Beginner golfers have undoubtedly asked: How much should I spend on golf clubs? Golf can be an expensive sport, but it doesn’t have to be. Buying golf clubs for the first time can be overwhelming with the multitude of brands, prices, and types of clubs. In this guide, we will cover all the important buying considerations in choosing the right golf clubs so that you can make the best informed decision (and save you time and money while we’re at it).

How Much are Golf Clubs?

First, let’s discuss golf club prices in general. Like most things in life, the price range for a full set of golf clubs can vary wildly. A beginner’s “packaged set,” which consists of buying all clubs together as a bundle, can cost as little as $200-$300 (or less if on sale). On the other end of the spectrum can be a complete set of Honma BERES clubs that can retail for over $50,000. Should a beginner (or quite frankly anyone) spend $50,000 on a golf club set? Probably not. Sharing the extreme golf club costs is not meant to scare, but rather illustrates the variety of golf clubs and price differences in the market. In reality, the decision a beginner golfer has to make is a simple one — should I spend roughly $300 or $2,000+ for a full, good set of golf clubs? Okay, now that we know the issue, let’s look at the considerations to make the best decision.

Buying Considerations

I would say that there are three main considerations when buying your first set of golf clubs:

• Packaged Sets vs. Individual Clubs
• New vs. Pre-Owned
• Commitment Level

Packaged Sets vs. individual clubs

One of the first things to know about a golf club set is that a golfer is allowed to carry up to 14 golf clubs in their golf bag. When just starting out, it may not be 100% necessary to carry all 14 clubs. A beginner may only need 9 or 11 clubs because their skill level may not necessitate having all 14 clubs. When buying golf clubs, you can purchase them as a packaged complete set, which can come in 9, 11, or 14 club sets, or you can buy individual clubs separately.

Packaged Sets

A packaged complete set of golf clubs are all made from the same manufacturer and will include all the clubs necessary to go out and play a round of golf (e.g., driver, fairway woods, irons, and a putter), including the golf bag. A packaged set is sometimes synonymous with beginner golf clubs.

Buying a packaged set is easier and cheaper than buying clubs individually. It’s easier because you do not need to spend hours researching the best drivers and putters for beginners – the packaged set contains all the clubs you need. A complete set is cheaper (budget-friendly) because they are typically marketed to beginners so the materials and technology used may not be as good as premium brand name clubs. The manufacturers of complete sets know they are entry-point golf clubs and also know that not everyone will want to dish out $2,000+ for a hobby they may quit after one weekend.

Individual Clubs

Buying individual clubs will be more expensive and time-consuming because you’ll need to research and test the right clubs for you. Buying clubs individually does not mean that you will make 14 separate purchases for each individual club. Rather, you’ll likely purchase a set of irons (pitching wedge through 3 or 4 iron), but then you’ll separately purchase a driver, fairway woods/hybrids, wedges, and a putter.

Generally speaking, individual golf clubs are considered higher quality golf clubs than packaged sets because they use premium materials and the latest technology.

New vs. Pre-Owned

The decision to buy new golf clubs or pre-owned clubs (i.e., used golf clubs) is relevant to both complete sets and individual clubs. However, brand new packaged sets are already relatively cheap (~$300 or less) so this discussion will primarily focus on new and pre-owned individual clubs, where savings can be substantial.

New Golf Clubs

When buying clubs individually, the price of a brand new set of irons will be the most costly at $1,000 to $1,700, but you also have to keep in mind that irons will come as part of a set between six or eight clubs (pitching wedge through 3 iron or 4 iron). A brand new driver will range between $300 to $700. New fairway woods or hybrids will cost you anywhere from $200 to $400. New wedges will cost you $100 to $200 each and a new putter can range from $100 to $500. These ranges are just that, ranges. The actual cost can be above or below these estimates depending on the brand, etc., but I at least want to provide a general ballpark so you have an idea what new clubs can cost.

Price Breakdown for New Clubs (using averages from above)

• Driver (1) = $500
• Fairway wood or hybrid (1) = $300
• Irons (6 clubs) = $1,350
• Wedges (2) = $300
• Putter (1) = $300
• TOTAL = $2,750

Again, this price breakdown is just one hypothetical example used for illustrative purposes to show what the costs could potentially be if you decide to buy new clubs individually. In general, individual new clubs will be more expensive than used clubs.

Pre-Owned Clubs (Used Golf Clubs)

Used golf clubs are sold online or at all major local golf stores. The price of used clubs will vary depending on the age of the club, the wear (or use) of the club, and other factors that the seller may think is important. I think a good rule of thumb for pricing pre-owned clubs would be 25%-50% off the price of a new club.

Used golf clubs come in two varieties: (1) clubs used by a previous owner that sold them back to a golf store or online retailer (who in turn sells them back to the general public), or (2) demo clubs. Demo clubs are clubs only used within the golf shop and not by a prior owner on the golf course. Demo clubs will generally have less wear because they are used exclusively to try out the clubs at the golf shop’s indoor simulators (and not on grass/dirt/rocks).

Price Breakdown for Pre-Owned Clubs (based on averages above)

• Driver (1) = $250
• Fairway wood or hybrid (1) = $150
• Irons (6 clubs) = $675
• Wedges (2) = $150
• Putter (1) = $150
• TOTAL = $1,375

As you can see, the total cost of pre-owned clubs can be significantly less (up to 50% or more) than brand new clubs, when bought individually. Of course the price can vary widely depending on the new or pre-owned clubs but I think the above estimates are a good starting point to measure off of and what you can expect to pay.

Probably the most important thing to mention with used clubs is that they are not all created equal. The wear and use of each club can vary a lot so it is very important to inspect the shaft, hosel, grooves, and grip thoroughly prior to purchase.

Commitment Level

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is commitment level. If your personality type is someone that gives up on things quickly or you lose interest quickly, I would opt for a packaged complete set at first. This way if you do lose interest after a short period of time, you’ll only be out roughly a couple hundred dollars, rather than thousands. A packaged set of clubs is good for learning the basics and the clubs have the most “forgiveness” (easier to hit).

However, if you are the type of person that sticks with something once you put your mind to it or you can see yourself playing for the long-term, I’d suggest buying clubs individually. This way you’ll save yourself a few hundred dollars by not purchasing the packaged set, out growing them, and then having to purchase individual clubs a few months later. In a sense, you would be bypassing the packaged complete set altogether.

Conclusion

Generally, golf clubs cost the most out of all golf equipment purchases. The goal of this guide has been to provide information so that a beginner golfer can make an informed decision when buying golf clubs and save money doing so.

To recap, there are three main considerations when looking at golf club pricing and actually buying golf clubs. First, should I buy a packaged set or opt to buy clubs individuals? Second, should I buy new or pre-owned clubs? And third, how committed am I to stick with golf?

My advice would be to place the most emphasis on the commitment level. Golf is a difficult sport and if you know that you may not stick with it, buy a packaged starter set and learn the basics. If you get hooked, then you can start to look at purchasing individual clubs. However, if you are the ambitious type that commits yourself to something or you’re already hooked after hitting a few balls, then opt to buy clubs individually (used if you’re on a budget).

Personally, I went down the individual club route for my first set of golf clubs, which included a used set of demo irons, pre-owned wedges, a pre-owned fairway wood, and then I opted for a new driver and new putter. It was a very decent set of mixing new and used clubs.

Hopefully this guide helped explain how much you should spend on golf clubs. Happy shopping!