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Best clubs for 12 year old


mdannolfo

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Hi guys,

I'm looking for some advice on clubs for my 12-year-old son. He is 5-2 now and growing. He played hockey and baseball, but a stomach disease has derailed those sports for now. He was really bummed out about not being able to play. Luckily he was able to play golf since it is less intense at this point. He enjoys playing golf with his buddies at a course near our house and got into it this summer. For Christmas, we are going to get him a membership to the course and he could use an upgrade in sticks.

 

I play a lot of golf. He has always had a set of kids clubs around as I was hoping he would go out and play with me. We have gone out and played a few times and go to the range and practice area sometimes. The kids/junior clubs were ok, but the driver shafts were like wet noodles. I'm not saying he should be in X-flex, but something different than a piece of pasta. He likes to swing it pretty hard like a hockey player. I cut down an old set of Maxfli Revolution Red dot irons (really soft head). He's got an old Taylormade Burner driver I cut down at 9.5 deg. It has a stiff shaft which is even stiffer since I cut it. He should have more loft on the driver. There is some serious rattling in the head as some adhesive must have let go. He's got an old Callaway 3 wood and a Nike VR Pro hybrid. All stiff shafts cut down. When he drives it well, he can move it out there 180 or so with his current driver. His go-to club is his hybrid (21 deg) and hits it 160. He doesn't like his 3 wood. He likes his Honda Odessey Putter as he calls it. He likes one of my old putters better - a Ping Redwood Anser. I should probably cut it down for him. I used to go back to it once and a while, but got a new Spider this year.

 

Most of the junior clubs seem to be aimed at 12-year-olds at the oldest end, but I'm worried the shafts will be too soft and he will grow out of them too soon.

 

I'm thinking of getting some used sticks here or on ebay and cut them down in the spring. Do I look for a set of GI irons (6-pw/gw) in a regular or senior shaft. Some wedges maybe a 56 like he has now and really likes. Do I look for a new driver with 12 degree loft in a regular or senior shaft and cut it down. Skip the 3 wood for now. Get a newer more forgiving hybrid in a 24 degree loft. New putter.

 

I would appreciate your thoughts and advice.

 

Thanks,

Mike

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When I was growing up I had a set of pings that my dad cut down for me, really can't go wrong with any GI set with R shafts if he's swinging somewhat fast. The idea is to make golf fun so get an old set of irons in R flex and either cut them yourself or take them to a shop to have them cut down

WITB
Taylormade SIM2 10.5* Ventus Black 6X
Taylormade SIM 19* AD-DI 7X

Taylormade Stealth 3h Ventus Blue 9X
Mizuno MP-69 4-PW Modus 120 S
Vokey SM9 50 - 55 - 60 DGTI S400 

Scotty Cameron GoLo 6

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US Kids Golf makes good stuff. Can be found very cheap on ebay. Highly recommended.

Stealth OG 10.5 Ventus Red 6s

Epic flash 18deg Fujikura pro 6.0s

Maverick 21deg 7wd Fujikura pro 7.0S

5i-Aw Srixon ZX5  KBS TGI 100

52 Glide 4.0 SS KBS TGI 100

56 Glide 4.0 WS KBS TGI 100

60 Glide 4.0 TS KBS TGI 100

Lab DF3 70 deg 35.5" Accra Black

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My 11 year old is in ladies flex ... he currently hits a callaway big Bertha 815 driver with a Mitsubishi bassar 40g L flex shaft. He plays same shaft in 3 wood and hybrid and has us kids graphite in his irons , that I built. The heads are raw MP33 7 -pw that I’ve ported for swing weight ( lightened ). Then he has a 54 and 58 vokey SM4 that have us kids light weight steel shafts and are also ported for weight. And yes the shafts had to be shimmed to fit the taper hosels before someone calls BS .

