Best Golf Clubs For Beginners – pick the right starter set!

Getting into golf is not always easy. Taking lessons, finding partners, and freeing up time on the weekends can be quite a challenge. In addition, a beginner golfer must make a considerable investment in his or her golf clubs.

To help you out, we’ve looked at a selection of sets. We think the best beginner golf clubs are:

• Callaway Strata Ultimate Complete Golf Set
• Wilson Ultra Complete Package
• Pinemeadow PGX Golf Set
• Precise M3 Complete Golf Clubs
• Confidence Golf Power Hybrid Club Set

How to Choose the Best Golf Clubs for Beginners

With so many different clubs and sets to choose from, a little guidance is helpful. Here’s what you need to know about buying golf clubs for beginners.

Golf Clubs 101: What You Need in Your Bag

Firstly, during the game, you are allowed to use and carry 14 clubs. But as a beginner, you might not need (or even want) to carry that much. It’s often best to limit your choices when you’re first learning. This way, you can get to know each club’s purpose, capabilities, and limitations.

Even if you decide to carry less than 14 clubs, a set of good beginner golf clubs should always include:

• A driver: your first club on every hole and your longest-distance club.
• A fairway wood or hybrid: Another long-distance club to get you closer.
• High irons: For when you get down range and need some lift.
• A pitching wedge: Necessary when you are close to the green but not yet on it.
• A sand wedge: An emergency club for when you’re stuck in the sand.
• A putter: Your last club but an indispensable one on the green.

Choosing a Driver

Your driver closes the distance between tee and hole more than any other club. For this reason, it’s important to find a good match.

As a beginner, you probably won’t know much about your swing and your golfing habits are still forming. Many drivers are specialized to compensate for those habits and a player’s handicap. So, a beginner should choose a driver without specialized qualities.

For example, a driver usually comes in three weighted options: Offset, neutral, and draw. These clubhead weights help golfers compensate for slices or hooks. It’s best for a beginner to choose a neutral club since you don’t know your slice yet.

New to slices and hooks? This helpful video covers both in detail:

Drivers are also offered in a variety of lofts, which can increase your driving distance based on your swing speed. Unless you’ve measured your speed already, you should choose a mid-range loft of 9 to 11 degrees.

Fairway Woods or Hybrids

Like drivers, woods have options that offset slice. Choose a neutral wood club until you know you have a slice requiring correction.

Woods come in either steel or graphite shafts. Graphite is lighter but more expensive. Steel shaft woods are a good, economical choice for the best golf clubs for beginners.

Steel heads are a popular, durable, and inexpensive choice for beginners. When you grow into the game, consider upgrading to titanium or composite heads. These materials are lighter and may perform better. At a cost, of course. It’s wise to take some time with steel heads before spending this kind of money.

Short Distance Irons

A full set of irons comprises clubs numbered from three to nine. However, the best golf set for beginners will probably contain irons six to nine only.

Your irons set should be versatile and help you get to the green from a range of distances and terrains. However, for a beginner, too many options can complicate things.

The lower number irons (three to five) are for longer distances. You have a fairway wood or a hybrid for this purpose. Your six iron can still hit as far as 200 yards. Starting your collection with the six is usually sufficient for beginners.

Higher-numbered irons give the ball loft, something your driver, woods, hybrids can’t offer. This is why any set of the best golf clubs for beginners contains high irons.

Wedges

When you are near the green but not yet on it, you’ll need your pitching wedge. It’s an important addition to your clubs. Wedges are designed to get under the ball and give it good loft and bounce. This limits the ball’s roll so you can get closer to the hole.

Your sand wedge is an emergency club; use it when your ball is in a sand trap. It’s designed for a short, choppy stroke.

When looking for your best golf set for beginners, you’ll find that pitching wedges and sand wedges are similar in design. You can choose whichever is most comfortable to you as a beginner. Or, choose the most economical option.

Putter

Last, but certainly not least, of the best starter golf clubs, is your putter.

Putters come in three general varieties for putting: blade, half-mallet, and mallet. Blade putters are the style you find at miniature golf courses. Half-mallet and mallet putters provide a little more control over the ball.

For beginners, we recommend mallet putters. These putters offer more precision and consistency—qualities you need to develop as a golfer.

5 of the Best Beginner Golf Clubs

Now we’ve gone over the intricacies of club sets and know what’s inside, here’s our pick of the best starter golf sets:

Callaway Strata Ultimate Complete Golf Set

The Callaway Strata Ultimate Complete Golf Set is the complete package. In this set, you’ll find some of the best golf clubs for beginners.

