Beginner/casual golf clubs?

  • Guest, it's time once again for the hotly contested and exciting FoH Asshat Tournament!



    Go here and fill out your bracket!
    Who's been the biggest Asshat in the last year? Once again, only you can decide!

Ravishing

Uninspiring Title
<Bronze Donator>
8,452
3,577
I won't judge, but Wilson irons scream beginner.
Any cavity back irons are suitable for beginner. You can get a good set in the 600-800 range. Steel shaft, stiff flex.
Titleist, ping, Nike, Callaway, taylormade.. all good sets. Ping is generally an affordable and respectable branded set, personally I like & rate the other 4 higher.

460cc driver with stiff shaft is ideal, maybe extra stiff if you're swinging out of your shoes. Problem with beginners is thinking swing speed = distance. Swinging too fast whips the club head around too much and you'll slice/ hook often. Need to keep it under control. Flex shafts are for older dudes with slower swing speed.

A driver is as much as a full set of irons, find a model that's 1-2 years old and you can get a great driver for much cheaper.
As a beginner I wouldn't worry about breaking the bank on a driver right away. You use it 14x a round compared to a set of irons. Just get something at the max head size (460cc) and let it rip.

Putter is the most important club, find something comfortable and practice practice practice. Weight, length, etc.. no way to suggest putter tbh, personally I use a Scotty from '99. Best putter brand imo. (Scotty cameron).
You use a putter 30-40 times a round.

Normally you'll get a wedge with your irons set, but if you can nix it and lower the cost of your set, look into buying bladed wedges separately. A pitching wedge can be with your set (45 degree). Sand wedge (56 degree and if you get a lob wedge (60) or gap (50) should be a bladed wedge imo
 

Khane

Got something right about marriage
19,785
13,293
If you can't break 90 spending more than like 200 bucks is a waste. It's not going to make any difference until you become a consistent ball striker.

If the Wilson's felt good buy the Wilsons
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

Brahma

Obi-Bro Kenobi-X
11,798
41,122
I won't judge, but Wilson irons scream beginner.
Any cavity back irons are suitable for beginner. You can get a good set in the 600-800 range. Steel shaft, stiff flex.
Titleist, ping, Nike, Callaway, taylormade.. all good sets. Ping is generally an affordable and respectable branded set, personally I like & rate the other 4 higher.

460cc driver with stiff shaft is ideal, maybe extra stiff if you're swinging out of your shoes. Problem with beginners is thinking swing speed = distance. Swinging too fast whips the club head around too much and you'll slice/ hook often. Need to keep it under control. Flex shafts are for older dudes with slower swing speed.

A driver is as much as a full set of irons, find a model that's 1-2 years old and you can get a great driver for much cheaper.
As a beginner I wouldn't worry about breaking the bank on a driver right away. You use it 14x a round compared to a set of irons. Just get something at the max head size (460cc) and let it rip.

Putter is the most important club, find something comfortable and practice practice practice. Weight, length, etc.. no way to suggest putter tbh, personally I use a Scotty from '99. Best putter brand imo. (Scotty cameron).
You use a putter 30-40 times a round.

Normally you'll get a wedge with your irons set, but if you can nix it and lower the cost of your set, look into buying bladed wedges separately. A pitching wedge can be with your set (45 degree). Sand wedge (56 degree and if you get a lob wedge (60) or gap (50) should be a bladed wedge imo

Very much so I'm a beginner. So nix the driver. Spend on the putter. Pretty much what the guy at the store said.

The club near me says I am a 15 handicap at a 113 slope (whatever THAT means). I do break 90 most times on borrowed clubs. The guys I play with are around the same, but play MUCH more, and have been playing for longer. Figured time to start kicking their asses. This was the 1st time I went out this year, and shot an abysmal 96. Wasn't a good day. Though I birdied the PAR 4!

I live like 6 blocks away from a pretty nice nine hole public course. It only has two holes over par 4+. I will probably join since two of my buds are members and it's less than a grand for a family 7 day package. Plus my neighbor that is retiring needs a fuckin hobby or he will drive me insane.
 