 

He’s 5ft 4 and 132 lbs as of last weeks physical , So pretty big for 11 and hard to fit into the normal age vs clubs perimeters . Which is why we experimented so much and came up with what he’s playing now. If he’s whipping the long clubs hard I’d suggest ladies flex. You can find it used or order new to his lengths. Irons and wedges should still be good with the stiffest kids choices. But you may be ready to go ladies graphite there too.

Callaway epic max LS 9* GD-M9003 7x 

TM Sim2 max tour  16* GD  ADHD 8x 

srixon zx 19* elements 9F5T 

Cobra king SZ 25.5* KBS TD cat 5 70 

TM p7mc 5-pw Mmt125tx 

Mizuno T22 raw 52-56-60 s400

LAB Mezz Max armlock 

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Do you have access to a launch monitor to determine his driver and iron swing speeds? Big box store simulator should be good enough. Driver and either 5i or 6i or 7i speed is all you should need to determine appropriate flex. Remember, there is no industry standard for flex from one mfg to another. What one calls a R could be very close to an L. Also while on the launch monitor try some different length/lie angle drivers & irons for a better understanding of club lengths work for him. Rather than fit him to old clubs, see if you can fit clubs to him. I did your method to fit my youngest daughter who ended up playing 4 years of HS golf. If I knew then what I know now, I would have had her fit first.

Ping G400 Max 10.5° Distanza SR

Ping G425 SFT 3 & 5, Distanza SR

Ping G30 4H R

Cleveland Launcher XL 6-PW, Projext X Catalyst 60 R

Cleveland CBX Zipcore 50°, Project X Catalyst 80 R

Cleveland CBX 56° Full Face, Project X Catalyst 80 R

Evnroll ER10 34" Winn ProX 1.18 grip

Srixon Soft Feel

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have a 12 year old and we have gone through several sets in the last couple years. He started with US Kids which are great clubs but he outgrew them in about 8 months. I then cut an inch off some i3’s. This did not work for him. I think older Ping shaft weights were too heavy for him. He could hit my Srixon 585s with Modus 105 shafts fine but not the pings. My dad gave him a set of JPX 900 hot metals with PX graphite in them at the beginning of summer and he hit those great through the season, standard length and just choked up. They are now starting to get too light for him so I’m just giving him my 585s. Through this whole ordeal I discovered that kids grow really fast and swing speeds can increase quickly too. I think he is now settled for at least a couple years. He can grow into the irons more and still be in good shape. He’s hitting an old M2 that I have. I bought a Matrix White Tie shaft to put in the driver for now and I have a couple of other shafts to switch him into as he gets stronger.

Something forged that can be bent can be an advantage as kids get taller and you need to adjust lie angles. If he’s strong enough and can handle the weight, I wouldn’t have them cut down. My son currently plays driver, 4 wood, 3-5 hybrids, 6-Gap and a 58 degree wedge. Send me a message if you have questions or need some advise. You kid taking clubs out of your bag can also be a great excuse to your wife to get new clubs for yourself. It’s become a family tradition.

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PING Junior Prodi G Package G 15-Piece Complete Set – 5'2”That set literally says it was designed for a junior that is 5’2”. Take him to a shop and demo those on a LM

 

“I think getting advice from guys who are sitting at the computer in their underwear while taking a break from porn is a very solid way to choose clubs.” - bluedot
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My son had a few Cobra junior sets that he really liked. He's now in a combo of US Kids and Cally X Hots with R flex graphite. We got that combo together along with his pro that coaches him in PGA Jr, so we were able to mix/match a few different things to find what worked for his improving swing.

He did just shoot up another few inches these past couple of months so once springtime hits we'll probably need to fit him into something else.

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My 13 year old son has outgrown his Jr. Clubs so I put together a nice set from the clearance section of CPO with their 20% off yesterday (he is a leftie so unfortunately I can’t give him mine and buy other stuff). 

