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Buying irons for 13 year old beginner golfer. Any advice?


H823Putt

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I guess it depends how many sets you want to buy him....At that age, LOL....He's 5'3 , he might be 5'10 next year. 

 

For a 13/14 year old boy just kinda getting into it, i'd probably just get him a regular set and let him grow into it, especially if you don't want to get him fit for clubs every 12 months which you'd probably otherwise have to

 

Would probably start with GI heads and some easy to elevate shafts though. 

 

Edited by MtlJeff

Srixon ZX5 w/PX Hzrdus Red 60

Srixon ZX 15 w/PX Hzrdus Red 70

Tour Edge C723 21* w/PX hzrdus black 80

Titleist T150 4-AW w/PX LZ 6.0

Titleist Jet Black 54/60 with PX LZ 6.0

Deschamps Crisp Antique 

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13 minutes ago, MtlJeff said:

I guess it depends how many sets you want to buy him....At that age, LOL....He's 5'3 , he might be 5'10 next year. 

 

 

Yeah, they grow up quick! My son was probably about 5'3" there (IIRC), he's now just past his 15th birthday and pushing 6'. Still only 135# soaking wet tho lol!

 

So @H823Putt the first recommendation is to buy used... You're either going to buy him clubs that are too much for him to swing so he can grow into them, or you're going to buy him what he can handle now and have to replace them in a year.

 

I found a full set of used clubs on craigslist that were from an older gentleman who was getting too old to get around. They were ultralight graphite with senior flex. When my son was 13, that was fine for him to get started on the game. They were cheap and allowed me to see how much he was into the game. They were enough to help him learn the swing.

 

Fast forward a year and a half, and we were at the range and he was just making terrible contact. Couldn't find the center of the face. So I handed him my 7 iron (only club I'd personally brought that day) just to test. Figured it was too heavy for him (115g stiff shaft, D6-D7 swing weight), but I wanted to see if the clubs would help, and he just started striping it! He'd grown so much larger and stronger in a year and a half that those ultralight graphite were just horribly wrong. We went home and I immediately replaced them with my old set of irons (NS Pro 950 S shafts), and he's been making massive progress ever since. 

 

So I'd suggest something cheap and used to start with. Obviously GI is best, but as long as you're not throwing blades at him he'll be fine. As a beginner there are going to be chunks, tops, and whiffs, and no SGI tech will forgive that lol! 😂  At 13 most likely he's at regular flex or below. Steel/graphite doesn't matter, as long as they're light enough. I.e. you don't want him swinging some 130g TX rebar... I might have gone TOO light for my son with that first set, but I'd think something in the 85g range which is still light is probably fine. 

 

As he starts to develop a swing and gets through the first big growth spurt which is probably imminent, then you can revisit where he is, how committed he is to the game, how much you want to spend, what his actual needs are, etc. But for now just get something cheap and used. Depending where you live, you might be in the depths of the offseason now and there might be good stuff available. 

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Ping G25 10.5* w/ Diamana 'ahina 70 x5ct stiff (set -0.5 to 10*)

Sub70 Pro Tour 5w w/ Aldila NV NXT 85 stiff

Wishon EQ1-NX 4h, 5i-GW single-length built to 37.5" w/ Nippon Modus3 120 stiff

Sub70 286 52/10, 286 56/12, and JB 60/6 wedges, black, built to 36.75" w/ Nippon Modus3 120 stiff

Sub70 Sycamore Mallet putter @ 36.5" with Winn midsize pistol grip

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US Kids or Ping Prodi G, all height dependent at that age and of course swing speed. But some of that goes hand in hand.

