About Golphin

GolPhin, based in Scotland, the Home of Golf, designs and manufactures innovative kids golf clubs. In particular, the company focuses on beginners aged between 3 and 12 years of age. 

The company has passion, ethos and principles all focused on providing young kids with an enjoyable, fun filled and confidence-building learning experience when they are introduced to golf. Making golf fun and easier to learn results in kids learning a proper swing and technique, from the very beginning. 

Founder and CEO Calum McPherson, a former scratch golfer, was inspired to help more kids get into golf when he experienced the frustrations of his own kids struggling to enjoy the game. This was largely down to the inappropriateness of the equipment, with golf clubs that were too heavy for the kids to swing without loss of balance. 

Adopting the principles of his experiences working in the aerospace industry, Calum created prototypes and had these independently benchmarked with traditional junior clubs at Strathclyde University’s biomechanics department. The results validated that traditional kids golf clubs caused kids to lose balance and lose control of the club, leading to frustration and in most cases leaving the sport for easier activities.

Scotland, the birthplace of the modern game of golf, has been synonymous with golfing heritage and innovation since the game was first played there in the 15th century. Initially, the sport was a game for the elite and wealthy in society. Over the years, the game matured to be accessible for most segments of the population and today, Scotland has more golfers and golf courses per head of population than any other country in the world.

It is this heritage and his own passion for the game of golf that inspired Calum and his team of golfing enthusiasts, to invent the GolPhin products. 

Working closely with PGA professionals, The R&A (based in St Andrews, Scotland) and one of Europe’s leading engineering universities, Strathclyde University, based in Scotland, experimental trials were set up to analyse the biomechanics of the golf swing and its relationship to club weight for children. Aerospace engineering techniques were utilised to understand optimum weight to strength ratios for golf clubs for beginner children. 

The output of these scientific experiments was the development of prototypes which were then tested by over 200 kids in Scottish golf academies. This included trials at the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre (former Open Champion), the Colin Montgomery Academy in Turnberry and 4 other facilities in Scotland. The trials - focused on beginner children - discovered 94% of the children involved benefited greatly from swinging GFK clubs compared with other market leading junior clubs.

Shortly afterwards, GolPhin products were released into the UK and European markets and the success has been outstanding. PGA professionals, The R&A and many other international governing bodies, now select the use of GolPhin clubs for their kids golf development programs. 

  • The R&A exclusively selected GolPhin’s clubs for the PGA SwingZone coaching events at The Open Championship for several consecutive years.
  • Over 240 PGA professionals throughout the UK and Europe, coaching and retailing GolPhin products.
  • The French Federation of golf aligned to their Ryder Cup Legacy project.
  • The Ryder Cup kids golf event organised by ClubGolf and The PGA of Scotland.
  • Confederation of Golf Ireland for their kids golf development programs.
  • South Korea LPGA to support their junior golf coaching programs.
  • Titleist Performance Institute Alliance partner – the only junior clubs recommended to the 17000 TPI coaches worldwide 
  • Preferred Supplier to The David Leadbetter Academy, ChampionsGate, Florida

 The Science

Specially engineered and crafted using aerospace engineering technologies, GolPhin’s kids golf clubs are bio-mechanically proven to improve kids levels of enjoyment and capability from the very beginning. The weight to strength ratios were tested independently at Strathclyde University’s bio-mechanical laboratory. The results validated that the science behind the invention is beneficial for young kids getting into the game of golf.

 

The following table explains why:

Why GolPhin clubs are advantageous to help kids learn golf properly from the very beginning :

Product Design Feature of irons

Advantages for kids

22% lighter than traditional junior kids golf clubs

Traditional junior kids golf clubs are too heavy, causing the kids to sway, loose control, resulting in the “club swinging the kid” rather than “the kid swinging the club”.

 

Easier to swing and balance, encouraging the kids to instinctively hinge and rotate their wrists and arms on the back swing. 

 

The lightweight nature of the GolPhin clubs helps kids practice longer without incurring pains and muscular fatigue.

35% larger sweet spot

Traditional junior clubs have smaller clubheads than adult clubs thus making it more challenging for kids to strike the ball.

 

GolPhin oversized club heads increases the probability of connecting with the ball.

Radial profile of sole 

Traditional kids clubs have a fairly square leading edge. 

 

More forgiving for variable lie angles. 

 

GolPhin clubs have a radial sole reducing the resistance at impact to the turf or mat.

Oversized grooves

Generates more spin on the ball, increasing its trajectory significantly therefore the ball gets airborne quicker and flies higher than traditional kids clubs

70 % of the weight distribution of the club head geometry is below the centreline

Produces more momentum below the centreline of the golf ball. Similar in principle to rescue clubs, this significantly helps the ball get airborne.

 

 

Testimonials 

“GolPhin clubs provide an innovative solution for young kids aged 3 to 10 years old. The lightweight club head and other design features means young kids can be taught a proper swing technique from an early age, giving them confidence and self-belief. The best kids club innovation I have ever seen. The concept would also be very good for beginner and higher handicap lady golfers."


PGA Professional, Graham Fox
Former European Tour Player and 2012 Winner of the Scottish PGA Championship

 “One of the main challenges when coaching beginner golfers, particularly juniors, is to ensure the first few lessons or practice sessions result in a positive experience. Like anything in life, confidence leads to enjoyment and with this revolutionary product from GolPhin there has never been an easier golf club to help the beginner enjoy the game."

PGA Professional, Paul Girvan.
Director of Golf at Aberdeen, Kings Links and former Walker Cup star

“The high quality and versatility of the GolPhin kit is very impressive. It is certainly well geared for getting youngsters into golf and helping to address the undoubted participation issues the sport is currently facing here in Great Britain and Ireland.

Getting youngsters interested in playing sport is admirable and, within golf, many people are doing their very best.  One such example is GolPhin CEO Calum McPherson, whose product range is making a significant impact." 

Duncan Weir, Executive Director