Hello, I am brand new to your site, and to golf and have really enjoyed reading all the feedback. I have been using two old Nancy Lopez irons (4,8) and another brand (5,9)cant remember the brand but know that they are mens clubs. They are heavy and my hands are starting to hurt after I practice for several hours. Last week I was ready to buy a "complete boxed" set (so pretty) but after reading all the posts have changed my mind. I have decided to go with several suggestions and buy a set of irons. So here is the question! Can someone give advice as to your top ten brands? What should I be focusing on? What is the difference in brands? Grips? Should I focus on graphite? Thanks will be eager to read your suggestions! ROE

Roe,

Welcome to the site and I'm glad you found our previous posts useful.

Best brands for men clubs might not be the same for women's clubs so I don't know how to answer that question. Top names include ones like Callaway, Nike, mizuno, Titleist, Ping, etc. But I don't know if all those make Ladies clubs or not.

You may find that mens clubs in senior graphite shafts work better. The graphite shafts are lighter weight.

An option is to find used clubs on Craigslist or eBay.

Depending on your budget, here's a link to Golf Digest story on women's clubs: http://www.golfdigest.com/equipment/ratings/womensclubs

Golfsmith has Nike Slingshot ladies irons for $399. But that's just the irons.

So there are options. I'd suggest not getting a driver yet, work with your irons and maybe a hybrid and maybe a 3W or 5W.

Hope that helps!

Roe, I'll second the welcome and glad that you read the info warning you to stay away from boxed sets!
It's kind of hard to recommend clubs without knowing a bit more about your skill level, how often you play, what you want to do better. The other factor is your height and general strength...how far do you hit the Nancy Lopez 8 iron?
Callaway irons are forgiving and very good for women players. The "Big Bertha" irons are good general "game improvement" irons.
Mizuno "Sora" is a women's set which uses hybrids and irons.
You have to look at them to know what suits your eye, since feeling confident when you look at your clubs is important!
I would recommend sticking with graphite shafts, as a beginner it is less stressful on mis-hits.

Hi Aimee,
Thanks for the suggestions. I am brand new to the game but can honestly say that I am already hooked. Have been hitting at the range every other day. I figured since I played softball, golf would be a breeze! WRONG!! But I like it and really want to make the effort to learn and play more. My dad, brother and nephew all play so getting better quick is a great challenge! I am 5'3 with strong upper body so strength is not a problem, I consistently hit the 8 iron 100 yds. My male friends all say that I hit the ball well, have long range with the irons and hit my dads 3W pretty far, however the ball slices to the right often. Brother says because I open the club face to much on contact. I will be searching the sites for the clubs you suggested. Thanks!

Srushing,
Thanks so much for the suggestions and the link. Read the article and wish I could afford those top clubs. But I will be sure to keep my eye open on Ebay for the Callaway, Mizuno and Cobra clubs or the like! Thanks again!

Also check out www.callawaypreowned.com
Great values on used clubs. I've bought quite a few from them and their customer service is top notch. Genuine Callaway products, no junk. And they also have other brands which they have gotten as trade ins, so it's worth poking around.
With your height, the standard women's length shafts would fit. However, you may want to see if you can try a men's club with a Senior or Light flex. If you are pretty strong you might feel more comfortable with that flex. You would need the shafts made shorter, there is an inch difference between men's and women's length shafts. But that's not a big deal.

ROE1; First off, let me add my WELCOME to the list. Glad you found us, and found the posts here helpful.
Please read my review on the Acer XK irons on the front page of this site. They are vevy forgiving irons, and should be great for a new golfer like yourself. You state that you have a strong upper body, and strength is not an issue. You also stated that your hands hurt after a few hours of practice. This tells me your hands might not be as strong as the rest of your upper body, but since you play soflball, that doesn't make much since. So my thinking is YOU GRIP THE CLUB WAY TOO HARD. This would explain your hands hurting, and make more sense than your hands being not strong enough.
What I would recommend is for you to practice a few more times with STEEL shaft irons, and see if your hands still hurt, But have someone show you how to hold the clubs extremely light grip pressure. If your hands still hurt, then I'd recommend going with some light steel shafts in your irons, The Dynamic Golld SL shafts are very good and a lot lighter than standard weight steel shaft. Or you could go graphite, but if you do, you should get good quality graphite shafts, not just any graphite shafts. Problem is, really good graphite shafts cost $25 to $30 each, so it's not a cheap way to go. This is one reason I'd recommend trying light weight steel shafts first. They are better quality than most any graphite shaft you will find, and cost $13 each compated to $30 for graphite. If you want less sting in your hands on off center hits, then the same SL shaft with Sensicore inserts would be a good choice. They sell for $17 each, still a lot less than good quality graphite at $30 each.

Another really good set of irons is the Leyland LX2 irons from CSG Golf. They made a very good quality club head with the LX2 heads. And if you get the Dynamic Gold SL shaft with that head, they should be excellent. CSG sells components as well as completed clubs. If you would like, I'd be happy to build you a set of irons to suit your needs. Can build 4-SW or just those irons you WANT, No need to buy a full set if you don't use them all, I don't carry my 3-5 irons, so I only build my set with 6-GW, and then use my SW and LW I have to fill out my irons. You can do the same thing. If you have any specic questions of what irons you should get or anything else, I'd be happy to work with you.

Don, question about steel shafts...I've read about women having steel shafts "soft stepped" one or two steps to give them a softer feel. What exactly does that mean?

