Beginner Golf clubs

[Lostprophet]

I am a beginner golfer and I am looking for a set of golf clubs. I have no idea what all the tech is about i.e steel and graphite shafts etc.

My budget is £100-200.

What would you folks recommend?

I was looking at this...

http://www.sportsdirect.com/wilson-1200-cg-set-00-...

more detail...

http://www.direct-golf.co.uk/golf_packages/wilson/...

Edited by Lostprophet on Saturday 15th May 19:42

[Fats25]

I started with a cheap £299 set of Wilson irons and woods. As did most of my mates I play with.

In my opinion perfect beginner clubs, would take you a couple of years to outgrow them. In fact one of my mates that plays off 12 has just gone back to playing with them, as he was not getting on with his new irons.

[Lostprophet]

So they are a good buy?

What is all this steel graphite business?

[Juffled]

personally i would buy a good set of 2nd hand clubs from like 15 years ago, the technology has not moved on massively with irons and most beginners/high handicappers will not notice the difference between expensive clubs and rubbish clubs.

http://www.golfbidder.co.uk/models/434/Callaway_Ir...

Is what i bought, these would do you for a few years beyond just a beginner and the big berth irons are considered a good club for beginners and mid-high handicappers, i think a few pros even use them on the challenge tour still, golfbidder is a good site, i have bought alot from it.

Everyone will recommend different clubs for your bag but the typical/general consensus is

-Putter (the club you will use the most, find one you like)
-PW, 9i-5i iron set
-4hybrid maybe, generally easier to hit than a low iron (you can get cheap nickents on ebay, these are awesome clubs but sell cheap because the brand is not known otherwise cobra bafflers are supposed to be good)
-5wood (probably best to try getting woods such as ben hogans, these are callaway owned and a good quality club and a cheap price, theres alot to choose from)
-3wood

NO DRIVER, most new players and high handicappers will hit a 3 wood just as far and straighter, i certainly do, 250yrds max, 220 general, straight, is much better than 260 yrds max, 225 yrds general, somewhere forwardish, also its cheaper.

I would not bother to spend loads on woods etc you will go through a lot until you find one you like.

[condor]

You can probably pick up some cheap clubs from a charity shop.
I'd say that the minimum you can get by with is ...a 3 wood, a 7 iron and a putter.

[mouseymousey]

Juffled said:

personally i would buy a good set of 2nd hand clubs from like 15 years ago, the technology has not moved on massively with irons and most beginners/high handicappers will not notice the difference between expensive clubs and rubbish clubs.

Whilst I agree with the point about buying a good set of second hand clubs I would suggest that clubs have changed massively over the last 15 years.

I would advise buying a second hand set of Mizuno, Callaway, Wilson or Ping. Most important thing for a beginner is to make sure they have cavity backs (sometimes called 'improver irons') not blades.

RE: Graphite v Steel, graphite shafts are for people with slower swing speeds which does not necessarily mean a beginner but generally older golfers.

The sets the OP has linked to would probably be fine for a beginner but the best possible investment would be in a couple of lessons. Once you've been playing for a while I would also strongly recommend a custom fitting session to really match up your swing with the right shaft etc.

[Juffled]

mouseymousey said:

Whilst I agree with the point about buying a good set of second hand clubs I would suggest that clubs have changed massively over the last 15 years.

maybe a change of words then, there has not been a great deal of improvement in boggo cavityback irons, all the work with irons seems to be the titanium hybrid things/muscle back things etc which unless you are loaded are a waste of time.

As mouse says, buy a decent brand of 2nd hand clubs aimed at beginners/game improvement and stay to the big name brands, if it turns out you dont like golf these hold a higher premium on ebay so you haven't lost out as much. I would also suggest going down to your local american golf and trying out loads of putter types, lengths and styles and find one you like and ebay it, dont buy it because it looks good or because player x uses it or reviews say its good just see if it feels ok, theres many a person with £3k worth of gear in their garage because tiger uses it so it must be awesome.

[tuffer]

Go to your local golf club and ask the pro, he should have a decent set of second hand Callaways of Mizunos for that sort of money.

[paddyhasneeds]

I'd buy a cheap set of s/h clubs and resist the urge to keep buying more clubs in the vein hope it will make you better.

I spent a lot chopping and changing cheap clubs and if I'd simply gone with a cheap set whilst I learned the basics and then went out and got a set of Pings I'd have saved a small fortune.

[Si 330]

I woud recommed these
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mizuno-MX-15-T-Zoid-Irons-3-...

