Driving distance ranges for junior golfers

[iteachgolf]

A non conforming driver would yield maybe a 5-10 yard difference for a 10-12 year old. And that’s on the high end

[wildcatden]

Let's get things going on the Jr Golf Forum. Bump.

[heavy_hitter]

The boredom is taking it's toll. I am glad I won't be at my desk next week.

[leezer99]

Back on the first page of this thread @iteachgolf mentions efficiency. My son has always been long but gained a bunch of yardage through developing a more efficient swing. It looks like he's swinging easier (slower) but it's going much further. It could also just be the ball according to the USGA.

[wildcatden]

 

Agree on the boredom. Trying to avoid the 'becoming a Netflix" slug, but that train is fast approaching the station.

[Kcct82]

Now that my caddy days are over, my new job is the club builder. Just bought a shaft puller and swing weight scale. The funniest part is my kid’s clubs are all below A0 ?

[darter79]

until they get a certain length most kids clubs don't even measure SW that's why most use overall weight as a better judgement for kids clubs.

[JuniorGolfParent]

Why are your caddy days over? Would have thought you guys have several more years together at least.

[Kcct82]

Well, it’s not over over, it’s just tournaments are cancelled/postponed, and golf courses are closing so I won’t get to caddy for a while.

We’re practicing in the garage now, and the flightscope I bought is finally getting some good use. Thinking about building a hitting bay since I already have the most expensive parts (flightscope and projector). A simple DIY effort should only cost a few hundred bucks in material.

[maxamillian31]

 

[Sean2]

Some high school data: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nQ9FCrwWVH4njKRvegenM7t-mJfadQoq2yERZB64OI4/edit#gid=1258197418

[cwilk]

Some idea of averages here:http://www.drivechipandputt.com/finals/leaderboard

[mbh922]

That 204 yard drive from the kid in the 7-9 range is very impressive. Is that an anomaly or are other kids in that age range able to crack 200.

[Lincoln_Arcadia]

True, as I recall when my son was 10 he drove something like 150 total. As he grew, he drive a bit farther but not much. By high school he was driving about 200 and played varsity. It wasn’t until after Sophomore year that he really gained distance with specialized performance training. Even so, I don’t think he broke 250 too often, but by senior year his total distance was around 280 to 300 yards with a 110mph average swing. Now, he’s well over 120mph with all his boxing and MMA training.

So, even though he swings very fast now, as a kid he never got more than 150-200 yards or so?

[darter79]

Averages from DCP? That's got to be one of the worst sources to use. They hit TWO drives and they only take the top one. Plus you are talking about Augusta national master's conditions as well. Plus you have to consider their age cutoff. The girl who won the driving part hit drives of almost 190 in girls 7-9 to say that is crazy long for that age is an understatement but she was also 10 a week later. Maybe its closer in other age groups but using DCP for distances in my opinion is a bad source.

[cwilk]

Ok...

You can see both drives and can see the numbers vary based on the kids size in the photo (assuming it’s even remotely recent photo).

They aren’t extra long because of conditions either. My son turns 13 next week and not one drive from the 14-15 year old group was as long as my sons drives in his local qualifier. But my son happens to be large for his age at 5’10 and 150 pounds. So he’s one that physically matured a little earlier than his peers.

It’s just a source to look at. If you used more prestigious/difficult tournaments that would just be an average for more elite players, not junior golfers in general. So there is no one right answer.

[MB19]

Just watched a short video of the French phenom from DCP last year, and watching him carry his drives 170 (completely under control) as an eight-year-old is impressive. It looks like there have been many people looking to build the perfect golfer in that kid for about five years or so.

[BFD3]

Are most “long” juniors using drivers in the length recommended by US Kids? My 8 year old son is only 51” tall but he’s been using his older sister’s Ping G812 for over a year. He’s never been on a launch monitor but his longest drive as a 7 year old in DCP qualifying was 160 and I’ve lasered him at 180 yards on our home course. He’s longer than all his friends and competitors in local tournaments but his driver is much longer so it’s not really apples to apples.

