I need suggestions...

I am a lefty and I am taking up golf.  I have hacked around the course twice in my life.  I am now looking to pay golf the right way and hopefully get pretty decent.  I am planning on plenty of range time and hopefully finding someone to take lessons from.

I have an idea of what irons I want.  I am ooking at the Adams A7 iron set.  What I need suggestions on are the rest.  Driver, fairway woods, and a putter.  I have read some diffent things on clubs for starters.  Most suggest a 10.5 - 12.5 degree driver and a mallet stye putter.  Any insight is greatly appreciated.

R.D.

Oh I forgot what about shafts?  Steel or Graphite

The Adams set you have picked would probably be a good choice, as would many others.  As to the steel or graphite, this set has made that choice for you; the irons are steel and the hybrids are graphite. In general, I don't think steel or graphite matters that much for a beginner, unless you have some special need. Ladies and seniors I think benefit from the lighter weight and softer impact of graphite in the irons. In hybrids and woods, most everyone uses graphite, but not everyone. At this stage of the game, I would not worry too much about a driver, but look for a good fairway club you can also use off the tee, something with about 13-16 degrees of loft. You will need some kind of sand wedge, and a putter.  A driver can be a considerable investment that you will probably quickly "outgrow" or rather have different needs than now. After you have played a few months, you will have a better idea of what you need in a driver, or if you need one at all at that point in your development.

With the putter, even beginners can have a preference for a different style, just based on feel.  As I am sure you have seen, there are a gazillion styles of putters out there.  If I were starting out, I would find a good used Ping Anser style with one or two sightlines as a base putter. This is a good basic style that has some forgiveness built in and for me has always had good distance control. Assuming you are average in build and height, I would go with a 34-35" conventional length.  A good used one will run 40-80 bucks and not so much of an investment you are stuck with. From it, you can decide what you like and don't like, so you know what to look for when the time comes to change. But you may decide to keep it as a backup when your try something else.

You have already hit on the most important part, and that is to get a lesson or two and practice what you are taught.  We all like and enjoy the "stuff" of golf, but it is the fundamentals that lead to long term success.

You might consider getting fitted for your set of clubs at a retailer that offers this service.  While you won't need the level of tweaking that a more developed swing would, professional advice as to length, lie and flex for your size and strength, might be of some benefit.

All of this of course is my opinion, and worth about what you paid for it!

Look at the Adams Idea Tech V3. It's a hybrid iron set so every club is easy to hit. Seriously every beginner should at least try them out. Super forgiveable irons.

Most importantly get fitted for ALL your clubs. Every single one. Putter included. It'll pay off, quick. Array iron shots won't be nearly as bad, your putts will be more consistent and you'll have a driver that will keep the ball in play.

For a beginner, fitting isn't IMO the best option, because you will learn how to hit the ball after a couple of years. Go to your local golfshop and ask for help and ask the salesmans opinion, they are well trained. If I were starting golf I would be looking for an used set of irons, something forgiving, with steel shafts, they're cheaper and most of the players think that they are more accurate. You should try as many as possible iron sets. Search from internet where and when are the nearest demo days, there will be a shitload of sets of irons and fairway woods (drivers aswell if you decide to get one). Also, buy good golf shoes, they will pay themselves back :) Have fun, glad to see someones picking a wonderful sport.

As a beginner, all you need is what's called a static fitting. This type of fitting makes sure the shaft length and lie are appropriate for your body build. Lie refers to whether the clubhead sits flat on the ground when you address the ball. If the lie is too upright, the club rocks back on its heel; if it's too flat, it tends to rock up on its toe. Either of these make it difficult to hit straight shots.

Once you've played for awhile, your swing has stabilized, and you might benefit from a dynamic fitting . This is a several hour process, often costs $150 or more, and involves lots of computer analysis of your swing. But until your swing stabilizes - beginners swing differently day to day - a static fitting is all you need.

Also, as a beginner:

* Take lessons (congrats! you figured this out on your own - many don't and regret it later)

* Rely an trained clubfitters to help you find your first set. (Ask golfing friends who is good at this in your area)

While a fitting is a good idea, if you are close to standard sizes (I believe thats usually 5' 10" +/- 2") I would recommend going on Ebay (3 Balls golf) and buying all of your clubs used.  As a lefty you can find some great deals on used equipment.  As a beginner try to save money on your first set, then if you start to like the game more, you'll know what you want later and feel less guilty about upgrading quickly.  The only thing I would recommend not going on the cheap with is shoes, but thats just my 2 cents.

Not sure of your area, but Golfsmith does free fittings if you are going to buy from them. There are tons of sets out there and they are pretty good about knowing what you need to start with or grow into. Just got fit for my driver and it was the best thing I've done.