$44.72 - Callaway XR16 10.5* Aldila Tour Blue 55 R

$38.64 - Callaway Epic 3w PX HZRDUS T800 65 R

$5.76 - Callaway Steelhead 5w RCH 99 R

$6.48 - Callaway Steelhead Plus 7w Uniflex steel

$55.05 - Cleveland CG4 4-PW True Temper Steel R

$11.52 - Ping Tour S Brushed Silver 54.12 AWT 

$11.52 - Ping Tour S Brushed Silver 58.10 AWT

$11.02 - Tax

$9.95 - S&H

$194.66 - Total

Has an Odyssey 2Ball to complete the set and a Sun Mountain 3.5 bag. Figure I’ll just put them all in the bag and wrap them up for Christmas.

Ill replace clubs as we go that don’t work but a relatively cheap way to get him into some better clubs for next season.

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I would respectfully disagree. The game is so much easier when your technique is good. Not into overcoaching so a kid can't self correct, but solid fundamentals are so important.

Stealth OG 10.5 Ventus Red 6s

Epic flash 18deg Fujikura pro 6.0s

Maverick 21deg 7wd Fujikura pro 7.0S

5i-Aw Srixon ZX5  KBS TGI 100

52 Glide 4.0 SS KBS TGI 100

56 Glide 4.0 WS KBS TGI 100

60 Glide 4.0 TS KBS TGI 100

Lab DF3 70 deg 35.5" Accra Black

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I misread the post as well... I think he's saying for the DAD not to be a swing coach, which makes sense to a certain degree... I think actively coaching your kids can be bad and lead them to like the game less... I think you can have a positive impact by asking questions like "Can you hit the ball higher? lower?" "What happens if you swing at 80%?" and just challenge them to challenge themselves... Granted, I haven't coached my kids yet (I can't get my 6 year old to hold a putter correctly!)

As of  10/11/2021

9 Callaway Mavrk Sub Zero with Ventus Black 7X

13 Degree Srixon 3 wood Project X Black 6.5

19 Degree Sub70 939 Pro with Proforce V2

4 Utility Sub70 699u 22 degree Proforce V2

5-GW Srixon Zx5 with Project X 6.5

Sub70 286 54

Sub70 JB Low Bounce 58

SeeMore milled Tri-Mallet fit and built at SeeMore 

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Particularly with golf, unless you're an instructor yourself (and possibly even then), paying someone else to teach them is definitely the way to go.

I coached all 3 of my sons in football and baseball, and with the exception of my middle son (the most coachable kid I ever dealt with out of hundreds I coached over the years), I had to let other coaches deal with them. I tried to teach them the basics of golf when they were younger, but it never took, and I think part of that was the "dad" factor. Now they're in their 20's and finally getting into the game, and I still won't coach them. Their Christmas present this year is a lesson package with a local pro.

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Yup, definitely a pga pro for a coach. My job is to make sure we have fun.

Stealth OG 10.5 Ventus Red 6s

Epic flash 18deg Fujikura pro 6.0s

Maverick 21deg 7wd Fujikura pro 7.0S

5i-Aw Srixon ZX5  KBS TGI 100

52 Glide 4.0 SS KBS TGI 100

56 Glide 4.0 WS KBS TGI 100

60 Glide 4.0 TS KBS TGI 100

Lab DF3 70 deg 35.5" Accra Black

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  • 2 weeks later...

I ended up buying a set of irons which I'm going to relist and sell. I decided to get him a Callaway Jr. set. Dicks had a great sale on Thanksgiving with 20% off.

My son is not very receptive to my coaching either. I've coached him in baseball and flag football and I had to let the other coach help him much of the time. He was fine listening to concepts, but could not accept criticism. Makes sense. Too personal. I have gotten him lessons at my course. We talk about the lessons and we go to the range together.

 

Thanks guys. I appreciate the advice.

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Unless you have a junior Tiger Woods on your hands, don't over think it or overspend. I also have a 12 year old and picked up a barely used Cobra set via Craigslist for $100 cash. 7 club set came with bag, headcovers, balls, etc. He loves it and hits them quite well -- when contact is made! Craigslist for clubs, bikes, etc. And right back on Craigslist after they outgrow them.

9RXC3VKWVRXM.jpg

2XN67TDBRH3Z.jpg

 

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