Question: What's the best make or brand to use for a beginner?

gent9662

Hi I have been playing golf for a few years now. I am thinking of investing in a new set of clubs and drivers. Can anybody advise me as to the best (most forgiving) clubs to purchase.

With regards to drivers, what is the best driver to use for a relative beginner?


Where is the cheapest and best place to buy clubs at the moment?

Thanks for all your help.

stockdam

I think this question should be made into a sticky as it comes up very often.

There's no black and white answer into what's the best clubs for a beginner.

You first need to decide whether you want to play once or twice per year or if you want to play weekly. If you are only going to play two or three times per year then anything will really do.

If you want a set that will do you for a couple of years then I'd suggest a 2nd hand set of well known clubs such as Ping, Titlest, Callaway etc. but these are quite expensive even for 2nd hand.

If you want new then try MDD, RAM or Wilson.

You won't need all the clubs so a set of irons that have 6,7,8,9 and a couple of wedges would be more than enough. Get a rescue club (4 iron) if you can. Obviously a putter (don't spend too much). Drivers can be hard to hit for a beginner so get one with quite a bit of loft - say 12 degrees. Don't buy new as you will probably change it after a while.

I would avoid the "beginner" sets that have a full set of irons, woods, bag, shoes etc. These tend to be be cheap and with poor shafts.

I'd go with good quality 2nd hand and only buy a half set.

gent9662

Thanks for the advice. Would you recommend a one driver over another?

VikingG

Everyone will have their own opinion... but to the be honest I couldn't get over how forgiving the Ping G10, G15 drivers are. Very easy to hit a straight 200 yard drive with these .. which for a beginner is a good way to start any hole.

BillyBoy

Like Viking said its different strokes for different folks. Nike drivers seem to be very popular these days, I have one myself and love it, and am seeing them more and more in other peoples bags. They seem to bringing out new models every few months so you can get some good value on 'older' models that are all of 6 months out of date. TaylorMade are very popular too, although never took to them myself. Same with the Pings, they are in a lot of peoples bags now.

As regards Irons again there are many out there that will do the job. Mizuno makes some great looking clubs for all levels that are relatively cheap.

With wedges, the vokeys are still probably the most popular. I love the MD Golf wedges, they constantly get voted some of the best in test in a lot of magazines, and are only around half the price of some other 'top-end' brands. I would also look at anything - driver, wood, irons, putters - by MD Golf. They are a NI-based brand that use the top end materials but only charge a fraction of the cost of some of the bigger brands. Never really heard anything bad about them.

As regards putters it really doesn't matter. If it suits your eye and gets the ball in the hole then go with it. It could be worth €15 or €250. As pointed out in previous posts Mickleson uses (or used) a relatively cheap Oddysey putter in comparison to some of the Scotty Cameron putters out there that are meant to be the 'best in the world' (people who use them say this. I have one and they are the best in the world ).

I would suggest going to your local golf shop and see if anything suits your eye. Then go online and see if you can get them for a good price. At the end of the day, if you like the look of them and you can hit the ball well, brand means nothing.

Hope this helps

seanmc1980

what everyone else said. all depend of how much u play. anything will do if u play 3 times a year. more serious get a good set of second hand cast irons. all in all you could get everything for 300 or so. if you feel you going to take it serious i'd invest in the middle end irons as nothing will be as bad as having to re access you clubs in a years time!
i started off last year with a set of second hand titelists irons, ping putter, mcGregor Mctech driver, mcgregor 5 wood and vokey wedge. played loads and got down to 12. this year invest in a new Taylor made R9 and taylor made TP irons all in all cost me nearly 1k but i know i'll have them for at least the next 6 years so good investment i feel

stockdam

And don't get blade or muscle-back irons as they are difficult to hit well. Get yourself some cavity back irons (google the terms if you need help).

Drivers.......well it used to be that I wouldn't recommend them for a beginner but they are much easier to hit now. Unfortunately the big names are expensive so try a good pro shop and ask them for help - they may have some good 2nd hand ones......and take somebody who knows about clubs. Avoid lofts 9 degrees or under. Go for 10 to 12 degrees.

Avoid stiff shafts unless a pro tells you that you need them.

If you see a nice set but the grips are worn then ask them to change them (maybe bargain for free grips - ok that's going too far).

You should be able to pick up a set of clubs that is two to three years old and which will be as good as any of this year's rinky-dinky models.