Unfortunately, golf equipment is not cheap. With that being said, having up-to-date equipment that fits properly is extremely helpful for playing good golf.

Under the rules of golf, a golfer can have up to 14 clubs in their bag. This typically includes a driver, two or three fairway woods or hybrids, a set of irons that begins at the four or five-iron through the pitching wedge, two or three additional wedges, and a putter.

Beginner golfers are often best served to use a driver, three wood, five wood or two-iron hybrid, three or four-iron hybrid, five-iron through pitching wedge iron set, 50 or 52 degree gap wedge, 54 or 56 degree sand wedge, 58 or 60 degree lob wedge, and a putter. More advanced golfers may prefer to use a similar club setup, but begin their iron set at a three or four-iron, replacing the three or four-iron hybrid club.

Below are my recommendations for selecting the best equipment for your current golf game:

Driver

For most golfers, the driver is the most important equipment decision they will make. That is for two primary reasons. First, that the driver is the most commonly used club to tee off, and second, that the driver has undergone the most technological advancement of any club in the past couple decades. If you have an old set of golf clubs, replacing the driver will likely result in the greatest improvement over replacing any other single club.

As far as which drivers to consider, TaylorMade, Titleist, and Callaway are the most consistent performers at the moment, with TaylorMade coming in at #1 worldwide amongst the best players, and Titleist and Callaway following closely behind.

While TaylorMade, Titleist, and Callaway will all perform rather similarly when compared head to head, selecting the right shaft is the most important factor when choosing a driver. Generally, most beginner male golfers will be best served to choose a driver with a “Regular” flex shaft. For those with swing speeds over 100 mph (usually a consistent driver distance of 250 yards or more), a Stiff shaft will typically lead to better results. A Ladies flex shaft will suit women of most abilities, unless you are consistently driving the golf ball 220 yards or more, a men’s Regular flex may work better. Beyond selecting the right shaft flex, deciding on a driver brand should come down to which looks best to your eye, which will promote confidence before making your swing.

Fairway Woods

The most important factor for selecting fairway woods is to match your driver shaft flex. Generally, many have a preference for maintaining brand continuity between the driver and fairway woods, but it is certainly not essential.

Nearly all golfers should have a three wood, which is in the 13 to 16 degree range, and most often 15 degrees. This is the longest club that can be reliably used from the fairway, which is why it is an asset to most golfers. Beyond the three wood, many will want to have a five wood, which is in the 17 to 19 degree loft range. The five wood also goes a long distance from the fairway, slightly shorter than the three wood, but generally with a bit more height. If you decide not to play with a five wood, a hybrid or two will help to fill distance gaps between the three wood and longest iron.

Hybrids

Next to the driver, no single golf equipment category has experienced more innovation in recent years than the hybrid. Reaching mass popularity in the early 2000s, and designed as a replacement for difficult to use two, three, and four-irons, hybrids launch the ball higher, with more power, than their comparable irons. Like drivers and fairway woods, hybrid shafts typically come in Regular and Stiff, and their shaft flex should match your driver and fairway wood(s).

Depending on your experience level, you will typically want at least one or maybe two hybrids if you are more advanced, and possibly three or four hybrids if you’re newer to golf. Generally, if you’ve chosen to use a five wood, you can begin your hybrids with a three (19 to 21 degrees), but if you’ve opted for only a three wood, start with a two hybrid (16 to 18 degrees), before deciding on which higher-lofted options to add.

Knowing which hybrid to have as your highest loft depends on which iron you feel comfortable to begin your set. As mentioned above, more advanced players may want to start their iron set with a three or four-iron, while beginners are often more comfortable beginning their iron set with a five-iron.

Irons

Selecting a full set of irons is often the most difficult equipment choice for golfers because it is the most expensive equipment investment and it offers the widest range of options. There are two decisions that must be made before deciding which exact iron set to choose from: first, which iron will be the first in the set (most often a three, four, or five-iron), and second, which style of iron to choose (generally performance or forgiveness are the two types of iron sets).

As mentioned above, beginner golfers are typically best suited to begin their iron set at least at the four-iron, if not the five-iron, and opt for a three and/or four hybrid. This is primarily because hybrids are considerably easier to hit than their iron equivalents. The reason I recommend beginning the irons by the five-iron, rather than continuing with hybrids, is because, while hybrids are better suited for launching the golf ball into the air and gaining distance, that distance is not as easy to control. In addition, irons will impart more spin on the ball, which is essential for holding the green when your ball ultimately lands.

In terms of specific brand recommendations for irons, the same three brands included above are also generally the best for irons: TaylorMade, Titleist, and Callaway. The most important factors to consider are the look of the club, which iron the set begins with, and what shaft flex to select.

Unlike driver, fairway wood, and hybrid shafts, which are almost always graphite and typically only Ladies, Senior, Regular, Stiff, and occasionally X-Stiff as flex options, steel iron shafts come in a wide range and format of flex options. The most common are R300 (regular), S300 (stiff), S400 (heavier stiff), and X100 (X-stiff); however, some brands measure their steel flex from 5.0 to 7.0. In that case, you will want a 5.5 as the Regular equivalent, and 6.0 as the Stiff equivalent. Beyond the shaft flex, generally find an iron set that suits your eye, while looking for terms like “forgiving” or “game-improvement” in the set description. This will ensure that the set you are considering provides sufficient support to off center strikes, which will promote better consistency.

Wedges

The primary factor to consider for wedges is which lofts you are selecting. This means the angle of the face - the higher the number, the more loft is built into the club head, which will add height to the shot and reduce the total distance.

Keeping in mind the 14 club limit, most golfers will still want at least two wedges in addition to their iron set’s pitching wedge. In the case of two additional wedges, one “lob” wedge is needed (58 or 60 degrees), which will most often be used to lift the ball out of sand, and for high shots within close range of the green. The other wedge will be in the 54 or 56 degree range to use on fuller shots, but ones that are too close for a pitching wedge.

Increasingly, golfers are using a “gap” wedge that is in the 50 or 52 degree range to fill the distance gap that exists between the pitching wedge and 54 or 56 degree sand wedge. Given that wedges are the least expensive piece of golf equipment, many find adding a gap wedge a worthwhile investment, and one that saves at least a couple strokes each round.

When making the decision of which wedges to purchase, first decide how many. If you are opting for only two, space the lofts out in increments of 6 degrees (ex: 54 degrees and 60 degrees, or 52 degrees and 58 degrees). This will allow for the best distance coverage, since the loft determines the distance that the ball will travel. If opting for three wedges, spacing the lofts out by 4 degrees is the most beneficial (52, 56, and 60, or 50, 54, and 58). The only requirement when selecting wedges is to be sure you have a 58 or 60 degree in your bag, to simplify lobbing the ball from close range of the green, particularly from the sand.