I tested 5 complete golf sets from $199 to $1,599. Here’s where to spend your money

As a former PGA professional, one of the things I enjoyed most about my job was getting people into the game. That process almost always came with the question, “What clubs should I buy?”

Used clubs it might make sense. A fully customized setup is also possible. But for most beginners, a complete set in a box with everything you need is the right starting point.

I chose five of them to put them through their paces. I slapped them on a launch monitor, played them on the course, tracked the changes, and handed some to friends and family to get a variety of perspectives. The technology gaps between sets at this level tend to be smaller than the marketing suggests, but there are real differences in club selection, bag quality, feel and value.

Here is my honest opinion.

Sets

The five sets I tested range from $199 to $1,599. You have one Amazon Basics Set at one end and a Stix Golf premium DTC offering on the other hand, with McGregor, Vice GolfAND Callaway in the middle. Each represents a different philosophy on what a beginner needs.

Let’s start on the floor.

of Amazon Basics Set it is exactly what it seems. It’s an entry-level, no-frills option that exists for a specific type of buyer. If you tend to pick up hobbies and abandon them, and don’t want to drop real money on something you might abandon in six weeks, this makes sense. It’s also a reasonable option for a teenager who wants to go rowing with friends and just needs something to rock.

The driver is surprisingly long for the price. I didn’t expect much and he kept his distance. The irons are functional. The heads are big, which is a common theme in starter sets, but they do the job.

The wedge is another story. It’s unnecessarily clunky even at this price point.

The bag, the build, the overall feel of the product tell you exactly why it costs less than $200. It’s not a knock against Amazon Kit. It’s something you have to understand going in.

Here’s the real issue, though, and it applies to any partial set like this. If you stick to golf, you’ll want to fill in the blanks. And you can’t. There is no matching 6-iron or 8-iron to add. The set that started you off becomes the set that you eventually have to replace entirely. For some buyers, that’s fine. Just go in with your eyes open.

This is the smartest purchase in this test I did.

of MacBLK it looks and feels like it costs significantly more than it does. In terms of course aesthetics and feel, it sits much closer to the Stix sets than to Amazon Basics. The driver sits nicely at address with a top-down view that I prefer over the Stix.

From a performance point of view, MacBLK the driver was a few feet shorter for me than the Stix and flew a touch higher, but the gap was nothing to take me away from this The MacGregor Kit.

The CNC precision cut face is something I specifically want to point out. Face grinds are a premium feature. You usually pay a lot more for that kind of consistency and feel on your own, let alone part of a full set.

The only legitimate gap in this group is the wedge situation. You go directly from a pitching wedge to a 56-degree sand wedge, which leaves a hole in your short game around 50 degrees. This isn’t a deal breaker, but it’s something you’ll want to address once you’re more comfortable with the game and notice that gap in the course.

If someone asked me today about a complete set that delivers real value and won’t make you feel like you’re playing on budget hardware, MacBLK is the answer at this price.

of Vice Boost Plus is a newer option from Vice. They built it around the specific idea that most entry-level clubs are built around assumptions that don’t hold up for the average player, and that purpose-built specs from fit data will serve you better than off-the-shelf design decisions.

It’s a compelling argument, and you can feel it in some places more than others.

The wedge gap is prominent. You get a pitching wedge, a 50 degree ditch wedge and a 56 degree sand wedge.

The full face wedge design is also worth mentioning. Full-face grooves give you more flexibility with your shot manipulation around the greens, a really useful feature for someone still learning what they can and can’t do with a wedge.

The irons are strong and not hard to hit. I liked the shooter.

The driver lost me a bit. I felt it was harder to control than it should be in a starter set. There’s plenty of distance, but the durability I saw from other group options just wasn’t there. Fairway wood and hybrid were better.

Ball flight throughout Substitute kit lower trends than I saw with Callaway. This can be an advantage for distance, but for a beginner who is already struggling to get the ball in the air consistently, a lower ball flight across the bag is worth knowing.

of Callaway XR it is the most beautiful set in this test.

What separates it from everything else here is that the clubs feel like individual clubs, not a set of packages. The irons in particular feel and perform much closer to what you would get if you walked into a store and bought a set of game improvement irons off the shelf. The launch is high, the ball flight is consistent and the misses are more forgiving than I expected.

Two hybrids – a 4 and a 5 – completely replace the long irons. For a beginner, this is the right call.

The Odyssey DFX hammer shooter is the highest quality shooter in this test.

The wedge situation gives you pitching wedge, ditch wedge and sand wedge, AW. They feel a bit thick, which is typical for this category, but they do the job. I would add a blade style lob wedge to this and then it really has everything you need.

I love everything about this set and, although I know it is priced higher than others, the quality is evident. I think the scope for this extends beyond beginners and into higher handicappers and even some upper-mid handicappers who need a complete replacement at a reasonable cost.

I want to be up front about something with Stix: I’m looking at an older version of this set, not the current one C02 Compete. I have had it for several years. The Stix set is the extra set we keep around when people visit. I originally chose it to make my own comparison to what I was playing at the time.

That context makes this a stronger review in several ways. I have spent real time with these clubs and the latest versions from Stix are all very similar in their performance.

The wedges are the best of anything I’ve tested. They feel accurate, are versatile around the green and have held up well over time. If wedge performance matters to you, Stix delivers.

The all-black aesthetic is really sharp. This doesn’t affect performance, but let’s not pretend that presentation doesn’t matter to someone new to the game and wondering how they’ll look on the course.

Driver, fairway and hybrid are good. Like the Vice set, the ball flight trends lower across the bag compared to the Callaway.

of current C02 Compete it also adds adjustable loft and woods and hybrid alignment, which is an unusual feature at any price point, and the irons earned a Most Wanted award from MyGolfSpy for accuracy and value. This is the relevant context if you are looking at the new version.

At $1,599, Styx is the most expensive group in this test. The case for this is stronger if you’re a more serious beginner who wants a complete, performance-ready setup and isn’t enamored with the major brand names. Keep in mind that Stix has other options set up at lower prices where you’re getting similar technology and performance, but perhaps not as many clubs.

Next on the list for me is to do a comparison of all current Stix options and see which ones stand out.

conclusion

I’m determined to test out more sets like this and continue to dig deeper into the complete set options. I will get more involved with how to narrow down the length and shaft you need in future articles. Here is my final summary of these five. What should I test next?

• Not sure if you’ll stick with it: of Amazon Basics at $199 it gets you into the risk-free range. If golf clicks, you can improve it.
• You want real value: of MacGregor MacBLK at $569 it’s the smartest buy in this test. It performs and looks good.
• Watch out for the short game: of Vice Boost Plus it’s cute set for kids. It looks great and has those little bursts of performance that will keep you coming back to the brand.
• Ready to invest: of Callaway XR is the best complete set in this test. Built like real clubs, the Odyssey barrel is legal and you can upgrade it piece by piece for years.
• Want premium DTC: of Stix C02 Compet it has the best wedges I’ve tested and a 14-club setup that leaves nothing out.