Clubs to Buy to Get Started

I have recently experienced a phenomenon is my household—all three of my kids suddenly want to play golf almost as much as I do. I can’t say this comes out of thin air as I did sign them up for the youth clinic at my parents’ golf club every summer. And my father is a former college golf coach, he’s been pushing the game since they were babies. And the boys are now into their third summer of caddying, their interest is understandable.

But my 12-year-old daughter? When did a smile start crossing her face when I mentioned maybe we could hit a bucket of balls? Or why, all of a sudden, is she begging me to take her to play nine holes at the local public course? Maybe it’s hormones (everything else seems to be). Either way, I am going to enjoy it while I can because, as any parent of an adolescent girl can tell you, she could turn on a dime at any second.

Her enthusiasm has led me to a dilemma

What clubs should I buy to get her started? I don’t want to rush out and buy her a new set. My old clubs, which are my father’s old clubs, are too big for her. My preference is to go with gently-used clubs until I know she is planning to stick with it for more than two weeks.

Clubs to Buy

Here are my thoughts on what clubs to buy:

1. At the most, she should have eight clubs in her bag. This means she will be carrying a very light bag, which should minimize the chances of her whining and refusing to carry the bag by the fourth hole.
2. For obvious reasons, the bag must have a putter.
3. She needs a driver. Every new golfer needs to experience the thrill of launching a ball in the air, and the only way to ensure that is to tee it up and whack it with a big clubhead.
4. A 7-iron is key because almost anyone can hit a 7-iron. In fact, I am pretty sure it is the only club my mother ever hits, whether she is 250 or 30 yards out.
5. A sand wedge will come in handy, even though I know she will pick up the ball and throw it out of the trap after two or three attempts at hitting “two inches behind the ball.”
6. A pitching wedge, an 8-iron, and a couple of hybrids that never leave the bag should round out the lot.

The only thing left for me is to bring a lot of patience and an ample supply of golf balls.

What clubs do you think she should have?

Photo credit: Fort Rucker / Foter / CC BY