Best golf club sets in 2024 for players of all ages

Golf might not be a new sport, but it's been seeing a renewed surge in popularity over the past few years. According to the National Golf Foundation, over one-third of Americans aged 5 years and up participated in golf last year. That includes 3.4 million beginners who took up the sport for the first time.

So if you haven't hopped on the bandwagon -- or golf cart, in this case -- it's time to pick up a set of golf clubs and brush up on the difference between a birdie and a bogey. No matter your age or skill level, these are the best golf club sets you can get in 2024 to take your golf game to the next level.

Best golf clubs for men: Cobra Air-X 2

The Cobra Air-X 2 is an 11-club set including a driver, 3-wood, 4- and 5-hybrids, 6-9 irons, a pitching wedge, a sand wedge and a putter. The comprehensive set covers just about every situation you could find yourself in on the golf course. So if you want to be prepared for anything, this is the set to get.

With graphite shafts and overall lightweight construction, this set is built for speed. That means easy swinging with less drag and heel-biased weighting that makes for easier launches. The easy-to-swing set is also optimized to be more forgiving so you can still get speed, distance and accuracy on mishits.

That forgiveness is possible thanks to innovative design features like the signature H.O.T. Face design on the driver which adds 15 zones of variable thickness designed to produce faster ball speeds across a wider portion of the face.

That and the offset design of the club head that helps prevent slicing help new golfers achieve straighter, faster ball flights off the tee. You'll get the same slice-preventing offset design in your 3-wood and hybrids as well.

Overall, each club in this set comes with the latest and greatest innovations Cobra has to offer so golfers of all skill levels can spend less time agonizing over mishits and more time enjoying the game.

Get the innovative golf club set at the PGA Tour Superstore for $1,500.

Top features of the Cobra Air-X 2:

• This set includes a driver, 3-wood, 4- and 5-hybrids, 6-9 irons, a pitching wedge, a sand wedge, a putter and a cart bag.
• The premium cart bag comes with multiple spacious pockets, including an insulated beverage cooler.
• An offset design in the woods and hybrids helps correct slicing for straighter ball flights.
• Cobra's signature H.O.T. Face on the driver is precision-crafted to compensate for mishits by improving ball speeds across a wider portion of the face.
• The complete set includes a comprehensive range of woods, hybrids and irons to help you optimize every stroke.

Best golf clubs for women: Callaway Reva

The Callaway name is synonymous with quality and the Callaway Reva complete golf club set for women is one of the best examples of that. The 11-piece set includes 10 clubs and a durable golf bag so you can have everything you need to get started. The 10 clubs included in this set are a driver, 3-wood, 5 and 6 hybrids, 7-9 irons, pitching and sand wedge and a putter.

These lightweight clubs are designed to make swinging as effortless as possible. That's achieved by adding a lightweight yet sturdy graphite shaft and soft and tacky grips, among other great club-specific features. On the driver, a large circular target on the club face helps you perfect your approach and hit the ball from the perfect angle.

The putter includes a fang design and Stroke Lab technology in the shaft to improve speed and consistency in your stroke. One of the newest developments in putter technology, Stroke Lab tech includes a multi-material shaft that optimizes the balance of the putter to help golfers achieve consistent backswing length, face angle, tempo and ball velocity.

Overall, this women's golf club set offers consistent performance across every club included and accommodates a wide range of playing styles. So no matter how you play (or how often), you'll enjoy the feel and performance of this set.

Get this Callaway golf club at Amazon or the PGA Tour Superstore for $1,300.

Top features of the Ping G LE2 10-piece set:

• This complete set includes a driver, 3-wood, 5 hybrid, 7-9 irons, pitching and sand wedge, a putter and a golf bag.
• Durable yet lightweight titanium heads offer improved aerodynamics for faster speeds.
• The putter shaft can be adjusted between 31 and 35 inches to better fit this set to your height.
• Each club is optimized for distance, speed and feel so you can hit the ball farther and straighter.

Best golf clubs for kids: Team Taylormade junior set

For young golfers ready to start their golfing journey, the Team Taylormade junior set is a great option. The 7-club set will allow your young golfer to get familiar with a wide range of clubs so that when they're ready for their first grown-up set, they'll know exactly what kind of clubs they want to include.

The set includes a driver, fairway wood, hybrid, 7-iron, 9-iron, wedge and putter--all engineered to be light and appropriately balanced for kids between the ages of 10 and 12 (or between 54 inches and 59 inches tall).

With above-average loft across the lineup compared to adult clubs, this set from Taylormade is designed to help young golfers launch the golf ball higher and farther.

