Reviews of Fitters who fit juniors

[tiger1873]

There are lots of questions about fitters and It would be good to have a thread so people can fitters that actually will fit your kid.

 

Here are ones that I know of

Bo Hodnett - Plano Tx.    - This guy is amazing if you have a younger junior if you in the DFW area.  He fit a lot juniors that did well in the US Kids Worlds. I wish there more guys like this around.

 

Moon Golf - Palm Beach Gardens-   These guys do a pretty good job they also seem to understand kids pretty well.  I think they also have a van for outside you have to schedule at the time I used them they were only $50 for a full bag fitting and that was free if you brought something. Pretty good deal because they have lots of shafts and different clubs. 

[MahalNeneng]

MK Golf - San Antonio, TX 

https://www.mkgolftech.com/

Has been the only person son has been too. Countless juniors, college players and some pros find their way here. Great people. Can recommend highly enough. 

[Movingday]

Thoughts on the benefits of getting fit by your coach vs a more dedicated master fitter? Coach has knowledge of game and swing. Does this trump the fitting knowledge of a master fitter that spends most of their time fitting people. 

Edited February 17, 2023 by Movingday

[AC168]

Swing coach more important in big scheme of things, but fitters should be better at fitting.  That being said, I haven’t found a good fitter for my 8 year old so I basically created three combinations for irons, putter, and driver and chose the best of each.

[darter79]

On 2/25/2023 at 11:35 PM, AC168 said:

Swing coach more important in big scheme of things, but fitters should be better at fitting.  That being said, I haven’t found a good fitter for my 8 year old so I basically created three combinations for irons, putter, and driver and chose the best of each.

all due respect he is 8. Buy uskg/flynn/ping prodigy call it a day. USKG even has adjustable heads now. You are a few years away from needing a fitting closer to 3-4 really. The USKG drivers are SOOOOO much better than they were few years back. I'd stick with that. If you must go adult start with woods I'd look at tsr1/tsi1 since they are pretty light. 

 

 

[AC168]

My son is clearly outside norm for what these clubs were designed for.  We played with another boy the same age who is further away from the norm.  His Dad did a good job fitting him and he does have a fitter two hours from us.  Pretty sure the boy we played with would be 5–10 strokes worse if there was no fitter and no Dad figuring out what clubs he should be playing with.

[hangontight]

On 2/28/2023 at 2:04 PM, AC168 said:

My son is clearly outside norm for what these clubs were designed for.  We played with another boy the same age who is further away from the norm.  His Dad did a good job fitting him and he does have a fitter two hours from us.  Pretty sure the boy we played with would be 5–10 strokes worse if there was no fitter and no Dad figuring out what clubs he should be playing with.

Long, fun, (expensive) game of trial & error is the only answer I found for getting U11 "fit".   Study up enough to be dangerous, ask around what is working for other kids his age, ask to demo another kids club for a few swings at an event (not during competition, obv., be honest to go with what works best..  I've gained a ton of valuable info from this forum and DM's.   

 

In my experience Ive found that most very good fitters even wont have a good sense of how to properly fit these younger better kids.  They will give you the ol' fit by age method..." he is 8, get him this" ...or ...." it doesnt matter, he is 8"....refusing to recognize that the possibly an 8 year old who is far more into the game, plays way more often, and thus effected by having the right clubs than their core customer base of 40-60 year old 15 handicap choppers.   Can you imagine a fitter saying "You are 45?....ah, here, this is the right club for you".  They do that for kids all of the time. 

 

My son is 12.5, so I'll add my experience ...take it or leave it.  We started tinkering with OEM Driver and woods around age 8.  Once he  found the right head/shaft combo, it certainly was a clear advantage over USGK.  As for irons & wedges, we found the USKG TS steel shaft to be the best option until last year when he was fit for Titleist irons & wedges.   Could we of gained some incremental advantage by going to OEM irons sooner? - probably, but I dont think it would of been worth the time & expense.    It was for the Driver though...played a Callaway XR16 age 8 - 9, then Cobra F9 age 10 - Current (Titlist Driver fitting next week)

[AC168]

So true ... and sometimes, oversimplifying, the junior just falls in between what something was designed for. 

[Golfingdawg19]

On 2/28/2023 at 2:04 PM, AC168 said:

My son is clearly outside norm for what these clubs were designed for.  We played with another boy the same age who is further away from the norm.  His Dad did a good job fitting him and he does have a fitter two hours from us.  Pretty sure the boy we played with would be 5–10 strokes worse if there was no fitter and no Dad figuring out what clubs he should be playing with.

Until your kid gets about 5’3 or 5’4 fitters don’t carry clubs that will “fit them.” Shortest shaft they are going to have is a womens flex and those start at the height I listed above. So really all you can do is test things yourself. I bought my daughter regular OEM clubs at 11 and cut them down to US Kids/Ping specs. Biggest thing is to watch the weight of the club. I know you think your son is outside the norm for his age but there are kids winning the US Kids worlds with US Kids/Flynn/Prodigy clubs. If they are good enough for them, then they will work for your son. 

[Triple Lindy]

In the DFW area, check out Jeb Stuart. He’s a long-time, successful mini-tour pro and U.S. Open qualifier who is now a swing coach and has a number of world champion juniors as his students. He does fittings at 2nd Swing in The Colony. Great guy!

[AC168]

3 hours ago, Triple Lindy said:

In the DFW area, check out Jeb Stuart. He’s a long-time, successful mini-tour pro and U.S. Open qualifier who is now a swing coach and has a number of world champion juniors as his students. He does fittings at 2nd Swing in The Colony. Great guy!

Thank you!

[AC168]

4 hours ago, Golfingdawg19 said:

Until your kid gets about 5’3 or 5’4 fitters don’t carry clubs that will “fit them.” Shortest shaft they are going to have is a womens flex and those start at the height I listed above. So really all you can do is test things yourself. I bought my daughter regular OEM clubs at 11 and cut them down to US Kids/Ping specs. Biggest thing is to watch the weight of the club. I know you think your son is outside the norm for his age but there are kids winning the US Kids worlds with US Kids/Flynn/Prodigy clubs. If they are good enough for them, then they will work for your son. 

Thanks!  It was more about tipping and or trimming.  I eventually got to talk with a higher up at US Kids Golf who had the information I needed and was willing to give me details.  Was always going to be US Kids, Prodigy, and maybe OEM driver.

[Goldenhawk]

John Pak at Golfdom in Tysons, VA.  PGA teacher that specializes in junior clubs.  Roger Hatch at 1757 Studio.  One of the best in the area.

[Guest RobS]

41 minutes ago, Goldenhawk said:

John Pak at Golfdom in Tysons, VA.  PGA teacher that specializes in junior clubs.  Roger Hatch at 1757 Studio.  One of the best in the area.

Hatcher at 1757 is great.  He's also an excellent teacher and accomplished player which I think is an advantage in club fitting.  No nonsense approach which I appreciate.