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The golf club is one of the most important tools in the sport, especially for those just starting out. Selecting the right beginner golf clubs as opposed to a set designed for more advanced golfers could determine whether someone gives up on the game completely out of frustration or stays persistent.
If you're in a rush here's a quick snapshot of the 3 best golf clubs for beginners. Read on to find out everything you need to know about choosing the right set.
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If you’ve ever watched a golf tournament on TV, I’m sure you were amazed at the skill and power of the professionals in these events. These are obviously extremely talented athletes, but It might come as a surprise to some that these tour pros spend an enormous amount of time making sure that the golf clubs they are using are customized and fitted to their exact requirements and unique swing characteristics.
Using the ideal clubs helps them maximize their natural abilities. A driver or 3-wood that is perfect for Tiger Woods, for example, is unlikely to be suited to the very different swing attributes of, say, Jordan Spieth. And if Jordan were to try using Tiger’s driver, he would likely have less than optimal results. Each of these golfers has a unique set of traits that are analyzed and then factored into the proper selection of the golf clubs that will yield the best results for them.
If the best golfers in the world focus so much time and energy on selecting the ideal clubs for them, it certainly stands to reason that newcomers to the game should do the same. In fact, it is probably even more important for beginner or intermediate golfers to use properly selected clubs because they don’t have the skills and strength of more advanced players and need specially designed golf clubs to help them.
Some beginners, perhaps not wanting to invest in a new set of golf clubs yet, may initially choose to use their father’s old set, or to borrow a set from a friend.
This is a mistake!
As we’ve already mentioned, everyone has unique characteristics they bring to the game, and simply using clubs designed with someone else’s characteristics in mind, is often a recipe for failure.
If you were to start out using clubs that were designed for a more advanced golfer, for instance, you might have difficulty launching the ball high enough or hitting the ball as far as you’d like. This can lead to poor swing habits that may be hard to change later on or, in the worst-case scenario, it may lead someone to give up on the game entirely because they aren’t achieving the results they were expecting.
Starting out by selecting clubs that are appropriate for them, and which are designed to make the game easier for them, can help to avoid these situations.
A little bit of knowledge about golf clubs will help you to understand which ones might be suitable for you and which ones to avoid.
Modern club designers are able to build features into golf clubs that are specifically aimed at helping beginner golfers to hit the ball better which, in turn, leads to greater enjoyment of the game. It is these game improvement features that you should seek out when looking for a beginner’s set of golf clubs.
By the same token, beginners should avoid buying clubs designed for advanced golfers (referred to as “player’s clubs”).
The golf club consists of three components: the grip, the shaft, and the head. For our purposes, we will focus on the two most important components: the shaft and the head.
There are two important aspects of the golf shaft that beginners should understand. The first is the material that the shaft is made from, and the second is the flexibility, or “flex” of the shaft.
Golf shafts are generally constructed using either graphite or steel. The primary advantage of using graphite in the construction of the shaft is that manufacturers are able to produce clubs that are generally lighter in weight than clubs made using steel shafts.
Because the club is then lighter, players are able to swing it faster, and faster swing speed results in hitting the ball farther. A club swung at 70 mph, for example, will hit the ball farther than one swung at 60 mph.
A second benefit of graphite is that it produces less vibration when the ball is struck. Many golfers simply prefer this “smoother” feel at impact, but this feature would be of particular importance for someone who has arthritis in their hands.
Graphite, however, can be a little more expensive than steel. Consequently, most club sets that you see will have a combination of the two. The woods (driver, 3-wood, 5-wood, hybrids) usually come standard with graphite shafts, while the irons often utilize steel shaft construction.
Because of the advantages of graphite, though, more and more sets are starting to include graphite-shafted irons along with the graphite-shafted woods, or to offer them as an option.
Although it may be imperceptible to the naked eye, the golf shaft flexes, or bends, during the course of the golf swing. Flex in the shaft is very important in a golf swing, but it is important to have the correct amount of flex for your particular swing.
Players who aren’t strong enough to generate fast swing speeds will benefit from a more flexible shaft. More flex for slower swings aids in launching the ball on a higher trajectory.
On the other hand, a flex that is too stiff for those with slower swings will make it more difficult to get the ball up in the air. Conversely, strong players who have fast swings need less flex in their shafts. For them, a shaft that is too flexible will produce inconsistent ball flights.
Having a golf pro, or someone knowledgeable about golf, assess your swing speed to determine the appropriate amount of shaft flex you should have in your clubs, will help you make this important decision.
There are generally five different shaft flex categories to select from:
a) Extra Stiff (X), which should only be considered by the strongest golfers who generate considerable swing speeds,
b) Stiff (S), a category that is also for stronger players who generate swing speeds slightly slower than those employing extra stiff shafts,
c) Regular (R), d) Senior (S), and e) Ladies (L).
