Best men’s golf clubs and equipment for beginners and mid handicappers

Golf is hard. Really hard, in fact, and the least players can do is give themselves the best chance by investing in the right equipment.

If you’re completely new to the sport, or if you’re a higher handicapper looking to take your game to the next level, there are countless options out there to help you out.

There are, however, so many choices it’s sometimes difficult to know where to start looking.

We’ve tested out kit at multiple price points to find the most adaptable and well priced products designed to suit a real range of styles and abilities.

Sadly, golfers aren’t going to turn into Rory McIlroy overnight, but these clubs are among the most accurate and forgiving out there to help improve your game. And they look great too – after all, one of the most important things about finding new equipment is how good you feel when using it.

We’ve put together a range of options, from equipment aimed at beginners taking their first steps in buying equipment, right up to more intermediate players looking to spend a bit more in pursuit of lowering their handicaps.

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Wilson Ultra XD Package Set

Wilson do a lot of good work in package sets, all of which tend to be well priced and offer good quality gateways into the game for new players.

With the Ultra XD set, users get a smart set of cavity back irons which accommodate badly hit shots better than most, come in lightweight graphite shafts and help players hit straighter. While there isn’t a putter head cover, the package does come with headcovers for the woods, as well as a rain cover. There’s a pretty rugged bag too, which matches the colour scheme of the clubs and can work as a carry bag or on a trolley.

The driver is a winner, with plenty of club sitting behind the ball on the tee and instilling a sense of security that will suit beginners well.

Buy now £425.00, American Golf

MD Golf STR30 set

MD Golf was specifically set up in 1999 to cater for beginners who wanted quality clubs at an affordable price point. Since then they’ve worked with the likes of the great Seve Ballesteros, but stayed true to their intentions.

The good looking STR30 irons (the set comes with 5-SW) are stacked with big undercut cavity backs and large soles to interact with the ground nicely. The driver is reassuringly large, which is both forgiving on miss-hit shots and offers distance, and the ball sounds very solid off the club face. The putter, too, is fitted with a comfy and chunky grip.

The whole set is highly recommended for newcomers. The new MD NV Drew wedge, which isn’t included in the set, is a good looking club too, with a tessellated face which offers plenty of feel around the greens.

Buy now £499.99, MD Golf

Inesis 100 set

With package sets from premium golf brands often coming at an eye-watering cost, the Inesis 100 set from Decathlon sits at a very competitive price point for newcomers.

The set comprises seven clubs, while the bag can be brought for an additional £44.99. For a very reasonable £169.99, it includes a driver, a hybrid wood, a six/seven iron, an eight/nine iron, a pitching wedge, a sand wedge, and a putter – basically everything you need to get out playing, improving and enjoying the sport.

They’re kitted out with lightweight graphite shafts and come with sharp black and chrome looks. The enlarged club head size offers plenty of forgiveness, while remaining lightweight and easy on the shoulders when you’re carrying them down the fairway.

Buy now £169.99, Decathlon

Ping irons i210s

If you’re a higher handicapper looking to spend a little more on your clubs and invest in real quality, the Ping i210s irons (5-PW) will add a real sprinkling of class to your bag and serve you well for years.

The fantastic looking clubs come in a silky chrome finish, sitting smartly behind the ball and adding confidence before every swing. They’re precision engineered too. A large elastomer insert in the head gives the club great levels of control and feel, while the machined face and grooves help with forgiveness and length. These clubs hit long, but the added distance doesn’t result in any loss of feel either.

They’re hardly cheap at £649, but with the prestige feel of Ping irons in the bag, they’ll be a great help on your journey to improving your game.

Buy now £649.00, American Golf

Rife RX2 Package Set

It might sound obvious, but the best thing you can do before you splash the cash on a brand new set of clubs is try them out for yourself. Prospective buyers can book a free custom fitting at American Golf for their Rife RX2 package set, and get to grips with them before pulling the trigger.

