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Flynn-Golf vs. USKids vs. Ping Thrive
TimberBeast ·

I know there is some information on these different junior club sets but the info is scattered so I wanted to see if anyone else wanted to discuss, update their experience, or chime in on this subject. As I stated in a thread about the Ping Thrive set, my daughter is turning 11 in a couple weeks, practices once or twice a week or so and plays in US Kids tournaments every season, also plays other local tournaments as we have them. She also plays other sports, basketball, softball, a good bit of tennis, so she is strong for her age. She is growing out of her current US Kids 57inch ultralight set.
So we were all set to get her the next US Kids 60 inch tour series set. For about $530 we can get the 5,6,7,8,9,sw,pw, driver, 3w, 4hybrid, and as the 6th club free include the gap wedge. Woods would more than likely not even be used. We go to the local shop to talk to them, get her measured, swing speed, all that. They tell me about the Ping Thrive set. They look good
online, they have sets coming in hopefully this week that we can go see. But they tell me she will likely have to choke down for a while or get them cut just a little bit, but hey, they're Pings. I'm pretty well convinced, hey they're Pings. I have talked to just about anyone I know that knows anything about junior golf and they all say get the Pings (No one I know knows anything about the Flynn Golf clubs.) The Pings do not come with a 5 iron, nor do they offer a gap wedge. Plus my daughter has told me she hates the way the bag looks. I know, silly, but trust me that matters. If I steer her towards those and she doesn't really want them, the first shot she hits that goes awry will be my fault and the clubs. (Yes I know we can replace the bag). The Ping Thrives are $600. Putter would likely not even be used and maybe not woods either.
So after being thoroughly confused, I found this site with the Ping Thrive thread in the junior discussion forum. After reading there, I saw people talking about the Mike Flynn clubs (not just here but a couple other sites also), customized for juniors, variety of colors, sounds good.
The website is down and obviously has been for a long time, that's not good. I emailed Mike last night and he sent me the form this morning. I was actually surprised at the detail that he went into in the email. Problem is, it all sounds great, but I can't see the clubs and my daughter can't try them out. I see that at least a few here have experience with their kids using their clubs and everything I read here sounds great. I am really leaning towards these clubs for her, I like that we can add clubs as needed / wanted and that everything truly is customized as much as can be without actually getting fitted.
All of that to get to the point, are the Flynn Golf clubs a nice quality set of clubs? This is my main concern, are they comparable to the USKids tour series in terms of quality? How do the woods compare with the USKids tour series, and even the Ping Thrive set if anyone knows much about those? Are the irons comparible? I assume the Pings would be the most well made of the
3 sets but I am only assuming. I have never actually seen the Mike Flynn clubs and never even really seen good pictures of them. I know from experience that USKids has great customer service and will replace problem clubs. I am sure Ping would be the same way. What about Flynn Golf? Does anyone have experience dealing with customer service, replacements, broken clubs, etc?
Sorry for the long post but just trying to cover everything. I am not an experienced golfer, I know just enough to be dangerous, so any help is appreciated.
So we were all set to get her the next US Kids 60 inch tour series set. For about $530 we can get the 5,6,7,8,9,sw,pw, driver, 3w, 4hybrid, and as the 6th club free include the gap wedge. Woods would more than likely not even be used. We go to the local shop to talk to them, get her measured, swing speed, all that. They tell me about the Ping Thrive set. They look good
online, they have sets coming in hopefully this week that we can go see. But they tell me she will likely have to choke down for a while or get them cut just a little bit, but hey, they're Pings. I'm pretty well convinced, hey they're Pings. I have talked to just about anyone I know that knows anything about junior golf and they all say get the Pings (No one I know knows anything about the Flynn Golf clubs.) The Pings do not come with a 5 iron, nor do they offer a gap wedge. Plus my daughter has told me she hates the way the bag looks. I know, silly, but trust me that matters. If I steer her towards those and she doesn't really want them, the first shot she hits that goes awry will be my fault and the clubs. (Yes I know we can replace the bag). The Ping Thrives are $600. Putter would likely not even be used and maybe not woods either.
