Confessions of a junior golf club maniac

[MB19]

Today I received a shipment of USKG TS-60 irons with graphite shafts for my 9-year-old daughter.  That, in itself, was an accomplishment considering the lack of inventory via both OEM retailers and on eBay.  But the real accomplishment here was conquering my own stubbornness and actually making the decision to follow good advice from teaching pros and friends with a wealth of junior golf equipment experience.

 

Considering how my foray into buying junior golf equipment started, it was always going to be like this.  I bought a mixed set of clubs from Play-it-Again Sports for about $60, and man did I think I it was a great buy.  The set included a like-new USKG-60 bag, a Ping Pal 5hy and SW, and a Cobra King Jr 7i and 9i.  Knowing nothing about proper weight or length, I set my kids up in the back yard with some whiffle balls and they started swinging.  It took me about 30 seconds to realize the clubs were far too big/heavy for my son and a little too big/heavy for my daughter.  My daughter inherited the clubs, and my son got a nice little Ping Moxie Set I snagged off eBay for like $125 shipped.  That was a big improvement, until my son grew about 1.5 inches.

 

From this point--about a month into them swinging golf clubs--I started buying what I could on eBay at low prices.  For every winner there would be three losers, but my kids were making some progress in spite of their imperfect bags of clubs.  Then I discovered WRX's junior golf forum, and the input from some of the longtime members.  By Christmas, I had enough informed information to purchase USKG UL drivers for my kids, a nice set of Flynn irons off eBay for about 1/4 of their cost new and a 7i/GW combo that would last my son several months while he was rounding out his game.  This was all working great until my son shot up 2.5 more inches that winter/spring.  I felt bad I had bought his older sister a nice, full set of quality irons while he got a two-club combo from the Flynn Clearance page.  I found a USKG UL 6, 8, PW combo for my daughter--complete with a USKG bag--for $30 at a different Play-it-Again, gave my son the full set of Flynn Velocity irons from my daughter's bag, and salvaged the old Ping Pal SW back to my daughter's bag.

 

Things kept snowballing in my daughter's bag, and some of you on this forum have had a front-row seat.  Some of my gables worked (Ping Glide Forged wedges have been amazing), some of them haven't (Titleist 712 CB Forged with junior shafts, too heavy and she developed bad habits to compensate) and some are to be determined (F9 hybrid with a LA Golf Reign shaft seems good, but jury is out).  I pieced together some nice clubs that in some cases helped my daughter, but in many cases likely hurt her.  It took me a few months of getting advice--solicited and unsolicited--for me to realize that she never swung the golf club better than when she had that set of Flynn Velocity irons.  

 

Big idea:  My daughter needed a matching set of irons made for kids.

 

After much thinking and searching, a fellow WRXer who I had bought a club from before (and eventually became friends with) happened to be selling his daughter's old set of TS3 irons.  After getting them in the mail today, I realized how foolish I had been not getting a set like this 9 months ago.  She hit those irons like they were made for her.

 

Lesson learned:  Don't re-invent the wheel.

 

 

 

Edited February 17, 2021 by MB19

[Kcct82]

The TS3 irons are nice. My kid just switched to the TS3 51” set from Flynn’s 48”. 

[Tannerbug33]

Yep I have personally spent a lot of money trying to find something better for less 

 My son is finally big enough to demo stuff. 

[leezer99]

I'm glad I hadn't found this forum until my son was through the junior club phase and already in OEM adult heads through the bag.  Guess I was just dumb enough to use US Kids and Flynn until a fitter put him in something else.

[MB19]

1 hour ago, leezer99 said:

I'm glad I hadn't found this forum until my son was through the junior club phase and already in OEM adult heads through the bag.  Guess I was just dumb enough to use US Kids and Flynn until a fitter put him in something else.

I didn’t even know Flynn existed before I found this forum.

[MB19]

Robbing Peter to pay Paul has been a big mistake for me.  A good example is the saga that became my son's F9 driver.

