Ping Prodi G Versus US Kids

[mbh922]

Hi, would greatly appreciate any feedback.  Son has played US Kids is due for a new set and thinking of transitioning to Ping Prodi G.   

- Anyone with experience with both think one brand is better than the other

- Maybe someone has made a similar switch

- Is one easier to hit than the other (Son hits US Kids well)

 

I see the Pings are more expensive.  Not sure because it's a superior product or shaft upgrade.  Really appreciate the feedback.  thanks

[Feelingofgreatness]

It depends how strong your son is.

My daughter was hitting the US kids ULs pretty good. Recently, I transitioned her to a Cobra junior set that is similar in weight to the Prodi G and she's struggling. She was a little too tall for her old UL US kids set and I didn't want to invest in another UL set because I knew it would only be good for a very short period of time. Prodi G are pricey, you can also check out Cobra's junior clubs and Cleveland's sets.  One benefit of the Prodi G is you get a few size-up, but I find it easy to sell junior sets on kijiji and get about half your investment back anyway.

[wildcatden]

1 hour ago, mbh922 said:

Hi, would greatly appreciate any feedback.  Son has played US Kids is due for a new set and thinking of transitioning to Ping Prodi G.   

- Anyone with experience with both think one brand is better than the other

- Maybe someone has made a similar switch

- Is one easier to hit than the other (Son hits US Kids well)

 

I see the Pings are more expensive.  Not sure because it's a superior product or shaft upgrade.  Really appreciate the feedback.  thanks

 

Age, Height, Driver swing speed?   In no particular order, the consensus on this forum is USKG, Flynn or Ping Prodi-G clubs.  I'd stay on the USKG Clubs and go to the Tour Series if 51" or taller. Wait until they are 60"-63" tall with a driver swing speed near 85MPH before heading to adult irons. Just my opinion.

 

[Movingday]

1 hour ago, wildcatden said:

 

Age, Height, Driver swing speed?   In no particular order, the consensus on this forum is USKG, Flynn or Ping Prodi-G clubs.  I'd stay on the USKG Clubs and go to the Tour Series if 51" or taller. Wait until they are 60"-63" tall with a driver swing speed near 85MPH before heading to adult irons. Just my opinion.

 

Agree with this. I made the transition when I knew the one shaft upgrade would get him to adult clubs. So used US Kids Ts3 up to 54” then transitioned to prodig for the 57” range (10yo)

then shaft upgrade at 60” (11yo). 
For reference I think he was low/mid 70s SS at 10 and is currently high 70s at 11. Fully expect him to be in the 80s by summer and in adult clubs next spring 

Also I got the Prodig used at an unreal price and still had the upgrade available. So definitely search the used market for prodig and us kids. 

Edited January 20, 2023 by Movingday

[SoCalCarl]

Have had this debate for my kid (just turned 12 yesterday). He's 5'2", 95lbs so not a big kid. When he got his most recent set a few months ago, I debated getting the US Kids Tour Series 63" vs ProdiG. 

 

The ProdiG set probably runs $1k and the USKids is normally ~$700. At that price differential, I was leaning towards the ProdiGs because he gets a bit more distance and much tighter dispersions. BUT... towards end of last year, USKids dropped their prices significantly. That same full set is now ~$200 cheaper, so at $500, I decided to get that set, let him grow another few inches and hopefully put him into adult clubs by this summer.

 

From chatting with his instructor, the ProdiG shaft replacement is great, BUT at the age my son is, he may be ready for adult clubs soon and as a result the free reshafting might not be relevant.

 

Hope that is helpful.

[MikekiM]

I've always liked the Flynn clubs.  Custom color shafts, grips, and lengths make it much easier to tailor it to work with your kid.  You're not stuck with a length that is just a bit too long or short

[Esage]

17 hours ago, mbh922 said:

Hi, would greatly appreciate any feedback.  Son has played US Kids is due for a new set and thinking of transitioning to Ping Prodi G.   

- Anyone with experience with both think one brand is better than the other

- Maybe someone has made a similar switch

- Is one easier to hit than the other (Son hits US Kids well)

 

I see the Pings are more expensive.  Not sure because it's a superior product or shaft upgrade.  Really appreciate the feedback.  thanks

We switched our daughter from US kids to Ping Prodi G at age nine. She's loves the pings and has no interest in going back. I think the pings are great deal with the free re-shafting. These should be the last set of Jr clubs we need to buy.