Aimee; Soft stepping is tip trimming the shafts one or two clubs less than standard. In other words, if the 3 iron shaft calls for a 2 inch tip trim, you trim it 1-1/2 or 1 inch instead. That makes the tip of the shaft longer, and a bit softer feel to the finished shaft. Hard stepping is the opposite, where you tip trim a little more than the specs call for , and make the shaft play a little stiffer. If you but a set of pre-tipped shaft, like the Project X shafts, you install the 3 iron shaft in your 4 iron, and get a little softer feel. 4 irons shaft then goes in your 5 iron, right on down the line. And of course this can be done with graphite shafts as well.
Since most women don't carry a 3 iron, and most sets of steel shafts come with a 3 iron shaft, this is a good way to use all eight of the shafts in the set, and not waste the 3 iron shaft. At $240 a set of 8, you don't want to waste that 3 iron shaft if you can help it.

So does that change the bend point and that's why you do it?

Don, Thanks for your reply. I wish I had your advice before Friday but I had been so anxious I felt like a kid waiting for Christmas. I have been to every golf location in my area, have read countless reviews and asked around for advice. I have tried many different clubs and brands. One thing was certain, I was never going to use my old Steel Blade Clubs again, but I would not be able to afford a top name brand. I had already read your review on the ACER clubs and have read many more. So Friday my patience got the best of me and I went ahead and took the leap!(AND TOOK YOUR ADVICE FROM YOUR REVIEW, SOMEWHAT) I ordered four clubs from the HIREKO site, (5,7,9 and Pitching Wedge) I went with the ACER XKHT ladies flex, Powerflex graphite shaft, Midsize Winn Grip Excel, in Ladies length minus 1/2 inch. Now I have to wait till they come in. I will be anxious to try them and will make sure to let all of you know how they worked out! Thanks for your advice! Also, your advice to others has also been very informative! ROE1

Aimee;
It's not the change the bend point, as that wouldn't be effected very much. It's to make the shaft play softer when you tip trim it less. If you tip trim the shafts less, then the bend point would be slightly higher, but not enough that anyone could tell the difference.

Rosalie; I too wish you had read my post before you ordered your irons Friday. Couple things I will say. I don't know if ladies flex graphite shafts will suit you as you say you are rather strong for a woman. My guess is they will be too soft for you. I also don't know if graphite shafts is a good call. Again due to you being strong and light shafts may be harder for you to control compared to stell shaft irons. I do like the fact that you only got 4 irons, as that's a good way to find out what you need without the expense of buying a full set of 8 irons. I also have NO IDEA why you got MID-SIZE grips on your irons. I've never seen a gilr or woman you height that had nands big enough to need MID-size grips. Most woman get UNDER-SIZE or Ladies size grips. I'm 5'11" and have average size hands for a man, use size ML golf gloves, and I play with standard size men's grips, not MID size. My guess is those grips will be too fat for you. Did you talk to someone at HIreko about what you purchased, as to fit? NOt sure I would have gotten minus 1/2 inch length for you. At 5'6", you should be standard ladies length, not 1/2 inch short. But I could be wrong, as I've not measured you for a set of clubs.
Question, What size golf glove do you wear?
What is your wrist to floor measurement? Stanidnig upright in your golf shoes, hands and arms relaxed?
In any case, good luck with your purchase, and please let me know what you think after you get them and have a chance to try them out a few times at the randg.

Don, here is a little information on the background of my purchase and those specifications for the clubs I ordered. First of all, I am 5"3 with my golf shoes! (SHORT), I hit some clubs at both Golf Galaxy and Vans and both gentlemen said I would be best off with a petite club. I guess since the majority of the petite clubs came in the graphite shaft I just stuck with that. Especially since I am blaming my hand pain on the weight of the old clubs. The grip was what I struggled with most because for some strange reason my hand,and elbow have been really hurting me. So I tried all sorts of grips and found that the midsize grip felt more "cushiony". In my mind, the standard grip was adding to the pain in my hand! Who knows. I may be totally off. Your right about one thing, thank God I only ordered 4 clubs. Now I'm even more anxious to get them. I'll keep you posted on how they work out. Roe1

Roe1, my wife is 5'4", so you are pretty close to her in size. I built her a set of LX2 irons with graphite shafts to standard ladies length. My wife doesn't have very strong hands and arms, and she got tired pretty fast when she had steel shaft irons, and that's the only reason I built her a new set with graphite shafts. You being strong for a woman, means you are a good bit stronger than my wife, so I'm thinking you would be better off with either light weight steel shafts in your irons, or even regular weight steel shafts. The pain you are feeling may be due to not striking the ball nice and solid in the center of the club face. If that's the case, practice will help in time, and Sensicore inserts in light weight steel shafts might be perfect fit for you. If you can find some irons with Sensicore inserts, I'd recommend giving them a try. Might be able to find some at a local Golfsmith as they have a lots of single irons for testing in the stores. For the record, Ladies clubs are usually one inch shorter than men's clubs, and at 5'3", you most likely fit into standard ladies clubs. Again, could be wrong, if you have longer than average arm length.

I'd give your new irons some time at the range to get used to them before making any decisions on them. Being lighter and shorter both will take some time to get used to. If after hitting balls at the range a few times you have any questions, let me know and I'll try to help.

Roe, the good news is that if you like those irons, changing out the grips is a pretty inexpensive thing to do. There are "regular" diameter grips that have a softer feel, too.
The reason grips that are too thick (too great in diameter) will ultimately be a problem is that it will inhibit your ability to close the club face properly at impact. It basically makes it too hard for you to manipulate the club. You could try giving those guys a call to see if they have shipped the clubs yet, maybe you can catch them before it's out the door!