This very solid set includes a driver, fairway wood and a hybrid, as well as stainless steel irons (6-SW) which are oversized to help with hitting more consistent and accurate shots. The chrome finish makes for an aesthetically-pleasing set of clubs, while the putter features roll groove technology to encourage consistent roll and true feel. The club’s semi-mallet design is heel and toe weighted for better stability, too, and the bag and matching head covers bring it all together well.

Buy now £499.00, American Golf

PXG 2021 0211 driver

When they first arrived on the scene, PXG gained a reputation for producing some of the most expensive clubs out there. The brand was established in 2014 by Bob Parsons, founder of web hosting service GoDaddy, and initially they set out to offer top end clubs without any financial constraints.

They’re doing things a little differently now, though, and while their individual clubs in the past have cost upwards of £800, they’re gradually becoming more accessible.

The PXG 2021 0211 driver is still a considerable purchase at £235, but it’s a fantastic investment for higher handicappers looking to add real quality to their bag for years to come – and add solidity and distance to their drives off the tee in the process.

The club offers a high launch, an adjustable hosle allowing players to personalise their loft and a single weight port at the back of the clubhead, which is designed to add maximum allowance for mishit shots. Free fittings are also prospective buyers, regardless of their standard.

Buy now £205.00, Scottsdale Golf

Cleveland Launcher HB Turbo

This is another high quality set of irons from a very reputable brand, which places the emphasis squarely on accuracy and forgiveness for players looking to improve in the game.

The club heads are large and feel very solid, and the size of the steel blades helps to promote more ball speed and generate further distance. The hollow construction on the back of the clubs helps make even the mishit shots fly straighter, while the HiBore Crown encourages plenty of air time. Cleveland calls them the easiest irons to hit that they’ve ever produced, and they’re very strong options for higher handicappers looking to add quality to their bag.

Buy now £100.00, Cleveland Golf

Callaway Warbird package set

Even when they’re starting out, it’s reasonable to think players will sometimes favour bigger brands with prestigious histories when buying their first serious set of clubs. Callaway has been one of the major players in golf club manufacturing for the past 30 to 40 years, and while they normally prioritise producing more top-end pieces at higher price points, the Warbird range is their premium option for newer players.

It includes just about everything needed to get out on the course at a price which won’t totally bust the bank. The set features clubs with high-quality design and feel, with an oversized driver with a generous sweet spot, a three wood and a hybrid which are designed to be big on distance.

Longer irons can be challenging to get to grips with when first starting out, and the hybrid club featured in the set is made to be easier to hit and get the ball up in the air. All in all, it’s a strong package designed for higher handicappers looking to hit the ball bigger and increase confidence.

Buy now £500.00, American Golf

Wilson Prostaff SGI Package Set

Wilson has aimed this well-priced Prostaff set specifically at new golfers, and the emphasis is placed squarely on accuracy and consistency. The weight placement for the set (which comes with driver, fairway wood, hybrid, irons and putter) is engineered to allow for maximum forgiveness – something golfers at every level can get on board with.

The clubs, all fitted with graphite shafts, encourage higher ball flight for golfers with a slower to average speed golf swing. There’s a quality bag to keep them all in too, fitted with generous pockets, an adjustable double strap and a multiple way divider.

There’s everything here to get out on the course and improve your game, and there are a few nice touches in there too, including the roll groove technology in the semi-mallet putter. There are matching covers for the driver and the woods which finish the set off nicely too.

Buy now £499.99, Amazon

TaylorMade Hi-Toe Raw wedges

You might think that keeping your clubs in pristine, shiny condition is the way forward, but it turns out that isn’t always the case. The faces on the impressive TaylorMade Hi-Toe Raw wedges will rust over time once the air-tight cover is removed, in order to add spin to chip shots and help with control. The grooves on the faces of the wedges, which come in 56º of loft and above, are also designed to be sharper and deeper, promising greater spin and more consistent ball flight.

It gave us a great deal of confidence and flexibility around the greens when we tested it out. Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm have all had this club in their bags at one stage or another – and if it’s good enough for them, it’s certainly good enough for mere mortals like us.

Buy now £149.00, Amazon