Equipment
Liteyear Golf Q&A: Why kids need real clubs and the new hockey–golf hybrid ‘Golfey Stick’
Liteyear Golf is a company focused on building golf clubs specifically for junior player, an area that’s often overlooked in the equipment space. Rather than simply scaling down adult clubs, Liteyear’s approach centers on proper fit, lighter materials, and designs intended to help young golfers develop good fundamentals from the start.
I caught up with the Liteyear team to learn more about the brand, how they approach junior club design, and why properly fit equipment can make such a big difference for developing players.
Gianni: What do you believe truly differentiates Liteyear Golf when it comes to designing and producing golf clubs for kids compared to your competitors?
Liteyear: We want to be every kid’s introduction to golf. Everything we build, design, and produce is through the lens of the child first. From the packaging to the first swing we want the experience to be special. All of our decisions – equipment design, materials, colors, and even the events and organizations we work with, every detail is tailored to making golf approachable and fun.
I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to make that first impression of golf enjoyable and interesting to a child because golf is hard. And especially for younger children, it’s so easy for them to walk away after a few frustrating swings and decide golf isn’t for them. Let’s meet them at their level and take away as many barriers as possible.
I started Liteyear because the options for kid’s clubs are so limited. They are usually cheap toys or minaturized versions of adult clubs. Golf adapted for kids, not golf designed for kids. Zero innovation, and maybe more importantly, no excitement. We want to meet kids where they are, and introduce golf holistically on and off the course.

Gianni: The 2025 PGA Show was a new platform for the brand. What impact did exhibiting there have on Liteyear Golf, both commercially and in terms of visibility within the junior golf market?
Liteyear: Our presence was pretty limited at the 2025 PGA Show, but we built some great relationships with people from other brands, press, retailers, club pros, GMs, and others. That confirmed for us that there’s a lot of excitement, demand and opportunity in the kids/junior market.
Kids and women’s golf is the fastest growing segment in the industry.
Gianni: Looking back over the past 12 months, what have been the most important milestones or areas of growth for the company?
Liteyear: Every product release feels like a major milestone. We started with the lightest clubs, Zero Grvty, in December 2024. In November 2025, we launched two new sizes covering kids ages 5 to 9. A year later, we followed up with the launch of our first patent pending product, the Golfey Stick – a hybrid hockey stick and golf club designed to groove swing fundamentals through play and fun. It’s been a great hit and one of our best sellers.
We are a very young company, but the support we’ve received from some select retailers and ultimately the validation from customers has been incredible. I can’t name names, but multiple top-10 golfers in the world have bought Liteyear sets for their children and I think that’s great validation of what we are doing.
Honestly, every smile after a kid swings a Liteyear club or the Golfey Stick feels like a milestone.

Areas of Growth
We believe the entire sector of children’s golf is ripe for growth. There is so much room for innovation and that’s very exciting for us because there is endless opportunity to get creative.
This year, we plan to launch two new patented products and new themed bags and clubs.
As a young company, we are constantly fine tuning our operations from marketing to logistics while never losing sight of the need to innovate; everything from new exciting products down to packaging. It’s about just getting better each day, getting our message out there and allowing people to discover the joy of golf, whether it’s the child rejoicing after a bombed drive or the parent seeing that smile.
We are also raising capital to scale the business, but we want to do it with the right partners, those who are invested not just in the success of the business, but in truly expanding the game of golf.
Gianni: What have been the biggest challenges you’ve faced during that period, and what key lessons have come from them?
Liteyear: Managing time. As an entrepreneur and father of four, it was a real challenge making sure I prioritize my family while building the business. I was CEO, fulfillment manager, customer support, head of product design, sales, social media manager, and event coordinator. So this year, I am focused on bringing in talented people who share Liteyear’s vision and help us scale.
But, I also learned a lot by doing it all. I understand, for example, what it takes to get a product designed, manufactured and delivered to the end customer. That means I am better prepared to bring on professionals to help us scale up and the right manufacturers to deliver on high quality products.

Gianni: Product innovation is central to what you do. What new products or developments have you introduced over the last year, and how do they continue to improve performance for young golfers?
Liteyear: We start from the ground up. Take our Zero Grvty set for example. They are the lightest clubs on the planet. They may look like regular golf clubs, but we started by thinking about how a 3-5 year-old swings because that’s what I was trying to solve for my child. And it wasn’t just about the weight, it was also about the head design, the shaft and the coolness factor, which cannot be overlooked when you are trying to get a 5-year-old excited about golf.
The Golfey Stick is the latest example of that philosophy. A hybrid hockey stick and golf club that grooves the golf swing without an actual golf lesson, because the last thing a 5-year-old wants is a golf lesson. And it is so cool. We submitted a patent last year that’s pending. The patent is around the technology that makes the game easier, more interesting, and developmental to the golf swing. With a bigger carbon face, it’s easier for kids to hit real golf balls. The ergonomic hockey-like shaft helps promote a natural hand position that promotes great swing mechanics. We also pumped the head and parts of the shaft with Anti-Grvty Foam to keep it lightweight and vibration free.
But more importantly, it allows parents to get their kid into the game, build confidence, and develop. We have two more patent pending products coming out later this year that we are very excited about. I can’t share too much now, but stay tuned.
Gianni: You decided not to exhibit at the 2026 PGA Show. What factors led to that decision, and how difficult was it to step away from such a major industry event?
Liteyear: We had a very small footprint in 2025, and we thought about increasing it for 2026, but as a young company still growing, we decided to allocate the capital and energy on product development and growing the business.
Was it a difficult decision? Absolutely. The PGA Show is the heartbeat of the industry, and we’ll definitely be back when it aligns with the stage we’re in.
- Find out more about Liteyear Golf at www.liteyeargolf.com
Equipment
Neal Shipley, AKA, the “Big Fridge’s,” custom stamping
Neal Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.
That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.
On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley told GolfWRX. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.

“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”
On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”
“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.
Equipment
From the GolfWRX Classifieds: L.A.B. Purple DF3 with Masters cover
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @raw10628 has a L.A.B. DF3 putter and Masters putter cover up for grabs.

From the listing: “Some great items here today, time to thin out and make room for next set of gear. All prices include shipping.
LAB DF3 Purple 33.5” 68° lie with TPT – $725. LAB Masters release DF3 cover – $150.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules
Whats in the Bag
Maria Torres WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4

3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4

5-wood: Ping G440 Max (19 degrees @18)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4

Hybrid: Ping G440 (23 degrees)
Shaft: Oban Isawa Red Hybrid Shaft 04 Flex 70 Gms

Irons: Srixon ZXi7 (5-P)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i80

Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50-MID, 54-FULL, 58-MID)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i105

Putter: L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i
Shaft: ACCRA Putter Shaft

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
