Buying new golf clubs is as stressful as any other big purchase - a car, house or computer, for example. Whatever comes home had better be perfect because you're stuck with it for the next five to ten years.
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Buying clubs for beginners is especially difficult. Since beginners know very little about golf, more often than not, they don't know what they want, let alone what they need.
In case you missed it, we recently reviewed the new line of Adams golf clubs that aim to fill the void of semi-affordable clubs for adult beginners and those who have made a return to the game post-pandemic. I especially like the hybrid.
For parents who are looking for new clubs to introduce the game to their children, we turned to the First Tee, the non-profit that provides programming for thousands of young golfers every year. Here's what First Tee experts had to say, and I follow up with my own experiences shopping for clubs for my kids.
1. Don’t trust ‘age’ on the box – it’s height you have to worry about!
2. Starting youth golfers only need 4-5 clubs max. Every few months, you can add a new club, especially when they start playing competitively. Then you’ll see the need for more.
3. US Kids makes the best sets for youth because of a height-based system, but any option is a good option to get clubs in a kid's hands!
1. Purchasing and owning your own clubs (or giving your kids that experience) is empowering, because of a) the responsibility of showing up to the course set up for success; b) it is not passed down/borrowed/gifted; c) there's a pride of personal accountability since children tend to respect their own equipment more.
2. Find what works for your child as everyone is unique. It's important to note that most donated clubs aren't for beginners and if your child is getting more serious about the game, getting fitted helps get the right tools for his/her swing.
3. Cost is the overriding thought of most parents. It is the biggest factor, knowing the child could outgrow the clubs in just a short few months. There are a few ways to offset this initial cost. Some package sets from places like Dick's Sporting Goods and Golf Mart Superstores are good purchases if the correct size is acquired.
4. Acquire a set with a limited number of clubs. Most junior sets start as four-club sets and then, as the child's age goes up, the sets come with more options. Most juniors do not need a full bag of 14 clubs. A driver, fairway wood, 7 iron, pitching wedge, sand wedge, a golf bag and a putter is all that's needed to start. However, once they reach age 12-13, depending on the level of play, a larger percentage are ready for a full set.
5. Create an environment of fun and enjoyment for the child. It's very important to take the player's goals into consideration. If he or she is a more committed player advancing into junior tournament golf, getting fit for a full set is almost a must. Tournament golf is so much different from recreational golf. A tournament golfer needs to gap their clubs according to yardages whereas a recreational junior player is more concerned with the improvement and needs a set focused on aiding their experience and improvement.
Jason Scott Deegan/GolfPass
Now that you've learned what to do, it's probably worth sharing what not to do. I feel like I fall in that camp after failing to get either my son or my daughter involved in golf at all, despite endless opportunities as a golf writer.
Living in Michigan at the time, I didn't get my son his first club, a free 7 iron from Carl's Golfland, a popular golf retailer that you've probably seen advertised on Golf Channel, until age 7-8. That was probably too late. I should have had plastic clubs in his hand at age 2-3.
The rest of his bag I got at a garage sale, which was a major no-no. I should have started him in golf camps by age 8, but waited until he was in middle school. He liked the one he attended okay, but I never signed him up again. Like most kids, he said he didn't want to participate anymore, but I'm sure he would have been fine - and perhaps gotten better - if I had kept encouraging him.
With my daughter, younger by two years, I took a different approach. I got her a full bag of Hello Kitty clubs that I was sure would catch her fancy. We went to the range a couple times but that's about it. Again, I should have been a little more pushy and proactive.
As we all probably know, golf has some of the highest barriers of any sport. It's expensive to play and it's hard to learn quickly. The difficulty turns off many kids who tend to like what they're good at and/or what their friends play. I should have bought them both age-appropriate clubs and signed them up for lessons, First Tee sessions, graduated to $5 rounds of golf through Youth On Course and cheered them on every step of the way.
The good news for today's parents is that National Golf Foundation statistics indicate that more young golfers, especially girls, are giving golf a try. That bodes well for all of us who love the game.
What's the best advice you can share about buying a young golfer their first set of golf clubs? Let us know in the comments below.
I have long felt a connection to U.S. Kids Golf. Not simply because we share a passion for helping youth discover the game, but more so because their journey and mine both started in 1996. For the past 26 years, U.S. Kids Golf has been at the forefront of the youth golf space.
