Can Adults Use Junior Golf Clubs?
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Golfing is a unique sport in that your equipment doesn’t have to be the exact same as others. This gives one room to level the playing field regardless of differences in muscle mass, gender, and even height.
Adults can use junior golf clubs because there is no rule prohibiting the use of shorter clubs. Youth clubs are most effective for petite women because their upper body strength doesn’t threaten the integrity of a junior iron or wood.
In this article, you will learn everything you need to know about buying junior golf clubs as an adult, including what to expect, which clubs to buy, and how prudent of a choice it is compared to getting customized adult clubs. Additionally, we will provide recommendations on the best golf club sets for the money to help you make an informed decision.
Who Should Buy Junior Golf Clubs?
People up to 69 inches in height should buy junior golf clubs. This mainly includes kids but also petite adults who can sometimes stand at 64 inches in height. Certain junior clubs are weighted differently to account for adult swing strength.
Nonetheless, using a junior club requires getting used to and fosters dependency. But as is the case with golf, there is always a degree of dependency on the irons and woods of one’s choice.
You must not seek a “neutral” club that would make you more versatile. There is no such thing. You should look for the golf club that you find easier to get used to. And this can very well be a junior golf club.
Tour Series produces junior golf clubs for people up to 69 inches in height, while All Kids Golf Clubs is a retailer listing junior clubs for those up to 62 inches tall.
This means that the following people would be able to benefit from using a junior golf club:
- People of non-caucasian background – Those with eastern roots might find that the average golf clubs are unfair to their height.
- Petite women – Golf has excluded women to a large extent, and its recent attempts at inclusion can still leave petite women unconsidered.
Is It Bad to Need Junior Clubs?
It is not bad to need junior clubs because all it means to use one is that the average golfing product customer doesn’t have the same height and frame as you.
Golf has a large white male demographic and expecting Asian, Indian, and Arab individuals with height averages ranging from 5 ft 1 to 5 ft 4 to get used to clubs made for white men (5 ft 8 inches on average) is unfair.
The same applies to gender, where evening out the playing field requires getting junior golf clubs. It should not be personally embarrassing but can be socially embarrassing because of the branding and stigma of junior golf clubs.
That’s why you should buy golf clubs that aren’t overtly branded as ‘junior clubs.’
The Best Junior Golf Clubs for Adults
- Designed For Improved Distance and Performance
- Complete Course Coverage
- Specifically engineered with premium Callaway technologies
Callaway Golf XJ Junior Golf Set is the best golf club to buy if you’re a petite woman or an individual with a 5’2″ height. The Callaway branding makes the golf clubs more socially acceptable for adults, and their quality build makes them reliable in the long run.
The brand remains the main thing that separates these youth golf clubs from other junior golf clubs.
Whenever you buy a club, you have to ensure that not only will it last a long time but that when it is finally worn out, and it is time to buy a new club, the manufacturer will still be in business.
Since this is a complete set, you can use it on the fairways and the greens. You can expect it to last over six years, depending on how you use them.
It has an average of 4.8 out of 5 stars from over 300 reviews and ratings, but since most users are actual teens, you cannot take these reviews without a grain of salt. Your swing strength can affect, and even break, a junior golf club.
Problems Faced by Adults Who Use Junior Golf Clubs
Adults who use junior golf clubs can end up feeling self-conscious. This is a psychological hurdle, but there is a very real physical hurdle as well.
Strong individuals who aren’t as tall can end up breaking junior clubs because their strength is higher than that of the main demographic for which these golf clubs are made.
You can offset these problems by simply getting fitted for clubs and ordering a custom golf club. An alternative is to nerf your swing strength and play with a handicap.
The benefit of the custom club is that you don’t have to be a high handicapper throughout your golfing life. The drawback? It costs a lot of money to order customized golf clubs.
If you find the price tag to be the biggest problem, you can get junior clubs meant for the oldest teens and then play with caution. This applies more to shorter men than petite women, given their upper body strength.
Of course, this can be annoying, but after a while, you get used to a specific swing momentum. Overall, the customized irons and woods outperform junior golf clubs, and you should switch to them as soon as you can afford to.
But getting at least one junior club is worth it simply to see if it can work well for you, personally.
Who Should Not Use Junior Golf Clubs?
People who should not use junior golf clubs include:
- Muscular men under 6 feet – Your swing can break a junior golf club, especially if the club is not built to withstand an adult slice.
- Adults over 5 feet and 7 inches in height – Even the longest junior clubs will be too short for you and will force you to crouch in order to swing.
- People who want to avoid a high handicap – Most adults who use junior golf clubs have to restrain their strength. This can result in becoming a high handicapper on the course.
Final Thoughts
Adults can use junior golf clubs, but their muscle strength can damage the clubs. Petite women seem to be the ideal adult candidate for junior clubs though men under 5 feet and 7 inches can also use some junior clubs.