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18 September 2026 · 11 min read

Golf beginner set: which clubs you really need, what a half set costs and why 14 is the limit

The rules allow fourteen clubs. For the first year six are enough: driver, hybrid, two irons, sand wedge and putter. What a half set costs at a Swiss retailer, what used sets cost on Ricardo, which hand the glove goes on and why you test a set for an hour in a bay before you buy.

Golf beginner set: which clubs you really need, what a half set costs and why 14 is the limit — post image

A golf beginner set is the first purchase that comes to mind when you take up golf. Yet at the start you need fewer clubs than you think. The rules allow fourteen. For the first year six are enough, on the range, in the simulator and at the Platzreife exam. The rest is a question of length, flex and price.

Fourteen is the limit, six are enough to start

Rule 4.1b of the Rules of Golf sets the number: you must not start a round with more than fourteen clubs or have more than fourteen during the round. There is no lower limit. If you start with fewer, you may add clubs during the round up to fourteen. One club too many costs two penalty strokes in stroke play for each hole where the breach happened, with a maximum of four penalty strokes in the round. In match play one hole is deducted for each hole affected, with a maximum of two holes in the round. The wording is on the site of The R&A under Rule 4.1b. The other rules that concern you as a beginner are in the twelve rules that count.

Fourteen clubs are for players who want a club of their own for every distance. The first year is about something else. You are learning to strike the ball cleanly, and for that you do not need a club for every ten-metre gap. Six clubs cover everything that comes up in a taster course, on the range and at the Platzreife exam. Migros Golf writes on its page for beginners that special golf clothing and a set of your own are not required at the start. So you buy nothing for the taster course. Buying makes sense once you know you will stay with it, and at the latest for the Platzreife.

What is in a half set

A half set is a set of six or seven clubs. It covers the big jumps in distance and leaves out the steps in between. The golf half set from Decathlon Switzerland shows what such a selection looks like:

ClubLoftWhat for
Driver14 degreesthe tee shot on long holes, the high loft lifts the ball more easily
4 hybrid22 degreesinstead of long irons and fairway woods, from the tee and the fairway
7 iron30 degreesthe club you practise the full swing with
9 iron40 degreesshort approaches to the green
Sand wedge56 degreesbunkers and the shots around the green
Putteron the green

Plus a stand bag with a rain hood and head covers for the driver, the hybrid and the putter. Six clubs, and room in the bag for eight more, added one at a time later, once your distance ladder shows where a gap is. Whether a long iron or a hybrid fills that gap is settled in Iron or hybrid.

What is missing is everything in between: the 3 wood, the 5, 6 and 8 irons, the pitching wedge. These are exactly the clubs that fill the gaps later, once you know how far you hit each club. Then you add them one at a time, up to fourteen. How big your gaps are you see in a bay with measurement, more on that further down. The usual distances per club are in the club distance table.

What a golf beginner set costs in Switzerland

Two sets from one retailer as examples, both read on decathlon.ch on 18 September 2026. The Inesis golf half set with six graphite clubs and a bag costs CHF 319.90, which is CHF 53.32 per club. The Inesis First beginner set holds the same six club types, driver, 4 hybrid, 7 iron, 9 iron, 56 degree wedge and putter, with a bag for CHF 209.90. According to Decathlon both sets are meant for beginners without a handicap up to handicap 30. The half set also comes in two lengths and three flexes. These are two prices from one retailer, not a test and not a ranking, and they show what a new set of six clubs with a bag costs at this retailer: between CHF 209.90 and CHF 319.90.

Compared with playing itself: 80 of the 110 indoor venues in the directory publish an hourly rate, between CHF 25 and 99 an hour, a median of CHF 50 per bay (golfsimulators.ch). The half set costs as much as a good six hours in a bay at the median rate. What the rest of getting started costs, from the Platzreife to the licence, is in What golf costs in Switzerland.

Buying used: what to check

Golf clubs last for many years, which is why the used market is big. On Ricardo a search for «Golfschläger Set» returned over 1'300 results on 18 September 2026, as auctions and at buy-now prices, with filters for condition, set type, brand and location. On that day the first page held several used sets at buy-now prices between CHF 65 and 100, among them a golf bag with ten clubs for CHF 100. That is less than a third of the new half set. In return you only see the clubs once they are with you, unless you collect them. When collecting, check six things: What to check on a used club and what used balls cost is in Used clubs and lake balls.