 

I bought this club for his 7th birthday after they went down in price last year, and after I had already bought one for his sister used at an incredible price.  Right away, the club was too heavy so I took out the weight.  He was pumping out green-reaching drives because he was still in the 6U USKG division, but the shaft was clearly too big and possibly too heavy.  I got both kids new shafts on the advice of an experienced golf dad of arguably the best class of '29 girl golfer in the state.  Mind you, his advice was for my daughter--but I felt my son needed a new shaft as well.

 

Both kids benefitted from the shaft change, even if my son said he felt the driver was still a little heavy.  This worked for a few months until my son needed a fairway wood upon moving up to to boys 7.  He inherited my daughter's fairway wood, which he hit very well, but he lost his shaft because it went into the F9 fairway I bought for my daughter to replace her old fairway.  So the old shaft went back into his F9, and he did OK with it... 

 

Fast forward a few more months, and I send a video of my son's swing to a fellow WRXer unintentionally.  I wanted him to dissect my daughter's swing in the video, but my son was swinging in the background.  He said the F9 was too heavy, in spite of the new Air Speeder 35 superlight shaft I had just put in.  Admittedly, I had left it two inches too long but I felt it would be fine as long as he choked up.  My fellow WRXer disagreed, told me to do a test with his $20 Flynn Advantage 17* off the tee vs the F9.  He told me he would be anything the two clubs go about the same distance.  We hit six balls with each, both clubs pumped out 135 drives on average with the Driver finding the fairway one more time than the older, cheaper Flynn.  The Flynn was 36", the F9 39".  His swing labored less with the shorter club, but it was a little too short for him so he pulled a few balls that maybe find the fairway at the right length.

 

My friend told me to suck it up and buy a Flynn VT 37" shaft, and it was some of the best advice I've taken.  His swing in the box is more controlled and his ball is finding the middle of the fairway more.  His bad habit of bending his backswing like Daly is becoming a memory, and his swing is coming together.

 

What of the Air Speeder shaft?  Well, that's in my daughter's F9 now.  We're testing it against her old Bassara Lite shaft this week (which is 3g heavier and stiffer) to see which is a better fit for her as she continues to find her swing again after a hand/wrist injury... caused partly by overcompensating for irons that were too heavy for her.

 

I don't regret moving my daughter into the F9, who was 8 and 55"/83 lbs at the time.  The club was a good fit for her then, and it is a good fit for her now that she is taller and stronger.  But my son, I should have kept him in either Flynn or USKG drivers for sure until he turned 8 or 9.  He had moved up to his sister's 54" UL and was really hitting the ball well with it.  The bad part?  He hated the purple color.  

 

 

[mrshinsa]

Post of the year. 

 

I stopped tinkering with my sons clubs, after I realized it doesn't make sense financially, and it actually hurts the game.  

 

No more franken-clubs for us.

Edited February 17, 2021 by mrshinsa

[Medson]

I think I'm going to stick with US Kids TS3 clubs (driver, woods, hybrid, irons, wedges. Basically, everything except the putter) till she's 10-12 yo. 

 

BTW, where do you guys find used TS3 clubs, eBay? 

 

 

[MB19]

1 hour ago, Medson said:

I think I'm going to stick with US Kids TS3 clubs (driver, woods, hybrid, irons, wedges. Basically, everything except the putter) till she's 10-12 yo. 

 

BTW, where do you guys find used TS3 clubs, eBay? 

 

 

There are TS3 sets on eBay for sure, it's just hard to find them in graphite shaft at 60".  I bought off a private seller through communication with fellow WRXers.

[ncalgolf]

I've tinkered with some many clubs that didn't work for my kid - I'd throw them in an old golf bag in my garage and had to look at my mistakes and waste of money everyday.  One day I got sick of looking at them and took them down to our local first tee program and donated them to the kids who would use them - I did see one of the kids hitting one of my sick custom clubs i made recently which was kinda fun - I was gonna yell at him "hey i made that club, how do you like it?" but then my daughter said "please don't say anything lets just play....he will think you are crazy."

[leezer99]

4 hours ago, Medson said:

I think I'm going to stick with US Kids TS3 clubs (driver, woods, hybrid, irons, wedges. Basically, everything except the putter) till she's 10-12 yo. 

 

BTW, where do you guys find used TS3 clubs, eBay? 