Edited January 20, 2023 by Esage

[mbh922]

Thanks everyone the comments are very helpful.  I thought I heard US kids are coming out with new models soon, interested to see how those turn out.  

[Fairway28]

I personally do not think there is a huge difference between the two, other than the shaft program with Ping.  If it looks and feels good then thats a lot of it.  same goes for Flynn..  I've witnessed very good players even up to 12/13 yrs old play with both brands and excel in tournaments.

 

I spoke to a US kids employee who referenced the new Tour Series.. he said biggest difference will be in the woods and irons really just a paint/graphic job.

 

 

[heavy_hitter]

On 1/19/2023 at 5:48 PM, Feelingofgreatness said:

It depends how strong your son is.

My daughter was hitting the US kids ULs pretty good. Recently, I transitioned her to a Cobra junior set that is similar in weight to the Prodi G and she's struggling. She was a little too tall for her old UL US kids set and I didn't want to invest in another UL set because I knew it would only be good for a very short period of time. Prodi G are pricey, you can also check out Cobra's junior clubs and Cleveland's sets.  One benefit of the Prodi G is you get a few size-up, but I find it easy to sell junior sets on kijiji and get about half your investment back anyway.

The Cobra and Cleveland sets are terrible outside of the Cobra Junior driver.  There is no comparison with the Prodi G.

[Icamp10579]

Really depends on height, weight, and strength. My son just turned 9 this month, is 53 inches and 70lbs,  tried to transition from ts3 to prodi g irons(for the 2nd time) and he found the ping shafts still too stiff and the club heads felt heavier to him. 
Longer irons weren’t sticking as well on greens and had to work harder with his wedges as he always tries to swing 75% with wedges, so was promoting some bad habits. Switched back to ts3 after a week of trying the prodi g. Will now stay in uskg irons until he’s 57 inches and then maybe try again. 
He’s been using the prodi g fairway wood and hybrid for almost a year though, uskg was garbage in my opinion and he isn’t ready for an adult head yet.

He’s a pretty competitive junior, has won a usk state and regional championship this year, so we are always looking at equipment and seeing what others are doing/trying. I always end up wasting money trying to get some sort of edge and end up right back in the same clubs

Edited January 29, 2023 by Icamp10579

[Bizzle80]

On 1/28/2023 at 5:49 PM, Icamp10579 said:

He’s been using the prodi g fairway wood and hybrid for almost a year though, uskg was garbage in my opinion and he isn’t ready for an adult head yet.

 

My 10yo daughter uses adult FW and Hy heads w Flynn shafts and they work great. We got the Callaway Epic Star versions (5FW and 4HY)...super light designed for seniors and ladies. might be worth a look.

 

in the Flynn irons and wedges for a while tho I would guess.

[zripp3]

12yo daughter has played the USKG TS3 54" graphite for the past year. She's ready for the 57" but I picked up the Prodi G 6-W, hybrid, and FW to compare. Last night on Trackman was the first time swinging them along with her current clubs. Picked up several mph in swing speed and about 7-10yds iron to iron. The main thing we noticed with the irons was how much tigher the disperson was. The Prodi G irons were about 1/2" longer which accounts for some of the distance, although she choked down that same amount to make it more comfortable.

 

The hybrid and FW were about 15yds longer than the USKG TS hybrid/FW and she was much more comfortable swinging those right off the bat.  

 

Highly recommend these as a suitable, if not better, alternative.

 

Also - off topic for this particular thread, but she's been using the Cobra SZ with the 41g junior shaft at 11.5*. Went to the TSi1 12* with the stock ladies flex Ascent shaft cut down and picked up about 15yds.

 

[MB19]

2 hours ago, zripp3 said:

12yo daughter has played the USKG TS3 54" graphite for the past year. She's ready for the 57" but I picked up the Prodi G 6-W, hybrid, and FW to compare. Last night on Trackman was the first time swinging them along with her current clubs. Picked up several mph in swing speed and about 7-10yds iron to iron. The main thing we noticed with the irons was how much tigher the disperson was. The Prodi G irons were about 1/2" longer which accounts for some of the distance, although she choked down that same amount to make it more comfortable.

 

The hybrid and FW were about 15yds longer than the USKG TS hybrid/FW and she was much more comfortable swinging those right off the bat.  

