12 Y/O Girl - next clubs? Adult or US Kids

[dai3015]

Hi

 

Just a question for the other parents that have been through this please.

 

My daughter is 12, 60" tall and has a WHS of 16. She plays competitively on the local Ping Tour and has been playing with a set of MKids irons.

 

She wants to progress, so as an experiment we got a set of Ping G LE irons in standard spec and she has hit them quite well. However, it's apparent that she is developing a few swing flaws with the longer irons ie more inside on the way down and I just wonder whether it's worth going back to a US Kids 60 or 63 set until she has grown a little more?

 

She is also struggling a little to hit the higher shots with the Ping 7 iron - having checked it's got a loft of 30.5 which seems really low for a 7 iron, particularly if you haven't got the strength or speed to elevate it properly.

 

Do we stick or twist? She is receiving regular coaching and her coach is content to keep working on her swing, but I'm mindful that I don't want to cause detriment by having her play clubs that are too long. 

[ShortGolfer]

30* is normal for a 7 iron these days.

My XXIO 12 has a loft of just 28*.  The G410 also has a loft of 30*.

 

I just built a lefty T100 with a loft of 34*  to learn how to hit lefty.  With a Recoil 450 ESX F1 shaft it ought to have the right SW for your daughter.

There is someone selling .355 shafts on ebay for $20 each.

That head isn't normally recommended for beginners, though I seem to swing it just fine!

I'm a cross dominant stroke survivor with unusually good fine motion control on my left side as it wasn't wiped out by the stroke like my right side.

 

I learned to hit a low lofted iron when I was a little kid.  I don't think that hurt my swing any.  My 3 iron didn't go any farther than my 5 iron.

It wasn't until decades later that I learned why!

 

Does she need to win now?  Learning and winning may involve different optimal strategies.

Edited January 4 by ShortGolfer

[Goldenhawk]

Height, strength and swing speed all come into play when deciding between adult and US Kids equipment.  Most of the girls that play competitive golf around age 12 that hang out with my kids all play adult clubs.  Most are cut down and it is safe to assume that some have adjusted weighting.  One of the fitters I know recommend that the junior golfer finds a wood and iron head that they like, and the clubs can then be adjusted as they grow.

[Medson]

8 hours ago, dai3015 said:

My daughter is 12, 60" tall and has a WHS of 16. She plays competitively on the local Ping Tour and has been playing with a set of MKids irons.

 

She wants to progress, so as an experiment we got a set of Ping G LE irons in standard spec and she has hit them quite well. However, it's apparent that she is developing a few swing flaws with the longer irons ie more inside on the way down and I just wonder whether it's worth going back to a US Kids 60 or 63 set until she has grown a little more?

 

She is also struggling a little to hit the higher shots with the Ping 7 iron - having checked it's got a loft of 30.5 which seems really low for a 7 iron, particularly if you haven't got the strength or speed to elevate it properly.

 

Do we stick or twist? She is receiving regular coaching and her coach is content to keep working on her swing, but I'm mindful that I don't want to cause detriment by having her play clubs that are too long. 

 

I did some quick analysis and hope this will help.

 

By using Ping’s junior web fit tool (https://ping.com/en-us/promo-landing-pages/prodi-g), at 60”, she should play 7i at 35 inch. I look at G Le3 irons spec, 7i is 36.5 inch. I’d imagine choking down should be fine.

 

G Le iron head is a little bit heavier than Ping ProdiG / US Kids irons, but is lighter than say G430 or regular adult iron heads. So G Le iron heads, in theory, should work for juniors of your daughter’s age.

 

The bigger issue is always the weight/stiffness of shaft. What shaft did you get, steel vs. graphite, weight (40g, 50g, etc), lady vs. senior vs regular? In general, err on the side of lighter and shorter.

 

I know couple of competitive juniors still play 60 inch USK irons at that age, so don’t feel pressured to go adult irons/wedges. Nevertheless, USK might give you 6-12 months of runway, but you are looking at custom fit down the road, which is very $$$$$.

[ShortGolfer]

I see nobody mentioned this.  How about choking down on the ladies clubs an inch+ for a more appropriate club length?

 

I got fitted at Club Champion and relative to men's clubs my clubs are -2 inches and 2* upright.

Which is an inch shorter than normal women's clubs and may be considered women's petite clubs.

But most juniors can't afford the clubs I bought.  But I'm sure that a lot of juniors would love to have the latest technology in a women's petite length with a swing weight of C2.

My Stealth driver is 41 inches with a C2 SW.

Edited January 4 by ShortGolfer

[Golfingdawg19]

I coach HS golf and we get big discounts from Cobra. I put my daughter in adult clubs at 12 and she had no issues. The key is making sure they are cut to the right length and they shafts are light enough. I always used recoil graphite shafts. They are really good for that age and they are light. Now US Kids and Flynn make much better options for the older juniors than they did before so I would look hard at them. When your hits 63-64 inches she is average height for a woman and you could invest in a really good fitting. Until then you would be choking down on clubs and that throws things off. 

[darter79]

at 12? Yes but pending on skill and swing speed. I had my kid in them at 10 but my kid was taller than 60" at 10, that and she snapped 2 uskg clubs while swinging them. Its person to person but using uskg clubs vs adults is bringing a knife to a gun fight. 

[ShortGolfer]

If you have 0.355 taper tip heads this ebay seller is selling ladies flex Recoil shafts for $20 plus a reasonable shiping charge.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/195379550420?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ntq4yAjQRZ6&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=PYGjokuXTda&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

I bought two 7 iron shafts from them.  They are ready be epoxied into the matching head.  Then you butt trim the shaft and install the grip.

Lead or tungsten tape can be added later if the club is too light, but for most girls I doubt that will be needed. I've never found a club to be too light.

Edited February 3 by ShortGolfer

[dai3015]

Thanks for all the responses

 

In discussion with her coach, we took 3/4" off the length and she's certainly hitting them better and her posture looks much improved.

 

She was on the trackman on Saturday with him and her 7 iron is still a problem in that whilst she hits it well, peak height and descent angle are not where they should be so we're going to look a hybrid option for her or a retro loft 7 iron.

 

Thanks again

[mrshinsa]

4 hours ago, dai3015 said:

Thanks for all the responses

 

In discussion with her coach, we took 3/4" off the length and she's certainly hitting them better and her posture looks much improved.

 

She was on the trackman on Saturday with him and her 7 iron is still a problem in that whilst she hits it well, peak height and descent angle are not where they should be so we're going to look a hybrid option for her or a retro loft 7 iron.

 

Thanks again

 

We moved our daughter, who is on the tall side, to Ping G400 with ladies shaft at age 11. 

 

Similar issue with 7iron and up, but we just played with the extra roll. 

She's 13 now and she's comfortable holding the green with a 6iron and playing with the 5-iron roll.

 

I learned girls will not match boys regarding launch monitor numbers, so target numbers have to be dialed down a bit. 

i.e 20 yd peak height vs 30 yds, and 38 degrees landing angle instead of 46 degrees, etc... 

[killer21]

I think at 12 we went into a PXG "P" iron 2 flat, 1 strong to help with fat shots, 1/2" shorter than standard and an Accra 60i Senior Shaft.  Don't get too heavy and stiff too soon. I did it and regretted it.  At 14 we upgraded to same newer model of PXG club upgraded to 70i Regular Accra shafts and she is using them this year at 15 years, they are spectacular shafts, high launch but very stable.  Still 1/2 under standard. She hits them a mile now.  Very high but not balooning.  Nice flight.