Annika Sorenstam admires this part of her son’s game. You’ll pick it up playing golf with your kid, too

At 14 years old, Will McGee was the youngest player in the 2025 PNC Championship. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t giving some lessons out there. During his press conference with his mom, Annika Sorenstam, it became clear that Will’s approach to the game is something a World Golf Hall of Famer is copying herself.

“I just love his attitude, that kind of free spirit, go for it. As you know, at that age you don't really have the fear. Therefore, I go out there and just kind of enjoy it with him,” Sorenstam said.

This phenomenon that Annika is talking about, where young golfers play with a freedom that many older golfers don’t have, is something that Golf Digest Best Young Teacher Sara Dickson sees in her teaching, too.

“I often see adults play with more hesitation because they are outcome-oriented. Many adults play golf with an awareness of consequence—score, expectation, judgment—and that awareness can quietly turn into hesitation,” Dickson, who teaches out of Wilderness C.C. in Florida, says. “Young players, on the other hand, tend to play with what I would call child-like freedom. They see possibility first, not risk. They focus on the task, not the consequence. They are curious, imaginative, and willing to try a shot simply because it feels exciting or right in the moment.”

If you were to choose one of the two mentalities outlined here, which would you want? To be obsessed with expectations and score, or to be immersed in the creative opportunity each shot presents?

“When adults play their best golf, they often tap back into that same [youthful] mindset. They stop guarding against mistakes and start engaging with opportunity,” Dickson says. “The goal is not to play carelessly, but to play openly, seeing positive possibilities the way children naturally do. That mindset allows golf to feel lighter, more creative, and ultimately more effective.”

At the PNC, Annika said that playing with Will has this effect on her game.

“I also feel like when he's around, I get a little bit more creative,” she said. “I'm imagining shots that I didn't before. I would just hit one shot, and now he's challenging me, Well, try and hit it higher, Mom. I'd be like, 'Well, this is how I hit them.' He goes, 'Well, try something new.' I'm just like an old dog, do the same tricks. Here you've got the puppy with a lot of imagination. He brings it out in me.”

Perhaps the best way to bring that child-like creativity and freedom to your golf game is to spend time playing golf with your children, and allow yourself to model their freewheeling perspective on the game. You might find yourself engrossed in hitting a shot you wouldn’t have thought about before, instead of sweating over whether or not you’re about to make double.