 

Highly recommend these as a suitable, if not better, alternative.

 

Also - off topic for this particular thread, but she's been using the Cobra SZ with the 41g junior shaft at 11.5*. Went to the TSi1 12* with the stock ladies flex Ascent shaft cut down and picked up about 15yds.

 

The prodi G clubs are definitely legit.  I've personally only found the FW and hybrid to be hotter than comparable USKG TS3 gear, but when you are going up in size and stiffness of shaft can also come into play.  I do recall hearing that the TS3 54" iron heads are lighter than the Pings, and I do know that the Ping irons come in regular and stiff shaft. Great gear, at any rate.

 

The TSi1 driver head is fantastic for kids IMO.  I bought my daughter's 10* from a fellow WRX member, and am about to hand it down to my son as an upgrade to his TS1 10*.  Hopefully it will survive a third owner 🙂

[PhilWhitUK]

My understanding is that US kids showed a new driver at PGA show. It is adjustable and high quality.  You buy it and then as the child grows from 51” you upgrade the shafts.  Trying to stop kids migrating to adult and / or Prodi G.  It is expensive but potentially covers four different sizes of the US kids clubs.  My source said it is an upgrade from the Tour Series.

[Movingday]

6 hours ago, PhilWhitUK said:

My understanding is that US kids showed a new driver at PGA show. It is adjustable and high quality.  You buy it and then as the child grows from 51” you upgrade the shafts.  Trying to stop kids migrating to adult and / or Prodi G.  It is expensive but potentially covers four different sizes of the US kids clubs.  My source said it is an upgrade from the Tour Series.

Will be interesting to see if the quality is on par with the prodig driver. Adjustable/replaceable shafts is definitely intriguing. There’s a big difference in lofts needed from 51” to 57”-60” not sure one driver head could carry you through all those years. 

[PhilWhitUK]

16 minutes ago, Movingday said:

Will be interesting to see if the quality is on par with the prodig driver. Adjustable/replaceable shafts is definitely intriguing. There’s a big difference in lofts needed from 51” to 57”-60” not sure one driver head could carry you through all those years. 

I think it is adjustable loft driver.  Can change weight also.   Think this might be it:

 

https://www.uskidsgolf.com/eptour-driver-complete

[Movingday]

$400 😬

[MB19]

2 hours ago, PhilWhitUK said:

I think it is adjustable loft driver.  Can change weight also.   Think this might be it:

 

https://www.uskidsgolf.com/eptour-driver-complete

This looks like it is squarely aimed at competing with the Cobra Junior series drivers, with the same weight positions and priced $50 cheaper.  Cobra's  comes with one shaft replacement, and I believe the original F9 model weighs 187g with the weights and screws removed (not sure if that has changed with Speedzone, RADspeed XB or LTDx jr models).

 

USKG has courage charging $400 for a driver, and frankly I don't think it will sell well at this price.  They will need to offer some promotions on it, and get it in hands of some quality juniors to get it kickstarted IMO.  It appears to resemble a Great Big Bertha with an additional adjustable weight in the rear, with Callaway's Cup Face tech instead of Jailbreak. If you put a Callaway label on this thing somewhere, then maybe more people pay $400 for it.  As is--it's a big ask and a leap of faith for parents to pay full freight for it.

 

[leezer99]

9 hours ago, MB19 said:

This looks like it is squarely aimed at competing with the Cobra Junior series drivers, with the same weight positions and priced $50 cheaper.  Cobra's  comes with one shaft replacement, and I believe the original F9 model weighs 187g with the weights and screws removed (not sure if that has changed with Speedzone, RADspeed XB or LTDx jr models).

 

USKG has courage charging $400 for a driver, and frankly I don't think it will sell well at this price.  They will need to offer some promotions on it, and get it in hands of some quality juniors to get it kickstarted IMO.  It appears to resemble a Great Big Bertha with an additional adjustable weight in the rear, with Callaway's Cup Face tech instead of Jailbreak. If you put a Callaway label on this thing somewhere, then maybe more people pay $400 for it.  As is--it's a big ask and a leap of faith for parents to pay full freight for it.

 

 

Do parents not shop the used bins at their local golf shop anymore? I could find 20 drivers for less that would probably outperform a USK driver.  Heck, Callaway Pre Owned has the Epic Max for less than half that with lightweight R shafts.

