Pin8
Share2
Tweet
Reddit
10 Shares

Every year, it’s a good idea to refresh on the basics of golf and today we compiled a question and answer guide you can scroll through looking for interesting topics that provide value to your golf game.

If you enjoy, we appreciate any shares on social media as a way to help us out for the time invested in this golf guide!

You can also support our site by joining one of our golf training programs with lots of downloadable resources you’ll love. Check out the full suite of options here.

Beginner’s Guide to Golf Clubs – Questions & Answers

How Many Clubs Can I Have in a Golf Bag?

Every golfer is allowed 14 golf clubs in their bag according to the USGA rules and regulations. You get to decide the make-up of your clubs you put into your golf bag.

What’s the Penalty for Having Too Many Golf Clubs in the Bag?

You get assessed two penalty strokes for each hole the breach of rules occurs with a max limit of 4 penalty strokes.

Therefore, if you realize you are in violation after hole 1, you can remove clubs to meet the 14 club limit and only get assessed a two stroke penalty. If you play beyond two holes, then you’ll be assessed the 4 stroke maximum penalty so at that point you can leave them in the bag.

RESOURCE: Golf Practice Plan to Break 70

Can I Have More than One Driver in my Golf Bag?

Yes, Phil Mickelson is a great example of a golfer who has carried two drivers in his bag during a professional round of golf! The rules stipulate a maximum club limit of 14 golf clubs but you can decide how you want to use your 14 clubs. On the extreme end you could carry multiple drivers and putters while it’s typically the norm to only carry one of each.

What’s Golf Clubs Should I Carry in my Golf Bag?

If you’re looking for a recommendation on the make up of golf clubs to carry in your bag so that you meet the 14 club allowance here is a suggested mix of clubs to use. Over time you can make upgrades if you have a set of clubs already and make upgrades starting with one club in your bag at a time.

The following 14 club selection will help cover the spread of distances you may face on a golf course. If you struggle to hit long iron golf clubs, we recommend swapping them out for hybrids instead which are much easier for beginner’s and seniors to play.

  • Driver (10.5 degree),
  • Fairway Wood (13.5 degree),
  • Fairway Wood / Hybrid (16.5 degree)
  • 4 Iron or 4 Hybrid
  • 5 Iron or 5 Hybrid
  • 6 Iron, 7 Iron, 8 Iron, 9 Iron
  • Pitching Wedge
  • Gap Wedge
  • 56 degree wedge
  • 60 degree wedge
  • Putter

What’s the Best Driver to Play Golf With?

There are a lot of great golf drivers on the market for sale that will perform well for beginner’s and amateur golfers without the expensive price tag that comes along with tour level golf drivers.

The brands that make the best golf drivers are TaylorMade, Titleist, Callaway, and Ping.

We recommend reviewing their websites to see all the various driver models they have currently for sale. You can also find a lot of older golf driver models on Amazon at big price reductions.

If you want to know the best drivers on the market here is a list as of 2019:

What Loft Should You Play for a Driver Golf Club?

As a beginner, you tend to struggle with ball launch which is a huge factor in helping your ball travel further and roll further to get you long shots off the tee.

Therefore we recommend buying a higher lofted driver like the 10.5 degree option or the 12 degree option. These will give your ball more pop off the tee so you can launch it higher and longer!

Should I Buy an Adjustable Driver?

Adjustable drivers are great if you want to change settings to fit your golf swing better. For example, you can adjust the loft up and down 1 degree or 1.5 degrees on most drivers depending which you choose.

You can also adjust the face to a more draw focused setting to help off-set a slice golf swing. Or you can adjust it to a fade setting if you tend to over hook / draw the ball.

RESOURCE: Golf Practice Plan to Break 80

Is there such a thing as Illegal Drivers?

Yes, the USGA considers the golf clubs “non conforming” rather than calling them illegal but either way they are banned from being used in USGA events.

This eliminates the golf clubs from being used in professional tournaments but manufacturers still produce the non conforming drivers and clubs for amateur weekend golfers.

What Makes a Golf Club “Non-Conforming” or Illegal?

Drivers and golf clubs have to conform to specific club lengths, weights, and head volume to prevent golfers from getting an advantage over other players. Golf wedges, for example, also have to conform with grooves specifications to prevent undue advantage in terms of spin.

Where to Find the Conforming Drivers & Golf Clubs List?

The USGA has set up a page where you can view the conforming drivers and golf clubs that meet their specification requirements. If it’s on the list, it is a conforming golf club / driver. If you don’t see it on the list, it’s probably a non conforming driver. You should contact a governing body to inquire about whether the golf club is legal or not.

What are the Best Fairway Woods to Have in My Golf Bag?

