How To Choose A Golf Club - Beginners Guide Part 2/10

In part 1 we talked about the merits of starting with a traditional golf set. So what does a typical golf set include? A set is collection of no more than 14 clubs, and what you put in your bag depends on your choices - for example, substituting long irons for hybrids.

A set of irons will include a 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9-iron, plus a pitching wedge (PW). It will probably also include a driver (1-wood), and a 3-wood and 5-wood, and a putter. On top of these will be able to 2 more clubs, and you might for example decide to carry a sand-wedge (SW) for getting out of bunkers, or a hybrid, which is an iron made with wood technology, and easier to hit with than either a driver or a long-iron.

As a beginner you'll probably find that you rely mostly on your 7-iron and pitching wedge at first, and as you get more confident you will reach for the longer clubs, tackling the longer shots with hyrbids which are excellent for this kind of thing. To begin with it's worth putting a good deal of time into your short game as most shots are lost here, and you will use your putter two or three times as often as your driver!

How To Choose A Golf Club - Beginners Guide Part 1/10

A golf club is for playing with, not sitting in! Although I do rather like the design of this club in Sempachersee, Switzerland

To a beginner, making head or tail of what's needed in a set of golf clubs can prove a real obstacle to getting on with learning the game. There are so many different club options - a golf driver, irons, fairway woods, hybrids, wedges and putters. Some golfers  prefer to play nearly all their fairway shots with fairway woods or hybrids instead of irons, and in fact you can now get entire hybrid iron sets! Then there are lofts to choose, and shaft flexes to decide upon and numerous other things to think about. It can be bewildering! So it may come as no suprise that my advice to beginners would be "keep it simple". What does simple look like, you may ask? Well I think a golf set is a very good place for a beginner to get started.  A golf set will provide a good combination of clubs to get you going and as you begin to develop your playing allow you to work out what you really need. Try starting with a set that includes a couple of fairway woods and at least one hybrid, and ideally a mallet putter.  Good examples include the:

Masters MC Z540
Wilson Staff X31 Club Set