 

 

I just gave away an old orange set of US Kids clubs to a buddy. 

[Icamp10579]

I bought a set of the ping prodi g for my newly 7 yr old son. Had the shafts cut down to uskg length. Then found 3 sets of pull off prodi g shafts at the +3 length on ebay  that I can use to replace the current shafts as he grows without having to switch club heads. Plus with the ping grow the game program he gets one free shaft replacement in these clubs as well. So basically shouldn’t have to get a new set of clubs for several years. I highly recommend the prodi g’s, we’ve seen a big increase in length and dispersion. The increase in length is very welcome as my son is still pretty small 48’ and isn’t a big hitter compared to the elite kids in regionals. He’s now driving 120 all in compared to 105ish which is a big improvement and much needed moving up to the 1500yd courses. And the irons are noticeably longer, hitting his 7 85yds compared to 70 in his old uskg UL set. 

Edited February 23, 2021 by Icamp10579

[MB19]

1 hour ago, Icamp10579 said:

I bought a set of the ping prodi g for my newly 7 yr old son. Had the shafts cut down to uskg length. Then found 3 sets of pull off prodi g shafts at the +3 length on ebay  that I can use to replace the current shafts as he grows without having to switch club heads. Plus with the ping grow the game program he gets one free shaft replacement in these clubs as well. So basically shouldn’t have to get a new set of clubs for several years. I highly recommend the prodi g’s, we’ve seen a big increase in length and dispersion. The increase in length is very welcome as my son is still pretty small 48’ and isn’t a big hitter compared to the elite kids in regionals. He’s now driving 120 all in compared to 105ish which is a big improvement and much needed moving up to the 1500yd courses. And the irons are noticeably longer, hitting his 7 85yds compared to 70 in his old uskg UL set. 

He hits the ball far for a little guy.  Good thinking getting the extra Prodi g shafts.

 

If I had to do it all over again, I may well just sell my own clubs to finance a set of Prodi G for my son and emulate your path.  My son games the Ping fairway, hybrid and SW and loves them.

Edited February 23, 2021 by MB19
clarity

[Icamp10579]

1 hour ago, MB19 said:

He hits the ball far for a little guy.  Good thinking getting the extra Prodi g shafts.

 

If I had to do it all over again, I may well just sell my own clubs to finance a set of Prodi G for my son and emulate your path.  My son games the Ping fairway, hybrid and SW and loves them.

I just got lucky that the shafts popped up on eBay so I scooped them all up. I’ve got a bunch of unused shafts like la reign, and blue quaranta 40g shafts that I was planning on testing, but got lucky. 
Last year was his first year competing and it was very eye opening once he started playing at the regional level, these kids smash the ball. He was by far the longest player in the 6division locally and even statewide where we live, but it was a whole different ballgame when we started playing regional events. 

[Tannerbug33]

I have spent the last 2 days ordering new shafts. we just ordered a new RAD speed driver for my son, when our coach was checking his high he said 62 inches. i cringed because i knew everything else would be short. got home measured him and somehow he has grown over 2 inches since Nov ( the last time a measured him) so i just ordered new Nippon shafts, about to order new wedges his are wore slap out. ( But they are 4+ weeks out so im going to extend the ones he has) ordered a new hybrid shaft, and currently looking for a Evenflow Riptide 50 3 wood shaft. preferably used because if im paying full price for that im just getting a new 3 wood. 

Golfs expensive but i have had more expensive hobbys

[Kcct82]

10 hours ago, Icamp10579 said:

I bought a set of the ping prodi g for my newly 7 yr old son. Had the shafts cut down to uskg length. Then found 3 sets of pull off prodi g shafts at the +3 length on ebay  that I can use to replace the current shafts as he grows without having to switch club heads. Plus with the ping grow the game program he gets one free shaft replacement in these clubs as well. So basically shouldn’t have to get a new set of clubs for several years. I highly recommend the prodi g’s, we’ve seen a big increase in length and dispersion. The increase in length is very welcome as my son is still pretty small 48’ and isn’t a big hitter compared to the elite kids in regionals. He’s now driving 120 all in compared to 105ish which is a big improvement and much needed moving up to the 1500yd courses. And the irons are noticeably longer, hitting his 7 85yds compared to 70 in his old uskg UL set. 

