Starting with the Right Golf Clubs

One thing that kids notice right away is that adult golf clubs are heavy, and they're right. Even if you "cut down" the shaft on your old clubs, they will still be too heavy for kids. The club head is large and heavy and the shaft is too stiff and heavy. As a result, modified adult clubs will be more difficult to swing for the beginning child golfer.

These days, you can choose from a variety of golf clubs especially designed for children, and the prices are all very reasonable. When I had started teaching my daughter four years ago, I purchased a starter set of kid's clubs from the local Wal-mart. However, after a few sessions on the range, we both realized that the clubs were a bit heavy. Although they were marked as kids clubs, the club heads were still rather large.

After some research on the web, I found US Kids Golf Clubs. They offer four different sizes of golf clubs, each set designed for a specific age range and height. The club heads are much lighter than adult clubs, and the shafts are very flexible. In fact, you can see them "whip around" on the downswing. The additional shaft flexibility helps younger golfers get the ball airborne. And the lightweight clubs helps with club head speed and good form. Both of my kids play US Kids Golf clubs, and they are easy to "pass down" to the younger child once the older child outgrows her set.

These days, nearly every golf club manufacturer offers children's clubs that you can find at your local pro shop, golf specialty store or sporting goods store. Nike also a complete line of youth clubs, and they have the additional "Tiger" appeal for your young golfer. (As an aside, my son is a huge Tiger fan, and he dresses in Tiger's traditional red and black when we play on a Sunday.) I've also seen youth sets from La Jolla Clubs, Callaway, Ping and Cobra.

Now don't go overboard on the equipment purchases. A starting youth golfer only needs a handful of clubs:

• A putter
• Two short irons: pitching wedge, 8-iron
  
• One mid iron: 6-iron
• A lofted wood, such as a 5-wood
• Make sure that your irons and woods have very flexible graphite shafts.
  

As you can see, I have not included long irons or a driver on the list, because these clubs are harder to hit (even for adults). The shorter, lofted clubs will be easier for your young golfer to swing, and your young golfer will get more enjoyment from hitting a well-struck shot rather than crushing one out to another zip code. At this stage, you should emphasize hitting well-struck shots that get airborne and fly straight-- not distance. You can always purchase additional clubs later once your young golfer has mastered the clubs in this starter set.