What would you do?

3,273 Views | 22 Replies | Last: 8 yr ago by DannyDuberstein
Willis
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AG
I spend three or four days a week in the backyard hitting balls for practice and my 2 1/2 year old daughter is always wanting to "play golf" with me. I was thinking of getting a club she could swing. Should I get an old PW or 9 iron and saw it down to a good length for her or look for a junior iron to shorten? My only thinking is a full size iron may be too heavy for her to swing. Any other suggestions for a good club for a toddler? Thanks.
proudaggie02
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AG
Think I got a kid's iron + putter for $20-25 at Golfsmith, and they cut the iron down to fit her.
CapCity12thMan
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AG
I have heard and read on multiple occasions that sawing down an adult club for kids is a bad idea, due to exactly what you stated....the weight distribution would be so off.

I went to a second hand sports store and got my kid a Snoopy 3-wood for $5. He loves it. It looks beat up as all get out, but it is perfect and I didn't spend much at all for it.
Willis
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AG
I figured an adult club would be too big even cut down. I'll start looking for a junior club somewhere. Thanks.
jackie childs
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did you check US Kids?
Tony Franklins Other Shoe
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AG
I cut a couple down a long time ago before these kid starter sets were even a thought. Don't do it (cut them down), I had to add a lot of extra tape so the grip would fit halfway decent and the clubs were heavy for the kids. As said before, plenty of cheap options for something built for the tykes now.
proudaggie02
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AG
Although you could cut down an old driver to make a weighted club trainer.... I think "Power Hitter" is the one sold at golf stores. It's important to work on *increasing clubhead speed at an early age.

*I'm just kidding; golf should be about having fun for kids.
03_Aggie
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quote:
did you check US Kids?

This is what I did. They aren't cheap as I think I gave $80 for a set with a wood, iron, putter and bag.

I got them around the time he turned two as he was constantly swinging the plastic clubs and I figured there couldn't be any harm in giving him the option to swing a real one. I figured it would also keep him from trying to swing mine.
jj9000
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AG
OP...There's some really good information at http://www.uskidsgolf.com

Also, for those of you who are looking at how to get their little ones interested in the game, download the PDF booklet(s) in the link below.

There's some good stuff in here:

http://www.uskidsgolf.com/play-and-learn/learning-game/learning-program
ORAggieFan
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Daughter is 4.5 and son is 3. Trying to figure out best way to get them involved. Neighbor gave some clubs, but think too big as my daughter can't really swing it. Thinking I'll splurge on some of the US Kids and go from there.

I hit balls every day in yard, have a net and mat, so they always want to join me.
Ezra Brooks
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AG
Go to Academy - I found a kid's putter, iron & driver for $5 each.
aggiebrother33
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US Kids. Adult clubs cut down are still extremely heavy, and most other kid brands are too heavy as well. Plus, if it breaks they will replace it. One thing I forgot to add is they have a great version with a grip to start that the correct way.
Cooter00
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US Kids - pretty sure that was the brand they carried at PGA Superstore.
They have a different set for every 3 inches of kids height. You can buy clubs individually though instead of a full set (full set is only 3-4 clubs). Wouldn't worry about a full set for a 2 1/2 yo. Just get the 7i.
Pahdz
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I bought my 4.5 year old daughter a full US Kids Golf set with bag and the grip trainer 9i as well. Very pleased and she loves them.
Maroonedinaustin
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AG
quote:
Go to Academy - I found a kid's putter, iron & driver for $5 each.
This.
Willis
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AG
Got a 39" (supposedly for 3-5 year olds) 7i and 4 hybrid from US Kids. If she shows real interest in it I'll get the 9i with grip trainer down the road.
ORAggieFan
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Is that a club for a 39" kid, or the length of the club?
Willis
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AG
39" player height. Supposed to fit players 37.5" to 40.5" I think.
ORAggieFan
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Can you let me know the length when you get them? Thinking of getting the ones for the 42" kid, but want to compare to a few clubs I already have I think are too big.
Willis
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AG
Got them Friday afternoon. The clubs according to US Kids are for 3-5 year olds. My daughter is just past 2 1/2. That being said, I was really surprised how heavy the 4 hybrid was. It felt almost as heavy as one of my wedges. Other than that, both clubs fit her great. She did have to choke down on them being she is only 2 1/2. Over all very happy considering I paid just over $40 with shipping. Both clubs were "used." The 7 iron looked brand new and the 4 hybrid looked great and only had one small nick on the sole.

Right now she mostly has a putting or at best chipping stroke. I am trying to teach her grip but after one swing she reverts to a baseball grip. My question for those in the know and better golfers than me (which is everyone), is it ok for her to use a baseball grip for a few years to learn the swing and then learn proper grip? Or once she gets a full swing going should I get a club with a grip trainer for her to learn with? Thanks.
agsalaska
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AG
To answer your question, I woldnt worry about it now. My son is three and he likes to go to the indoor range and whenever at Academy he has to go putt for ten minutes. He even plays from time to time at this par 3 course in Lewisville. My neighbor must have 40 golf balls in his back yard.

That all being said I dont really mess with him at all unless he is just completely missing. Sometimes I have to help him kind of reset his feet and his distance from the ball. But that it. Everything else is a great experiment to him from how to hold the club to how far back to take it to doing 360s, etc. But he can knock the crap out of the ball.

I probably wont mess with it beyond that until he is in the 5-7 range. Right now I want him to want to play. I do encourage him to finish the hole when we are at the par 3 and to be aware of his surroundings. But thats about it.
Willis
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AG
I agree completely. First, not a good enough golfer to teach her anything. Second, I want her to play freely for awhile too. I'm just excited she's out there with me.
Pahdz
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With my four year old daughter, I only help her with a few things:

- make sure her hands are oriented correctly (LH on top, she's righty)
- distance from the ball
- feet placement

Everything else I just let her go at it. She wants to stand too close sometimes which results in her hitting the ground before the ball.
DannyDuberstein
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AG
To Pahdz point, all I ever did when my kids were first starting was help them figure out where to stand and that they had both hands on the club, right below left.

As far as the baseball grip goes, at that age in particular, using all 10 fingers can simply help them maintain control of the club better than an overlap or interlocking grip can because their hands are so weak. Children, seniors, and women can all potentially see more benefit than problems from it.

And fwiw, there have been PGA and LPGA players that use a 10 finger grip (and still do). That grip will not preclude someone from being a very good golfer. Beth Daniel, LPGA Hall of Famer, used a 10 finger grip. Harvey Penick advocated it for certain folks in one of his books, and Jimmy Demaret always said he would have switched to it if he had to start all over again. It's fairly rare at the elite professional level, but it is not anywhere near the top of the list of things I'd worry about at this point.
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