If you’re a first time buyer or new to the golfing world, it can be tough trying to find golf clubs for beginners. Pro shops can be helpful, but overwhelming- especially when you start looking at price tags. Attempting to put together your own set will end up being a pricey and complicated endeavor, which is why we’ve rounded up a quick rundown of what you need to know when shopping for the best golf clubs for beginners. We’ve also thrown in our top 15 picks of the best starter golf clubs available.
When starting the search for golf clubs there are two questions you’re probably going to ask- What do most golfers use? What do I need? For beginner golf sets you’ll want a driver, a set of irons and a putter. Additional Fairway Woods and a Hybrid or can also be great additions. You could try to put these together individually by checking out more of our review pages for all of the best individual clubs out there, but we’ve put together this page and our recommendations for true beginners.
Where to Start
We’re going to assume that the hassle of buying clubs individually is part of the reason you are on this page, and go straight to sets. This is also likely to save you a significant amount of money. When sold individually, even the most basic of drivers will cost over $50 each.
There are many high quality golf clubs for beginners that are under $200 when sold as a set. When looking for starter golf club sets, you’ll find that they range in total number of clubs included. This variance can be due to more or less irons, extra woods, or maybe an addition of a hybrid or two.
If you’re super new to golf, you might already be asking questions about irons, woods, and drivers and what the heck we are talking about. Don’t panic! We can straighten out the what, where, when and how of golf clubs for beginners.
First up, we’ve got the best club sets picked out for you, after that, you can check out more information about golf clubs and how to choose the best ones.
15 Best Golf Clubs for Beginners Comparison Chart
A Closer Look at the 15 Best Golf Clubs for Beginners
So what are the best golf clubs for a beginner? There are plenty to choose from, but we’ve narrowed down the options for you, and have sorted out the details of what to expect from these options.
1. Confidence Golf Mens Power Hybrid Club Set
- Clubs: Driver, Hybrid Wood, Irons 6-9,PW, Putter
- Includes: Stand Bag with Rain Cover
The hybrid replaces the 3-5 irons that can be harder to hit with. Confidence golf is a brand that focuses on beginner and improving players. It’s how they keep the prices low but still deliver the best starter golf club sets. You aren’t paying to sponsor the hat of any PGA players- you’re paying for what will help to improve your game. This specific set includes 4 irons, a PW, a Putter and 12 degree driver. Replacing the long irons is the 24 degree hybrid, which is a great addition to an already solid set. The bag is a bonus- with a built in stand and plenty of storage you’ll be ready to hit the course in no time.
2. Wilson Men’s 2017 Ultra Complete Package Golf Set
- Clubs: Driver, 3FW, 4Hybrid, Irons 5-9, PW, Putter
- Includes: Cart Bag
Wilson is a dependable name in sports gear, these clubs are no exceptions. The irons are all steel shafted, and between the 3 Fairway Wood and the 4 Hybrid the fairways will be easily conquered by you (so long as you are 6’2” or under) These are recommended for beginner golfers by the brand, so you can be sure that they won’t exceed your expected skill level.
3. Callaway Men’s Strata Compete Golf Club Set (12-Piece)
- Clubs: Driver, 3Wood, 5Hybrid, Irons 6-9, PW, Putter (Mallet)
- Includes: Stand Bag, 2 Headcovers
this is a full set of clubs that will provide you the distance and forgiveness any beginner golfer needs. We also recommend this set because it is available in a left handed set. The strata design is sleek, even the pitch black putter will improve your game with style, making them some of the best golf clubs for beginners.
4. Prosimmon Golf X9 V2 Golf Club Set & Bag
- Clubs: Driver, 3&4Hybrid, Irons 5-9, PW, Putter
- Includes: Stand Bag, 3 Headcovers
this set is an upgrade from the original X9 set by Prosimmon Golf. This is a brand that advertises that they “don’t make clubs for professionals” they make clubs for the beginner and improving golfers that want to add precision to their game no matter what your level is.
