Now that you’ve decided that golf is the game for you, your next step will inevitably be shopping for your first set of golf clubs. It’s an exciting time! Then, you walk in to the golf or sporting goods store and there are hundreds of choices. What to do?

When you’re new to the game, choosing a set clubs can be overwhelming. You don’t want to get home and realize you bought a set that doesn’t fit your game or worse yet, that you spent too much on a set that you may hardly use. Hopefully, this article will help you learn what you need to know before you select your first set.

First, you need to know what makes up a set of clubs. There are four main components to a set of golf clubs. There are the woods, irons, wedges and a putter. Lately, there are also hybrid clubs, which are a cross between woods and irons.

You are allowed up to 14 clubs in your bag and they can be in just in any combination you want. For example, many golfers carry a driver, a 4 wood, 3 thru 9 irons, a pitching wedge, a gap wedge, a sand wedge, a lob wedge and a putter. But again, you need to shop for what fits your own individual game.

You’ll also want to decide if you want to buy a full set of clubs, or put one together on your own. It’s much easier, especially when you are new to the game, to buy a set already put together for you. Once you get more experience under your belt, you will know what works for you and what doesn’t and you can add to the set and replace your old clubs. It’s much easier, and a lot less expensive to start out that way.

A complete starter set usually includes a driver, 3 wood, 5 wood, 3 thru 9 irons, a pitching wedge and a putter. If you’ve counted, you’ll notice this is only 12 clubs. Don’t worry about adding another club at this point. This will be enough to get you started and you can always add to your set later.

Expensive clubs won’t help you play any better, so don’t go crazy on getting all the latest equipment when you first begin. A complete set is a great way to save some money in the beginning, and you can save your money for all the balls you’ll need to replace as you lose them in the water!