I don’t know how the majority of beginners choose their first set of clubs. Maybe they buy a set online, maybe the local pro sells them a set if they take lessons before they start; here’s how it worked out for me.
I’d better start by saying that I know nothing about golf club manufacturers, the angles of club heads, length and construction of shafts or the merits of different grips. My only real criteria were they must be right handed, because I am, and they must be relatively inexpensive in case I’m completely crap at the game.
After a few excursions to the local pitch n putt at Rampside where I borrowed a wedge and a putter, I decided that I liked the game so I bought a new Calloway bag and a set of Mizuno Tzoid Mx 20’s of a friends dad for £120. Thrown in with the deal were a pair of Dimension Footjoy golf shoes, some balls and tees and assorted bits of golf paraphernalia.
I’d sort of assumed, wrongly as it turned out, that I was buying a set of clubs. I got 3-9 irons and a pitching wedge.
To remedy this problem, I bought a sand wedge from a charity shop for £2 and borrowed a putter from a friend.
I also have 1, 3 and 5 woods borrowed from the same friend – thanks Mike! – they are Slazenger Fastrax anti-slice. I had no idea at the time whether I had a slice or not and I’m really not sure at the moment that learning with corrective clubs is sensible. But until I work that out, I’ll be sticking with them. Currently I can hit both sliced and pulled shots with them anyway.
A glove came with the irons, as did some tees. I don’t seem to break many and am able to replenish my stock by picking up the tees that others have left behind.
I quickly realised that golf balls are a consumable – given my tendency to knock the ball out of bounds, into the nearest available patch of heavy rough and inevitably, water hazards. Initially I was buying the ones that the courses resell but I found what seems to me a great deal on 100 AAA rated Top Flite balls which I’m in the process of losing at a slightly slower rate.
