What’s the difference between men’s and women’s clubs?

The first difference is length. Men’s clubs are designed to fit men who are 5 feet 9 inches tall, while women’s clubs are better suited to people 5 feet 7 inches tall. With this in mind, taller women can often play with men’s clubs. Cindy Miller , who competed on the LPGA Tour 1979–1981 and was the 2018 National LPGA Teacher of the year, observes that arm length plays a role in club choice. “I happen to be 5 feet 6 inches tall and use men’s clubs because I have short arms,” she writes. “The number of inches your knuckle is from the ground determines the length of clubs. If your knuckle is 30 or more inches from the ground, you will need men’s clubs. If your knuckle is between 26.5 and 29.5 inches from the ground, ladies’ length clubs are for you.” Length isn’t the only difference. Women’s clubs are also customarily designed with lighter shafts, smaller grips, a greater loft angle, and more flexibility.

Should I buy individual clubs or a set?

It’s generally less expensive in the long run to purchase a set than individual clubs. If you’re a newcomer to the game, sets also allow you to experiment with the spectrum of clubs and fine-tune your tastes. You can always supplement or swap out clubs as your preferences develop.

Do I need to get my golf clubs fitted?

If you want to play well, yes. Ideally, you should have a golf pro help fit your clubs. “Your golf clubs are one of the most important parts of your game. Correctly fitted clubs or incorrectly fitted clubs will seriously impact your game and affect your handicap,” says golf pro Oneda Castillo , based out of Fayetteville, Georgia. When fitting clubs, the pro should take into account your swing speed, age, height, skill level (handicap), 150-yard club use, and ball fitting.

The 7 Best Women’s Golf Clubs of 2022

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TRIPSAVVY-8-best-womens-golf-clubs — TripSavvy / Chloe Jeong

The Rundown

Best Overall: Callaway Strata Tour 16-Piece Women’s Set at Amazon

"The Strata Tour 16-piece set emphasizes forgiveness and performances that many levels of golfers appreciate."

Best Value: Confidence Lady Power III Golf Club Set at Amazon

"This set appeals to beginner golfers who don’t want to drop a lot of money to get started."

Best for Intermediates: Cobra Golf Women’s F-Max Complete Set at Amazon

"Ladies looking for more performance from their clubs may find it with this set that's lighter than previous versions of the line."

Best Advanced: Callaway Reva 11-Piece Complete Set at Amazon

"These high-quality clubs are designed for serious players seeking to add distance, enhance accuracy, and shoot lower scores."

Best for Seniors: TaylorMade Golf Kalea Women’s Golf Club Set at Amazon

"This set's construction counteracts diminishing swing speeds and driving distances that senior golfers may experience."

Best for Petite Golfers: Palm Springs Golf Visa Lady Petite at Amazon

"Measuring an inch shorter than standard ladies’ sets, this set is geared to petite women 5 feet 6 inches and below."

Best for Travel: Callaway Women’s Solaire 11-Piece Set at dickssportinggoods.com

"This down-to-basics ladies flex set is a streamlined solution for travel."

Whether you’re taking a family golf vacation or an advanced player touring the top courses, a quality set of clubs is essential. The best women’s clubs share many of the same technologies that make men’s clubs great; however, these clubs are designed particularly for women’s stance, frame, and needs. With so many options on the market, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. And with price tags starting at several hundred dollars and climbing from there, you’ll want to make sure you’re making the right investment.

We’ve scoured the latest gear to bring you the best women’s golf clubs on the market.

Best Overall: Callaway Strata Tour 16-Piece Women’s Set

It should come as no surprise that one of the top brand names in golf gear, Callaway, makes a superior women’s set of clubs. The Strata Tour 16-piece set emphasizes forgiveness and performances that many levels of golfers appreciate. You can play a lot of golf with the selection of clubs in this set. It includes a driver, 3 wood, 4 and 5 hybrid, 6-9 irons, pitching wedge, and Sand wedge. The set comes in a lightweight stand bag and with four head covers. The choice of clubs matches women’s needs. For example, the driver has a titanium head perfect for maximizing distance. The fairway wood has an aerodynamic head shape that tees up long, high-flying shots. For the putter, a mallet putter (instead of a blade putter) is also more forgiving.

Best Value: Confidence Lady Power III Golf Club Set

If you’re a fan of affordably priced courses, you’re probably also a fan of value-priced clubs. This set appeals to beginner golfers who don’t want to drop a lot of money to get started. This set includes a driver, 24-degree hybrid, irons (6-9), a pitching wedge, a blade putter, and a matching stand bag—all the essentials. For the cost, you will sacrifice a bit of innovation. These clubs feature lady-flex steel shafts, which are slightly heavier and less forgiving than graphite shafts. However, the beginners to which this bag appeals to are unlikely to notice the difference.

Best for Intermediates: Cobra Golf Women’s F-Max Complete Set

Ladies looking for more performance out of their clubs may find it in the Cobra Golf Women’s F-Max Complete Set, which is lighter even than previous versions of the line. The complete set includes tough-lie remedying fairway woods. The inclusion of a mallet putter offers superior control on the green for long and short putts. The driver, woods, and hybrid are all designed offset (where the leading edge of the club is set back from the shaft). This design helps create a higher launch. The clubs’ carbon crowns also maximize speed, distance, and accuracy.