5. Callaway Men’s Strata Plus Complete Golf Club Set (16-Piece)
- Clubs: Driver, 3Woods, 4&5Hybrids, Irons 6-9, PW, SW, Putter
- Includes: Stand Bag, 4 Headcovers
This is a larger version of the previous Callaway Strata set with bag, the “plus” adds in an extra hybrid, and a sand wedge. These will be great for players around 6” or under. For the casual golfer that has always borrowed or rented clubs, these will be a huge step up and a solid purchase.
6. Precise GTR Men’s Complete Golf Set
Best Beginner Golf Set for Tall Men
- Clubs: Titanium Driver, Fairway Wood, Hybrid, Irons 5-9, PW, Putters
- Includes: Stand Bag, 3 Headcovers
If you’re over 6’1” you might want to order a tall set of golf clubs. These are going to be a great complete set to start with. The price is more than reasonable for the extra length.
7. Pinemeadow PRE Men’s 16-Piece Complete Golf Set
- Clubs: Driver, 3FW, 3H, Irons 4-9, PW, Putter
- Includes: Stand Bag
This set comes with the largest variety of irons on our list, but it still has a 3 Hybrid if you aren’t comfortable with a 4 or 5 iron. The driver is 10.5 degrees, one of the lowest loft drivers around, even the 15 degree 3-wood has a steep loft that is going to help with your distance.
8. Aspire XD1 Men’s Complete Golf Clubs Package Set
- Clubs: Driver, FW, 6-9, PW, Putter
- Includes: Stand Bag, 3 Headcovers
This a a great lower price option of golf club sets. Complete with a titanium driver, you’re getting superior quality for the cost. The Stand Bag has a padded double strap, so you can carry your bags through the course with comfort.
9. Winfield VERTEX Men’s Golf Package Set
- Clubs: Driver, Hybrid, 5-9 Irons, PW, Putter
- Includes: Stand Bag, 2 Headcovers
The oversize alloy/graphite driver is just the icing on the cake of this beginner golf set from Winfield. It contains a variety of irons and a hybrid as well, and will make a great first set for any novice golfer.
10. Wilson Men’s Profile XD Golf Complete Set
- Clubs: Driver, 5FW, 5 Hybrid, Irons 6-9, PW, SW, Putter,
- Includes: Stand Bag and 3 Headcovers.
The length of these clubs are made to help make your swing faster. What makes this set unique is that Wilson understands that one size doesn’t work for everyone. With the ability to adjust these clubs as needed when they come to you, it means you start playing with a customized fit. It’s a much better way to play, making these one of the best golf clubs for beginners.
11. Precise M5 Ladies Complete Right Handed Golf Clubs Set
- Clubs: Driver, FW, Hybrid, Irons 5-9, PW, Putter
- Includes: Stand Bag, 3 Headcovers
This ladies club set is perfect for a beginner to intermediate golfer. The clubheads are larger which allow for an easier hit, and they are available in right handed regular and petite size.
12. Cobra Golf Women’s Fly Z S Complete Set
- Clubs: Driver, 5Wood, 5Hybrid, 7 Iron, PW, SW, Putter (Customization of irons available at varying prices)
- Includes: Cart Bag
Cobra is a great name in golf, and is known for making high quality golf club sets for players of all skill levels. This Women’s Fly Z S Complete Set can be personalized for different levels of skill. Beginners might want to the set we described, with only a 7 Iron, and a hybrid that will help you get down the fairway. Feel free to add more irons, but expect the price to go up with each addition.
13. Callaway Women’s Strata Complete Golf Set
- Clubs: Driver, 5 Fairway Wood, 5 Hybrid, 7, 9, SW, Putter
- Includes: Stand Bag
This is another one of the best beginner golf irons for women, with all of the extra clubs your get in this set there is no reason to purchase individual woods or hybrids of any kind. The gangs all here and ready to get to the course.
14. Golf Girl FWS2 Lady Hybrid Club Set
- Clubs: Driver, 3 Wood, Hybrid, 5-9 Iron, PW, Putter
- Includes: Cart Bag, 2 Headcovers
Golf Girl has a great set of beginner golf clubs that come wrapped up in a nice looking cart bag. You get an oversized Driver and an oversized 3-Wood, as well as a 3/4 hybrid. This is a perfect variety of clubs for a beginner golfer.
