LPGA Tour star Stacy Lewis to golf parents: ‘It’s the kids playing … not the parents’

Stacy Lewis had some sound advice for parents Wednesday at the JTBC Founders Cup during a press conference with LPGA-USGA Girls Golf players.

“I always tell parents, ‘It’s the kids playing. It’s not the parents playing,'” said the third-ranked Lewis, the 2013 tournament champion. “That’s, I think, what kind of some of the big problems are is that they don’t let the kids play. My dad, he sent me off to get lessons with somebody else. There needs to be a line between a golf instructor versus your parent.

“I still tell my dad, even now, I tell him, ‘Dad, I just want you to be my dad. I want you to be there and give me a hug afterward whether I played bad or whether I played horrible and if I need your help, I’ll ask you.’

“What I do now is technically a job, and my dad doesn’t need to be involved in all of that. I want to keep that relationship good, so just remember that the kids are the ones playing and just let them play.”