4 Golf Sets for Beginners

Golf is a tough sport to learn, so any options that speed up the learning curve are worth considering. Today I want to help you find the best golf set for beginners.

Why should you take my advice?

If you’re new to golf, you may not know what clubs you need to purchase. A typical golf set includes:

Ideally, if you’re purchasing a beginner set, it will include most of these clubs. Golfers can carry up to 14 clubs in their bag.

There are a few optional clubs that are nice to have (a hybrid, a gap wedge, a sand wedge) but the clubs listed above are a good start for most beginners. Each set featured below includes the most important golf clubs, and some of the sets include a few extras.

Ready to see some options? Let’s dive in.

Best Golf Set for Beginners, Ranked

When ranking these sets, I tried to take a number of factors into consideration including:

Those factors basically left me with four sets that were worth mentioning.

#1 – The Callaway Men’s Strata Complete Golf Club Set

Bag Included: Yes
Total Number of Clubs: 9 (there are 12 and 16 piece options as well)

Callaway is one of the most trusted names in golf, so even though this is an entry-level set, it comes from a company who cares about its reputation in the golf community. Beginners can be confident that the Strata set will hide some of their swing deficiencies and help improve distances on each shot.

This was my first official set of golf clubs, and they performed well overall, especially considering my swing limitations.

Cons: As with nearly all golf sets for beginners, this is a “one size fits all” purchase. This set will serve you well if you are 5’6″-6’1″, but if you are on the taller side of things, you might find this set to be a bit short. The bag doesn’t have any fairway woods (a hybrid is included instead). Since the 3 wood is currently my favorite club, I might push some beginners toward the 12 piece Strata set (which does include the 3 wood).

What Golfers Have to Say

#2 – The Wilson Ultra Package Set

Bag Included: Yes
Total Number of Clubs: 10

Wilson used to offer a beginner set called the Wilson Ultra Package Set. The Wilson Men’s Profile is the newer version of those clubs.

Wilson is considered to be one of the value brands in golf, and this set makes a strong case for that label.

The Wilson Ultra includes everything a beginner needs to get started. Some would prefer Callaway over Wilson in terms of quality and R&D, but one of the big highlights for this Wilson offering is the ability to customize even a beginner set. Options are offered for teens, seniors, and taller golfers.

Cons: As with the Callaway Strata listed above, Wilson’s Ultra set does not include a 3 wood, but it does include more clubs overall (hence the higher price tag).

What Golfers Have to Say

#3 – Stix Golf Play

Bag Included: Yes
Total Number of Clubs: 10

Stix Golf is the outlier on this list. This “disrupter” brand focuses on a direct-to-consumer sales model, cutting out the middle man and building a set that truly stands out from the crowd.

This is the most expensive set on my beginners list, but for good reason: there is no better set for performance AND looks. The Stix Club Play set can stay with you even as your game improves, while the other sets on this list are probably worth replacing as your game grows.

The set includes a driver, 3 wood (YES!!!), 4 hybrid, 6 iron through pitching wedge, a 56 degree wedge, and a plumbers neck putter.

CONS: Price and sizing. Like the Callaway Strata, this set is built for golfers of average height.

What Golfers Have to Say

Honorable Mention: The Palm Springs Golf VISA V2 Graphite Club Set

Bag Included: Yes
Total Number of Clubs: 12

Palm Springs Golf isn’t one of the big names in golf, but they’ve put together one of the most affordable golf sets for beginners. Highlights include a nice color scheme and an oversized driver with a huge sweet spot that will help beginners get good distance from the tee.

The VISA V2 also includes two hybrids (a 3 and a 4) as well as a 3 wood. That’s more than any of the other sets I’ve highlighted.

These clubs have graphite shafts (learn more about why this matters here).

Cons: Some golfers might be hesitant to play with an unknown brand, and this set does not include a sand wedge. It should be noted that this isn’t a heavy duty set, and a few golfers have noted club heads breaking off over time.

What Golfers Have to Say

Other Golf Sets for Beginners to Consider

Some of these golf sets were discontinued and can be tough to find, but I know of some beginners using the

• Knight XV Clubs
• Adams Idea OS Clubs (a bit pricey but good clubs)
• Nextt Golf Z One Elite
• Top-Flite XL Complete Golf Set

Shopping Tips (and a Cautionary Word)

I know there are cheap golf sets at yard sales, on eBay, etc. but it is worth noting that an incomplete or mismatched golf set can stunt a beginner’s development. Instead of thinking only about dollar signs, focus on the long term goal — getting beginner clubs that will help you learn to golf. I’ve watched way too many people try to get good at golf with a bad set of clubs.

Women and men should shop for sets that complement their game. About.com has some helpful thoughts on the differences in club design.

If you look over this list and you aren’t impressed with the beginner clubs that I highlighted, you could go another route.

Do some research and find a set of “forgiving” golf clubs that you like. Forgiving clubs have a bigger sweet spot which will help newer golfers hit the ball further and straighter.

Once you have that information, my advice would be to shop pre-owned.

Sites like Nearly New Golf Clubs (good for UK and EU golfers) or Callaway Pre-Owned (good for American golfers) will help you land some high quality clubs at way less than retail. At the time I posted this, Nearly New Golf Clubs had 5 complete sets I could choose from at a fraction of the original price.

My point is this: Don’t buy a new expensive set of clubs until you are confident they will improve your game. Beginner sets are reasonably priced for accessibility, and other options exist for premium, nearly new clubs.

Do you own any of these beginner golf sets?

If so, please tell us about your experience.