Golf clubs for school

[BobbyJones]

My son is joining the golf team at his school, should i buy him his own clubs or could the school have their own for him to use?

[boogielicious]

8 hours ago, BobbyJones said:

My son is joining the golf team at his school, should i buy him his own clubs or could the school have their own for him to use?

I would like he would need his own clubs. The HS in my town does not supply clubs.

[iacas]

If he doesn't have his own clubs already… how is he good enough to play for the team?

[CarlSpackler]

The school we were in before we moved had sets of clubs that kids could use. They weren't great, but they did have them.

19 minutes ago, iacas said:

If he doesn't have his own clubs already… how is he good enough to play for the team?

I know if they Dayton area, many of the kids on the golf teams could barely hit the ball. A few kids could play, but most were just beginning.

[mcanadiens]

25 minutes ago, CarlSpackler said:

The school we were in before we moved had sets of clubs that kids could use. They weren't great, but they did have them.

I know if they Dayton area, many of the kids on the golf teams could barely hit the ball. A few kids could play, but most were just beginning.

Yeah. If you look at some of the scores in the paper, some of those guys are worse than I am.

If I'd only discovered golf earlier in the life, I could have been a frigging varsity athlete although it would have necessitated a move out of Beavercreek.

[Liko81]

On 8/25/2016 at 10:37 PM, BobbyJones said:

My son is joining the golf team at his school, should i buy him his own clubs or could the school have their own for him to use?

I would say that even if the team has their own clubs, if he's good enough to join it, he's good enough for his own sticks. Clubs bought specifically for your son can be chosen based on his strengths and weaknesses, and fitted to his exact measurements and swing style. They'll also be newer than what a public school team will likely own; the amount of technology gain inherent in that gap depends on just how old they are and what handicap they're intended for. Lastly, they'll be his clubs; what he does to them and the resulting condition of those clubs is on him, not the result of ten or twelve other kids playing that set.

It will be tricky, though, if he's still in the midst of his growth spurt or has yet to start. It's very important for a new golfer learning to make good contact and a straight launch to have clubs properly fitted to their height, arm length and natural swing characteristics, and it stays important to maintain all these things over time, so he doesn't develop bad habits to compensate for the club "getting shorter" every year. So, these clubs will need to grow with your son.

Adjustment costs will add up; GS charges $9 (plus a new grip) for a length change and $5 for a lie angle change, per club, so multiply that by 14 clubs (though woods other than adjustable drivers aren't often adjusted for lie IME) and with sales tax you can expect to spend over $200, plus 14 new grips at anywhere from $4 to $8 apiece, each time you get the full set refit. How often that has to happen depends on how fast your son shoots up; you might get away with one adjustment between school years if he sprouts 6" in a summer like I did, or you might have to shell out for at least the length extensions every year if he's like my brother and grew from a diminutive 4'9 up to 6'3 over four years of high school.

[TN94z]

1 hour ago, Liko81 said:

I would say that even if the team has their own clubs, if he's good enough to join it, he's good enough for his own sticks. Clubs bought specifically for your son can be chosen based on his strengths and weaknesses, and fitted to his exact measurements and swing style. They'll also be newer than what a public school team will likely own; the amount of technology gain inherent in that gap depends on just how old they are and what handicap they're intended for. Lastly, they'll be his clubs; what he does to them and the resulting condition of those clubs is on him, not the result of ten or twelve other kids playing that set.

It will be tricky, though, if he's still in the midst of his growth spurt or has yet to start. It's very important for a new golfer learning to make good contact and a straight launch to have clubs properly fitted to their height, arm length and natural swing characteristics, and it stays important to maintain all these things over time, so he doesn't develop bad habits to compensate for the club "getting shorter" every year. So, these clubs will need to grow with your son.

Adjustment costs will add up; GS charges $9 (plus a new grip) for a length change and $5 for a lie angle change, per club, so multiply that by 14 clubs (though woods other than adjustable drivers aren't often adjusted for lie IME) and with sales tax you can expect to spend over $200, plus 14 new grips at anywhere from $4 to $8 apiece, each time you get the full set refit. How often that has to happen depends on how fast your son shoots up; you might get away with one adjustment between school years if he sprouts 6" in a summer like I did, or you might have to shell out for at least the length extensions every year if he's like my brother and grew from a diminutive 4'9 up to 6'3 over four years of high school.

I agree here and that's what I did for mine. I took him to get fitted and will adjust as needed.

To the OP...In my opinion though, spending the adjustment costs once a year is not that pricey considering how much everything else costs. If it keeps him in a nice set of newer technology, fitted clubs then the expense is well worth it. If your kid takes it serious that is. I know some kids on our golf team play other sports and could care less about golf being a priority.

[Buckeyebowman]

Yes, it would be nice if your Son could have his own clubs, but it's up to you to know how seriously he takes the game. Went to a prominent local course yesterday, and the scores for the latest High School Invitational were still up on the scoreboard. One kid shot a 67 (applause!), but there were quite a few players who shot well into the 100's!

I'd check with the HS golf coach to see if there are clubs available, and have a sit down with my Son to see what he really wanted. No doubt he'll do better with clubs that fit him, but if he doesn't care all that much about the game, you may have to reconsider.

[Rach978]

I agree Buckeyebowman. It all comes down if your son is serious about golf or if it could be just another fad. If you (or him) aren't sure yet, it may be a good idea to borrow the clubs for the time being.