So after being thoroughly confused, I found this site with the Ping Thrive thread in the junior discussion forum. After reading there, I saw people talking about the Mike Flynn clubs (not just here but a couple other sites also), customized for juniors, variety of colors, sounds good.
The website is down and obviously has been for a long time, that's not good. I emailed Mike last night and he sent me the form this morning. I was actually surprised at the detail that he went into in the email. Problem is, it all sounds great, but I can't see the clubs and my daughter can't try them out. I see that at least a few here have experience with their kids using their clubs and everything I read here sounds great. I am really leaning towards these clubs for her, I like that we can add clubs as needed / wanted and that everything truly is customized as much as can be without actually getting fitted.
All of that to get to the point, are the Flynn Golf clubs a nice quality set of clubs? This is my main concern, are they comparable to the USKids tour series in terms of quality? How do the woods compare with the USKids tour series, and even the Ping Thrive set if anyone knows much about those? Are the irons comparible? I assume the Pings would be the most well made of the
3 sets but I am only assuming. I have never actually seen the Mike Flynn clubs and never even really seen good pictures of them. I know from experience that USKids has great customer service and will replace problem clubs. I am sure Ping would be the same way. What about Flynn Golf? Does anyone have experience dealing with customer service, replacements, broken clubs, etc?
Sorry for the long post but just trying to cover everything. I am not an experienced golfer, I know just enough to be dangerous, so any help is appreciated.
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Comments
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The problem with OEM's making clubs is they do not fit most juniors. The most important thing for kids under 12 is to get clubs that have proper weight and length. OEM junior clubs are also for beginners. It doesn't sound like your daughter is a beginner.
I have heard great things about Flynn. My own experience with US Kids is they have great irons. You DO NOT have to purchase the entire set. I would just order the irons and save yourself a couple of hundred dollars.
https://www.uskidsgolf.com/shop/ts60v-8-club-iron-set-steel-shafts
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IRONS
Ping gets the nod. More compact head design with non-glare finish. Sits square at address. This is a real club someone can learn how to make a good swing with. By comparison the US Kids were a big ugly chunk of chrome, which set up closed.
Advantage: Ping
WOODS
Ping woods and hybrid setup nice and square at address....really just smaller versions of their adult clubs. Shafts seem of good quality too. By contrast US Kids had less pleasing head shapes (more angular), and setup even more closed than their irons. IMO it's hard to learn to make a really fine swing with a significantly closed face, that's meant to try to reduce the effects of a slice swing.
Advantage: Ping
PUTTER
Ironically this is the club Ping got wrong IMO. Head is too big (adult size), and shiny chrome that will reflect in the sun and be hard on the eyes. Shaft is too long too. Overall an unruly club for a kid to try to handle. US kids was more compact, shorter, lighter, with non glare finish.
Advantage: US Kids
BAG
Both make a nice bag, but I think US Kids is better ... more stable and with a better strap support to ease the carry burden on kids.
Advantage: US Kids
COST
If you add up the cost of the Ping set versus cost of individual US Kids components, Ping was considerably less expensive.
Advantage: Ping
OVERALL
Due to the better playing characteristics of the woods and irons, good bag quality, and lower cost....Ping gets the nod. The putter being the only serious laggard can at least be easily swapped.
Advantage: Ping
TM M1 2016 3W HL Tensei CK White 70x
Ping G410 HB 19 KBS Graphite Tour Hybrid 85s+
Callaway Apex 2019 4 - AW KBS Tour 120s (hard stepped 1x)
Yururi Tataki Wedges 52.5 and 60.5 KBS Hi-Rev 2.0x
Ping Anser 2 Milled
NDMC Grips (extra wrap lower half to reduce taper)
Titleist AVX
UA Jordan Spieth 2
Footjoy Tour Glove (optional, often times play without glove)
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Nike (current set) - They are OK. Bag is really nice, irons are pretty decent, Driver and rescue club are OK at best. Driver dented on the bottom in the first round of practice with them. Maybe it was his fault, maybe not. Putter is OK as well.
Ping Moxie (played these before the Nike clubs) - Irons are pretty good except the heads feel very heavy. I did not like the balance of the irons at all. It only came with a fairway wood and it was a nice club but again felt very heavy and the shaft was stiffer than I expected. The bag was 100% garbage.
