Tina Mickelson with her golf clubs
Jake Gregoire
Many golfers, especially juniors and women, have clubs that are way too heavy for them. Parents might cut down an old set of their clubs for their kids, not knowing that length is just one factor in the equation. Many women use their husbands’ old set thinking they are just fine. It’s important to pay attention to the weight, though. If the weight of the club is too heavy, especially the head of the club, a number of bad habits can develop in the golf swing.
Case in point: A few weeks ago I had a follow up lesson with one of my star junior students. I had just seen her a couple of months prior and her swing was impeccable. Imagine my surprise when I saw a completely different swing….and I’m not talking “good different.”
I whispered to her mom, “Um….what’s going on here? What evil golf demon has taken over my sweet little golfer?” Her mom whispered back, “I know, right? This is not the swing she had two months ago. Yikes! She grew out of her old clubs so we got her a new set. Her swing hasn’t been the same since.”
She went on to mention that golf is not as much fun for her daughter now and she is afraid she might start looking into other sports. That was my clue to act fast. If a junior loses interest in the game, there are so many other sports that can quickly take over their attention so the key is to never let them lose interest in the first place. The first thing I did was check her clubs. WHOA! These suckers are dead weight! No WONDER she’s having trouble! And to my surprise, they were actually JUNIOR clubs! Bummer.
U.S. Kids Golf clubs are really the way to go, especially for junior girls. They are light, reasonably priced, and it’s easy to measure correct length which pretty much guarantees the perfect club for your junior golfer.
My little golfer had her set of clubs within the week and is now excited about the game again. Her sweet mother sent me a number of videos of her swing while they played their latest round of golf, and I think I watched each one of them at least 3 times just to see the joy in her perfect little face each time she hit a good shot. THIS is what the game is about……spending time with loved ones out on the golf course and having fun. The first step, however, is making sure your golf clubs are right for you!
