How to Choose Children’s Golf Clubs? | Fit By Height, Not Age

Choose children’s golf clubs by the child’s standing height in shoes, then match that measurement to a junior sizing chart.

Age tells you almost nothing useful about which junior clubs fit. The reliable way to choose children’s golf clubs is a tape measure and a sizing chart, not a birthday. Here’s the process from start to finish.

Why Height Matters More Than Age

Junior club sizing is built around height bands because height determines posture at address. A club that’s too long forces the child to stand too upright or reach; a club that’s too short makes them hunch. Both ruin the swing before it starts.

U.S. Kids Golf, a leading junior fitting brand, puts it directly: “Measure your player’s height in inches with shoes on and select the correct size below by player height.” The measurement runs from about 39 inches up to 63 inches, with sizes increasing in 3-inch increments.

How to Measure Your Child Correctly

Measure on a hard floor, not carpet, with the child wearing the shoes they’ll play in. Have them stand straight with heels against a wall, mark the top of their head, and measure the height in inches.

One caution: use regular athletic or tennis shoes, not golf shoes. Golf shoes add height and can push a borderline child into the wrong, larger size. A flat-floor measurement in everyday footwear keeps the number honest.

A good club-length check happens at address. The child should hold the club with slightly bent arms while the clubhead sits flat on the ground at setup, per Scheels’ youth sizing guide. If they’re reaching or the heel of the club is off the turf, the length is wrong.

Weight, Flexibility, and Other Fitting Factors

Length is only half the equation. A set that’s the right length but too heavy is still a bad fit. Lighter clubs are easier for kids to control and swing fully through impact. Look for junior-specific shafts that are flexible enough that the club does some of the work.

Keep the set simple and the loft higher for beginners. Lynx Golf’s junior guide advises holding off on loft progression—adding lower-lofted clubs too early—until the child is launching the ball consistently off the ground. A driver, a hybrid, a 7-iron, and a putter cover the needs of most young beginners.

Wrist-to-floor is a useful tiebreaker when a child falls between two height sizes. Some fitting guides suggest it as a secondary check to nudge the selection one way or the other. If you’re still between sizes, the common advice is to err toward slightly longer rather than shorter, since the child can choke down on the grip to shorten the effective length.

Common Mistakes to Skip

Parents make the same sizing errors repeatedly. The three to avoid:

• Buying by age. Height is the only input that matters; age-based charts are a starting point, not a rule.
• Choosing clubs that are too long. A child can choke down on a slightly long club, but clubs that are too short make solid contact genuinely harder as they grow.
• Grabbing a heavy set on sale. Heavy clubs kill the swing and the enjoyment. Light beats cheap.

Children grow quickly, so re-check height against the chart every spring.

Once you have the height measurement and the club lengths narrowed down, you’re ready to compare actual sets. Our roundup of the best children’s golf clubs tested by height shows which sets match each size band and which ones hold up over a season.

FAQs

What if my child is between two height sizes?

Measure wrist-to-floor as a tiebreaker. If that doesn’t settle it, size up rather than down because a child can grip down on a slightly longer club. A club that’s too short is harder to hit well and will need replacing sooner anyway.

How often do junior clubs need replacing?

Re-measure at the start of each season and compare against the sizing chart. If the club looks short at address—bent arms fully extended or the clubhead tilted—it’s time to move up.

Should I buy a full set or individual clubs?

For a beginner, a small set is better. A driver, hybrid, 7-iron, and putter cover every shot a young player needs to learn. A full 14-club set is heavy, unnecessary, and harder for a child to carry and manage.