By Tyler Olson, PGA Associate ·
A beginner needs far fewer than the 14 clubs the rules allow. A driver or a hybrid, a 7-iron, a pitching wedge, a sand wedge, and a putter will cover almost everything in your first few months. Borrow or buy used to start, and wait on a custom fitting until your swing has settled down.
Five to seven is plenty. The rules let you carry up to 14 clubs, but that is a limit, not a goal. A full bag mostly gives a new golfer more choices to get wrong, and more clubs with small gaps between them that you cannot yet hit consistently anyway.
When you are learning, you get more out of hitting one club well a hundred times than ten clubs ten times each. A short set keeps your practice simple.
Here is the list I point new golfers toward: a driver or a easy-to-hit hybrid or fairway wood for the long shots, a 7-iron as your main learning club, a pitching wedge for approach shots and chips, a sand wedge for bunkers and short shots around the green, and a putter. That is it.
If you want a sixth or seventh club, add a 5-hybrid and a 9-iron. Hybrids are usually easier to launch than long irons, so most beginners are happier with one of those than with a 4-iron or 5-iron.
Borrow first if you can. A friend, a family member, or a neighbor with an old set in the garage is a great place to start. Playing a few times with borrowed clubs tells you whether you actually enjoy golf before you spend real money on it.
If you have to buy, a used starter set is a very reasonable choice. Beginners do not wear out clubs, and a used set does the same job while you figure out what you like. Just check that the grips are not slick or cracked and that the shafts are not bent or rusted.
Not at the start. A fitting matches clubs to a swing, and a brand new swing changes quickly. If you are fit in month one, the clubs can be wrong for you by month six because you moved on and the clubs did not.
Get fit once you have played regularly for a while and your ball flight is fairly repeatable. Until then, the basics matter more: the right length for your height, grips that are not worn out, and clubs that are not so stiff or heavy that you fight them.
Junior golfers should never play with adult clubs cut down badly or with clubs that are too long. Clubs that fit their size make it much easier to learn a balanced swing. Kids grow fast, so used junior sets or hand-me-downs from another family are a smart way to go.
Left-handed golfers can find a smaller choice of used sets, so it is worth looking early. If you are unsure which side you swing from, try a few swings both ways with borrowed clubs before you buy anything.
Ask yourself how often you will really play, whether you can borrow for another month, and whether the set is made for your height. If you are not sure, bring the clubs to a lesson. I am happy to look at what you have and tell you whether it is workable. At the end of each lesson, you also leave with a written practice plan, so you know which of those few clubs to work with first.
Yes. A 7-iron, a pitching wedge, a sand wedge and a putter are enough to learn the basics of full swings, chipping, bunker shots and putting. Many people add a driver or hybrid after that. A short set also keeps practice simple.
It can be, especially a used one. Boxed beginner sets bundle the clubs you need in one purchase, and they are built to be forgiving. Borrowing first is still the cheapest way to find out whether you will stick with golf.
The putter, because you use it on every hole, followed by a 7-iron as your main learning club. Most strokes in a round happen close to the green, so the short game clubs deserve as much attention as the driver.
Wait until you have played regularly for a few months and your shots start to look similar from one swing to the next. A fitting works best on a swing that is not changing every week.
Thirty minutes, one-on-one, and a written practice plan you keep. Most students start with the 5-Lesson Package.
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