Interesting to know that the Prodi G’s work with your kid. As far as I know they’re about the same weight (head weight) as USKG TS3 54’s (10% lighter than adult) and USKG sets for 48” tall kids are 20% lighter. 

[MB19]

22 hours ago, Icamp10579 said:

I just got lucky that the shafts popped up on eBay so I scooped them all up. I’ve got a bunch of unused shafts like la reign, and blue quaranta 40g shafts that I was planning on testing, but got lucky. 
Last year was his first year competing and it was very eye opening once he started playing at the regional level, these kids smash the ball. He was by far the longest player in the 6division locally and even statewide where we live, but it was a whole different ballgame when we started playing regional events. 

My daughter has an LA Reign in her F9 hybrid, and so far/so good.  

 

She has an Air Speeder 35 in her F9 driver (inherited from her little brother), and so far the combo hasn't produced as good of results as the F9 head with the Bassara Lite--which is about 3g heavier.  Perhaps if I added the head weights back, the Air Speeder would perform better but I have yet to do that.

Edited February 24, 2021 by MB19

[mojomover]

FWIW- I bought a Helium Black F2 shaft for my son's F9, 8yrs old, 56" tall (62lbs though) and has been a huge benefit. Found it in 3 wood length on ebay and just cut the butt end. So I suppose it is a tipped shaft 🙂

[MB19]

19 hours ago, mojomover said:

FWIW- I bought a Helium Black F2 shaft for my son's F9, 8yrs old, 56" tall (62lbs though) and has been a huge benefit. Found it in 3 wood length on ebay and just cut the butt end. So I suppose it is a tipped shaft 🙂

Is that the one that weighs 49g?  I do wonder how it differs in characteristics from the stock Cobra jr shaft that comes stock with the F9.

 

My son turns 8 in a couple of months, and he’s 55”/70 lbs... we got a stage 3 37” Flynn VT shaft in his F9 and it appears to be a good fit for him.  I have no idea what that shaft weighs or much else about it, I just needed something the right length.

 

I also just took the Air Speeder 35 R3 out of my daughter’s F9, but the Bassara Lite back in.  And the musical shaft chairs continue...

[mojomover]

This is the one: https://www.ustmamiya.com/golf-shafts/brands/helium/helium-black/, it says it is 54gm. It is counter balanced though, so when you cut from the butt end, don't know how that impacts weight of the overall shaft. I recommended the shaft to another friend whose daughter plays an F9 too, and she was launching it pretty high with this. 

 

[MB19]

19 hours ago, mojomover said:

This is the one: https://www.ustmamiya.com/golf-shafts/brands/helium/helium-black/, it says it is 54gm. It is counter balanced though, so when you cut from the butt end, don't know how that impacts weight of the overall shaft. I recommended the shaft to another friend whose daughter plays an F9 too, and she was launching it pretty high with this. 

 

It sounds like a shaft I need to look into sometime in the future, thanks.

 

I took the Air Speeder 35 R3 out of my daughter's driver yesterday and swapped the Bassara Lite shaft back in.  The feedback was immediate, as she pummeled two the longest, straightest drives she has hit in a few months.  Thinking of cutting the Air Speeder down and putting it in her F9 5W now.

[Tannerbug33]

We went trough a true fitting this off season and can honestly say I never imagined the deference shafts make. 

 3 wood was the hardest to find a fit. Only 1 had all the numbers the rest where 10 yards off and all over the place. But my son is playing so much better with fitted clubs even in crappy conditions 

[mojomover]

MB19- the basasara- is it the E42?

[MB19]

22 minutes ago, mojomover said:

MB19- the basasara- is it the E42?

Yes indeed.

[mojomover]

I have the same one too- when we used it a few months ago, it was a bit too stiff, so perhaps worth trying it out again (I had lent the shaft to another kid, so might be worth trying it now)

[wildcatden]

 Moved my 10YO from the GB39 in L-Flex to Aerotech Claymore MX48 in F2 flex.  When uncut, this shaft is about 5-6g heavier.  Tip is slightly stiffer and tip length an inch longer (3" vs 2"). Mevo+ shows lower spin depending on the strike (2500-3200 vs getting spin in 3500-5000 area).  Clubhead speed up to 71-73 range. Carry up 155-160. Total up above 180 (flat ground). Smash factor's now often 1.47/1.48.