[leezer99]

Driver length should be about from the floor to the child's sternum. You'll see lots of kids (parent's) chasing distance with drivers that go up to a kid's shoulders which is just a bad idea for a number of reasons.

[MB19]

It seems like the USKG lengths are a tad short--at least for my kids. Sounds like your son hits a ton! Getting him on a lunch monitor would be fun, I bet. We are blessed to have a Top Golf-like place here my part of FL called "Big Shots", which has each bay outfitted with Flightscope. For the ambitious, you can get a print-out of your entire practice session sent to your email account.

My 53" son is swinging his sister's hand-me down 54" UL driver with no problems and without choking up. He'll be seven in May, but he's 70 lbs and now swinging 63 MPH... carries up to 110. His sister is 8 (9 in SEP) and about 55"/80 lbs, and topped out at 67 MPH with a 41" F9 Speedback (raised to 14*) she's choked up on a little bit....carries up to 125 with that club. She's using UL 60" irons, he's using Flynn VT Advantage irons I found on clearance that are measured to fit him until he reaches her current size (this fall?).

Leezer touched on something that I saw at the range up in Tallahassee last month. A young couple had their two boys hitting balls, and at least one of the parents was a local pro. Their kids were 5 and 8, both swings were polished for their age... and both kids had longer drivers. The little one would pulverize ever third ball or so, but the driver was just to long and heavy for him to repeat it. The older one, a small-ish lefty, had a driver that fit him a little better and he was putting it out to 150 consistently.

[mbbrewer]

I have 2 boys. My 11 year old is about 5 feet and 95 pounds hits his driver 180-200. My 9 year old is a little dude. Weighs like 55 pounds and hits driver 140-160.

[Lincoln_Arcadia]

At 10 my son was at most 4’10” and even the kids driver was far too long for him, but he wanted to use a new full length TM burner driver. So, I bought it for him. It was funny to watch him carry that oversized driver in that kid’s bag.

Now that same driver barely stands past his belt, but it was hilarious to watch that tiny kid swinging a full sized driver. I think the centripetal force was equal to his total weight. Hahaha.

[BFD3]

It goes up to the top of his sternum. He doesn’t choke up on it either but he swings it so well that neither our head pro (and Jr League coach) or his swing teacher have asked him to change.

[leezer99]

Current driving distance has taken a huge nosedive... only going about 7 feet. COVID-19 sucks.

[Will Morris]

Hey. my name is william morris and i have been playing golf for 2 years now i'm 16 years old and i hit my farthest drive which was 357 yards. witch may sound crazy but my average is 312 yards.

 

[leezer99]

7 hours ago, Will Morris said:

Hey. my name is william morris and i have been playing golf for 2 years now i'm 16 years old and i hit my farthest drive which was 357 yards. witch may sound crazy but my average is 312 yards.

 

 

Very cool to hear.  Do you happen to know your carry distance, swing speed, etc?  That might be more relevant since there are players on here that all play in different climates on all different types of courses.

[kekoa]

My son-10 yrs has finally started to consistently break into the 200 yard mark.  During the last week, I scoped his drives on the same 4 holes and the average was 208.  He's probably longer than average for his age, but I'm hoping he can start eating more to get another 10 or so yards by the time he turns 11 in March.   Distance is hard to come by when you weight under 70 lbs.  Some of the kids who consistently out drive him have a 20 lb advantage.

[ConcernedBoutCOVID]

This varies so much based on physical maturity.  I would think a distance to size ratio is a better measure of swing efficiency and potential for young kids.  

[leezer99]

56 minutes ago, ConcernedBoutCOVID said:

This varies so much based on physical maturity.  I would think a distance to size ratio is a better measure of swing efficiency and potential for young kids.  

Tournament fields aren’t set up by physical maturity. There’s literally only two factors, age and sex. 

[ConcernedBoutCOVID]

28 minutes ago, leezer99 said:

Tournament fields aren’t set up by physical maturity. There’s literally only two factors, age and sex. 

Point being, there's no reason for concern if your kid doesn't hit it as long as other bigger kids, and there's no reason to be overly optimistic if your bigger kid does; size becomes much less of an issue after they all mature