Brahma

Obi-Bro Kenobi-X
11,798
41,122
If you can't break 90 spending more than like 200 bucks is a waste. It's not going to make any difference until you become a consistent ball striker.

If the Wilson's felt good buy the Wilsons
I've been told I'm not bad, considering I only play 5x a year or so.
 

Borzak

Bronze Baron of the Realm
24,420
31,634
Very much so I'm a beginner. So nix the driver. Spend on the putter. Pretty much what the guy at the store said.

The club near me says I am a 15 handicap at a 113 slope (whatever THAT means). I do break 90 most times on borrowed clubs. The guys I play with are around the same, but play MUCH more, and have been playing for longer. Figured time to start kicking their asses. This was the 1st time I went out this year, and shot an abysmal 96. Wasn't a good day. Though I birdied the PAR 4!

I live like 6 blocks away from a pretty nice nine hole public course. It only has two holes over par 4+. I will probably join since two of my buds are members and it's less than a grand for a family 7 day package. Plus my neighbor that is retiring needs a fuckin hobby or he will drive me insane.

I like the 9 hole courses. Not so many people dragging along on some holes forever and other groups trying to speed run the course. More relaxed in my experience but I'm guessing it has a lot to do with where you are.
 

TJT

Mr. Poopybutthole
<Gold Donor>
40,693
102,060
Just go to Top Golf a few times a year. All the fun of hitting golf balls and drinking and none of the other bullshit!
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

Springbok

Karen
<Gold Donor>
8,970
12,472
Very much so I'm a beginner. So nix the driver. Spend on the putter. Pretty much what the guy at the store said.

The club near me says I am a 15 handicap at a 113 slope (whatever THAT means). I do break 90 most times on borrowed clubs. The guys I play with are around the same, but play MUCH more, and have been playing for longer. Figured time to start kicking their asses. This was the 1st time I went out this year, and shot an abysmal 96. Wasn't a good day. Though I birdied the PAR 4!

I live like 6 blocks away from a pretty nice nine hole public course. It only has two holes over par 4+. I will probably join since two of my buds are members and it's less than a grand for a family 7 day package. Plus my neighbor that is retiring needs a fuckin hobby or he will drive me insane.

If you're shooting in the 90's with a 15 handicap playing only a handful of times a year you're already a pretty good golfer (better than a lot of guys who play a lot more). I would imagine if you played more consistently you'll be shooting in the low 80's fairly quickly, which again, would put you at the top of where most amateur golfers get (I would wager the majority of golfers never come close to breaking 80). Good for you - on the clubs, I'd just buy a set of decent cavity backs (Callaway Rogues, Ping G700, whatever is on sale or used at golf galaxy) and go from there. Beginner golfers really don't need new clubs, and used clubs can be found at GREAT bargains on occasion. I'm a single digit handicap and the only club I've ever bought new was a Scotty putter a few years ago, and only because I had a gift card I'd won in a scramble. Other than that, my irons, driver, hybrids and wedges were all purchased either locally or at globalgolf.com

It's a really great game, and a wonderful way to spend more time outside challenging yourself.
 

Khane

Got something right about marriage
19,785
13,293
I would say it sounds like he plays on an executive 9 hole course (so par of 30 instead of 35/36). So shooting in the 90s may have a different context in that regard since it's mostly par 3s with a couple par 4s.

Used clubs are a good option but honestly the other, cheaper brands new will be fine as well. Cavity back is the main thing you wanna look for and you'll wanna figure out the lofts. Over time, irons de-loft as they are played with because of the impact with the ground over and over. A lot of newer "game improving" sets are also misleading with some new sets having Pitching Wedges that are only 41-43 degrees, which is honestly a traditional 8-9 iron. So you may find huge gaps after the Pitching Wedge because of the actual loft.
 

