The importance of a player's short game in modern golf cannot be overstated. Long drives are admirable, but they'll rarely win you the round. Tournaments are won and lost on the green. That's why it's essential to start putting practice as young as possible.

Since the game of golf has undergone a major transformation into a highly profitable industry recently, manufacturers have become keen to involve golfers at young ages, in the hopes that they will develop into professionals. Therefore, there is a number of high-end, tournament standard putting equipment available for junior golfers.

Characteristics of Junior Putters

Junior putters are shorter than adult putters, but they're not necessarily just adult clubs with a foot removed from the shaft. They're scaled down, with every aspect of the golf club undergoing a proportional reduction in mass to suit the styles of junior golfers.

Putters can be made to order based on the measurements of the child golfer. However, this is impractical and uneconomical for the majority of us, since it's expensive to do this and children tend to grow fast. Junior golfers usually need new clubs every couple of years due to the speed of their growth, whereas adult clubs can last decades if needs be.

If the idea of bespoke putters makes you shudder at the cost, but you still want the best for your junior golfer, then many of the top manufacturers produce junior putters of excellent quality. Most of these clubs can be differentiated from adult putters by the shaft, amongst other things. Most junior golf putters have had their steel shafts replaced with graphite ones, since graphite is lighter and allows for a more controlled stroke in younger hands. Since a putter's swing is never realistically fast enough to be effected by flex, the construction of the shaft is of little consequence and is the prerogative of the player; whether they prefer the control of a lighter shaft or the momentum of a heavier shaft.

Junior Putter Heads

To assist in the control of the putter's head, junior putters are carefully weighted in the heel and the toe to make putts a little more forgiving. Junior golf clubheads also utilise dynamic inserts - usually in the back of the head - to promote straight, true ball rolls with a high-level of 'feel'. This level of feel is particularly useful for young golfers; it will enable them to understand better the club's impact with the ball, and their game will develop accordingly.

Aiming and Lines of Sight

Manufacturers make good use of sight lines on junior putters, so that young golfers can 'get their eye in' early in their playing career. The sight lines are particularly prominent on putters like the Jaxx Junior 2-Ball putter. This putter employs a motif incorporating two golf ball shapes divided in two with a perfectly straight line running between them, from the back of the clubhead right up to the face. This allows the user to line the ball up accurately prior to beginning the swing, and also to judge their follow-through for consistency.

The junior golf putter made by Odyssey uses a similar technique; their tried and tested two-disc alignment system which featured so successfully on their White Hot adult putter now makes an appearance on their junior putter too, and with impressive results. The two golf-ball sized white disks on top of the putter's head make it easy to line up long and short putts.

Sizing

Junior putters are usually sized according to age. Obviously this isn't a perfect system since children grow at different ages and speeds, but on the whole it's fairly accurate. Jaxx apply a simple colour system to their golf putters, outlined below:

• Red: Ages 5-7 years
• Green: ages 8-10 years
• Blue: Ages 11-14 years

The colours referred to here are the colours on the face of the club. Jaxx use this system throughout their ranges of junior clubs, which brings some welcome consistency to the choice of junior clubs. Not all manufacturers employ such a system though; Odyssey's sophisticated White Hot is currently only available in a 30" shaft, which means that your young golf might have to adapt the way they hold it as a consequence.