 

[Movingday]

Callaway preowned and eBay have been 90% of my golf purchases for my kids. The deals at Callaway preowned can be pretty amazing for basically brand new condition clubs 

[Bizzle80]

100% down with pre-owned OEM woods with Flynn shafts for my girl. She did that USK Driver comparison at last regional event against her TM Sim Max 2. Wasn't even close...

 

But my guess is outside of competitive jr. golfers, most parents won't know to go with OEM heads when their kids are picking up golf. Only the kooks like us here in the Junior forums!

[Movingday]

Yeah but non competitive players aren’t buying a $400 driver. 

[MB19]

8 hours ago, leezer99 said:

 

Do parents not shop the used bins at their local golf shop anymore? I could find 20 drivers for less that would probably outperform a USK driver.  Heck, Callaway Pre Owned has the Epic Max for less than half that with lightweight R shafts.

 

 

[MB19]

You're preaching to the choir for sure.   Even if parents wanted to step up to the Epic Star or Mavrik W Light to save some more weight, they are still likely to save some money and (get a way better shaft out of the deal with Epic Star).  

 

Callaway Pre-Owned is a national treasure, with their big selection, high-quality "average" rated gear which is really like an 8/10 and their deep discounts via sales.

[bk1]

Hey Folks - checking in on this thread after ~ 8months to see if anything has changed.

 

My 8.5 y.o. son is close to 54" (in shoes) and starting to complain that his clubs are to short.  We've played with a full set of US Kids TS3 51" Graphite and don't have any complaints other than the putter.  We switched to a Prodi G Ping Voss and made a world of difference.. should have done this much sooner.

 

I'm relatively new to golf myself, and like the turn key aspect of US Kids Clubs.  I'm thinking about another full set of US Kids, and then maybe switching over to Prodi Gs at 57" and taking advantage of the free shaft adjustment one last time before looking at the oem clubs?  Another option is US Kids irons + Prodi G Driver/FW/Hybrid.  

 

Has anyone noticed any difference between the TS3 and TS5 lines?

 

For Reference:

 

Height: 53"

Weight: 60lbs

Swing Speed: 66mph (Driver on a PRGR)

Total Distance with a Driver: 155-160y

 

Thanks,

bk

 

 

[AC168]

My son is similar age and similar size, though he weighs more.  I've been through a fair amount and we've settled on

 

Dr, FW, Hy - Ping Prodi G - though Driver is in a battle with TSi1

Irons & Wedges - US Kids Tour Series

Putter - Ping Prodi G Voss

 

What driver do you use that your son can have 66 mph swing speed and hit 155-160?  My son is at that and rarely hits it over 145.

[MB19]

22 hours ago, AC168 said:

My son is similar age and similar size, though he weighs more.  I've been through a fair amount and we've settled on

 

Dr, FW, Hy - Ping Prodi G - though Driver is in a battle with TSi1

Irons & Wedges - US Kids Tour Series

Putter - Ping Prodi G Voss

 

What driver do you use that your son can have 66 mph swing speed and hit 155-160?  My son is at that and rarely hits it over 145.

The Prodi g Voss is a great little putter IMO.  My son was so good with it, and liked it so much, that I hunted down a Vault 2 Voss for his 10th bday.  The Voss model continues to be a great fit, though I think Ping only makes them new these days as part of the Prodi G line.

 

An 8-9 yo driving 140ish off 65ish SS is pretty normal IMO.  My son was in the same ballpark just after he turned 9, swinging right around 70.  By the time DCP sub-regional came around, all three of his drives at age 9 were between 140-150, putting him in the upper-third of a pretty competitive field at TCP Sawgrass. 17 months later he's rolling out quite a few past 200.  It will come.

 

Just two months ago he was freaking out because he was being outdriven by smaller kids, then he hit a 6mph speed bump.  The only thing that has changed was he's made it his mission to swing every day for the rest of the year.

[SupaEnigneer]

Hello,

My son is 11 and has outgrown his USKG 54. He is playing on a course 1-2 per week and working on his chipping and putting the rest. He hits his driver around 165. We are thinking about Prodi G, but should he get the stiff shafts? The Webfitter  says that kids his age hit their driver 200. 

Edited September 10, 2024 by SupaEnigneer

[Esage]

My daughter (11)  is around 190 average with her Ping Prodi G driver with stiff shaft. We moved her to the stiff shafts when they were re-shafted by ping for 60"-63"