Every parent wants to see their kids reach their golfing potential, but distance has become a harmful holy grail. As extra carry is chased, junior golfers are handed drivers that are too long for them. But this longer club causes faults that kids will carry throughout their golfing life, and worse still, it could damage them physically.
This disruption to development could be avoided if they had correctly fitted clubs. I often hear, “It’s ok, she can handle it, she’s strong.” The damage could already be done.
Spotting golfers who have clubs that are too heavy or long is easy. Here are the problems caused, and you may well recognise these traits and be able to act before it’s too late…
Taking It Away On The Inside
If the club is swinging the child more than the child is swinging the club, it’s not right for them. An inside takeaway develops as the player can’t physically lift the club up onto the correct plane. It stays low and behind the body.
This is one of my engrained faults, I jumped straight into women’s clubs too soon. Let’s face it, we didn’t have lightweight junior clubs back in the early 90s. I was a girl so I used ladies clubs. There will be plenty of boys who learnt with heavy sawn down men’s clubs that suffer the same issues.
Overswinging
Swinging a heavy club way past parallel is common and often kids don’t have the strength to redirect the club. Starting the downswing is a struggle! The speed at which a golfer can shorten their swing just by lightening their clubs is astounding.
Casting And Over The Top
Having fought hard to reroute the takeaway and get the club back on track from the top, a young golfer will have to throw the club from the top (casting) and will lose power. An out-to-in swing path is grooved, causing slices.
Scooping
Scooping at impact and flipping the club in an effort to generate speed. At this point there is a lot of catching up and compensation going on.
Former World No.2 Paula Creamer moves with effort to get through impact and she attributes this to having learnt with clubs that were not fit for her. I’d love to know what Natalie Gulbis used growing up, as she’s another player that moves and dips through the ball.
Chunky Monkey
I see kids on the range all the time with clubs they’ve borrowed or hand-me-downs. The sound shots make is more of a clobbering of the ball. The clubhead bounces off the mat before the ball. They struggle to make clean contact so a parent tees the ball up on a sky high tee.
All this does is mask the issue. If the club is too long, the heel will sit on the ground and the toe in the air at address, leading to hooks and the ball coming out of the heel. Not very rewarding for any young golfer.
Swaying
If a child is needing to manufacture momentum, they’ll develop a big sway to try and build up some power. The swing is reliant on timing. Incorrect kit can see kids give up as nobody wants to continuously fail. Plus it’s exhausting! Lightweight clubs will feel easier and they’ll notice the difference immediately.
Ouch!
The greatest worry with children using incorrect clubs is the damage they could be doing to their growing bodies. An inconsistent long game is manageable if you have a sharp short game, but a strained back at an early age can limit the strength a child carries into adulthood. Wrist, hand and neck injuries can reoccur and spring up throughout a golfer’s life.
A longer driver may be tempting because they’ll hit it further, but at what cost. This is one of the biggest mistakes parents make when they get their kids into golf.
How To Get It Right
Brands like USKIDS Golf offer super lightweight and colour coded clubs to ensure the correct length is purchased. Thinking about kids growing into lengthy clubs is not suggested for all the reasons stated above.
Pro shops that stock USKIDS Golf range will have a fitting stick and the colours relate to the height of your child, so purple for example will fit a child who is between 54”-57”. Giving a realistic band within which your child can grow before having to upgrade.
All the golf bags have double straps and combined with using the correct length clubs, this will really make sure your child’s back remains healthy as they and their golf game grows.
Consider a club exchange programme such as Kondor Kids. As your child grows their set is replaced with the next size up and all for a monthly subscription fee. This makes so much sense and is a phenomenally sustainable option.
If you’ve read this and are now gently panicking, don’t. Speak to your professional who can advise, jump on this link and learn more.
Get this right and you’ll be truly giving your kids the game of a lifetime. Get it wrong when trying to fasttrack their progress and you could damage them in more ways than one.