Lost Virtue

Trakanon Raider
2,320
267
Big fan of 'Tour Edge' clubs as of late. They do not do much sponsorship on the tour so you do not see the name often but they are generally regarded as to making some of the best fairway woods and hybrids. They are known to pack a lot of tech and materials into their clubs (sometimes years before the big name companies) without huge prices (no marketing or sponsorship money to pay out).

Their 'Hot Launch 3' set is a great starter set (coworker bought a set), but if willing to spend a little more, pick up their 'Exotics' line.

RockBottomGolf generally has some great deals on previous year's models for most brands.


(I currently use a mix of Cobra and Tour Edge clubs)
 
Last edited:

SDsurfer

Trakanon Raider
124
97
Why are drivers so expensive? I just started playing in 2019 and bought a used rogue driver for 250$. After playing with it awhile I determined I need a stiff flex instead of regular. However $450+ for anew driver is crazy.

Anyone use Wilson drivers? They are the only ones that seem reasonable for the price.
 

Khane

Got something right about marriage
19,785
13,293
Why are drivers so expensive? I just started playing in 2019 and bought a used rogue driver for 250$. After playing with it awhile I determined I need a stiff flex instead of regular. However $450+ for anew driver is crazy.

Anyone use Wilson drivers? They are the only ones that seem reasonable for the price.

Don't buy top end drivers unless you are a single digit handicap. You can find brand new drivers that you won't notice any difference with for 200 bucks or less. However, you can just re-shaft your existing driver as well for much less than that. Don't let the sales team at whatever golf shop you go to try to sell you on some high end, top of the line shaft, and don't fall for all the commercials claiming you'll gain 20 yards off the tee with their club fitting tech (unless you're some 6'8" giant, in which case you wanna get fit to ensure proper club length).

With just a quick search I see you can find Cleveland drivers for cheap, and you can definitely find new drivers from older generations for under $200 bucks as well.

This is still a bit above $200 but is only 1 generation old and was $500+ when it first released:

TaylorMade M4 Driver
 

SDsurfer

Trakanon Raider
124
97
Maybe I will re shaft the rogue driver. I changed my stance a bit to keep the ball more forward and I was hitting it 200 carry fairly consistently. I’d like to speed up my swing a bit more but every time I do the ball goes wild. I know your not supposed to swing out of your pants, but I’m 37 and still in decent athletic shape. I feel like I can swing much faster and still have control.

Luckily I live in San Diego so it’s usually playable weather. They also have a high end KBS shaft store near me. Maybe I’ll check that out to get some examples.
 

Tmac

Adventurer
<Gold Donor>
9,202
15,633
About a year ago I decided to GIT GUD at golf for work. I had some hella old Callaways I was playing w ith and probably played 10x in 2021 and played decently. Mostly bc I would Frankenstein my grip, stance, and swing to compensate for being bad. Then I took a lesson...and I got real bad.

So, of course I make the wise decision to go buy $2600 worth of new Callaway Mavericks and GIT REALLY GUD. However, since now I'm trying to "play right" I'm so bad...like so so bad. Like +25 on nine holes last week bad. Every single shot I hit went the same way, right. So, I guess atleast I'm consistent?

So yeah, golf is super fun for me right now and it's not like I'm not atheletic. I was a scholarship athelete in college and I still work out like 3-4x a week. But, holy shit golf is hard. It's even worse than boxing was where you're bad for the first 2-3 weeks until your brain figures out the combos. Golf is like advanced calculus.

I just watched 2 hours of golf instructing videos and there are some main things I'm going to work on:

1. Keeping my lead arm straight on the backswing
2. Rotating my hips and not my legs/back on the backswing
3. Work my lead arm inside against my chest on the foreswing

I have notes on like 10 things, but I think these could help me the most in the interrum. Mainly because every gd ball I hit sails right or dribbles forward and to the right bc I elbow it.

Anyways, dear diary, yadda yadda.

[edit] LMAO product review thread?? Jesus. I searched golf threads and this was the only thread titled semi-appropriately. Amod Amod feel free to move this somewhere more appropriate.