Golfsmith Europe Practical Fitting System Presented by Douglas Poole

Special Fitting Considerations for Junior Golfers

The future of golf for both the UK and Europe looks very much towards the development of junior golf. Whilst there is much excitement in this area of the game, we must understand that golf now competes with a whole host of new sporting opportunities. Therefore player satisfaction is a high priority when dealing with junior golfers, as they need to quickly get enjoyment from playing golf to feed their interest in the game. I have prepared the following to assist in targeting key areas that make a major difference to performance when custom fitting juniors and also a chart showing all options to the players size and age.

Considerations for Junior Fitting

Head Design
Low center of gravity designs with wider sole and good bounce angles work best in the iron heads, with a cavity back profile an essential. Woods should be a shallow face height style with square to closed face angle and a lighter head weight.

Loft
Weaker lofts work best with drivers never less than 13° loft. It is extremely important that the loft of the driver be higher rather than lower. Most juniors will have a difficult time in getting the ball airborne. Increasing the loft allows the player to be successful. Additionally the players swing fundamentals may be compromised if the loft is not adequate. With lower lofted drivers juniors have a tendency to “help it up” and keep the weight on the back foot.

Set Makeup
Try using more 5 and 7-woods, with no iron stronger than a 5-iron and with the pitching wedge being used in sand, as well as around the green. Set makeup by age - 5w & 7w, 5i, 7i, 9i, P for beginners or age 5-9 years and 3w, 5w, 5i, 7i, 9i, PW, SW for ages 10-13 years. You can be a little flexible on these specifications depending on the juniors ability.

Shaft Flex
For both Steel and Graphite shafts it is far better to error on the side of the shaft being too flexible rather than being too stiff. If the player has shafts that are heavy and without feel and performance their interest in the game will not be fostered and many will stop playing and may quit the game.

Economics
Parents may want to “Save a little money” by having you supply or build clubs that are longer than they fits their current size, so the child can “grow into the clubs”. If possible you should not do this, as clubs that do not fit the child could prevent the child from enjoying playing golf. A good piece of customer service is to offer to extend the clubs next year for only the cost of the materials. This allows the child to have clubs that fit not only now, but also in the future.

JUNIOR FITTING CHART FOR BOYS AND GIRLS -
Key Specifications for Shaft Length, Club Weight and Grip Size

NOTE: Any weight increase necessary to achieve the desired total weight should be added to the head.

Presented by Golfsmith Europe