It can be confusing buying new golf gear, even for seasoned golfers. The biggest brands in golf release new equipment every year.
This article will make it easy to decide whether a golf service or equipment is worth purchasing.
Does Golf Club Quality Matter?
The quality of golf clubs does make a difference, but the change matters if you improve in golf. Of course, a pro would not play as well with lower-quality clubs. But the difference between cheap good-quality clubs and expensive clubs for an amateur is not that significant.
People mistake quality for expensive clubs. If you cannot swing a golf club, getting a $500 driver would make zero difference to your game. Golf is all about the player, not their equipment.
Quality does make a difference, but quality does not mean expensive. Buying a solid $300 to $450 golf set, then getting fitted for those clubs and spending the savings on lessons is far better than buying an expensive set you are not ready for.
The popular golfing YouTuber Peter Finch played a game of golf with a £70 ($90) Slazenger Golfing set, which included the bag. He gave locals at the golf course the sets and driver, then asked them what they thought it was worth.
Their answers ranged from £115 ($153) to £299 ($397.80) when in reality, the driver is worth around £10 ($13)!
I recommend spending a little more and getting this fantastic Callaway set for a bargain on Amazon. It includes 12 clubs, including the bag!
Golf is all about technique. Give any PGA player wooden vintage clubs from the 1920s, and I guarantee they will play better than an amateur with a super-expensive top-of-line golf set.
It doesn’t matter what clubs you use. As long as you strike the ball well, creating a solid, consistent swing at the beginner’s stage with good golfing fundamentals, like hitting the ball squarely in the Clubface, matters.
Put cheaper clubs in the hands of anyone half-decent, and I guarantee they can play golf and shoot low numbers just fine.
Buying expensive clubs could even do you harm! Around 25% to 35% of PGA players, including Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, use blades, which are generally more expensive and harder to use than a cheaper cavity back clubs.
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Please read my helpful guide for a more detailed look into golf club quality and why affordable doesn’t mean a lack of quality.
Can Beginners Use Bladed Irons?
Bladed irons look cool, but beginners should not use them. They are thinner and have a lower sense of gravity than cavity-backed irons, with far less margin for error due to a smaller clubhead sweet spot.
A beginner will get frustrated easier with bladed as you lack an established swing. The modern cavity back irons are designed to be more forgiving, and the clubhead will twist less, giving more margin for error, making a bad hit straighter and further.
As a beginner, you will likely miss the sweet spot most of the time. A bladed iron makes the misses worse, making your shots less far and off-target than a cavity-backed iron.
However, blades force you to make good contact with the ball. Therefore, the crucial difference between a good and lousy golfer is that playing with edges causes good ball-striking as you can’t get away with not hitting the ball correctly.
It won’t be easy learning with bladed clubs. But it forces you to face your issues and work on them. In addition, you get immediate feedback with every bad shot, which is a good way to learn and adjust your swing.
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The real answer is more complicated than seeing the full picture. Please read my helpful guide.
Is Golfpass Worth It?
Golfpass is not worth it if you don’t have any Golf Now courses in your area. The Golf Now promotions can only be used Monday to Thursday after 12:00/1:00 P.M. You need to pay $200/ annually to get booking fees waived. The Golfpass has negative reviews and has a $3.49 fee for each golfer booked, excluding tax.
I would struggle to recommend Golfpass instead of teeoff.com.
GolfNow might have over 19,000 golf courses worldwide, but that doesn’t mean there is one near you.
Even if there is, you must be a GolfPass+ member to receive GolfNow credit for your green fees. Membership is $90 annually with a free 7-day trial.
The issue is that you need to play around 30 to 40 rounds of golf to justify the waived fees. The free round of golf is useless as it needs to be a Hot Deal (up to $21) and can only be used Monday to Thursday after 12:00/1:00 P.M. Most courses will not offer hot deals after noon.
While Teeoff.com has no convenience fees, unlike the Golf Now $3.49 price per golfer, booker plus tax depending on state and country.
Tee.off.com also allows you to cancel bookings with a $2 fee. You can ONLY cancel a Golf Now reservation if the course is closed.
There is no live streaming of golf on Golfpass, but it does have archived rounds and more than 4000 on-demand instructions videos, including several from McIlroy and his coach Michael Bannon, but is that worth $100-$200 a year?
I don’t think so. GolfWithAimee and Meandmygolf, and many other golf YouTube channels that are free and don’t require a subscription service.
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Curious to know more? See the complete picture of why Golf Pass is not worth it and why Teeoff.com is much better in every way in my helpful article.
Is Golf Tech Worth It?
Golf Tech is worth it. They have excellent instructors with clear advantages over traditional lessons due to using the latest Golf technology, which uses feedback and data points to focus on specific swing adjustments. However, it is expensive, and the quality of instructors matters a lot.
