Need help selecting clubs for a beginner.

[Perry Farrell]

Hi,
A friend's wife asked me to help her purchase a few clubs for her husband who is just starting the game.
Some info: He owns a set of hand-me-down game improvement irons, a couple of hand-me-down wedges, a hand-me-down Nike 9.0 driver, stiff shaft.
She wants to spend $300-$400.
Individual is early 30's, in shape with sufficient athletic ability and has only been on a golf course 1, maybe 2 times.
My thoughts:
Go with a new driver, the one I had in mind was the Taylor Made R580, w/ regular shaft which I believe now sell for somewhere around $100. It's a pretty forgiving club and it should allow him to figure out what he likes in a driver.
Go with something in the 19*-21* range on a forgiving hybrid to help get the ball off the ground and act more friendly than a 3I.
Go with something in the 25* range on a hybrid to help get out of the rough and cover the 160-180 yard range.
The latter two should be able to be purchased for $300 or less total.

Wedges are too personal to select for someone else and irons would obviously be out of consideration.
Bottom line is that I'd like to select clubs that would help break 100 within a year and make the game enjoyable. He can sort out what he likes/dislikes after that.

Please give me any opinions and be as specific as possible (ie. what manufacturer/model, why, etc).

Thanks for any help.

[pcitygolfer]

I don't buy new clubs any more. Before I get started, I highly recommend you go to golfreview.com to see how clubs are rated by users. It also shows you the scores of those rating them.

Driver - Cleveland 460 Launcher (used on ebay about $70)

Irons + hybrids - Nickent 3dx hybrid irons (3-pw) - the set comes with two hybrid clubs and 5,6,7,8,9,10, and PW. (New on ebay $200 plus shipping)

The three hybrid has a 15 degree loft in the above set - much stronger than most and equal to a standard 3 wood.

SHAFT FLEX CRITICAL - YOU MUST MAKE SURE YOU GET THIS RIGHT (PROBABLY STIFF OR REGULAR).

[golf_junkie27]

He needs to find a club that fits him, first. He should look into getting the right lie, flex, weight and type of grip.

He should then purchase Ben Hogan's book "Five Lessons." This will give him an understanding of the golf swing, posture, alignment, grip. It will help him more than any particular club.

Lastly, this is just my opinion, based on his goals, breaking 100 within a year, I suggest he go out and purchase some blades. Be it muscle back or with a cavity design, they will provide feedback. You will feel mis-hits and everything struck purely will feel fantastic. For $300-$400, he can find a really good set of MacGregor V Foil Series, clubs. They are blades, slightly bigger and are very forgiving. He can also look at the Ben Hogan, series.

[pcitygolfer]

I agree with you one at least on thing. I recommended the Nickent set; however, I play with Mac 565s and believe they are one of the finest clubs I have played. I think they might be a little tough on a beginner, but that's just my opinion. I took them from shooting mid-90s to around 80