Best Advanced: Callaway Reva 11-Piece Complete Set

These high-quality clubs are designed for serious players seeking to add distance, enhance accuracy, and shoot lower scores. And they come with a price tag to match. Leading the way in this complete set is a titanium driver that emphasizes forgiveness. The set also includes a 3 wood, 5 and 6 hybrid, irons 7-9, pitching and sand wedges, a putter, a cart bag, and five head covers. The putter is Callaway’s premium Stroke Lab shaft putter, which features both graphite and steel to increase put tempo and consistency.

Best for Seniors: TaylorMade Golf Kalea Women’s Golf Club Set

The Taylor Made Golf Kalea set features an ultra-lightweight construction that counteracts diminishing swing speeds and driving distances that senior golfers may experience. The set is composed of a driver, 3 wood, 5 wood, 5 rescue, 6 rescue, irons 7-9, pitching and sand wedges, and a putter. The clubs are optimized for length, loft, and design to cover all the distances you’ll need within the set. The set includes a premium spider putter that should lead to increased control—and confidence—on the green.

Best for Petite Golfers: Palm Springs Golf Visa Lady Petite

Measuring an inch shorter than standard ladies’ sets, the Palm Spring Golf Visa set is geared to petite women 5 feet 6 inches and below. The set includes a driver, 3 wood, two hybrids, irons 6-9, pitching wedge, putter, and bag. All clubs feature lightweight graphite shafts, and many are designed to pack a punch. The heavy-hitting 460cc (the biggest allowed) driver is designed for distance and forgiveness; it has a huge sweets spot that may mean you’re calling fewer mulligans on the course.

Best for Travel: Callaway Women’s Solaire 11-Piece Set

Callaway Womenâs Solaire 11-Piece Set — Courtesy of Dick's Sporting Goods

This down-to-basics ladies flex set is a streamlined solution for travel. The set includes a driver, 3 wood, 5 and 6 hybrids, irons 7-9, pitching and sand wedges, and a putter in a lightweight cart bag with four head covers. Even with a simplified set, you won’t sacrifice performance. This set is engineered with speed-generating graphite shafts and high-COR clubfaces that create greater swings and ball speeds. All that adds up to greater distances and performance on the course, no matter whether you’re playing in Florida or golf’s birthplace.

Final Verdict

We love the Callaway Strata Tour 16-Piece Women’s Set (view on Amazon) for its top-of-the-line design. The wide-ranging 16-piece club selection sets up golfers for most situations they’ll encounter on the course and suits players with a variety of handicaps.

What to Look for in Women's Golf Clubs

Shaft Material

Women’s clubs generally feature a graphite shaft, which decreases the club weight. With a lighter weight, women can increase swing speed and overall distance.

Grip Size and Comfort

Women’s clubs are made with smaller grips—since their hands are generally not as large as men’s. The grips are also made thinner. Make sure your grip allows your hands to be in the proper position and that you can maintain consistent grip pressure throughout your swing.

Flexibility

Clubs are designated as “Ladies” flexibility, which is related to your swing speed and strength. If possible, locate clubs that have stiff, regular, and senior shafts as opposed to those with a universal shaft.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between men’s and women’s clubs?

The first difference is length. Men’s clubs are designed to fit men who are 5 feet 9 inches tall, while women’s clubs are better suited to people 5 feet 7 inches tall. With this in mind, taller women can often play with men’s clubs. Cindy Miller, who competed on the LPGA Tour 1979–1981 and was the 2018 National LPGA Teacher of the year, observes that arm length plays a role in club choice. “I happen to be 5 feet 6 inches tall and use men’s clubs because I have short arms,” she writes. “The number of inches your knuckle is from the ground determines the length of clubs. If your knuckle is 30 or more inches from the ground, you will need men’s clubs. If your knuckle is between 26.5 and 29.5 inches from the ground, ladies’ length clubs are for you.” Length isn’t the only difference. Women’s clubs are also customarily designed with lighter shafts, smaller grips, a greater loft angle, and more flexibility.
Should I buy individual clubs or a set?

It’s generally less expensive in the long run to purchase a set than individual clubs. If you’re a newcomer to the game, sets also allow you to experiment with the spectrum of clubs and fine-tune your tastes. You can always supplement or swap out clubs as your preferences develop.
Do I need to get my golf clubs fitted?

If you want to play well, yes. Ideally, you should have a golf pro help fit your clubs. “Your golf clubs are one of the most important parts of your game. Correctly fitted clubs or incorrectly fitted clubs will seriously impact your game and affect your handicap,” says golf pro Oneda Castillo, based out of Fayetteville, Georgia. When fitting clubs, the pro should take into account your swing speed, age, height, skill level (handicap), 150-yard club use, and ball fitting.

Why Trust TripSavvy?

Ashley M. Biggers started golfing with her grandfather when she was six years old. She started golfing with her grandmother’s clubs a couple of years later and has played ever since.

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