Depending on your location, the quality and price of the lessons can vary greatly.
Your first lesson is called a swing evaluation which lasts between 60-90 minutes where you meet your coach to discuss your game, and they will evaluate your swing putting together an improvement plan.
Golf Tech is not for beginners. It’s designed to work on an existing golf swing rather than create the fundamentals for one. Curious about golf lessons? Look no further than my complete guide to golf lessons.
After your swing is evaluated, you will be strapped into Golf Tech’s advanced motion technology that includes motion measurement and video analysis that is hard to get for the average golfer. You will use this tech in all your Golf Tech lessons.
With the equipment, you will hit a club depending on your area of weakness that you initially discussed in your swing evaluation. For example, if you struggle with wedges, you will hit a wedge.
After a few swings, your coach will go through the video frame by frame-breaking down the areas that need improvement, your coach will exchange the first change that needs to be made, and you will begin working on the swing to keep cementing that change.
As the lesson finishes, the instructor will take an after swing shot showing your improvement compared to the first swing and discuss the steps with future studies.
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GolfTec is NOT perfect. Please read my detailed article to see the company’s problems and more information about why it is worth it.
How Much Should a Beginner Spend on Golf Clubs?
A beginner should spend between $150 and $200 (£110-180) on golf clubs. You can buy a complete set of irons, a putter, and three wood. Unfortunately, beginners often fall into spending too much money on top-of-the-range clubs.
Look no further than this for a complete set at an unbeatable price on Amazon.
Please don’t go all out and buy the best gear straight away. The above set is an excellent starter pack for any beginner as it comes with all the essential clubs you need to play 18 holes plus some extras, including a driver and a 5-hybrid.
Buying a set of clubs saves the hassle of purchasing individual clubs on second-hand sites like eBay. In addition, most bundles like the Callaway set above will come with a golf bag, club head covers, and a towel you can attach to the bag.
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You can read my helpful article for more information on how much you should spend as a beginner on golf clubs.
How Much Does a Golf Bag Cost?
A golf bag can cost anywhere between $30-$600 (£20-£500) depending on the type of golf bag (tour bags, cart bags, stand bags, pencil bags, waterproof bags) and the quality of the material.
A lightweight, intermediate-range golf stand bag will typically cost you around $150 (£100). Meanwhile, an intermediate golf cart bag will normally be slightly more expensive, at around $200 (£150).
Golf bags are the most cost-effective and useful golf gear you can buy. You can’t put a price on a good bag that helps protect your back while carrying your heavy clubs around the course. I reccomend to beginners not to break the bank on clothes or clubs, but it’s worth it spending more on a bag that supports and protects your back.
You don’t want to carry a heavy set of clubs around 18 holes on a hot day when the straps of your bag are digging into your shoulders. You’ll get tired quickly, get a store back and start to play worse golf.
A golf bag’s cost is always relative to your buying capacity. The more expensive bags will have better straps, more handles, and be made of lightweight material, and the cost will change depending on the type of bag you’re buying, whether that’s a pencil bag, cart bag, or stand bag.
My top tip is to buy a golf bag relative to the amount you play golf. If you play 18 holes every weekend and carry your bag on your shoulder, investing in a top-of-the-range stand bag made of lightweight artificial materials is worth investing.
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This just touched the surface for a detailed look into each type of golf bag, how much you expected to pay, and your best purchase options. please read my article.
Stiff Vs. Regular Flex What Shaft Is Right For You?
It would be best to have a stiff flex between 97-104 mph with the driver. However, if your clubhead speed is between 84-96 mph which is the speed for most recreational golfers, you need a regular flex to help you whip the clubhead through the air to generate more power on your shot.
Here’s a handy table telling you what shaft you need for your swing.
What type of shaft you should use for your swing
| Driver Carry Distance | Average Swing Speed | Flex |
| Under 200 yards | Less than 75 mph | Ladies or Senior |
| 200 yards to 240 yards | 75 mph to 95 mph | Regular |
| 240 yards to 275 yards | 95 mph to 110 mph | Stiff |
| Over 275 yards | Over 110 mph | Extra stiff |
A good way to see which shaft is the best for you is to see how far you hit the golf ball. If you’re a big hitter, averaging over 300 yards with your driver, I’d advise you to use a slightly stiffer shaft.
If you’re not such a big hitter but want to ensure you still get a good connection on the shot while adding length to your game, a regular or flex shaft might be better for you. To see how to add length to your drives, check out my article.
Technically, it all comes down to your swing speed. The faster your clubhead speed as you climb onto the golf ball, the stiffer shaft you should be using. The less swing speed, the more flex and bend you should have in your golf club shaft.
It will help you pull more whip and power into the shot while also allowing you better control the angle at which the clubhead hits the ball, giving you greater accuracy and control over your loft angle.