 

Keep in mind, we were able to fix a swing fault of his to keep him more on plane and connected with the driver. Also, some work on an impact bag with his driver helped.  Shafts aren't miracle machines but they definitely have to **fit**. This weekend, we will probably give the GB39 L-Flex one more cycle of tests in the driver as we haven't tested it with some of the swing improvements.  Will likely move the GB39 over to his Fly-Z+ 3W and give it a test. Otherwise, it is headed to eBay as I am starting to accumulate too much golf equipment.

[heavy_hitter]

On 2/26/2021 at 12:15 PM, Tannerbug33 said:

We went trough a true fitting this off season and can honestly say I never imagined the deference shafts make. 

 3 wood was the hardest to find a fit. Only 1 had all the numbers the rest where 10 yards off and all over the place. But my son is playing so much better with fitted clubs even in crappy conditions 

 

Shafts can be as expensive as the clubs.

[MB19]

More changes to my daughter's bag:  I've pulled out the Ping Glide Forged wedges and replaced them with the USKG TS wedges that came with the set.

 

Ever since switching from her heavier Titleist 712 CB Forged to the TS irons, her play with the Ping wedges has turned inconsistent at best.  It seems, possibly, that the lack of continuity between the TS irons and the heavier forged wedges was opening the door to swing changes--can't have that.  The Pings are joining the Titleists on the bench, alongside of my pride.  I feel like the old Knicks teams from years back when they had a big payroll full of fancy players who either sat the bench or didn't produce.  Oh well, those clubs will return to the bag at some point.  We'll miss the spin, but spin does no good when your blocking and chunking.

 

My son inherited my daughter's old Prodi G 56 and SM7 60 when she got the Pings, and so far those returns have not been favorable.  His Flynn Velocity 56 and 60 wedges will be going back into the bag.  I was hoping for more spin, but he's just not strong enough for it to make a difference yet.

 

 

[Tannerbug33]

We just put the new Cleveland zipcore into play. His set should be good if he doesn't hit another growth spurt 

[MB19]

The month of April has been a non-tournament month for us, but we've been far from inactive.  During this time, three things became apparent:

 

1) My daughter was really struggling with her 6i.  It is the only iron in her bag she is inconsistent with.  When she flushes it, the ball flies 100 yd or more like it is supposed to.  The problem is that is only about 20% of the time.  Sometimes it goes 80, sometimes it chunks, etc...

 

Aswer: I just bought a Cobra Speedzone 7H to replace the 6i.  She hits the daylights out of her Speedback 5H, so lets hope that bigger sweet spot will help in that 100yd gap currently in her bag.

 

2) I swapped out my daughter's Ping Glide Forged wedges out for the USKG TS G, SW and L last month.  I didn't think her command of the Ping's was good enough, so we went to the lighter TS wedges.  So far, the results have not been for the better... although they haven't been terrible.  I'll just say the ball doesn't check with the kids wedges like they do the Pings.

 

Answer: The Glide Forged wedges are going back in her bag for a trial run over the next two weeks.  Her club speed has increased a bit over the past 8-10 weeks, as has her overall strength, so here's to hoping these wedges stay in the bag this season.

 

3) Some friends (cabal) schooled me on how important the weights were that I had taken out of my son and daughter's clubs.  Since they have both gotten stronger, why not put them back in?

 

Answer: Due to my daughter's strength and speed gains, I felt good putting the weights back in her Speedback driver, 5W and 5H.  This added yardage and shrunk dispersion in all three clubs.  My son only had weights in his driver, and I put just the 2 oz back into his.  I may put the other weight back in as well, just because he really has nothing to lose right now--his swing is a bit of a mess of late.  Besides, who wants to keep track of those little weights?  Not me.

 

Next up, daughter will get a new bag going into summer tournaments.  Her old bag is was bought used at Play-it Again, and after almost two years has two holes and is too small.