Kid-friendly sizing aside, this junior set also features surprisingly advanced materials and design. For example, the driver is made from titanium, a super durable yet lightweight material that makes it easier to swing. The 400cc head on the driver is also smaller, allowing kids to build up more speed through their swing without losing control of the club.

The irons and wedges are all optimized for maximum loft, compensating for the shorter height of young golfers. Lastly, the putter is shaped for easy alignment so kids can finish their shots with confidence.

Get these kids' golf clubs from the PGA Tour Superstore for $500.

Top features of the Team Taylormade junior set:

• This set includes a driver, fairway wood, hybrid, 7-iron, 9-iron, wedge, putter and a carry golf bag.
• All seven clubs are lighter and balanced with kids in mind so they can swing with confidence.
• The high loft set helps kids launch the ball higher, faster and farther even though they're shorter than your average golfer.
• With a range of woods, irons and hybrids, it's a great starter set to familiarize kids with different types of golf clubs.

Best golf clubs under $500: Wilson Profile SGI

For beginners or casual golfers who cringe at the thought of spending thousands on a golf club set, Wilson has you covered. The Wilson Profile SGI set includes 10 golf clubs and a durable stand bag, all for just $400.

Designed with beginners in mind, these clubs are forgiving and give golfers a feel for hitting accurate shots with each club. Oversized heads on the driver, fairway wood and hybrid give you a larger sweet spot so you can still hit the ball straight even when you're a little off-center of the clubface. The irons feature stable shafts and thicker top lines to help you launch the ball from the toughest lies.

Reviewers love the loft, forgiveness, and feel of this beginner-friendly set. One Wilson reviewer said, "These give me much better odds at hitting the ball" while another reviewer said that after golfing with these clubs, "I'm excited about playing golf again!"

Get the set directly from Wilson for $400.

Top features of the Wilson Profile SGI:

• This set includes a driver, fairway wood, hybrid, 6-9 iron, pitching wedge, sand wedge, putter and stand bag.
• Every club in the set is optimized for a wider sweet spot so you can hit accurately, even when you're a little off-center.
• The alignment features on the putter help you sink balls quicker and with more confidence.

More top-rated golf clubs

• Top-of-the-line women's golf clubs for experienced golfers: Ping G LE2, 9-club set, $1,500
• A 10-piece set of forgiving golf clubs: Wilson PlayerFit complete set, 10-club set, $800
• An innovative set loaded with hybrids: PXG 0211Z complete golf club set, 10-club set, $1,249 and up
• Junior golf clubs for kids who dream of going pro: U.S. Kids Golf Tour Series 5, 10-club set, $700

How to shop for golf clubs

Figuring out what golf clubs to buy can be a complicated process and one that depends on tons of personal factors like your height, playing style and playing frequency. That's why we recommend cutting the decision-making down at the start by investing in a good set of golf clubs that already includes the essentials. That way, you have what you need to start playing now but leave room to customize your set with additional clubs that match your personal playing style.

With that said, a good golf club set should include a putter, a driver or 3-wood, a few irons (or hybrids) and at least one wedge. Here's a quick rundown of what each type of golf club is used for:

• Woods--so-called because the club heads were once made of wood--have the largest heads and longest shafts. This enables golfers to swing them faster so they're typically used for the longest shots. The number on a wood, like a 3-wood or 5-wood, indicates the amount of loft--the angle between the ground and the club face. But all woods have less loft than irons.
• Irons have smaller, more angled heads than woods. That's meant to increase loft and spin. The higher the number of the iron, the higher the loft--so a 9-iron will add more loft than a 3-iron. These are most often used for short holes or shots from the fairway.
• Hybrids are a new category of golf club that does the job of an iron but is designed to be lighter and easier to swing. They're numbered like irons and the number corresponds to the iron they replace. So you don't need a 3-iron if you already have a 3-hybrid in your set.
• Wedges are a sub-set of irons with the most sharply angled heads. Designed for maximum loft, you would use a wedge for shorter approach shots or for playing out of the rough or other hazards.
• Putters are highly specialized golf clubs meant exclusively for the putting green. This is what you use for the last strokes to knock the ball into the hole. There's a huge variety of putter designs on the market and the right one for you comes down to personal preference.

If you've already played a few rounds, you've got a good head start. Think about which clubs you use most often and start there. In addition to thinking about which specific clubs you used most, think about what you liked or didn't like about using them. Was the grip comfortable? Did the overall weight feel good? Use those answers to help you figure out what golf clubs would work best for you.