Q: My kiddo recently took up golf. Can I just cut down a set of adult clubs?

A lot of parents believe that cutting down adult clubs provides their kids with “quality equipment”, but veteran club designer Tom Wishon, author of 12 Myths That Could Wreck Your Golf Game, doesn’t mince words about this approach: “The clubs will be too heavy, too stiff, the wrong loft, the wrong lie and probably the wrong length. Other than that, they will be just what the kid needs to develop a good swing – for cutting firewood.”

Earl Woods, Tiger’s father, believed that the right equipment was critical to his son’s golf development. “I always made sure Tiger had clubs that fit,” he said. Unfortunately, too many kids start out playing the game with cut-down, hand-me-downs, but this leaves less shaft to offset the weight, making the head feel heavier. Because a lot of golfers, including tour pros, are increasingly switching to clubs with shorter-length shafts, especially drivers and putters, it’s important to know how to offset this potentially negative impact. First, clubs are cut only from the grip end. However, that alone won’t do the trick. To get the weighting correct, mass in some form (lead tape, for example) will need to be restored to the clubhead to maintain the proper swingweight. Maybe just heed Earl Woods’ advice and get clubs that fit properly in the first place. Especially for small kids and juniors, there are many quality sets that are already the proper length and weight. Here are four of
our favorites:

• US Kids Ultralight 7: Available in nine sizes that fit heights of 99 centimetres to 168 centimetres.
• Ping Prodi G: Ping offers a one-time, no-charge club adjustment to previously purchased sets of five clubs or more. 
• Team TaylorMade Junior: Three options for boys and girls ages 4 to 12 (with bag), including three unisex collections of four, five and seven clubs.
• Callaway Junior XJ: Available in six and seven-club versions. The latter has a titanium driver and a low-profile fairway wood. 

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Q: I carry only two wedges – a pitching wedge and a sand wedge. That’s probably not enough. Any advice on what the proper wedge setup is for a middle-handicapper?

We advise that you carry four wedges. Everyday players don’t hit many greens in regulation, so having options can be useful, like adding a gap wedge or two (often the clubs between your pitching wedge and highest lofted wedge). A wedge set for an average player would probably include a pitching wedge (45 or 46 degrees), a 50-degree wedge, a 54 or 55-degree wedge and a 58 or 60-degree wedge. This setup covers you from short range to greenside for any type of shot. Ideally, you should visit a quality clubfitter. “I fit people all the time who have non-standard length and lie angles in their irons but buy wedges off the rack,” says Scott Felix of Felix ClubWorks in Tennessee. “For consistency through the bag, this makes no sense.”  

Answers provided by Golf Digest’s equipment experts Mike Stachura and E. Michael Johnson

Featured image by walter iooss jNR