Best Golf Set Configuration for Beginner Golfer

As a beginner, they may have a hard time making consistent contact with the ball. Some common problems are contact on the heel and toe of the club as well as topped and fat shots (i.e. hitting the top of the ball or hitting the ground first). In short, they simply have problem hitting the ball with the center of the clubface.

They may also have difficulty getting the clubhead back to the ball in a square position. Their clubhead generally approaches the ball from outside of the target line (out-to-in) and at a steep angle. That usually means their typical shot shape is a slice - a shot that curves right.

As beginner, their swing speed is also slow due to inexperience with proper swing mechanics (though younger and more athletic beginners may be an exception). For women and juniors golfer, the clubhead speed is generally not fast enough due to lack of strength. As a result of slow swing speed or poor contact, they have difficulty getting the ball up in the air as well as lack of distance.

Most beginners tend to want to help the ball up by scooping under the ball, so they frequently hit fat shots particularly with your irons. They haven't learned that hitting down on the ball makes it go up which is caused by that out-to-in, steep swing path.

Likewise, they are clueless in the sand. They don't realize that to get out of the sand, they don't hit the ball but they should hit the sand and the ball rides out on the sand.

The Ideal Set for Beginners

The beginner ideal set would be one with the goals to take care of the swing issues and provide maximum forgiveness.

An oversized clubhead has a larger hitting area so there will be fewer mishits will help with inconsistent contact. For irons, perimeter weighting will help make those mishits go slightly straighter and shots off the heel or toe to be more solid. A wide sole will slide through the turf easier and get the ball up higher. Slightly shorter clubs will also help to make accurate and better club-ball contact.

To help with that out-to-in swing path, an offset clubhead will get the clubface back to the ball a little later. In other words, the clubface will be more square to the target and not open. This will also keep the hands a little bit in front of the clubhead which will help with those fat shots.

For long shots from the fairway or rough a beginner may wants to choose woods and hybrid clubs with the most loft possible with a low center of gravity. More loft help out in getting the ball in the air and it should go a little farther. Moreover, it will create more backspin that will offset the side spin of shots and keep them from curving as much. The result is a slightly straighter shot.

A beginner's driver should have a larger head (over 430cc) to increase the size of the hitting area. Additional loft (12-15 degrees) will get the ball in the air. Added loft once again will increase backspin and make those left to right curves less pronounced.

Finally, putting is something that could be better with practice. It doesn't take great athletic ability to be a decent putter. That said, it's still not easy for a beginner to judge distances. On average, 3 putts are still quite common. Besides that, alignment is another issue as most beginners haven't learned to keep their head directly over the ball. More often than not, contact can still be inconsistent.

Beginner Set Configuration

Once you understand the profile of a beginner and the ideal clubs for beginner, what is a good club set configuration for a beginner?

To begin with, a beginner does not need as many clubs. Even though, you’re allowed to carry up to a maximum of 14 clubs by rules, but a beginner needs no more than 10-12 clubs. Why make the game more confusing? A new golfer, especially women and seniors, will find that they hit many of their longer clubs about the same distance. They will begin to hit clubs at different distances only when they get down to their 7-PW.

The first clubs to exclude are the long irons (3, 4). Your iron set should start with the 5 or 6 iron and go up to the sand wedge (SW). For longer shots use lofted woods (5, 7, 9) and hybrid clubs (3, 4, 5). You may find yourself hitting them all about the same distance, so you should continue to experiment and test them all to discover the ones that feel the best. Then, leave the ones that you don't hit well at home.

Super Game Improvement (SGI) irons are the choice for maximum forgiveness. SGI clubs will offer maximum perimeter weighting, larger offset, a wide sole and low center of gravity. Club choices can be 6 iron through pitching wedge or 6-sand wedge. The sand wedge selection should offer extra "bounce." Bounce is the feature on the sole of the club that helps it easily glide through sand or rough.

The right set configuration also depends on your swing speed. Swing speeds between 65-80 mph (for women, juniors and some seniors) will need more woods and hybrid clubs and generally more loft to help get the ball up in the air. Average male swing speeds of 80-90 mph can begin to add a few more irons (5-6) but you still want to use hybrids and lofted woods instead of long irons. Woods are always easier to hit for beginners. Their larger heads and flat soles compared to irons create more confidence. Slightly shortened versions of 3, 5, and 7 woods are highly recommended for all beginners regardless of swing speed.

The driver should have a 440-460 cc titanium head. The new large headed drivers are easier to hit even though it is the longest club in the bag. Make sure you have extra loft to increase accuracy and distance. If you still have problems hitting it accurately, try choking up an inch or so.

For a putter, you want one of the new large headed mallet putters. These new putters have High Moment of Inertia (MOI) where they don't twist on off-center hits. And their alignment aids make short putts much easier.

Set configuration - Woods (1, 5, 7), Hybrids (4, 5), Irons (Super Game Improvement) (6-SW), Putter (Mallet)

Our Recommended GigaGolf Set

Driver	Acer XP 905 Ti (460cc) 12 degrees New deeper profile and rounder face optimizes energy transfer to the ball so you may gain more distance without swinging any harder. Powerful 460 cc size and thin beta Ti face technology creates a rebound or trampoline effect that equals the USGA's limit.
Woods	Acer XP 905 (5, 7) Equipped with a large face and a low center of gravity the 905's advanced features easy launch shots from even tight lies. Designed to compliment the XP 905 Titanium Driver, the stainless steel fairway version sports a unique beveled-cut sole design which helps to redistribute weight for optimal launch and provides stability through impact.
Irons	Acer XP High Trajectory (6-SW) Incorporates 3 significant game improvement features into one easy to play iron design. First, a low center of gravity helps get the ball airborne even when the shot is a little "thin". Second, a wide sole reduces the clubs tendency to dig in when contact is made with the ground before the ball.
Hybrids	Acer XP (4, 5) Better players and amateurs alike have been discarding their 2 and 3 irons in favor of Hybrid clubs. Hybrids feature longer shots found in fairway woods and increased accuracy typcial of irons.
Putter	Ecliptic 3-Ball The three ball alignments system gives the golfer an optical alignment advantage equal to nothing you've seen before. Correct set up on putts inside 10 feet is virtually guaranteed. True face balancing is achieved with a correctly engineered double bend putter shaft set in precisely the right angle. Face balanced putters have a greater tendency to stay square at impact.

Back to Used Golf Clubs