15. Aspire XD1 Ladies Womens Complete Golf Clubs Set
- Clubs: Titanium Driver, Fairway Wood, Hybrid, 6-9 Iron, PW, Putter
- Includes: Stand Bag, 2 Headcovers
Our last women’s beginner club set recommendation for you comes from Aspire, this XD! stand bag set comes with a Titanium Driver, which is top quality, and 100% graphite shafts for a nice bend.
Golf Clubs for Beginners
Drivers/Woods
The #1-wood is also referred to as the driver, and has the largest hollow head of all the clubs. The point of the driver is to hit the ball the farthest. It is the most common club used to tee off with on any long fairway or distance drive. Woods are all hollow and much larger than irons. They were once fabricated with wood, which is where they get their name. Virtually all of the best beginner golf clubs will come with a driver.
The 3-wood and 5-wood are commonly referred to as Fairway Wood clubs, since they are most commonly used after the golf ball has already been hit onto the fairway. They are hollow, as mentioned before, and slightly smaller than the driver. They can be used to tee off on shorter holes and trickier fairways so that you can still get height and distance, but not too much.
Hybrids
These clubs have become increasingly more popular in the sport over the past decade and can be some of the best golf clubs for beginners. They have heads designed similarly to fairway wood clubs, but with
shorter shafts like irons have. The combination has created a club that replaces long irons (the one and two iron) and are much easier to hit with, while still giving height to the ball.
The other reason why they are a nice replacement to irons is because the loft (angle of the head) translates pretty evenly. These hybrid clubs also make appearance in the place of woods on the fairways from time to time.
They are not recommended for beginners who are wanting to be able to use irons properly, however we recommend them for beginners because they take a whole heap of stress out of the game. Many starter club sets do not contain hybrids as they are a more recent addition to the traditionally required clubs. We tried to find as many sets containing hybrids for you in our best golf club sets review section.
Wedges
This is a club with an extremely dramatic loft used to send balls soaring at short distances. The only wedge you need to be aware of as a beginner is the pitching wedge (labeled PW) which has the most angled loft at 46-48 degrees. This can be used to get out of sand traps, up steep drop-offs, and most importantly- onto the green. The distance that these can hit is usually only about 100yds and are not used for distance shots. All starter golf clubs will include a pitching wedge.
Putters
If you aren’t sure what a putter is used for, I would advise you to google search “Putt Putt course near me” before you go any further and familiarize yourself with that aspect of the game. Putting can be tricky, and a putt can make or break any other hits you might’ve had on a hole. The difference between par and well over par is often a proper stroke.
There are many kinds of putters- short, long, mallet, bent- the list goes on and on. Whatever you end up getting, make sure you spend adequate time practicing on the putting range before you hit the course.
FAQ
Will any of these sets be the best intermediate golf clubs?
Any intermediate player would have a successful game with the sets in our review section. Intermediate players will probably want to go with a set that has a larger variety of irons, an extra wedge, and perhaps more than one hybrid.
Can women use men’s golf clubs?
This is always an option, but there are some differences to be aware of. Men’s clubs are usually longer, and have smaller heads. Women’s clubs will give you a better handicap- but don’t just pay for pink! Make sure the clubs you are getting fit your needs, even if that means buying a gender neutral set.
What are the best brands for golf clubs?
Titliest, Callaway, Cobra, TaylorMade, and Wilson are the most common brands found in the golf equipment world. However, we listed some smaller brands in our best golf set for beginner’s section such as Pinemeadow. These smaller brands are frequently comparable with popular sets, but feature a lower price tag. Overall, the best golf clubs for beginners are reputable brands at affordable costs.
Should I buy my own Driver and Irons Separately?
Some golfers might tell you that a customized set is necessary to succeed on the course. While we agree it is nice to have drivers that fit your needs nearly perfectly, it’s not required- especially for beginners. We highly recommend investing in a full set to get started, and upgrading your most-used clubs further on in your golfing journey.
Does my height make a difference on which clubs I should be using?
All drivers are about the same length, but irons you might want to get measured for or use a chart before purchasing.