US Kids - Irons were pretty good. Weight and balance were great. Nothing fancy but the best irons out of the bunch. Woods (driver and fairway) were great. Again, light weight which really helped with the swing consistency and getting the ball up. You can tell they are built for kids. Putter was pretty good and bag was nice.
I have heard nothing but good things about Flynn clubs and would look hard at them. I will be staying away from major brands until he is old and strong enough to move up to a set of their real clubs. For now I think I am going to ditch the Nike woods and replace them with US Kids, keep the nike irons and bag. The Pings were the nicest clubs he has had but I also think they were the worst in terms of playability for a kid. I would recommend anyone to go with either US Kids or look into Flynn.
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You are making comparisons based on how the clubs look. That doesn't mean they are better. There is a reason that US Kids clubs are the #1 selling junior club on the market. It is because they fit and they are really good. I will also tell you that the best players in the world at these ages are using US Kids clubs. There is a reason, they are good, they fit, and they work. You also get a full set of clubs, not a half a set of clubs.
Ping Junior clubs are toys that generally do not fit well. There is a reason Nike, Callaway, Taylormade, and others have stopped making junior clubs. It is because US Kids and Flynns clubs are the best. They have cornered the market.
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I am going to make the move for my 11 year old at Christmas. Think I am going to get him blades. Haven't shopped yet, but think it is time for the upgrade.
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I’ve talked to some of the other parents that are willing to spend a lot more than I am and the general feeling is that the heads are slightly better on the US kids and the shafts are better on the VT Max. Some even get both and put the shafts on the US Kids heads. Mike also offers the ability to upgrade to the Wynn junior grips which are a great option. I didn’t choose that when I bought the clubs but after about a year a swapped them out because the stock ones were crispy and hard. The bag is part of the set with Flynn as well but it didn’t last. After about a year the strap broke and the stand stopped working. I don’t fault Flynn for this, my daughter plays a lot and that bag was put through its paces. I ended up buying a sun mountain junior bag and it’s been a great investment. In the end, I think they are both great options and way better than any standard sets that the big brands put out
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My son is playing in the US kids regional tournament at Pinehurst next month and usually they have some US Kids clubs out there for you to demo. I want him to hit the irons with the graphite and steel shafts so I can compare them to his current irons from Flynn. He loves his new woods so all I really have to worry about are the irons. The weighting of the clubs is the big issue for me. The graphite shafts from Flynn are real UST graphite shafts. I have been told that the graphite shafts in the US kids clubs are actually aluminum.
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I can assure you the graphite shaft are not aluminum.
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My daughter, who just turned 11 (these were her birthday present), has been hitting them for a couple weeks now and she absolutely loves them. They are much heavier than the US Kids ultralight set she had so she is going through the growing pains of getting used to the heavier weight. I am not a golfer, like I mentioned in the original post I know just enough to be dangerous (literally), but I will say they are beautiful clubs. They seem to be very well made, and Mike was very easy to work with as well. He could definitely use a website, but we didn't have any problems with very fast communication and he answered every question I had. The price I believe was a little cheaper than the US Kids Tour Series, but not by much. I want to say we got one more club for the same price including what would have been the 6th club for free with US kids.
I will also agree with another poster who mentioned the color combinations that Mike Flynn offers. Doesn't seem important, but she was able to put together exactly the colors that she wanted, and that made it much more enjoyable for her. She basically got to put together her own set.
From what I can tell, and from what others have said, I think you're going to get great quality clubs from US Kids Tour series or Mike Flynn. But from our experience so far with the Mike Flynn clubs, this is what we'll be buying until she is ready to hit women's clubs.
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If she keeps playing she may never need women's clubs. You will be going to from Flynn to men's clubs.
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If you don't mind me asking, how much did this set cost? This is the same setup I want to get for my daughter. I have emailed Mike a couple times trying to get a quote but he just keeps telling me the new website will be up week after week but it still isn't.
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We got a full set from Flynn minus driver and it was $500 including the bag. 3w, 4h, 5 - PW, 52, 56 and 60 wedges. Blue shafts with red grips.
There's definitely something more important that I should be doing.
