Putter fitting for young juniors?

Where can we go in So Cal for a putter fitting? I’m mostly concerned with finding a place with short enough shafts for my junior to try, thanks.

How far south? You can go to Encinitas to the Scotty Cameron studio if you want.

Not south at all, LA/Ventura border lol. Maybe I’ll stop by at the Scotty Cameron Studio when we go to SD for some practice rounds, thanks.

If that's the case then just go see Brennan at Rustic. He's on IG @brennan_62 and can help with putting. He's not a fitter but a great putting instructor that can guide you towards what your child will need. DM me if you want his cell phone number.

How old is your son and does he have an idea of what style he likes to look down at? I would start there as putter fitting will be hard for small kids. Most places will only have the general US kids stuff that is already pre-cut to length. Rarely will you find a scotty or Spider etc cut down to different lengths.

My son started with an odyssey 1w, then to a scotty, and has played a spider for a while now. He tried them out at Roger Dunns at adult length and I had them cut down. Expensive, but thats the way it goes if you want to step away from US kids stuff.

Awesome! After getting him on SAM putt lab, I’ve really been thinking about his putting a lot. The swing coaches we’ve gone to never really taught him how to putt. They all say the same thing that “putting is very personal”. I’m thinking like... so I should just let him putt however he wants...??? My kid still grips his putter the same way he grips a club, and that doesn’t sound right to me... I’ll definitely give Brennan a call, thanks!

Sam Putt lab will give you an idea of what type of putter you should be using according to the numbers and your putter swing. Using a putter just because you like the look is total nonsense if it isn't helping you.

I did a home made putter fitting for 7 yr old daughter. Had a blade anser, 2 ball, and spider. Putters with minimal toe hang, medium amount, and alot. Had them all cut to same length and put same putter grip on and went to the putting green. After 2 different days of about 20 mins each day, you get a pretty good idea of which one is better! Cost at the beginning sucks, but worth it because once you decide style you probably won't deviate from that very often! Sam Putt would speed up this process but this way you can test apples to apples.

Thanks for the info, my kid has been using a used Odessey Versa #1 that I picked up at Roger Dunn. He likes mallet style putters (Scotty phantom X series and Spider), but I’m gonna see what Leezer’s contact says before spending big bucks...

Good idea, but an expensive experiment! My kid does have a few golf buddies ranging between 6-8, maybe I can try theirs for a quick test.

My son did a SAM Puttlab a few weeks ago (along with a driver fitting). Both were very insightful just on the information learned alone. The reccomended putter style is exactly what he plays, lucky for me. It also confirmed what I kind of already knew- his putting stroke is a little cutty and he lines up and hits the ball towards the toe. The fitter was wise enough to review the visuals with Munson but skip most of the other outputs (a 9 year old doesn’t need 22 different parameters). He adjusted the loft slightly and gave a simple putting lesson. I kind of already figured from my own observation his tendencies but professional confirmation and cold hard proof is always nice. His putting setup and aim has improved when he takes the time to setup and aim correctly.

Darter and I both took our daughters to Club Champion for a putter fitting. He lives in TX and I live in GA but our daughters ended up with same putter. I thought the whole process was very insightful and some of the best money I have spent. I came away with the right putter for my daughter and a better understanding of what she was doing. Now I can pinpoint drills to work on her weak areas.

Finding a putter that fit a junior will not happen. Best you can do there is Ping adjustable putter which goes down to 31" I think it is. Just got to have them grip down and try different types. I do agree with getting a fitting or getting on SAM lab that have some metrics behind. Its good information even if you don't plan to buy another putter. Every kid is different my daughter is picky, she likes to have a certain feel and if it feels bad she hates it regardless. Gotta find what they like to look at, how it feels to them, and what fits them best.

I took my daughter to 2nd Swing Golf in Scottsdale today. Can’t say enough good about the experience. They use the Bettinardi camera system along with the Ping iPhone app. She has a “slight arc” stroke which didn’t match her face balanced TM Kalea putter that was also too short since we had it cut down two years (and probably 4” in height) ago. Once they put her in slight toe hang putters, she hit 18 ten foot putts in a row. She ended up with a Ping Heppler Tyne 3. Took her out to putt this evening and she was definitely holing more putts. We’ll see if it works when it really counts but she loves it and the fitting was FREE since we bought the putter there.

They also let me try out the system and adjusted my lie angle for free. Apparently my putter is not ideal for me (Scotty SS Squareback #2 with a slight toe hang for my “strong arc” stroke). But I’ve had it for more than 10 years and am not ready to consider switching.

Using toe hang based on arc is an old method of putter fitting. You might consider looking into what Phil Kenyon has done with his pros and maybe even what LAB Golf says about toe hang putters. Not saying you got hosed or anything but finding the right putter based on arc is a crap shoot, you may have actually found the perfect putter for her.

Never heard of Kenyon (or LAB Golf) before but found this in an interview of Kenyon.

”The type of putter you have is important, but I do think it is overstressed at times...Different head shapes and how they affect the rate of rotation may be more important for the better player, but more so it's about the length, lie and loft. All three affect your set up, which then influences your technique.”If nothing else, she tried a few options of different manufacturers and models and was fit for length, lie and loft with the putter she picked. She already looks more comfortable at setup and is more consistently starting her putts on her target line... her prior putter was way too short and always set up closed.