Author: Maurice Savaryego, M.Sc.Eng. (Learn More)
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Compare Golf Club Sets for Beginners: Callaway or Wilson?
 (Photo Credits: Callaway)
This article is intended for people who are planning to start playing golf and want to equip themselves with a good and affordable club set that will make introduction to golf an easy and pleasurable activity and that will be sufficient for a very long time to come.
We will compare here two of the best and most popular golf club sets bought by Amazon customers many of whom have provided raving reviews. They are the Callaway STRATA Ultimate and Wilson Profile SGI club sets which are particularly recommended to beginners with serious intention of learning how to play golf. These club sets were designed to improve your game if you struggle with some of the basic techniques and help you over the learning curve. You can expect to use these golf club sets for a very long time before you will need to add any additional clubs or replace existing ones. Note that these were not just among the most popular among Amazon customers at the time this article was written, but they had also received excellent reviews from most Amazon buyers (an average rating of at least 4 stars each, out of 5 stars!). Before we proceed with the comparison, it makes sense to clarify some of the basic golf club terms used below. But if you are in a hurry and wish to see right away Amazon price information for these golf club sets, please click: |
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There are basically four types of golf clubs: Woods, irons, hybrids, and putters. Each type is specifically designed to achieve specific lifts and distances and is adapted to specific types of golf terrain. The following summarizes the attributes of each type:
- WOODS are clubs that have a long shaft and a large head. They are used to propel the ball a long distance. Woods are numbered in ascending order starting with the DRIVER (or 1-wood) which has the lowest loft (mostly between 9 and 13 degrees) and continuing progressively with higher numbers and higher lofts. Note that woods can achieve very long-distance tee shots.
Woods with higher numbers and lofts than the driver are referred to as FAIRWAY WOODS, because they are used for shots from off the turf of the fairway that can still be considered as long distance shots (fairway being the part of the course where the grass is cut short between the tees and the putting green). Fairway woods usually have slightly shorter and stiffer shafts and smaller club heads than the driver.
Note that most common modern club sets include only one fairway wood, the 3-wood, while some club sets also include the 5-wood for players who prefer fairway woods to long irons for play through the green.
In the past, these clubs had their heads made of hardwood, which explains the name. But nowadays, most woods are made of graphite. - IRONS have a shorter shaft and a metal head that presents an angled flat face often scored with grooves. Though, in the past, their clubheads were forged from iron, nowadays iron club heads are investment-cast from a steel alloy. Irons of varying lofts are used for a variety of shots from virtually anywhere on the course, but most often for shorter distance shots approaching the putting green, or to get the ball out of tricky situations such as sand traps.
There are two categories of irons. Those that are in the first category are numbered from 1 to 9 indicating the relative angle of loft on the club face. Irons that are in the second category have higher loft than the numbered irons and are called WEDGES, which are typically marked with two letters, and are used for shots requiring short distance and high launch angle. The most common wedges are the PW (PITCHING WEDGE) and the SW (SAND WEDGE). The pitching wedge is used to hit shots with higher and shorter trajectory than with a 9-iron. The sand wedge is designed for use around sand bunkers which are depressions filled with sand. It provides a large amount of bounce, enabling the club head to glide through the sand and avoid getting stuck. - HYBRIDS can be viewed as a cross between woods and irons. They are usually used instead of the low-lofted irons to provide similar distances, but a higher launch angle.
- PUTTERS are low-lofted, balanced clubs designed to roll the ball along the green and into the hole.
Comparing Selected Golf Club Sets
(Callaway STRATA Ultimate and Wilson Profile SGI)
(Photo credits: Callaway)
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(Photo credits: Wilson)
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Note: The specifications provided in the table and the following notes are for Mens's golf club sets. For women's club sets specifications, please refer to the Amazon section below.
Note 1:
Callaway STRATA Ultimate (12 clubs - 18 piece in all with head-covers and bag included):
- One 12 ° DRIVER with headcover included.
- Two FAIRWAY WOODS: #3 and #5 with headcovers included.
- Two HYBRIDS: #4H and #5H with headcovers included.
- Six IRONS: #6, #7, #8, #9, PW and SW.
- One PUTTER with progressive mallet shape to provide high accuracy.
Wilson Profile SGI (10 clubs - 14 piece in all with head-covers and bag included):
- One 10.5° DRIVER with headcover included.
- One FAIRWAY WOOD: #5 with headcover included.
- One HYBRID: #5H with headcover included.
- Six IRONS: #6, #7, #8, #9, PW and SW.
- One PUTTER with weight-balanced head design and alignment grip that improves consistency for a better putting stroke.
Note 2:
Woods are made usually of graphite (or graphite combined with titanium), while hybrids, irons and putter are made of steel.
Note 3:
"Flex" refers to the ability of a golf shaft to bend as forces are applied to it during the golf swing.
There are a number of ratings for shaft flex. For beginners, shafts with Uniflex or Regular ratings are recommended.
Note 4:
Both golf bags are equipped with compartments on the inside and pockets on the outside.
They are also equipped with shoulder straps:
- Callaway Strata has a shoulder strap and a backpack strap.
