Coirrect Club Fitting for Young Golfers

STARTING PREMISES Properly fit clubs are most important for young golfers Not yet invested in the game Need to make hitting “quality shots” easy Typically, improperly fit clubs for youth are too long, too heavy, and too stiff Results in low and left Lack of enjoyment Loss of golfer…potentially for life!

SPECIFIC CHALLENGES—SIZE OF PLAYER Growth from 5 to 14 Both 12 Years old

CHALLENGES IN “JUNIOR” CLUBS Unlike adults, kids are growing No industry standards have existed Adult OEM manufacturers only vary shaft lengths. Not: Club weight Shaft flex Grip size Loft Junior Clubs – How short? How Light? How Flexible?

CHALLENGES IN FITTING “JUNIOR” CLUBS Limited information available for parents and instructors Parents want to purchase clubs for kids to “grow into” Golf professionals are challenged to leverage their “expert” status Junior Clubs – How short? How Light? How Flexible? “Kids should grow out of their clubs and not into them”

FACTS REGARDING CHILDREN’S GROWTH From age 2 to 11, children grow approximately 2.5 – 3 inches per year Boys and girls in the 50th percentile are nearly the same height and weight thru age 11 The difference in height between a youngster in the 5th and 95th percentile at any age is from 7-9 inches JG Use “live” examples? Explain what happens when girls hit 11/12 and puberty HANDOUT: BOYS & GIRLS GROWTH CHARTS—in booklet

DRIVER LENGTH TO HEIGHT PGA TOUR—Top 30 Players 61 % Driver length 45”/73.8” average player height LPGA TOUR—Top 30 Players 68% Driver length 45”/66.0” average player height *Driver length sources: Callaway Golf, Mizuno JG This ratio is important in order to maintain a balance of length between woods and irons. i.e.- if your driver is 75% of your height, the ball is proportionally further away from you than your irons. At some point in the process this must change, why wait during the developmental years? JG- Explain why this knowledge is important for coaches. If the percentage is way off ( on the high side)- quite possible the driver does not fit properly. Too long or too heavy resulting in slow hand speed.

EQUIPMENT CLUB FITTING FORMULA Same formula (% of driver length to player height) must apply to young golfers for their success Remember: “The 2/3 Solution” Player Height X 66.7% or 2/3=Maximum Driver Length* Each three inches a player grows requires an additional two inches in driver length to maintain proper ratio JG Focus on 2/3 and to keep clubs at that proportion for every 3 inches golfer grows it requires a 2 inch longer driver.

U.S. KIDS GOLF ULTRALIGHT BRAND COMPARISON JB HANDOUT: YARDAGE DISTANCE FOR EACH CLUB—this in booklet now, isn’t it? The driver carry distance represents 100% of that players carry distance, the 3-wood carry distance represents 90% of the driver carry distance and each subsequent club is 5% less as the chart below indicates. Now that you know how far a player hits the ball you can begin to design a golf course that will allow them to reach greens in regulation. JG- This chart also helps kids and parents understand the baseline of each players distance models. Now, as a coach, you can give specific benchmarks for any player of any skill.

IMPORTANCE OF PROPER FITTING Clubs should not be something to overcome as kids learn Benefits from clubs that offer a progressive fitting: Set up Position Swing Plane Hand Speed Power Balance Kids need to learn to have fast hands combined with body balance. The sooner the better. Parents POV when kids don’t improve…music teach analogy.

THREE IMPORTANT CLUB DESIGN CRITERIA Junior club systems should start with lighter head weights and increase head weights as the clubs get longer Shaft frequencies should remain consistent through junior sets onto adult clubs If the frequency of the clubs stays consistent throughout the different sizes and the club head weights and total club weights increase as the clubs get longer a player will feel the least amount of difference from size to size JG Really good

WHY CLUB LENGTH AND WEIGHT MATTER FOR KIDS Helps optimize potential Improves Trajectory Over time assists in developing “tour-like tempo” and timing Creates swing signature that becomes ingrained JG Use swing plane analogy with ball on the string….. Tour like tempo has fast hands in the right place… Proper club head weight enhances rotational ability and overall body balance

THE SEARCH FOR DISTANCE Givens: Everyone wants to hit the ball farther. Maximizing club head speed helps maximize distance. Some kids hit the ball much farther than others, even advanced players, at a young age. Parents seek to “narrow the gap” by having their kids play longer and heavier clubs. JG DO we need intro slide for this section on developing speed? INTRODUCE LIGHT SPEED TRAINERS Faster you swing the farther you hit the ball Tell Momentus analogy, Greg with VJ. Heavy weights don’t help speed development. Sometimes, players with slower speeds have to be coached into quicker tempo and overall speed. They are sometimes captive of their own understanding of speed.

THE SEARCH FOR DISTANCE Buying (short-term thinking) Building (long-term results) Life-long swing development Kids grow, gain strength and distance at differing rates Developing swing speed vs. club head speed is most important Scoring takes place near the green, not off the tee Immediate gratification Gaining club head speed but hindering swing speed Slows tempo and impairs swing development Postponing basic fundamentals that will need to be re-learned later in life JG DO we need intro slide for this section on developing speed? INTRODUCE LIGHT SPEED TRAINERS Faster you swing the farther you hit the ball Tell Momentus analogy, Greg with VJ. Heavy weights don’t help speed development. Sometimes, players with slower speeds have to be coached into quicker tempo and overall speed. They are sometimes captive of their own understanding of speed. Overall Goal=Maximize potential for their age, size and abilities

DEVELOPING SWING SPEED Light Speed Training clubs help develop hand speed at an early age Weight is not a speed generator “See the inside move the outside” Sometimes, players with slower speeds have to be coached into quicker tempo and overall speed. They are sometimes captive of their own understanding of speed.

BOYS GIRLS SWING SPEED DEVELOPMENT GOALS 42” 5 50 45 45” 6 55 48” 7 60 APPROXIMATE AGE TARGET SWING SPEED--MPH TARGET SWING SPEED--MPH HEIGHT 42” 5 50 45 45” 6 55 48” 7 60 51” 8 65 54” 9 70 57” 10 75 60” 11 80 63” 12 85 JG TrackMan data from USKG World Championships—2008-2012, Speed in MPH

ELITE SWING SPEED RANGES (MPH) BY AGE - 5 - 6 7 47.2 78.2 8 51.8 83.2 9 53.1 86.4 10 59.0 90.5 11 62.5 97.9 12 67.4 104.7 LOWEST SWING SPEED HIGHEST SWING SPEED 31.0 31.4 35.4 31.5 33.3 37.3 DIFFERENCE APPROXIMATE HEIGHT AGE 42” 45” 48” 51” 54” 57” JG Explain why 42 and 45 are not shown—sample size 60” 63” TrackMan data collected from USKG World Championships from 2008 to 2012 Solutions: Club Fitting

CLUB WEIGHT STANDARDS For players under 48 inches tall , clubs should be 20-30% lighter than adult clubs For players 51 to 63 inches tall, clubs should increase in weight from 20% lighter to 5% lighter than adult clubs depending on their swing speed

CLUB WEIGHT INFORMATION No Driver in size No Hybrid in size No 9-iron in size No 7-iron in size JG What is the key message/focus of this series of slides? Need to determine and focus on it. Example of how club weight must be lowered so that the flexible shaft can continue to give an appropriate frequency. If Club head never changes (Ping Junior Clubs), then shaft cannot continue to be flexible enough or it’s frequency will become way to low Junior competitors use the same club head and same shaft for every size set. Then they just cut down the shafts to fit each club. This causes many relative swing weight problems as well as frequency problems Shorter club length allows someone to increase hand speed and the ability to release the club Overall length matters a lot Weight of head matters Weight of grip matters

CLUB WEIGHT INFORMATION JG Example of how club weight must be lowered so that the flexible shaft can continue to give an appropriate frequency. If Club head never changes (Ping Junior Clubs), then shaft cannot continue to be flexible enough or it’s frequency will become way to low Junior competitors use the same club head and same shaft for every size set. Then they just cut down the shafts to fit each club. This causes many relative swing weight problems as well as frequency problems Shorter club length allows someone to increase hand speed and the ability to release the club Overall length matters a lot Weight of head matters Weight of grip matters

SHAFT FREQUENCY INFORMATION CHALENGES SHAFT FREQUENCY INFORMATION No Driver in size No Hybrid in size No 9-iron in size No 7-iron in size JG Example of how club weight must be lowered so that the flexible shaft can continue to give an appropriate frequency. If Club head never changes (Ping Junior Clubs), then shaft cannot continue to be flexible enough or it’s frequency will become way to low Junior competitors use the same club head and same shaft for every size set. Then they just cut down the shafts to fit each club. This causes many relative swing weight problems as well as frequency problems Shorter club length allows someone to increase hand speed and the ability to release the club Overall length matters a lot Weight of head matters Weight of grip matters

CLUB FREQUENCY INFORMATION Example of how club weight must be lowered so that the flexible shaft can continue to give an appropriate frequency. If Club head never changes (Ping Junior Clubs), then shaft cannot continue to be flexible enough or it’s frequency will become way to low Junior competitors use the same club head and same shaft for every size set. Then they just cut down the shafts to fit each club. This causes many relative swing weight problems as well as frequency problems Shorter club length allows someone to increase hand speed and the ability to release the club Overall length matters a lot Weight of head matters Weight of grip matters

Now it’s your turn! Thanks Harvey Pennick goodbye