At the moment here is an updated list of the best fairway woods on the market you could choose to include in your golf bag to play with. We like to see at least 2 different woods or hybrids in beginner’s bags to help with shots from long distance as well as alternatives for tee shots if you’re struggling with the driver.

  • TaylorMade M6 Fairway Wood
  • TaylorMade M5 Fairway Wood
  • Titleist TS3 Fairway Wood
  • Titleist TS2 Fairway Wood
  • Callaway Rogue Fairway Wood
  • Ping G400 Fairway Wood
  • Mizuno ST190 Fairway Wood
  • Titleist 917 Wood
  • TaylorMade M4 Wood

RESOURCE: Golf Practice Plan to Break 80

What are the Best Hybrids to Play Golf With?

Hybrids are very similar to woods but are constructed different. They tend to have smaller heads and higher lofts which help fill the gaps between fairway woods and irons.

Here are the best golf hybrid clubs as of 2019:

  • TaylorMade M6 Hybrid
  • TaylorMade M5 Hybrid
  • Titleist TS3 Hybrid
  • Titleist TS2 Hybrid
  • Callaway Rogue Hybrid
  • Callaway Epic Hybrid
  • Ping G400 Hybrid
  • Cobra F9 Hybrid
  • Cobra F8 Hybrid
  • Titleist 917 Hybrid
  • TaylorMade M4 Hybrid
  • PXG 317X Hyrbid

What are the Best Golf Irons to Play With?

Golf irons are all about proper fit with your game. There are blade irons, cavity backed irons, steel vs graphite shafted irons, forged vs cast, and many other ways to customize your iron sets.

What’s best for one golfer may not be best for you but in terms of the top of the line golf irons that you’ll see being used on the PGA Tour here is the list:

  • Callaway X Forged Irons
  • TaylorMade P770 Irons
  • Titleist 718 AP2 Irons
  • Titleist 718 CB Irons
  • Ping iBlade Irons
  • PXG 0311T Irons
  • Mizuno MP 18 SC Irons
  • Mizuno JPX 900 Tour Irons
  • Srixon Z765 Irons
  • Wilson FG Tour V6 Irons

RESOURCE: Golf Practice Plan to Break 80

What are the Best Golf Wedges to Play With?

We actually wrote a detailed guide on the best golf wedges for 2019 you should check out here with pictures and links to the wedges. We also wrote a Wedge Buying Guide that details all the parts of a golf wedge and how to fit your game.

Best Golf Wedges List 2019:

  • Callaway Mack Daddy 4
  • Cleveland RTX 4
  • Wilson Harmonized Golf Wedge
  • Cleveland Golf Men’s CBX Wedge
  • Cleveland Golf Men’s 588 RTX 2.0 Muscle Back Tour Satin Wedge
  • Callaway Men’s Mack Daddy 3 Black S-Grind Wedge
  • Cleveland Golf Men’s Smart Sole 3 Wedge C
  • Cleveland Golf Men’s RTX-3 VMG Wedge
  • Mizuno Golf Forged Blue Ion Wedge
  • Titleist Vokey Spin Milled Wedges

What are the Best Putters to Play Golf With?

Again, we wrote an in-depth guide on the best golf putters to buy in 2019 that is worth a read if you get a chance after this article! There are two types of putters to choose from so we created a guide for each: Blade Putters and Mallet Putters

  • Odyssey O Works Blade Putter
  • Scotty Cameron Newport 2 Blade Putter
  • TaylorMade Daytona Big Red Blade Putter
  • TaylorMade Tour Spider Putter
  • Scotty Cameron Select Newport M1 Putter
  • Pinemeadow PGX SL Putter
  • Odyssey White Hot RX Mallet Putter
  • TaylorMade TP Ardmore 3 Putter
  • Odyssey Red O-Works 2 Ball S Fang Mallet Putter

Thanks for reading today’s beginner guide to choosing golf clubs. We reviewed several of the most common questions you may have regarding golf clubs and which clubs are best to buy in 2019 to play golf with.

We discussed illegal golf clubs as well as penalties for carrying too many golf clubs in your bag. If you found this article helpful, there’s more great content to explore on GPG. See the resources below!

Golf Practice Guide’s Resources:

  • Subscribe to the Email Community for Weekly Golf Tips
  • Subscribe to the YouTube Channel for video lessons
  • Browse more blog articles by visiting the “Instruction” tab in the menu or click here.

Before you go, make sure to check out these golf practice plans! Each has proven drills to help you improving your scoring and build a strong short game!

Golf Practice Plans (Follow these Programs)

Golf Video Courses

Don’t miss out on these amazing training programs. They’ll help lower your golf scores.

Or hop onto our email newsletter and get the free weekly golf tips we send out to our community plus updates and other announcements you don’t want to miss!

Pin8
Share2
Tweet
Reddit
10 Shares