  • Right or left: right-handed and left-handed clubs are mirror images. The listing usually says RH or LH. If it says nothing, ask.
  • Length and flex: the flex is printed on the shaft, L, A or R for ladies, senior and regular. Check the length the same way as for a new set, by the distance from your hand to the floor.
  • Grips: hard, shiny or cracked grips are worn out. New grips are a replacement part and no reason against the purchase, but you add them to the price.
  • Grooves: look at the grooves on the sand wedge. If they are smooth, the club has been played a lot.
  • Completeness: a set needs a putter and a wedge. Twelve irons without a putter are not a beginner set.
  • Heads and shafts: scratches on the sole are normal, a crack or a wobbling head is not.

A used set of ten or twelve clubs is no mistake if the price is right. For the start, still put only six of them in the bag, in the split of the half set: driver, hybrid, two irons, sand wedge, putter. Less choice means less doubt before every shot. The rules let you add the rest later.

Left-handed and ladies' sets: same price, different length and flex

The Inesis half set for left-handers costs the same as the one for right-handers, CHF 319.90, with graphite or steel shafts (Decathlon Switzerland). For women and men it is the same product, the difference lies in length and flex. Decathlon offers it in size 1 for a hand-to-floor distance under 78.5 cm and in size 2 from 78.5 cm, with the flexes regular (R), senior (A) and ladies (L). You measure the distance at home, standing upright, from your hand to the floor. On used sets «Damen» usually means shorter shafts and the L flex. What matters is not the word in the listing but whether length and flex suit your height and your speed. How a fitting measures that is in Golf fitting in Switzerland.

The glove: which hand

The glove goes on the lead hand, the hand at the top of the grip. For right-handers that is the left hand, for left-handers the right. Decathlon Switzerland names its gloves exactly that way, «left hand for right-handers» and «right hand for left-handers», and a single Inesis glove costs between CHF 9.40 and CHF 19.90. One glove is enough. Once it has gone hard or has a hole in the palm, buy a new one. At the start a glove does one thing above all: it keeps the grip still in your hand, even when the hand gets warm.

More on this: Golf bag and trolley and Golf glove: which hand, which size, Conforming club and ball, Golf club types and numbers explained, Which club length suits my height?, Golf wedges explained, Renting golf clubs in Switzerland, Golf for women in Switzerland.

Test first, then buy: an hour in the bay

Whether a set suits you is something you see neither in the shop nor on the photo in a listing. You see it in the numbers. In a bay with a launch monitor you hit each club ten times and read off the carry distance. If the 7 iron and the 9 iron land too close together, or the hybrid does not fly further than the 7 iron, the selection does not match your speed. A used set you bring along for that hour once you have bought it. For a new one you look for a venue with club fitting: the directory lists «Club fitting» as an amenity, and you filter the list of venues by it. 80 of the 110 indoor venues publish an hourly rate, a median of CHF 50 per bay, and 95 venues offer coaching. What the numbers on the screen mean is in Understanding launch monitor numbers.

The next step is an hour in a bay, with borrowed clubs or with the set you have your eye on. After that you know whether six clubs are enough, which length you need and which gap to fill first. The venues near you, with prices and amenities, are in the directory, and what to expect as a beginner in the simulator is in the beginners' guide.

Frequently asked questions

How many clubs are allowed in golf?

Fourteen. Rule 4.1b says you must not start a round with more than fourteen clubs or have more than fourteen during the round. Fewer are allowed, and you may add clubs during the round up to fourteen. One club too many costs two penalty strokes per hole in stroke play, with a maximum of four in the round.

What does a golf beginner set cost in Switzerland?

At Decathlon Switzerland a new set of six clubs with a bag costs CHF 209.90 (Inesis First) or CHF 319.90 (Inesis half set, in two lengths and three flexes), as of 18 September 2026. Used, the first page on Ricardo held several sets at buy-now prices between CHF 65 and 100 on the same day, among them a golf bag with ten clubs for CHF 100.

Which hand does the golf glove go on?

On the lead hand, the one at the top of the grip: the left for right-handers, the right for left-handers. Decathlon names its gloves by this principle, «left hand for right-handers», and a single Inesis glove costs between CHF 9.40 and CHF 19.90. One glove is enough.

Are six clubs enough to start with?

Yes. Driver, 4 hybrid, 7 iron, 9 iron, sand wedge and putter cover every situation on a round, and less choice means fewer wrong decisions. Fourteen clubs are allowed; you add the other eight when your measured distances show a gap.

How do I know whether the clubs are the right length?

From the distance between your hand and the ground when standing upright, which every maker's length chart uses, and from the sole at impact: a club that is too long lifts the heel, one that is too short lifts the toe. In a bay you see both after ten balls, in the spread and in the marks on the face.

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