How Do Teen Golf Clubs Differ from Adult Golf Clubs?

When you compare teen golf clubs to adult clubs they differ in length, shaft flex, weight, loft and often price.

Teen Golf Clubs are shorter, are higher lofted and typically have junior flex graphite shafts on the woods and irons, which are significantly less stiff and lighter in weight than golf clubs for adults.

Manufacturers also tend to price teens clubs lower than adults sets of similar quality. So just because your teen is almost to the height range of an adult does not mean they are ready for adult clubs!

As expected, teen clubs are shorter in length than standard length men's golf clubs. This is the most obvious difference that most people understand. The clubs in a teen set are 1 to 2 inches shorter than the comparable standard men's clubs. A teen driver, for example, can be up to 2 inches shorter than a standard mens driver. You might think, okay that’s fine, I’ll purchase a mens set and my son can just choke up on the club until he grows into it.

This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make for your teen golfer! A driver is the hardest club to hit, even if it is sized correctly. If the driver is too long for the child, the arc of his swing will have to change, making the club even harder to hit, resulting in him striking the ball with the heel or toe of the club and not in the “sweet spot” of the driver's face. This will result in hooks, slices and losing distance. 

While most teen clubs are 1-2 inches longer than standard men's clubs, teen clubs are about the same length as standard women's golf clubs. However, if you’re purchasing them for your son, many won't want them since women’s sets typically come in traditional feminine color options like pink, purple or teal. There are other differences between teen golf clubs and womens clubs as well that are detailed in the chart below.

Teen clubs generally are higher lofted than their adult counterparts. If we look at how Callaway lofts their clubs for example, a men’s Callaway Strata 6 iron has a 28 degree loft, a women’s Strata 6 iron has a 30 degree loft and a Callaway XT teen 6 iron has a 32 degree loft. That’s a four degree difference between the teen’s 6 iron loft and the men's loft.

If your teen is newer to the game or if he’s inconsistent with his swing, higher lofted teen clubs will give him better and more consistent results. Slight mis-hits or thin shots when hit with higher lofted teen clubs will be punished less when compared to stronger lofted adult clubs. While he’s likely to give up some distance, higher lofted clubs are more forgiving because the “sweet spot” on the club face is larger, making mis hits more playable.

Wouldn’t your teen prefer to be 20 yards shorter on his drive than in the woods? Also higher lofts mean more trajectory and more spin making the ball more likely to stick on the green. That’s a huge win for anyone!

Most sets labeled as teen sets have junior flex graphite shafts which are significantly less stiff and much lighter than steel shafted men's clubs. Teens who are not fully matured yet don’t have the strength to play with steel shafted clubs. If the clubs are too heavy and the shafts too stiff, the player will have difficulty getting the club face to square up with the ball upon impact.

This makes it more likely that your teen will compensate in some way resulting in poor mechanics that will become bad habits difficult to “undo” later. General outcomes to look for from the clubs being too heavy or too stiff are a low launching ball, your teen swinging too hard or losing balance during the swing. 

When comparing steel shafted clubs to graphite clubs, your teen is likely to hit the ball farther with graphite shafts even though generally steel should generate longer distances. That’s because they are able to swing faster (the clubs are lighter) and they’re more likely to hit it in the sweet spot more consistently.  

Summary of Differences between Teen Golf Clubs and Adult Golf Clubs

Shaft Flex: In order from least stiff to most stiff: Junior Flex, Ladies Flex, Teen Flex, A-Flex Mens, Regular Mens Flex.

Club Loft: Be aware, club loft is not the same across manufacturers regardless if we’re discussing teen, mens or womens clubs. 

All Kids Golf Clubs carries the largest selection of teen golf sets and single clubs that you’ll find anywhere. Unlike other golf stores, kids and teens are our focus so we make sure to have the right solution for your child. 

We have partnered with some of the best names in golf to bridge the gap between teen golf clubs and adult clubs. One of the biggest problems we see is the junior graphite shaft is too flexible and “whippy” enough for improving teen golfers. We stock single irons, drivers and woods that have stiffer (but still ultralight weight) teen length shafts but with adult club heads. Once your teen is close to his full height and has increased in strength, just re-shaft the clubs and your teen clubs have transformed into adult clubs at a fraction of the price.