Mizuno ST-Z 220 10.5* - Tensei Blue Raw AV 65S

Ping G425 5w 16.5* - Alta CB 65S, Ping G425 7w 19.5* - Tensei Orange AV Raw 75S

Mizuno CLK 22* & 25* - Tensei CK Blue 70S

Mizuno 919 HMP 5i-PW - Recoil 95 F4, Mizuno T22 54 & 58 - Recoil 95 F4

Odyssey 2 Ball Ten White Hot Tour Insert

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Focus more on his ability to swing the club than his age. If he's played baseball any, he's used to swinging something A LOT heavier than a golf club! Standard weight would be fine in that case. If not, have him swing normal weighted clubs and see if he can control the weight. At 5'3" with normal arm length, I would go with a standard set of steel shafted irons with a slightly flat lie. Pings might be a good option since they have various stock lie angles available. That way, as he gets taller, you can just have the option of having them adjusted OR buying new. Used sets of all different lie angles are available online.

 

BT

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Dr#2 Mizuno STZ 220 9.5 (10.5) - HZRDUS Smoke IM10 65 Low TX @ 46"

Mizuno ST190 15 - HZRDUS Smoke Yellow 70 TS @ 43"
Mizuno STZ 220 18- HZRDUS Smoke Yellow 70 TS @ 42"
Mizuno MP15 4-PW - Aldila RIP Tour 115 R
Cobra MIM Wedges 52, 56 & 60 – stock KBS Hi-Rev @ 35.5”

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Don’t invest too much in a set since he will likely out grow it or become to strong for the set. At that age, he can still get into a senior flex set or even a regular flex set of shafts. He can sick with steel for now but graphite is also an option. You can also purchase complete sets or look up the offer up or even garage sales. There are some good finds out there. 

Cobra LTD 9* TP6HD
Cobra Big Tour 14.5* TP7HD 

Cobra F6 Baffler 19* Kiyoshi Purple

Wilson Staff Staff Blades 3-PW Recoil I95 stiff 

Wilson PMP 52/56 Raw

Titliest SquareBack LA 135 

Vice Pro+ Lime Green Goodness

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I bought my son decent used heads from Ping.  I think G410's with graphite shafts.  They were nice enough that I reshafted when he turned 14.  He took some lessons along the way and then got fitted for real irons.  It doesn't have to be expensive to be effective.  He went from a 30hcp to a 12 and should be a single digit this year.

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2 hours ago, Ri_Redneck said:

Focus more on his ability to swing the club than his age.

 

I think this is the best advice to start from.  If the weight is too far off from what your son is comfortable swinging then it is going to be hard for him to learn to swing the club properly.  As a little kid I learned to play using a steel shafted men's set and developed an over the top move because the clubs were too heavy for me.  It took me a long time to get rid of it, but it still creeps back in sometimes even 30+ years later. 

 

I'm not a fitter, so take this with a grain of salt, but if it were me I'd start on the light side of things to make it easier to learn the golf swing.  I don't know if you live anywhere near a golf shop, but if you can get to one with a bunch of used golf clubs (like 2nd swing golf) you can have your son hit a variety of irons and see how it goes.  It might be pretty obvious by his swing when the club gets too light or heavy so you'll know where to go from there.

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Cleveland RTX6 54/12 (bent to 53*) Raw & 58/10 Black, DG Spinner
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Went down this rabbit hole a couple of years ago with my daughter, now my son is starting to play.  Found a couple Ping i3 sets online and purchased them for relatively nothing.  Went to our local Top 100 fitter and had her fit for the shafts and she smokes them!  Now if I could only get her to practice...:)  We did the same with some Ping G5 woods.

 

If she wanted she could easily have them reshafted again with something firmer, and/or longer, as she develops speed and skill. 

If she really takes to the game we can certainly go full fitting into modern clubs...but this was a very reasonable start on what were amazing clubs back in the day.  Not to mention dang near indestructible.  

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Ping G410 Driver
Cally Epic 4 Wood

Founders Club 200 Series MBs or BeCu Ping Eye2 or MacGregor CB92s, Ping Eye2 SW

Ping Zing2, MyDay in BeCu or Goodwood SS Sunday

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