One of the intimidating things about getting started in golf is wondering whether you’re using the right clubs. As with most things in this game, the key with equipment is to start slowly but strategically. First, even if most players get there eventually, there’s no need to begin with 14 clubs in your bag. Basically you need less, not more.
You need a club you can hit off the tee on par 4s and par 5s, you need two or three clubs you can advance the ball down the fairway with at basically 100-, 150- and 200-yard increments (pitching wedge, 7-iron and a hybrid would be our choice), you need a sand wedge you can use around the green and out of the greenside bunkers and you need a putter. That’s six clubs max.
Since limited sets are rare—you might get lucky with a used set, or on eBay—that probably means your buying strategy is to invest in a full set and pare down to the minimum number of clubs to get you around the golf course. There are box sets with a full complement of clubs for less than $200 in many places.
You’ll need golf balls, but our advice at this point in your golf career is to spend less than $25 for as many balls as you can get. Once you stop losing two sleeves a round, then you can start to be a little more particular. Some other essentials we think are important:
Source: golfdigest.com