As these are the same as the pro recommended to me when I was a beginner.
I used them quiet happily for 4 years before upgrading really easy to hit and you get good loft with them.

[Chris_w666]

I bought a set of clubs that came with balls and tees for £15 from ebay and picked them up from a bloke near me.

Nice condition and would have probably been about £150-200 when new, I have been to the driving range with some of them loads of times but still haven't managed to make it to the golf course. The golf course is 15 minutes walk from my front door I feel I may never actually get round to playing.

[mouseymousey]

Si 330 said:

I woud recommed these
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mizuno-MX-15-T-Zoid-Irons-3-...

As these are the same as the pro recommended to me when I was a beginner.
I used them quiet happily for 4 years before upgrading really easy to hit and you get good loft with them.

I have an old set of those clubs, they're pretty good. I only changed them because I fancied a shiny new set

The OP can have them for £50 if he wants.

[sidicks]

Need a bit more information to advise properly, but I'd recommend graphite shafts for a beginner and would focus on a basic set of irons by someone like Hippo, rather than one of the well-known brands like Callaway, Mizuno or Taylormade as you will get more for your money.

You should be able to pick up a decent set of irons and woods plus a bag etc for less than £150. Go for regular shafts, not stiff!!

Try this link:

http://sports.shop.ebay.co.uk/Golf-Clubs-/115280/i...

Sidicks

[sidicks]

I'd have thought this would be perfect at the right price....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BRAND-NEW-HIPPO-CP-1000-COMP...


Sidicks

[tuffer]

sidicks said:

Need a bit more information to advise properly, but I'd recommend graphite shafts for a beginner and would focus on a basic set of irons by someone like Hippo, rather than one of the well-known brands like Callaway, Mizuno or Taylormade as you will get more for your money.

You should be able to pick up a decent set of irons and woods plus a bag etc for less than £150. Go for regular shafts, not stiff!!

Try this link:

http://sports.shop.ebay.co.uk/Golf-Clubs-/115280/i...

Sidicks

Not sure what handicap you play off but that IMO is not good advice. How can you recommend graphite shafts when you have no idea of the guys swing speed? I would also much rather go with quality 2nd hand clubs than some cheap tat from Hippo that will be worthless on the resale market and probably fall apart in 12 months.

[sidicks]

tuffer said:

sidicks said:

Need a bit more information to advise properly, but I'd recommend graphite shafts for a beginner and would focus on a basic set of irons by someone like Hippo, rather than one of the well-known brands like Callaway, Mizuno or Taylormade as you will get more for your money.

You should be able to pick up a decent set of irons and woods plus a bag etc for less than £150. Go for regular shafts, not stiff!!

Try this link:

http://sports.shop.ebay.co.uk/Golf-Clubs-/115280/i...

Sidicks

Not sure what handicap you play off but that IMO is not good advice. How can you recommend graphite shafts when you have no idea of the guys swing speed? I would also much rather go with quality 2nd hand clubs than some cheap tat from Hippo that will be worthless on the resale market and probably fall apart in 12 months.

I play off 10 and use Taylormade Golf clubs (the new R9 TP irons).

I bought my father a set of Hippo clubs and they were anything but 'tat', particularly for a beginner that may or may not take to the game. Although they are good quality, you definitely pay for the Taylormade / Mizuno / Callaway branding.

Buying something like the link i posted above as a starter is a sensible first step, IMO. If you pay less than £100 for a complete set in the first place (including bag and putter) then you shouldn't lose much money and can upgrade individual components as you go along, as and when required.

As a generalisation, Graphite shafts tend to get the ball airborne more easily than steel which is usually advantageous for a beginner. Having a few lessons from the local pro is definitely a good idea though, as golf has a steep learning curve and if you doon't have a good set-up it will be difficult to improve.

Sidicks



Sidicks

[Si 330]

mouseymousey said:

Si 330 said:

I woud recommed these
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mizuno-MX-15-T-Zoid-Irons-3-...

As these are the same as the pro recommended to me when I was a beginner.
I used them quiet happily for 4 years before upgrading really easy to hit and you get good loft with them.

I have an old set of those clubs, they're pretty good. I only changed them because I fancied a shiny new set

The OP can have them for £50 if he wants.

OP take him up on this.

[sidicks]

Si 330 said:

OP take him up on this.

Agreed - an excellent starting point!

Sidicks

[Lostprophet]

sounds okay... got a bag with it?

[mouseymousey]

Lostprophet said:

sounds okay... got a bag with it?

Alas, no bag...