How tall do you need to be for regular/adult clubs...?

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

My son is 12. He’s 160cm tall (about 5’3”) and growing fast.

He’s outgrown the Nike kids set that was supposed to last him until age 13.

I’ve been looking at sets like the Ping Thrive package which is supposedly suitable for 13/14yr olds, but Ping suggest 60-64”, so he might outgrow it before it arrives. He’s quite strong with quick hands (cricket player) and hits the ball quite well.

For similar money - around £500 - I could equip him with a great set of second-hand clubs. Perhaps purchasing irons and woods separately.

Is this a good idea? If it is, Should I look for senior- or ladies- flex shafts?

Thoughts / suggestions welcomed...

 

[Lord Tyrion]

My son went from junior clubs to ladies clubs and then on to adult clubs. It's not just about height, it is weight of shaft and head as well. Your son may be strong enough for adult clubs but you should check before rushing it. I suspect at 12 that ladies or seniors would be the smart next move.

 

[duncan mackie]

Ladies clubs but with regular ladies shafts rather than anything even softer. Anything that isnt pink (or green or purple). Loads on eBay pretty cheap.

Senior shafts are regular length - by the time he needs regular length you will be revisiting shaft weight and flex!

 

[jim8flog]

At that height its about lie angles and you are much more likely to get off the shelf clubs for juniors with the correct lie angle than adult clubs.

The other factors such as shaft flex will very much depend how fast he swings the club and I have seen a lot of youngsters that swing the club a lot faster than a lot of adults.

 

[Reemul]

My son is 12 and 5ft tall. He was using XJ Hot Juniors and they had become a tad short. We tried the ladies clubs with graphite shafts, free second hand set, we also tried ladies woods. In the end he said they felt too heavy and he preferred the lighter clubs he could really swing at and switched back to mkids the blue colour ones and is smashing them all over the place

He is growing so quick in the next 18 months he will be bigger and stronger and i'll get him some adult clubs if he wants them. I think mentally he wanted top brand pro clubs but once he realised what he plays best with he went with it. He shot a 93 (+22) at Bulbury Woods last week off a 27 handicap so his game is fine.

 

[GG26]

My son is 12. He’s 160cm tall (about 5’3”) and growing fast.

He’s outgrown the Nike kids set that was supposed to last him until age 13.

I’ve been looking at sets like the Ping Thrive package which is supposedly suitable for 13/14yr olds, but Ping suggest 60-64”, so he might outgrow it before it arrives. He’s quite strong with quick hands (cricket player) and hits the ball quite well.

For similar money - around £500 - I could equip him with a great set of second-hand clubs. Perhaps purchasing irons and woods separately.

Is this a good idea? If it is, Should I look for senior- or ladies- flex shafts?

Thoughts / suggestions welcomed...

My daughter played with a ladies set from age 12 and they were fine for her, she was a little over 5ft at the time.

On the other hand my son is now 12, but only 143cm. He has had a set for kids up to 145cm for the past three years and they are still fine for him. He is a long way short of needing full sized clubs.

At 5ft 3ins I would have thought that it would be worth your son having a try with a ladies set (more for weight rather than length of club).

I am 5ft 5ins and used standard length clubs until I got fitted last summer and now play Pings that are just 1/2 inch short.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I would have a chat with the pro where the OP son plays and ask for a professional opinion. He may even be able to see him hit a few and advise from there.

 

[clubchamp98]

A fitting will help it will show up any flaws in using clubs not suited for him.
Also the right clubs for him will help his progress.
It’s cost effective in the long run.
Like shoes they outgrow them quickly but the wrong clubs may make him struggle and lose interest in the game
That would be a shame as we need good youngsters in golf.
A good second hand set will help instead of kids clubs.
Just watch how many pros are down the shaft these days, just make sure the lies , flex fit him.

 

[Scozzy]

Lots of good advice above, for me it would be all about weight,I'm sure plenty of us have life long swing faults we could trace back to being handed a cut down adult club as a kid and heaving it about for too long