possible. This helps kids learning the sport work on their short game, which will improve scoring over time.
  
  The game is played in the practice area, so parents can observe from around the clubhouse and allow their children to compete in the game without taking them out onto the links. This can be especially convenient on a crowded day when kids are still in the early learning stages.