A freind of mine wants to get into golf.

I agreed to get into it with him.

My first game won't be for a few weeks yet. My freind is having a few lessons first! I can't afford that luxury!

I know pretty much bugger all about the sport and would like advice on buying some clubs. I'd like to initially purchase the bare minimum to get by on just incase I really hate it and they get stuck in the shed.

Any advice on this would be greatfully received.

Many thanks,

Aaron.

I think most people would advise you to have a few lessons first before you buy any clubs. The pro may then be able to recommend a suitable set for your swing etc.

 If you are determined to buy immediately though, it would be good to know the sort of budget you have.

Bought my starter set of irons for £130 new (RAM wizards) which included 3 and 4 hybrid clubs, but you could proably get better clubs for cheaper 2nd hand. Inaddition you may also want some woods and I believe that there are companies who do full packages that include woods.

Other members would probably be better to point you in the right direction as starter sets are sometimes not the most suitable choice.

Direct Golf usually has some cheap iron sets or check at the course you are going to play they may rent you a set for a couple of quid for the round.

Check your yellow pages for golf shops in Chester we have one which sells second hand sets of irons as well as new.

Good Luck 

What I really mean is if someone could tell me the names of the clubs that I need to get going.

I know the last one to be used is a putter .

 What about al the other ones .

 There are over 9000 golf club lots for sale on Ebay, that doesn't seem to be a bad place to start!

A normal starter set of irons could be a 3 or 4 iron to a 9 iron plus a pitching wedge and a sand wedge, so consists of 8 or 9 clubs. Sometimes the wedges are sold seperately as specialist clubs but for beginners the wedge that comes with a set is usually adequate. You could also add woods such as a driver, a 3 wood and a 5 wood and a hybrid club (a comromise club between a wood and an iron). All this plus a putter. The combination is up to you but a set should be made up to cover shots from all distances from the club that you hit the furthest down i.e stagger at fairly regular lengths of distance hit.

You are allowed only 14 clubs in the bag during competitions so time spent at a driving range with your new clubs will give you an idea of the distances you hit each one and which one to choose for the shot you want to play. 

 If you see a set you like on ebay post the link on here and members with much more experience and knowledge than me will point you in the right direction.

Start with a 3 wood, a set of 9 irons (3 to 9, pitching wedge & sand wedge) and putter.

This is more than enough to get on with befor thinking about driver, extra wedges etc.

Reasonably priced clubs are Wilson, Ram & MD, Direct Golf as recommended above are a good starting point, the website shows all you need, they even encourage people to phone orders in, would be worth it for some advice of what to buy.

I guess it could be argued that a beginner doesn't need a full set of irons, and would probably find anything above a 5 iron very difficult to hit.

So, a beginner could have say, a 6 iron, 8 iron and PW, plus a Sand wedge. All that would be needed above that would be a 3 wood and a putter.

Then, when he decides golf is the best sport ever, he could get a utility/rescue/hybrid club or two and fill in the blanks in his irons.

Unfortunately, its not easy to buy half sets anymore is it? But you can buy individual irons... and if he wants to go bargain basement he could pop along to Sports World. 

Yep, I agree with Niblick - half set 6,8, PW SW + 3 wood & putter and maybe a 21 degree utility is pretty well what I started with - down the range and then on a nine hole muni until I could hit the darn things between the trees rather than in 'em.

... but if you can't afford the lessons Aaron you may not be able to afford to play at all - playing golf ain't cheap, even with all the gear

...and if you get addicted and find you have a talent and love for the game you have to give a lot of things up - but it's worth it     

Well thanks for teh advice chaps. I've got lots of big words to play with now and hole world of new acronyms!

 I'll let you know what I end up with.

 It's not that I don't have a few quid Taz I'm just a tight **** ****er

 I have had so many "Hobbies" over the years that my shed getting pretty full. I would normally waste no time in buying every concevable item required for a hobby then put them in the shed.

The boss erm i mean wife has said I can go play with the rest of the kids but i'm not to go chucking my erm i mean the money I earn that I have to give to her away

 Cheers gents.

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