Junior club question

[Swingthoughts]

I am the father of a very undersized 12 year old competitive youth player who is very good around the greens.   I see a lot of the kids he is playing with already using adult level, pro level wedges (Volkey, Callaway, Taylor Made, etc).  He is using a US Kids tour series lob wedge.  His sand, gap and pitching wedge are all part of his Ping ProdiG set.   Can anyone give advice on how much heavier the head for an adult lob wedge is compared to a US Kids lob?   Anyone with experience in this area have any opinions?  Any feedback is appreciated.

 

 

[Milfordlefty]

Unless it bothers him that he is using a junior club vs an adult lob wedge, don't sweat it. He has Pings in the bag already, if he scores better than those with OEM lob wedges in the bag, it is what's on the scorecard that counts. Now I recognize social pressures are starting and the desire to fit in. It is likely he is reaching the age where in another year or two he'll need to move out of a junior set. The only other option is to have him fit and see if he can hit an adult club with the same proficiency he is with his junior clubs.

[eagle2838]

 A quick search showed 268 grams for a US Kids LW head. That info is a little old, but I see no reason why this should change much: 

 

An off-the rack adult 60 degree head is going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 300-305ish grams. So, 12-13% heavier, and something around 16(!) swingweight points if you kept all else constant. 

 

For kids, I think overall club weight is an important factor, even if you get the swingweight to the same point. For something where he is playing a lot of finesse shots, I suspect going up in head weight is not going to be helpful right now.

 

That said, if you/he really wants to get into an adult club, you could play around with porting to pull out some of that weight. Not sure it's really worth it...

[Swingthoughts]

1 hour ago, eagle2838 said:

 A quick search showed 268 grams for a US Kids LW head. That info is a little old, but I see no reason why this should change much: 

 

An off-the rack adult 60 degree head is going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 300-305ish grams. So, 12-13% heavier, and something around 16(!) swingweight points if you kept all else constant. 

 

For kids, I think overall club weight is an important factor, even if you get the swingweight to the same point. For something where he is playing a lot of finesse shots, I suspect going up in head weight is not going to be helpful right now.

 

That said, if you/he really wants to get into an adult club, you could play around with porting to pull out some of that weight. Not sure it's really worth it...

I cannot thank you enough for this information and feedback.  I am not overly computer savvy and would have struggled to get that information.  I appreciate your post and the one from the previous poster very much.   He is other worldly with that wedge around the greens compared to peers.  He was a horrible break from making it to Augusta for Drive Chip and Putt 2 years ago (cancelled last year).  Given the weight info you gave and how he does use that club in a variety of ways and can play different shots, I am reluctant to mess with something heavier for now. 

 

Thank you again for the response.

[Medson]

Of all the clubs, I always thought wedges and irons have least tech and probably can hold off replacing with adult ones later. Peer pressure aside. 

[kelpie]

working with a lot of younger students I try to get them into adult wedges as soon as possible, by 10 or 11, even girls. I understand that your son is already competitive, I think you'd need to see what his short game is lacking. Getting him used to good bounces and lie angles is important, and I've not had too many kids complain about head weight. They usually don't hit their wedges that far anyways, and once you cut them down to their length, they won't feel that heavy. It might take a few rounds or practice sessions for them to get used to the weight and lofts, but for the long haul I think it's beneficial. I also don't like to get them into a 4 wedge system too early. I like doing a 52/60 or 52/58 setup so they can learn to be creative and learn. 

[mrshinsa]

On 3/29/2021 at 1:06 PM, Swingthoughts said:

I am the father of a very undersized 12 year old competitive youth player who is very good around the greens.   I see a lot of the kids he is playing with already using adult level, pro level wedges (Volkey, Callaway, Taylor Made, etc).  He is using a US Kids tour series lob wedge.  His sand, gap and pitching wedge are all part of his Ping ProdiG set.   Can anyone give advice on how much heavier the head for an adult lob wedge is compared to a US Kids lob?   Anyone with experience in this area have any opinions?  Any feedback is appreciated.

 

 

Give ping a call, and have them custom a Glide lob wedge to the prodig spec.  

[MB19]

1 hour ago, mrshinsa said:

Give ping a call, and have them custom a Glide lob wedge to the prodig spec.  

How expensive would something like this be?  Had no idea they would do that.

[Golfingdawg19]

My daughter is 13 and small for her age. We moved her into adult wedges at 10 or 11 and she had no issues. We went with the Cleveland ladies wedges and they are great. The head is the same as a men’s wedge but the shaft is a lightweight women graphite flex. Callaway also makes a ladies version of their wedges. If your son is turned off by the ladies colors, you can paint the letter and dots a different color. I’ve seen several boys parent do this. 

[mrshinsa]

22 hours ago, MB19 said:

How expensive would something like this be?  Had no idea they would do that.

Same price as a regular glide.  They will lower swing weight at no charge.

[darter79]

The wedges are heavier however most don't swing wedges full so the weight not an issue. My 10 year old uses vokeys and has no issue using them and the added short game spin is very noticeable. Just a matter of how they view weight. For reference they have accra 50i shafts in them and a junior golf pride grip. Callaway has some that have a ladies f1 shaft in them so a lot easier to buy off the shelf and cut to length. 

[Golfingdawg19]

On 4/5/2021 at 10:49 AM, darter79 said:

The wedges are heavier however most don't swing wedges full so the weight not an issue. My 10 year old uses vokeys and has no issue using them and the added short game spin is very noticeable. Just a matter of how they view weight. For reference they have accra 50i shafts in them and a junior golf pride grip. Callaway has some that have a ladies f1 shaft in them so a lot easier to buy off the shelf and cut to length. 

You could also look at getting an adult wedge head and put your own custom shaft like Darter79 said. Recoil shafts are really good for juniors or you could even put a Flynn shaft in an adult head. I didn't have an issue with my daughter at 10 using the shaft that Cleveland put in the ladies wedge.

[MB19]

On 4/5/2021 at 10:49 AM, darter79 said:

The wedges are heavier however most don't swing wedges full so the weight not an issue. My 10 year old uses vokeys and has no issue using them and the added short game spin is very noticeable. Just a matter of how they view weight. For reference they have accra 50i shafts in them and a junior golf pride grip. Callaway has some that have a ladies f1 shaft in them so a lot easier to buy off the shelf and cut to length. 

I recently took both my kids out of adult wedges with lightweight shafts, and put them back in wedges that went with their sets.  I did it purely from a continuity standpoint, as I didn't want my kids swinging wedge heads that were noticeably heavier than the ones that came with their sets.  It has helped both kids from a control aspect, as I see more consist wedge hits than with the heavier adult-style wedges.

 

All that said, the spin sacrificed by going back to the kids wedges is very apparent.  No one or two-hop and check with the kids wedges.  I hope to get both of them back in the heavier wedges within a few months, but for right now they'll keep hitting the lighter wedges and deal with less spin.