Although not always the case, beginner golfers will usually need shafts that fall into one of the last three categories.
The head is a critical component of the golf club, particularly for beginner golfers.
Unlike professional golfers who strike the ball on the “sweet spot” of the clubface almost every time, beginner golfers are clearly not as proficient. They frequently hit the ball toward the toe or heel of the clubface. Both of these types of “mis-hits” produce ball flights that are not ideal, sometimes sending the ball off to the right or left of your target, sometimes launching the ball lower than desired, and usually costing you appreciable distance.
Fortunately, though, this is an area where, by selecting the proper club head design, beginner golfers can see the biggest improvements.
Modern club head manufacturers have incorporated several features designed to offer “forgiveness” to those golfers that need it. Irons designed with this purpose in mind – to offer maximum forgiveness – are classified as “Game Improvement” clubs or as “Super Game Improvement” clubs.
It is highly advisable for all beginner golfers to ONLY consider clubs in these two categories when choosing their set. Game Improvement irons are noticeably different than the conventional ones used by professionals and more skilled players in several ways, but most notably in two aspects:
Game Improvement irons are designed in such a way as to relocate material from the back of the head and then to re-position it around the perimeter of the head. This re-positioning creates a cavity in the back of the club head, and results in what is referred to as “perimeter weighting.”
The net effect of this perimeter weighting is that the sweet spot of the clubface effectively gets expanded, and lessens the negative impact of off-center strikes. Consequently, balls that are aren’t hit precisely in the center of the clubface will still fly a reasonable distance.
This is a huge plus for beginner golfers.
Another feature of Game Improvement clubs is a low center of gravity (COG). By placing more weight in the bottom of the club head, club designers are able to lower the COG, making it easier to launch the ball on a higher trajectory.
This is another big plus for beginners.
There are generally two ways that beginner golfers can go to select a set of clubs designed specifically for them.
The first way is to go “a la carte,” which involves testing many different brands of irons, as well as many different brands of woods, to see which clubs perform the best for you.
To complete your set, of course, you’d also have to test various wedges and putters, and choose one of each. And don’t forget a golf bag. You’ll need to pick out one of those also.
Clearly, this is not the easiest way….nor the least expensive. A new set of clubs purchased in this manner can easily cost between $1,000 to $2,000.
The other way to go is the far easier, and less expensive, path.
Recognizing the unique needs of beginner golfers, several manufacturers have put together pre-packaged sets that include everything you will need. So rather than shopping for and testing dozens of alternative club brands, these pre-packaged sets offer a greatly simplified buying process by including everything you’ll need and, notably, will come at a cost far less than by using the a la carte alternative.
And because these sets are specifically packaged for beginners, they already incorporate all of the game improvement features discussed earlier, such as graphite shafts and cavity-back/perimeter weighted heads. Some of these pre-packaged sets include the maximum allowable number of clubs (the USGA has stipulated that no more than 14 clubs can be in your bag), while some of them offer sets with fewer clubs.
Some beginner golfers will want to go with the full 14-club set, while others may opt initially for a smaller set. Fewer clubs might make sense for many beginners, as they can start with, say, 12 clubs and then add the additional ones later as their skill level improves and their commitment to golf increases.
To make your search a bit easier, we have reviewed all of these pre-packaged sets and have listed below what we feel are the best golf clubs for beginners:
![](<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Callaway-Strata-Complete-12-Piece-Right/dp/B00Q8I1BX8/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&qid=1528345086&sr=8-1&keywords=callaway+strata+complete+12+piece&dpID=41B1E-VhKbL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch&linkCode=li3&tag=golfinprogress-20&linkId=96a508250df3764cb11c77f0b00cc861" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00Q8I1BX8&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=golfinprogress-20" ></a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=golfinprogress-20&l=li3&o=1&a=B00Q8I1BX8" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /> ">")
This is the ideal set for the beginner who wants to get high-quality clubs in a package that won’t break the bank. The 12-piece set is sufficient for starting out, and allows you to grow into a more complete set as you improve.
Included in the set:
Check the set out here.
This is the great set for the beginner who wants to get the same high-quality clubs in a more complete package that also includes an additional wood, an additional hybrid, a sand wedge, and additional head covers.
Included in the set:
Check this set out here.
Wilson offers a top-notch set of clubs in this prepackaged set, including everything the beginner will need to get started.
Included in the set:
Check this set out here.
As you can see, choosing the best golf clubs for beginners does involve quite a bit understanding. It's important to educate yourself on the shaft and the head and what will work best for you when starting out. Hopefully this guide has been helpful and trust that you can't go wrong with these top 3 recommendations when you're beginning.
