However, it's one thing to be exposed to golf by a well-intentioned parent and another thing to be specifically groomed for a professional career from the time you're in kindergarten. That, I believe, is the status of many young players on both the PGA and LPGA Tours, and it's a dubious path. This intense immersion strategy has not groomed a crop of great champions, and in some cases, the parents have pushed their kids into a world that they might not want to be in.

A few weeks back at the Byron Nelson Championship in Dallas, impressive rookie Sean O'Hair contended for the title. He is a wonderful kid, and I think he has the tools to be a very good player. We also learned a lot about his background: His dad pushed him so hard to be a golfer that it crossed over into abuse. It reached the point where Sean had to cut off all communication, and to this day he doesn't speak to his father. It's a credit to Sean's fortitude that he's been able to continue and thrive in the game, despite his dad's actions.

Granted, O'Hair's case is extreme. But I believe that a person is meant to go through certain stages in life, and skipping those time frames, as some of these kids do, is damaging. Why are 9- and 10-year olds playing ultra-serious, competitive tournaments all across the country? There hasn't been one player who has gone straight from teenage phenom to long-term successful professional, and I firmly believe these pro-style junior golf tours are largely an opportunity to for the organizations that run them to make money. It takes years to develop as a player, yet these kids are getting thrown into the mix and being asked -- demanded, actually -- to perform before they've even hit puberty.

What about Tiger Woods and his father Earl, you might ask? They are certainly the most famous example of a father inspiring his son's path to professional success, but there is one main ingredient that made that relationship special: The overriding passionate love that Earl felt for his young son. Sure, maybe some of Earl's military-style tactics were harsh on Tiger at times, but I firmly believe that if Tiger had approached his dad at age 13 or 14 and said he wanted to quit golf, Earl would have accepted it and loved him just as much. Earl put the highest value on the life lessons he taught Tiger, not the golf lessons.

Unfortunately, the publicity that came from Earl and Tiger's story has spawned a host of copycat parents, who attempt to mimic Earl's ferocity and Tiger's success without that critical ingredient. They don't bother to find out the specific details about Tiger and Earl's relationship -- they just try to replicate the results. And if a parent is spending thousands of dollars in travel, equipment and tournament entry fees, they want to see their child hit the big-time even more.

I know that society cannot legislate against this, nor should it. With young breakout stars in other sports (basketball's LeBron James and tennis's Maria Sharapova, for example), the temptation for many parents is to throw their kids in the mix and hope they outperform the others. But the risk of burnout is high, and the risk to kids is even greater. Parents may end up raising a generation of golfers who blame the game for taking away their childhood, instead of appreciating it to help them become adults.

Peter Kostis is a GOLF Magazine contributing writer and commentator for CBS Sports.