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USKG Ultralight - great for beginner. whippy shaft will get the ball airborne. Great first set
Ping - Good company, decent junior clubs, not really for tournament junior player
USKG Tour Series - Have bought many sets. Really good service. Nice woods, iron heads just OK, poor shafts
Flynn VT Maxx - First set purchased this year. Bag poor, Wood head loud but good, Iron heads/wedges/shafts are a HUGE improvement, many color choices. VERY impressed with the quality of these clubs. Will be getting a size up this year for my 3rd son
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As your golfer grows I would keep an eye on the swing speed. If they approach women swing speeds you can actually start looking at women clubs. What I have noticed is there is a tendency to just say US kids if the best for kids under a certain age. Generally that may be true but not always When you need clubs that have less weight then regular women clubs you need to look at US Kids.
I took my daughter to a range session where there was multiple club makers including US kids doing demo's. It was great because they had shorter shafts for my daughter to try and the women clubs gave her a lot more distance and height. They also put her on the trackman and turned out the women clubs were a much better fit. I was told the US kids clubs are better prior to the event.
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Unfortunatly here in the UK we have much less choice for junior golf equipment.The only clubs stoked in shops are US kids so there is no way to do a side by side comparisson before purchase. I'll try and give my honest opinion of what we think of the clubs.
USKIDS
As the name suggest these are really light and the whippy safts do help get the ball in the air. Unfotunalty the shaft dont suit kids once they get to a decent level.
We have had several sets of ultralights and to be honest have been failry undewhelmed with the quaity. Snapped shafts, grips coming loose (something i've never seen before) also several mis-aligned grips from the minute of purchase. The qualioty of the ultralight wood heads is terrible, so for me Ive never been particularly impressed with the quality of the ultralights, but due to the available sizes and the weight they are the best choice for beginners.
I've never seen any tour series clubs in a shop or had a chance to have a test, I have seen the sets in several of the junior boys bags in the county and regional events she plays in, and they do look of considerable better quality. I think based on the swing speed charts she may be slightly outside the scope for the tour series.
PING
Been very impressed with the Moxie's she is currently using, the 3 wood is a bit difficult to get air born but I would say the quality of these clubs far outways the USKIDS, especially the woods. The shafts are also stiffer than the US KIDS ultralights. The range of clubs is limited so I have added a hybrid and a wedge from the US kids ultralight 51" series. As the SW in the PING's has 52 degree loft adding a 56 degree wedge fit the gapping well.
She has had the PING's for 12 months now and they get some serious use and the bag look bran new, bearing in mind we have some terrible weather in the north of england.
Big issue with the big brands is the limitation is sizes. She was at the upper end of the size scale when we brought them and they have fit perfectly for 12 months, now she has out grown them though the next sized set are much bigger so no use.
CUSTOM CLUBS
We have very littl chance to get VT Max clubs over here, no UK stocklists as far as I can tell. The only Custom fits are the wishons. which to me look OK but the plain blue shafts and standrad looks dont seem to strike a chord with my daughter. As stated looks mean nothing but in a very male dominated environment over here it does help to give her somethng bright and sparkly to help her.
I am serioulsy considering getting some of the VT max shipped from America, and reviewing the specs on line the head weights for the series 1 are failry low for the length of shaft we would need, she would be moving onto the 54" set for US kids and the series 1 VT Max have slightly lighter heads than these.
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Is it the graphite shafts, or are the heads just not as good as the US Kids.
My kid is in all Steel shafts.
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One thing I noticed for sure is that the Flynn iron heads are noticeably smaller and more compact than the US Kids offerings. Also, the shafts are bit more stout. My son had a problem with consistency. That said, I've seen some of the older kids 7-8 yrs old hitting the Flynn Very well. I'll give them a go again next year when my son is a bit older.
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I am looking for something like that. My kid is 11 and in between junior and adult clubs. About 3 MPH to be exact. The steel shaft US Kids irons are just too whippy for him. A regular men's steel shaft is too stiff and heavy. he loved the Staff FG Tour Irons. I do not want to get adult clubs with senior graphite and turn around and buy new clubs again in 6 months. After seeing the Flynn Wedges, I though that this might be the answer I was looking for.