14 year old brother has shown an interest in golf.

[EquipmentJunkie]

Hello all,

For Turkey day I went out to the families home in the OC, and of course went to the driving range every morning (Saddleback college). My 14 year old brother decided to tag along. I honestly was surprised he showed any interest as he pretty much a pro-am tennis player, and that consumes most of his sports life. For a first timer he has an impressive swing and while I only had him hitting 7-PW, he became relatively consistent over 4 days (more so than I was). Here's the deal he wants a set but I'm not sure where to start, like me as a freshman he was 5'2....but also like me he seems to be growing - which means like most males in my family, he'll be 6'0-6'4 whit in 12-18 months. (My freshman to soph. year was painful grew 12"). So there lies the issues, if I get him fitted I know he will outgrow the set pretty quickly. I'm thinking about a standard length and having him choke down on them? What direction would you guys point me/him in?

[tim31x]

set him up with a set of standard length clubs, having him choke down on clubs right now won't be a huge issue as he probably wont be too worried with the equipment at first. they will last him a while too, im 6'4" almost 6'5" and i still use standards because they feel better to me.

[Shindig]

Saddleback as his first range? He's going to be disappointed by just about any other range he goes to now!

I suspect that gripping down may be the right solution. I guess show him AK's swing pictures?

[EquipmentJunkie]

Saddleback as his first range? He's going to be disappointed by just about any other range he goes to now!

Yeah luckily he live about 2 miles away

I suspect that gripping down may be the right solution. I guess show him AK's swing pictures?

AK was exactly who I had in mind.

[Jay-Bird]

I would get a set of Pings that are easy to hit and forgiving, but not completely unworkable. Like Eye 2, Zing or ISI. The reason being - is that you can bend the lie angles as he grows. Get a set of black dots, bend them down to orange or brown, then up to red, black and blue or beyond if necessary.

[miller72]

well right now, im 14 as well. I am about 5'8" or so, and the pro at my cc is also. He has contracts with just about every major company, so he has a steady flow of new clubs. He sold me his old mizunos for about 350 or so. He also sold me his old driver for 150. I would definitely buy used, as it is a good way to save money. You should also probably go to steel, so you can bend them as he gets taller. Thats what my family did for me (until i got these new ones for an amazing price). We will probably have my mizunos bent as i get older because they are amazing clubs and i love em. He should fit steel because if he is a tennis player he will have a pretty fast swing. I would go with maybe something in between "max game improvement" and "blades" so he gets forgiveness and workability. I had Armour 845's for like 4 years, and they were perfect for me, until i had just worn them out. (100 rounds a year, plus practice)
hope i was of assistance since i was kind of faced with the same situation.
-Chris M.

[KingCobra]

cool im a 5 min drive from the good old saddleback range

[brettwasbtd]

This may be a good situation for clones. I have ordered myself a set of irons, putter and wedges for christmas. Pinemeadow golf offers this set http://www.pinemeadowgolf.com/golf-c...ersize+cascade which is on clearence right now. But its only $70 for Driver, 3 and 5 wood and 3-PW. This is real inexpensive and will give your brother a good idea if golf is something he wants to do/has time for.

[Stacey_E]

I'm thinking like the other guys that said a standard length with a choke down grip would work well. I personally would look for a set that had the 5 iron stock length at 37 3/4" and not 38". I'm 5'9" and can tell you that, believe it or not, that 1/4" makes a huge difference for me! You could even start with the lie flattened by a few degrees. Then as he grows, gradually bring the lie up. Also when he is ready for a regripping you could possibly add 1/2" extensions. That should get him through a few more months.

I've always heard that 1/2" extensions would add about 3 swing weight points to the club. If he is starting with some kind of GI club (and used clubs would be a great idea)they will probably be in the D0 range anyway - maybe with a 90-105 gram shaft. So then he is up to about D3 with extensions. After that point, playing a year or so, he would probably be ready for a fitting for irons of his choice. I'd imagine at that point he will have his eye on something specific.

Good luck and good mentoring!