New golfers who are looking for a starter set of golf clubs should consider purchasing good-quality clubs on the resale market rather than settling for cheap new clubs. It would also be a good idea to get suggestions from a golf coach or golf professional.

But even after you've gotten advice and considered all the golf club reviews, there are several personal factors to think about. Your own size, shape, strength and style of play should be taken into account when choosing golf clubs.

A standard set of golf clubs includes irons, woods and a putter. Irons are numbered from two through nine. The faces of the irons are set at an angle to provide lift. A number two iron has a lift angle of 18 degrees, and the angle increases four degrees for every successive iron.

The golf club shaft also gets shorter as the numbers go up; that is, the shaft of a two iron is longer than the shaft of a nine iron. Woods are numbered from one through five. The general rule is that lower numbered clubs hit the ball farther, but not as high. In addition to extra lift, higher numbered clubs also give the ball more backspin.

Irons

Let's talk about the irons. Traditional irons have the club's weight concentrated behind the middle of the head. This design creates what is known as the sweet spot, the perfect place on the club to make contact with the ball.

Traditional irons are preferred by many golf pros because of their great precision and control. However, if you don't make contact with the golf ball precisely on the sweet spot, these golf clubs are simply unforgiving.

It's now also possible to get irons with a peripheral weight design. These are also known as cavity-backed or game improvement golf clubs. The weight is more evenly distributed around the edges, which is like expanding the sweet spot of the golf club.

Cavity-backed golf clubs are much friendlier to new players. They are mainly intended for beginners or inconsistent players. However, cavity-backed clubs can also be found on the pro golf circuits as well. So if this design really works well for you, don't let the name "game improvement" club scare you away.

Woods

Woods are so named because they were traditionally constructed of wood. Teeing off and long fairway shots are both situations that call for woods. Traditional wooden drivers are still favored by many golf pros. Alas, much like traditional irons, these woods are merciless if your contact with the ball isn't perfect. For this reason, woods made of metal now rule the amateur game.

Today's woods are constructed with hollow shells that offer greater distribution of weight. The only drawback of these new designs is that it may be more complicated to shape or control the ball. Graphite heads offer the best performance, but also have the highest price.

The shafts of golf clubs come in different degrees of flex: soft, regular and stiff. In general, stronger players who are more proficient at the sport should opt for stiffer shafts. Most golf club shafts are constructed of steel or graphite.

Putters

Putters are, for many players, the most personal item in the bag of golf clubs. Putters range from very basic to exotic designs. If you purchase a complete set of golf clubs, it will probably include a basic putter. Eventually, you should probably change a standard putter with a design that's more compatible with your playing style. This is something that may take some trial and error. But after playing a few rounds and spending time in practice, you should be able to find one that works for you.

You could take a lifetime deciding on the optimum set of golf clubs to give you the best performance. It's far better to stop dwelling on how much better you might be and get out there developing your skills with a 'best effort' in choosing your golf clubs.