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U.S. Kids Golf was founded by Dan Van Horn, an engineer and entrepreneur who had learned the game from his parents and wanted to pass the lifelong game of golf along to his children. He was coaching youth baseball at the time and his boys were having fun learning and playing the game. Dan noticed that everything in baseball was modified to fit the abilities of the young athletes — lightweight/shorter bats, smaller field, shorter base paths, t-ball or coach pitch, etc. That is the norm for not just baseball but many of the other sports, such as soccer, that capture the imagination of kids very early in life.
A child tees it up on the course.
At the golf course, Dan’s children were provided cut down clubs and told to head to the forward most tees. It was obvious at the start: this experience was completely different than that with baseball. At the time Dan started to introduce his kids to the game, there was no ability for a child to make a proper golf swing due to the weight of the clubs and stiffness of the shafts. In addition, the golf course was way too long, and the kids were frustrated and not having fun in their attempt to play.
As an entrepreneur, Dan researched what was available in the market for juniors in three broad areas: equipment, instruction, and competition, and found each area to be very lacking. Recognizing this and feeling a personal calling to serve young golfers and their families worldwide, U.S. Kids was founded with a very specific mission: “To help kids have fun learning the lifelong game of golf and encourage family interaction that builds lasting memories.”
A youth golfer works on a fun drill with their coach.
I have had the privilege and opportunity to get to know many of the folks at U.S. Kids Golf over the past 15 years and John Bryan is one of those individuals. I recently caught up John Bryan to talk about all things youth golf…
“I was blessed to be asked to edit the Gateway PGA Section’s magazine back in the ‘80s and became its Executive Director shortly thereafter before assuming the same role with the Georgia PGA Section. I came to U.S. Kids Golf in 2004 and have led our Foundation’s Coaches Institute since its inception in 2012. Since that time, nearly 7000 coaches from over 70 nations have participated in our training programs.”
Parents assuming “they’ll grow into these” is a typical error made in purchasing golf clubs. Golf clubs, or any other sporting equipment, simply cannot be treated the same as apparel, which can be “grown into.” A parent would not have their 6-year-old try to learn to hit a baseball swinging a major league baseball players bat or use a 16-pound bowling ball.
A young golfer hits a shot with his U.S. Kids clubs.
The phrase we wish parents to learn and coaches to preach is, “Kids should grow out of their clubs and not into them.” Purchasing clubs that are specially engineered with the appropriate length, weight, loft and other components allows young players to develop a swing that is fundamentally sound and one that can maximize speed and power for a lifetime.
“Golf swings become ingrained at a very young age. Rarely do we see clubs that are too light, too short or too flexible, so almost all improper fitting is when clubs are too long, too heavy and too stiff. This results in what we call a heavy/slow swing as the player has to lift the club and develops poor sequencing. And, with speed windows occurring early in a child’s development, once these are missed it’s almost impossible to overcome later.”
“It is important to choose clubs that will serve the player at their particular height and skill level. Clubs should be lightweight and short enough to allow the player to swing freely and fast in order to develop proper swing sequencing and habits that will result in greater success and keep kids coming back.”
A U.S. Kids Golf fitter checks the numbers while helping a young golfer find the perfect clubs.
To properly fit a young golfer, the process is simple:
First, determine the player’s height. Our fitting is based off of what is called “The 2/3 solution” founded on research of the average driver length relative to the players’ height of the world’s best players on the PGA and LPGA Tours.
Once height is known, determining the best product to serve the player is based on the player’s ability and club head speed
For someone who has never played we would recommend the Yard Club with an oversized, very lightweight head, lots of loft, and a molded grip to help the player put their hands on the club properly.
For a player that has moved beyond the Yard Club, the next step would be to determine club head speed in order to choose between Ultralight, TOUR SERIES and epTOUR equipment, ideally using dynamic fitting to judge ball flight and other factors.
Ultralight is best for the majority of players while those who are able to achieve higher club head speeds due to the development of their golf swing or transferrable athletic ability, will be better served with TOUR SERIES or epTOUR which are somewhat heavier and stiffer.
A U.S. Kids Golf fitting tent at a demo day.
Be sure to connect with a PGA Coach in your area if you need help finding the perfect gear for your youth golfer.
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