You can also tell if you need to use a different flex shaft by how much the rod bends when you play with the club. If you use a club that’s too light and bendy for your swing speed, the clubhead will whip around way too quickly, bottoming out before your hands get past the golf ball. That’s a sign that you’re way too strong for the club and need to club up to a stiffer shaft.
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For more information about stiff flex and if there’s a big difference between both flexes, you should read my detailed article.
Are Expensive Drivers Worth It?
Expensive drivers can be harder to hit than mid-range prices, and the price might not correlate to value. Your money is better spent on golf lessons. Although players wanting to break 80 can benefit from the additional length, control, and shape an elite driver brings.
Top-of-the-range drivers are expensive. Although they look cool, it is not smart to spend money unless it improves your game. Instead, you’re better off investing in quality golf lessons. To know more, see my complete golf lesson guide.
The issue with buying expensive clubs when you are not ready for them is that the more expensive the club is, the less forgiving it can be to use.
Expensive clubs are designed for pro players who have excellent techniques. Expensive drivers will also come with stiff flex shafts and low angled club lofts for golfers who can generate much faster clubhead speeds.
If you’re a beginner golfer, you should purchase a club like the Callaway X-Hot Driver for a bargain on Amazon.com.
This great starter club with a huge club face accommodates any off-center hits you may make off the tee. Beginner golfers should always look to use more forgiving clubs, like the X-Hot, that will help them improve and develop their golf swing and connection on the golf ball.
Once you’ve learned how to hit the ball with your driver consistently, you should start working up to more expensive golf clubs. As a beginner, you need to be a little savvier with the equipment you’re buying, as there is a lot to buy when you first start playing golf.
Try to avoid being lured into the lure of going after the most expensive gear because that won’t help you play any better. Remember, the TV commercials want your money!
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Want to know more about drivers? To discover how much you should spend on a new driver and if custom golf clubs are worth the investment, you can read my helpful article.
Best Irons For High Handicappers
As a general rule, high handicappers should focus on using irons that provide greater forgiveness. Here are six of the best iron sets for high handicappers:
- Cleveland Launcher Turbo
- TaylorMade SIM Max II
- Callaway XR Steelhead
- Callaway Big Bertha
- Wilson Staff D7 Steel
- Cobra King Speedzone Irons
High handicappers can be drawn into spending a lot of money on clubs that are just not right for their abilities.
Don’t make that mistake!
The most forgiving set of irons is the TaylorMade SIM Max Irons. They are designed for golfers of all abilities due to the SIM Max’s thick heel, vibration dampening system, and large back cavity provide great forgiveness if you’re prone to hitting fat shots and can improve your connection with the golf ball.
Take a look at Sim Max Irons available on Amazon for a bargain.
Many golfers grow out of their clubs as they start to improve, but that doesn’t happen with the TaylorMade Sim irons. There’s no need to upgrade to a set of bladed irons when you have a bunch of TaylorMade SIMs, as they give you a forged-like feel while helping you to strike more fluidly through the golf ball.
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You can read my in-depth post for a detailed look into all the different irons that will improve your game and a comprehensive look into the TaylorMade SIM Max Irons.
Do Graphite Shafts Break Easily?
Graphite shafts do not break easier than steel shafts. Graphite shafts are more robust, lighter, stiffer, and easier to hit than steel shafts. Graphite is the synthetic material of choice; a lightweight fabric with superior performance is needed, such as for spacecraft and racecars.
In golf, graphite shafts will perform and last longer than steel shafts.
Whether graphite or steel, your clubs will break due to poor swing technique, such as hitting the shot fat or on the heel or hosel can cause chipping and break the club’s seal, leading to a break in the club.
The study I have read states that there are reasons for golf clubs, graphite, or steel to break, and most of them have to do with poor swing technique by the golfer. Shots hit fat or on the heel or the hosel can cause chipping and crack on the club’s laminated seal, which leads to a break in the club.
If you leave the clubs out in the rain, rust will develop, or if you store the clubs in a room with high temperatures, problems can develop, these are the reasons that clubs will break, and it does not matter if they are steel or graphite!
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Want to know more about graphite shafts and how long they’re expected to last? Then please read my helpful guide.
When To Upgrade From Beginner Golf Clubs?
Do not upgrade from beginner clubs until you have an established swing, around a 15 handicap. Beginners’ swings will change. Even if you get fitted for golf clubs, you might think the fit was incorrect, but in reality, your swing changed.
If you are rich, you can upgrade anytime you want then. It depends on how dedicated you are. Why spend $100 on a new set of clubs if they will be chilling in the garage?
If you practice every two weeks and only play once a week, you probably haven’t improved enough since you got your starter set.
Your money is FAR better spent on taking golf lessons. To have a qualified PGA professional take a look at your swing, please see my complete guide on golf lessons for more information.
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Hungry for more information? For a deeper dive, could you look at my helpful article?