Junior Driver Length/Type for 9yo

[bk1]

Hi Folks,

 

My son is turning 9 at late April and I am looking to replace is US Kids 54 TS5 Driver.  Typically he's had good distance on his driver, hitting it ~ 150 yards (but has caught balls at 175yd).  At the start of the year he moved up into the 9-10 age bracket in our local PGA tour and most of the kids are playing with OEM Drivers and the distance is becoming more of a factor (both real and perceived).  Have a few options that I wanted to run past the brain trust..  Dad has very limited golf knowledge, especially with club fittings, shafts etc..

 

Current Stats:

Height: 56" in golf shoes

Floor to wrist: 27"

Current Driver Length: 37.5"

SS: No idea

 

1) Cobra LTDx Max/Aerojet Max .  These seem to have a decent reputation here in the forum for Juniors.  I like that I can get it "off the shelf" with a junior shaft (and have a free upgrade)

Is there any appreciable difference between the LTDx Max, Aerojet Max, Darkstar for a junior?

Would going to a 41.25" length/weight be to much of a change?  Cobra offers 39.25", 41.25" and 43.25"  lengths.  I believe the 39" shaft is 46g and 60.5g for the longer shafts. 

 

When I put his numbers into the Ping ProdiG calculator it sizes him at at 38.75" driver.  (he's hit the Prodi G a few times, but doesn't seem to like it as much as his current driver)

 

2) I see the TSR1 recommended due to its weight, but not sure I want to mess with the shafts etc..  While I see a lot of younger kids w/  OEM drivers, they dont always look right to my untrained eye in terms of length/swing on the kids, and the last thing I want to do is start rocking the boat with his swing because of a poorly fit driver.

 

Thanks!

 

[MB19]

On 4/4/2024 at 1:46 PM, bk1 said:

Hi Folks,

 

My son is turning 9 at late April and I am looking to replace is US Kids 54 TS5 Driver.  Typically he's had good distance on his driver, hitting it ~ 150 yards (but has caught balls at 175yd).  At the start of the year he moved up into the 9-10 age bracket in our local PGA tour and most of the kids are playing with OEM Drivers and the distance is becoming more of a factor (both real and perceived).  Have a few options that I wanted to run past the brain trust..  Dad has very limited golf knowledge, especially with club fittings, shafts etc..

 

Current Stats:

Height: 56" in golf shoes

Floor to wrist: 27"

Current Driver Length: 37.5"

SS: No idea

 

1) Cobra LTDx Max/Aerojet Max .  These seem to have a decent reputation here in the forum for Juniors.  I like that I can get it "off the shelf" with a junior shaft (and have a free upgrade)

Is there any appreciable difference between the LTDx Max, Aerojet Max, Darkstar for a junior?

Would going to a 41.25" length/weight be to much of a change?  Cobra offers 39.25", 41.25" and 43.25"  lengths.  I believe the 39" shaft is 46g and 60.5g for the longer shafts. 

 

When I put his numbers into the Ping ProdiG calculator it sizes him at at 38.75" driver.  (he's hit the Prodi G a few times, but doesn't seem to like it as much as his current driver)

 

2) I see the TSR1 recommended due to its weight, but not sure I want to mess with the shafts etc..  While I see a lot of younger kids w/  OEM drivers, they dont always look right to my untrained eye in terms of length/swing on the kids, and the last thing I want to do is start rocking the boat with his swing because of a poorly fit driver.

 

Thanks!

 

The Cobra head is tried and true--but it is heavy.  The junior shaft they give you is heavy-ish and not great.  Both my kids have the F9 junior, and moving them to TS1/TSi1/TSR1 was a serious step up in playability.  Add the SFT versions of any of the recent Ping drivers to this list.  If you weigh the Cobra head vs the aforementioned Titleist or Ping heads you will see a noticeable difference.

 

At 15*, it's quite a bit of loft on that Prodi g driver.  I have found the Flynn fitting measurements (listed below) to be more accurate for my kids over the years than either Ping or USKG calcs.

 

Yes, getting a shaft and probably getting it cut down is a pain in the neck, but many of us have dealt with this for years.  Some get their shafts via Flynn, and that is another viable alternative.

 

For your son, consider staying as close to 40g (35-43g) as possible for a couple of years.  The Air Speeder 35 is a quality/cheap option, just make sure you check to see which variant you are getting.  The Bassara Lite and Grand Bassara shafts are worth checking, depending on how much money you are willing to spend.  Some of the older Ping ladies shafts are extremely light as well, and there's a spreadsheet somewhere online that give you all the measurements and specs of them.

 

Eventually, you'll want to get his swing speed nailed down to help you with shaft selection.

 

Best of luck!

[leezer99]

Rule of thumb is that your kid’s driver should go from the ground to their sternum when vertical. Lots of parents go longer to get an extra five yards at the cost of form. 

[ShortGolfer]

Club Champion built me a 41 inch Stealth driver with a senior flex shaft. 

[hangontight]

On 4/4/2024 at 1:46 PM, bk1 said:

Hi Folks,

 

My son is turning 9 at late April and I am looking to replace is US Kids 54 TS5 Driver.  Typically he's had good distance on his driver, hitting it ~ 150 yards (but has caught balls at 175yd).  At the start of the year he moved up into the 9-10 age bracket in our local PGA tour and most of the kids are playing with OEM Drivers and the distance is becoming more of a factor (both real and perceived).  Have a few options that I wanted to run past the brain trust..  Dad has very limited golf knowledge, especially with club fittings, shafts etc..

 

Current Stats:

Height: 56" in golf shoes

Floor to wrist: 27"

Current Driver Length: 37.5"

SS: No idea

 

1) Cobra LTDx Max/Aerojet Max .  These seem to have a decent reputation here in the forum for Juniors.  I like that I can get it "off the shelf" with a junior shaft (and have a free upgrade)

Is there any appreciable difference between the LTDx Max, Aerojet Max, Darkstar for a junior?

Would going to a 41.25" length/weight be to much of a change?  Cobra offers 39.25", 41.25" and 43.25"  lengths.  I believe the 39" shaft is 46g and 60.5g for the longer shafts. 

 

When I put his numbers into the Ping ProdiG calculator it sizes him at at 38.75" driver.  (he's hit the Prodi G a few times, but doesn't seem to like it as much as his current driver)

 

2) I see the TSR1 recommended due to its weight, but not sure I want to mess with the shafts etc..  While I see a lot of younger kids w/  OEM drivers, they dont always look right to my untrained eye in terms of length/swing on the kids, and the last thing I want to do is start rocking the boat with his swing because of a poorly fit driver.

 

Thanks!

 

You squarely in that fun/tiresome/expensive "Trial and error " window. You are at the right place, lots of people on here with relevant experience.  You've already figured out that advice from most "fitters" is not worth much at this stage...end of the day only thing to do is gather as much information as possible (like you are doing), borrow other kids clubs if possible,  and be OK with spending some money to try it out...sometimes it works, sometimes not, mostly it gets you on the right track.

 

Around that age my son (now 13)  played Callaway XR16 (12*) with recoil es 440 shaft (various flexes)...then moved onto Cobra F9 (10*)with recoil shaft, then fujikura vista pro shaft.  Tried flynn shafts...they were OK, but couldn't hold a candle to the recoil in my experience.    60.5 Gram shaft for sounds heavy....we He is now 13 and in a 55g stiff shaft with TSR2.