Inside the bag is a driver, pitching wedge, 5 hybrid, 6 iron, 7 iron, 8 iron, 9 iron, 3 wood, and a putter. Additionally, you get a stand bag and two headcovers for your woods.

The nine-club set weighs only 16.2 pounds. An optional 12-club package includes an extra wood and hybrid, and a sand wedge.

Callaway is renowned for quality clubs. The driver has a titanium head and the irons and wedges are stainless steel. The wood heads are designed for their aerodynamic swing.

We like the extra-large club heads. They’re perfect for beginner players because a larger strike area is easier at first.

Pros:

• High-quality construction
• Clever aerodynamic design
• The driver heads are great for novice players

Cons:

• Not the cheapest option on our list
• The driver’s loft angle is slightly high
• Thin grips can be uncomfortable for new players

Wilson Ultra Complete Package

The Wilson Ultra Complete Package is another great set. It has the same standard clubs as the Callaway set above but lacks a sand wedge. You may find yourself in trouble if you land in a sand trap.

The driver is 460 cc, and the generous sweet spot on the clubface offers solid consistent drives. The sweet spots on the irons are also big, which makes these good beginner golf clubs.

We note that the putter’s unique heel-to-toe design can be awkward for beginner golfers to learn with.

Pros:

• Reasonably priced
• Sizeable sweet spots are ideal for beginners 
• Well-weighted driver

Cons:

• Awkward putter design
• No sand wedge included
• Fewer club options

Pinemeadow PGX Golf Set

The Pinemeadow is less complete than the other sets we’ve detailed. It comes with a driver, 5 hybrid, 5 iron, 6 iron, 7 iron, 8 iron, 9 iron, and 3 wood but no wedges or putter.

The driver in this set is also 460 cc with the same generous sweet spot that beginner golfers appreciate. The graphite shaft is a nice addition to the driver and woods.

The fairway wood and hybrids in this set have increased face angles. This gives the ball more loft. Beginner golfers might appreciate this feature, as it helps them develop solid swings with good lift.

On the other hand, you might want to develop your swing before choosing clubs with this much loft.

Pros:

• Quality graphite shafts for woods
• Heavy wood heads with wide, roomy sweet spots
• Increased loft angles for beginners

Cons:

• No wedges or putters included
• Specialized club faces are more suited to practiced golfers
• Heavy, steel-shafted irons

Precise M3 Complete Golf Clubs

The Precise M3 is the only beginner’s golf club set on our list that comes in both standard and tall sizes. Tall beginner golfers will appreciate a full set specifically sized for their height. We also like that there’s an option for left-handed golfers.

This set includes a driver, fairway wood, a hybrid, and 6 iron, 7 iron, 8 iron, and 9 iron. A pitching wedge and putter complete the set. Note that there’s no sand wedge in the M3 Complete.

The titanium driver, fairway wood, and hybrid clubs in this set provide excellent accuracy—something novices really appreciate.

While the irons are fairly standard, the putter has alignment assistance aids to help beginners.

Pros:

• Special lengths available for tall golfers
• Alignment assistance aids on the putter
• Accurate fairway clubs
• Left-handed option

Cons:

• No sand wedge
• Irons are just average quality
• Less variety in woods

Confidence Golf Power Hybrid Club Set

While not a famous brand name, the Confidence Hybrid Club Set is still a quality option.

The nine-club set includes the same clubs as most others in this article. And the driver features a 460 cc head with a 12-degree loft. With a 24-degree loft, the hybrid club is a versatile option between the woods and irons.

This is the cheapest set we’ve reviews. It could be among the best golf clubs for beginners who are yet to decide if golf is their game. Parents of children with golf aspirations will appreciate the good value.

Pros:

• Good value for money
• Semi-mallet putter
• Full cavity-back irons

Cons:

• Heavy steel shafts on all clubs.
• The heavy putter is not ideal for novices
• No sand wedge

The Best Beginner Golf Clubs: Our Recommendation

The Wilson Ultra Complete Package offers the best balance between affordability and quality. We think it’s the best of the best golf clubs for beginners.

The large sweet spots are really the deciding factor. Novice golfers will truly appreciate the advantage these clubs offer while developing their game. The loft and design are also ideal for newbies.

It’s reasonably priced, so beginners (or their parents) won’t go broke after buying a set. We like that the clubs included are simple yet versatile enough for most purposes. Although the putter might require some practice, once you get used to it, it’s easy enough to manage.

Enjoyed this article? Don’t forget to share it with friends and family getting into golf for the first time. And as always, we welcome your comments and experience in the comment section below!