Golf clubs for beginners

Driver

The driver is the longest club in the golf bag. Due to the long lever and the large head volume, you hit the furthest with this club. It is therefore usually used for teeing off on par-4 or par-5 holes.

When hitting with the driver, you need long tees so that the ball can be hit in the middle of the clubface.

As a rule, the club faces of drivers have an angle of inclination (loft) of 9 to 13.5 degrees.

Drivers with a very light shaft and a clubface tilt of at least 11 degrees or more are particularly suitable for beginners to ensure plenty of speed and a high, long ball flight.

Fairway woods

Fairway woods are clubs that, like the driver, are designed to cover the greatest possible distance. They are therefore often used for the "transportation shot" on a par-5 or a long par-4.

In contrast to the driver, however, they have a smaller club head so that, in addition to being used from a tee, they can also be hit directly from the fairway and the ball can still be hit directly in the middle of the club face.

There are fairway woods with different loft figures. They are also numbered differently. The most common variants are wood 3 with 15° loft, wood 5 with 19° loft and wood 7 with 21° loft.

Most golfers have one or two woods in their golf bag.

Fairway woods for beginners ideally have a larger club head and a higher inclination of the club face. A wood 5, for example, with a larger head is easier to play and the ball flies higher.

Hybrids

Hybrids are a combination of woods and irons. They are used to close the distance gap between the shortest wood and the longest. Due to their iron-like length, they are as easy to play as an iron, but their wood-like head shape almost matches the length of fairway woods.

Like fairway woods, hybrids are available with a wide variety of numberings. The most common are hybrids 3, 4, 5 and 6.

They should be selected so that one or two hybrids bridge the loft gap between fairway woods and irons exactly evenly.

For someone starting out in golf, hybrids with a larger clubface are recommended. This makes hitting the ball safer. Hybrids numbered 4, 5 and 6 can also be played well from the rough.

Iron

Irons are the type of club most commonly used to play shots into the green. Irons produce more backspin in the ball flight and a steeper landing angle of the ball, which means that it comes to rest more quickly after impact than a shot with a fairway wood, for example.

Irons are hit significantly shorter than woods and hybrids. They are therefore often used for medium-length shots. Due to their shorter shaft length, they are also easier to play.

A standard iron set consists of irons 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 and covers average distances from 100 to 175m.

A standard set of irons normally includes irons 5 to 9. Irons with a lower numbering hit the ball further. In addition to irons, there are also wedges.

Irons for beginners are characterized by a larger clubface, a wider sole and lightweight graphite shafts. They make it easier to hit the ball, glide more easily over the ground and are easy to swing.

Wedges

Wedges are a sub-category of irons and are particularly suitable for all types of approach shots around the green due to their high loft. Chips and pitches can be played with a high trajectory and therefore little roll distance and placed precisely at the flag.

Wedges, which are not part of an iron set and are purchased separately, have a special shape that does not have a hollow cavity at the back of the club head (cavity back), which is typical for irons. They are therefore more versatile and can be used in all kinds of situations with different ground conditions. In addition, the clubface is much easier to open, e.g. for bunker shots.

Typical wedges are the pitching wedge (48°), the gap wedge (52°), the sand wedge (56°) and the lob wedge (60°). However, many other loft variants are also possible. Ideally, you should choose wedges with evenly spaced lofts.

Wedges ideally complement your existing club set. You should have at least a pitching wedge and a sand wedge to be able to execute the most important shots.

Putter

The putter is probably the club that is used most often on the round. Although it is "only" there to hole the ball on the green, it is extremely important to find the right putter for you in order to minimize the number of putts you need!

Putters come in all sorts of varieties; different head shapes and weights, different lengths and grip options.

Putters for beginners should have as heavy a putter head as possible and a face-balanced weighting. The mass and the weighting calm the putting motion and lead to consistently straight putts.

Golf set What should the golf club set be able to do and have?

Your golf clubs should have very good forgiveness and playability. Golf clubs with a wide sole, a low center of gravity far back in the club back (cavity back) and a high moment of inertia (MOI) for forgiveness and accuracy have this. Thanks to the cavity back and the wide sole of the club, you can get under the ball better when hitting and therefore have an optimum ball launch.

You can get these features in a complete set or a single set of clubs at reasonable prices. A good complete set for beginners is available from as little as € 299.95.

A complete set often consists of extremely easy-to-play irons that have a deep cavity with a high moment of inertia. Comfort woods and / or hybrids for long, straight shots from the tee and onto the fairway, with which you can achieve respectable distances even with balls that are not hit precisely. A forgiving mallet putter and a golf bag are often included. The mallet putter has a larger and heavier club head, which helps you to align and aim. The weight of a mallet putter is usually evenly distributed. This helps to reduce miss-hits.