- Wilson Profile SGI comes with a shoulder strap that is a mesh strap over a padded hexagon core that promotes air flow for cool comfort.
Note 5:
Both golf bags are equipped with retractable legs. The following pictures show the bags with the legs retracted:
(Photo credits: Callaway)
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(Photo credits: Wilson)
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Note 6:
Club sets from both brands made specifically for ladies are available and presented below in the Amazon products section.
If you wish to see Amazon price information for these golf club sets, please click:
Selected Golf Club Sets on Amazon.
So which club set to get?
The 18-piece Callaway STRATA Ultimate club set comes with everything you need to play (12 clubs: a driver, two fairway woods, a hybrid, a number of irons including PW and SW, a putter, headcovers and a bag), without having to pay the thousands of dollars that custom club sets demand for the same club content. This set is great for beginners, but even experienced players who don't get out to the golf course often enough to justify a very expensive set will find the Callaway STRATA Ultimate club set more than adequate. Callaway STRATA Ultimate comes with a 2-year warranty.
Note that Callaway also offers a more affordable club set that comes with fewer clubs, but similar quality and features found in the Callaway STRATA Ultimate set. It's the Callaway STRATA Complete. The men's set has 12 pieces of equipment: 9 clubs (driver; #3 fairway wood; #5 hybrid; #6, #7, #8, #9, PW irons and putter), 2 headcovers and 1 bag.
Both Callaway STRATA Ultimate and Callaway STRATA Complete are offered below in the Amazon products section.
If you want to consider the Wilson Profile SGI, keep in mind that it comes with slightly fewer clubs (10 for the Wilson Profile SGI), but it is perfect for the beginner, and given the low price, it makes no sense to purchase really expensive clubs if you're not a professional or competitive golfer. Note that it also comes with a shoulder strap that is a mesh strap over a padded hexagon core that promotes air flow for cool comfort.
As a beginner, buying one of the above described club sets makes a lot of sense as paying thousands of dollars is a ridiculous investment for new players yet to discover their gaming tendencies and needs. Once you have played for sometime and determined which are the clubs you're not completely happy with, you can start slowly replacing them with custom versions, but you can be sure that most of the clubs that come with these sets will stay in your game for quite some time to come.
Compared Golf Club Sets on Amazon
A color choice will be provided whenever available.
Please click the Amazon US link image below for the golf club set of your choice to see exact price information or to purchase.
Please Note: For non-US customers, when you click the links below, you will be provided with the Amazon links for your country (such as Canada or UK), if the product is available in your country.
CALLAWAY STRATA Club Sets:
Callaway Men's |
Callaway Women's |
Ladies may want to consider the 16-piece Callaway Women's STRATA Ultimate shown here. It comes with one driver, one fairway wood (#3), two hybrids (#4 and #5), six irons (#6, #7, #8, #9, PW, SW), putter, headcovers and a bag.
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The men's set comes with 12 pieces of equipment: 9 clubs (Driver, #3 Wood; #5 Hybrid; #6, #7, #8, #9, PW Irons and Putter), 2 headcovers and 1 bag.
For exact price information on Callaway Men’s STRATA Complete or to purchase, please click below:
Callaway Men's |
Callaway Women's |
Ladies may want to consider the 11-piece Callaway Women's STRATA Complete shown here. It comes with one driver, one fairway wood (#5), one hybrid (#5) and three irons (#7, #9, SW), putter, 3 headcovers and a bag.
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Wilson Men's |
Wilson Women's |
Ladies may want to consider WILSON Women's Profile SGI club set shown here which has similar features to Wilson Men's Profile SGI. It comes with a driver, fairway wood, #4 hybrid, (#6, #7, #8, #9, PW, SW) irons, putter, headcovers and a bag.
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Here is something special for those interested in practicing their putting at home:
- The included golf mat gives you the life-like feel of grass for a realistic playing experience.
- With Abco Tech's golf putting mat, the ball rolls back and you don't have to waste time in getting the ball back repeatedly, so that you can focus all your energy on playing!
- It comes with 3 bonus practice balls so that you don't need to buy extra accessories, gadgets, or equipment. Plus, the easy to assemble design means that you can start to play in an instant!
You might also be interested in the following two articles:
1. Golf Push Carts comparison:
Once you start playing golf seriously and need to take regularly clubs and other golf equipment to the green, you soon realize that owning a golf cart is a must to avoid carrying stuff on your back and having to make multiple trips to the car. The role of a golf cart, also called a "caddy" is to carry your clubs during your play so they can easily follow you on the green wherever you go. If you frequently play several hours a week, acquiring a golf cart becomes a necessity.
Please click below for a detailed description and comparison of two of the best and top selling golf push carts:
2. Golf Laser Rangefinders Comparison
A laser rangefinder measures a distance by projecting laser beams to a target and measuring the traveling time taken by the beams to be reflected off the target and returned to the instrument.
Nowadays, more and more golfers are using laser rangefinders to measure target distances on golf courses. Laser rangefinders help golfers develop their sense of distance by showing actual distances. Knowing exact distances under changing situations due to wind and a golf course's topography is not only a huge advantage for a golfer, but can help develop his or her golfing skills.
Please click below for a description and comparison of the top selling golf laser rangefinders:
