Does My Son Need to Get Fitted?

[Golfingdad]

Hey all, long time, no talk!  I know this may seem like a silly question, but I am genuinely curious.  A little backstory; part of the reason I've been away for awhile is I just haven't played a lot of golf - been busy with other (mostly kid and baseball related) interests.  Lucky for me, the boys are starting to get into golf so I'm getting to play more again.

My oldest is now 16 and earlier this last summer he has become kind of obsessed with the game.  We got him a membership to the local driving range / par 3 course so he plays or practices 2-4 times a week.  He has not had any lessons or anything yet, so he's kind of teaching himself.  He is using the clubs his grandpa bought him last year - just a standard men's size beginner set from PGA Superstore.  The reason I'm asking this question is because of his size - he is 6-3 with long legs - and so I am wondering; is he going to set himself up with bad habits based on ill-fitting clubs, or is this something I needn't stress about at this stage?  Here is a pic of him at address and seeing this is what made me wonder:

What do you all think?  I'm hoping the answer is, "you're silly, he's fine" because I'm not ready to buy him more clubs yet.  Thanks all, and good to be back!!

[GolfLug]

I don't know enough to answer your query but just wanted to say welcome back friend!! Hope all is well..  . I'm kinda jealous because my 16-year old has lost all interest in golf.

 

[Golfingdad]

25 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

I don't know enough to answer your query but just wanted to say welcome back friend!! Hope all is well..  . I'm kinda jealous because my 16-year old has lost all interest in golf.

 

Yeah it all kind of came out of nowhere.  He was very casually interested - enough that he has clubs and will go with me and one of the grandpas on occasion when we ask, but it was never something he sought out.  Then at some point this last spring or early summer or so, a few of his friends showed interest in it.  Not coincidentally, that is also as they got their driver's licenses.  So they will go together once/twice a week these days.  Now if I ask him if he wants to golf, it's always an enthusiastic yes.

Extra bonus - little bro likes it now too!

[iacas]

Yes. 🙂 

1 hour ago, Golfingdad said:

That club is ridiculously short for him.

[Golfingdad]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

Yes. 🙂 

That club is ridiculously short for him.

Well, shoot!  But kinda what I feared.  He'll be thrilled to hear that though haha.

Thanks!

[boogielicious]

Go get him fitted by someone good. It will really help in the long run. And welcome back!

[Shindig]

I also don't know enough to answer your question (but fortunately, it has been answered by someone who knows these things).  I just wanted to add another "welcome back" message. 

[xrayvizhen]

If he's 6'3, he most probably needs some extra length on his clubs and the picture you have clearly shows that. But...If he's 16, he's probably going to grow an extra couple of inches in the next year or two. On the one hand, you might not want to spend the money on clubs you're going to have to replace so quickly. On the other hand, you don't want to stifle his potential by making him contort his body trying to play with clubs that are clearly too short for him now.

What I would do: Have extensions added to the grip end of the current set of clubs and if he sticks with the game, once he stops growing, you can splurge on a new set custom fitted to his swing. If he's really talented and maybe wants to play on his high school team, buy the new set now and add the extensions later. If he's really, really good and wants to play college golf, then that's a whole new ball game and a new set, complete with stiff or x-stiff shafts will be needed.

Edited November 5 by xrayvizhen