All the Best Gifts for Beginner Golfers

Carl’s Golfland is the perfect place to find gifts for the beginner golfer in your life. Carl’s has you and your giftee covered, from clubs to bags to shoes to balls to apparel. Whether you’re shopping for a junior golfer who's just starting out, for someone who’s taking the sport up at a later age, or for anyone in between, the staff at Carl's is here to help you navigate the many gift options for the beginner golfer.

What Every Beginner Golfer Needs: A Good Set of Clubs

If they’re truly starting from scratch, a complete or “package” set is a perfect gift, as it represents a great value, including a full set of clubs and a bag, which, other than balls, is everything needed to step onto the course and enjoy the game.

The sets are specifically designed to suit each golfer's individual needs, varying in shaft type, length, number of clubs, and bag type (a cart bag for players who only ride in a cart and a stand bag for those who may walk, ride, or use a push cart). Even the more expensive complete sets are still far more economical than purchasing individual clubs and a bag, and they feature many of the same technologies found in premium, flagship clubs, offering greater performance and the ability to cover a player's future skill progression. U.S. Kids, a company dedicated to supporting youth golfers, provides the most diverse range of junior sets.

Perhaps your beginner is looking to upgrade some of their introductory clubs or add to their existing set. In that case, you’ll be shopping for individual clubs or an iron set. Outfitting a golfer’s bag with individually purchased clubs allows the clubs to be far more personalized or even customized to the golfer’s specific needs and wants.

Beginners typically struggle with consistency in their game, and the most frequently used clubs during a round are the driver, irons and putter. As such, we recommend forgiving, high MOI (moment of inertia) offerings, such as PING G Series Max drivers, TaylorMade’s Qi iron sets, and a zero-torque putter. The rules of golf allow each player to carry up to fourteen clubs in their bag and most starter sets come equipped with fewer than the full complement of clubs allowed. Therefore, you may want to add one or more of the following to their bag: a high-launching Titleist GT1 fairway wood, an accuracy-boosting Callaway Elyte X hybrid, or a short-game-simplifying Cleveland CBZ wedge.

If They Already Have Clubs, Grab Them a Bag

If your beginning golfer already has clubs, they may benefit from being gifted a new golf bag. While a golf bag may seem relatively unimportant, it actually has a significant impact on a golfer’s on-course comfort, convenience, and general state of mind.

For example, a premium Sun Mountain stand bag features a lightweight construction, two highly padded, easily adjustable shoulder straps, and a hip pad for more even weight distribution and added comfort. Thus, it can represent the difference between a walking golfer who is fresh, focused and performs well throughout all 18 holes, instead of feeling fatigued and uncomfortable by the end of their round. For the riding golfer, a full-featured Callaway cart bag offers superior club protection, voluminous storage capacity, and unmatched organization. Titleist’s Hybrid 5 and Hybrid 14 are excellent choices for players who split their time between walking, riding and using a push cart.

Set Them Up for Success with a New Pair of Golf Shoes

Similarly, the right pair of shoes can be a game-changing gift, as golfers of all skill levels take thousands of steps per round, frequently deal with wet conditions, and require excellent traction to swing confidently. The most important aspects to consider when choosing footwear are waterproofing and whether to opt for spiked or spikeless shoes. Spiked shoes provide excellent grip, but aren’t ideal for clubhouse or off-course wear. Spikeless shoes span the spectrum, ranging from models biased towards on-course performance, like adidas’ Adizero ZG, which provides grip on par with a spiked offering, to Nike’s sneaker-like Jordan 1 Low G that is equally at home on the turf and the street. You can’t go wrong with a waterproof, modern classic style such as FootJoy’s Premiere Series or G/FORE’s Gallivanters. If you’re leaning towards a more versatile model that still delivers solid traction, we recommend adidas’ S2G and PUMA’s Ignite Elevate.

Stock Them Up on Golf Balls (They're Bound to Lose a Few)

You can’t play the game of golf without a ball, and beginners go through them like a baby goes through diapers, so golf balls are a can't-miss gift. Carl’s proudly carries a massive selection of golf balls, from Titleist’s Pro V1 and Pro V1x, the most played models on professional tours, to Volvik’s colorful and fun, themed options, to Wilson's bargain Ultra Distance. You can even customize a ball to add a personal touch.

Help Them Look the Part with Golf Apparel

It's probably safe to assume that a beginner’s golf wardrobe is on the light side and could use some filling out. The basics, such as a great pair of four-way stretch pants or shorts, are a no-brainer. A fashion-forward option in men’s or women’s will have your beginner looking great and feeling confident on the first tee.

Give the Gift of Skill with Golf Lessons

If your beginner golfer lives near our southeast Michigan stores, there’s no better way to help improve their game than gifting them a lesson from one of our PGA Professionals. If they live farther away, may we suggest a training aid like a hitting net or a putting mat that will allow them to improve their skills from the comfort of their home.

Still Need Golf Gift Ideas?

If you’re still in the deep rough and struggling to zero in on the perfect gift, it's hard to beat the convenience and peace-of-mind that comes from giving a Carl’s Golfland gift card. That little card will give the beginner golfer in your life access to one of golf’s biggest and best inventories. Our gift card can be sent by traditional mail or emailed and can be used in-store, over the phone, and online. Last but not least, we invite you to lean on the knowledge and expertise of our world-class customer service team. No question is too small, so feel free to ask us anything!