Pushed for Time? Here’s our Top Pick in the Best Intermediate Golf Clubs
The Ping G710 irons are the best intermediate golf clubs on the market. They offer lots of forgiveness but are positioned as one of the longest hitting club sets. This, twinned with an eye-catching hyrdropearl black finish, makes them an ace set of clubs that should enhance your game for years to come.
Overview
So you’ve reached the next level in your game and are looking for a great set of intermediate golf clubs to keep you advancing.
It can be really daunting when you are looking to change your clubs. If you play regularly, you’ll want something that you can have utter confidence in.
The very last thing that you want to do is splash out on a golf club set only to find that it wasn’t what you thought or that isn’t as good as your old set. I get it. You’re comfortable.
Let me ask you a question. Do you think Neil Armstrong felt comfortable when he went to the moon?
This is one of those times where you might find yourself outside of your comfort zone, but provided that you choose the right set, the ‘bedding in’ period should be minimal, and you’ll be able to march on with your progress.
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- Choosing the Best Clubs for your Swing (as an intermediate golfer)
You’ll find a wealth of advice out there for beginner’s golf clubs. The latest fads and trends will crop up too. But when it comes to choosing the best intermediate clubs, there appears to be a little bit of a void.
I can only assume that it is down to the fact that manufacturers and pros assume that you know what you want by this stage. However, there is so much to choose from that it can be daunting. It helps to read a review or two and get a good overview of what works and what doesn’t.
The best bet is to make a general (and I mean really general) list of what you are looking to achieve with your new set. No, I don’t mean ‘getting better’ or a ‘lower handicap’. Those two are obvious. Here are some examples, do you want to: –
- Learn how to shape your golf shots?
- Gain an increase in distance?
- Get faster swing speeds?
- Get more backspin on the golf ball?
- Hit straighter shots?
- Reduce mishits?
Or something else? By identifying what you want to improve, you can create a great starting point when selecting clubs.
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- What is Considered an Intermediate Golfer?
Well, that isn’t an easy question to answer. I’m not going to start talking about handicaps. At the end of the day, I know a guy who was off scratch, and I never saw him play to it… Was he intermediate? Being an intermediate player is about a ‘state of mind’ as much as a handicap…
If pushed, I’d probably put being an ‘intermediate player’ down to two things…
1) You have a reasonable chance of playing to your handicap
2) When something is going right with your game, you have a good general idea of why it happened and how to correct it.
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- Are Intermediate Clubs Game Improvement irons?
Game improvement irons are great for beginners. They mask the bad shots that would otherwise spoil your game. An intermediate players club won’t quite hide your mistakes to the same level. Sure, you want a little bit of forgiveness, but the improvement you’ll see when using intermediate irons comes directly from you not hitting bad shots… By exposing your weaknesses, you’ll be forced to play better golf.
If this all sounds a little daunting, but you still want to upgrade, why not swing by our section on choosing the best golf clubs for beginners?
Still here? Good. You passed the test. The first rule about “Intermediate Club” is that you don’t talk about “Intermediate Club”… Let’s look at some clubs, Mr. Intermediate….
The Best Intermediate Golf Clubs for 2021 | Reviewed
1. TaylorMade Sim Driver
Even though this has made our list of the best clubs for intermediate players, you’ll find the Sim driver in the golf bag of many professional golfers. It’s really good. This driver shape is designed to give you a faster swing speed while offering explosive distance.
Read Our Full Review2. Callaway Mavrik Driver
The Callaway driver is easy to hit and offers massive distance. What could be better? As you get up to the intermediate level, your swing speed is bound to increase, and it pays to have something in your golf bag that will allow you to realize your potential.
Read Our Full Review3. Ping G410 Plus Driver
This Ping driver looks fierce! It also performs in the same way. Distance and playability are standard features of all ping club sets. This driver is no different. The key feature of this driver is adjustability. By now, you’ll be familiar with your Swing and what shot you need to remove to make your golf game perfect. Ping allows you to customize your center of gravity to blend out undesirable shots.
Read Our Full Review4. Titleist T300 Irons
Back in the day, Titleist was seen as a real players iron. With the launch of the Titleist AP2, all that changed. It was proven possible that you could get excellent performance but also a degree of forgiveness. The same can be said of the Titleist T300 Irons.
Read Our Full Review5. Mizuno JPX 921
Forged golf club sets have traditionally been the hallmark of the better player. Being one-piece clubs, they offer a superior feel. While these clubs offer great forgiveness, they have a few other features that make them more of an intermediate club set.
Read Our Full Review6. Ping G710 Irons
When you are looking to up your golf game, distance goes a long way (pun intended) to lowering your score. By hitting the ball further and straighter, you set yourself up for easier shots into the green.
Read Our Full Review7. TaylorMade Sim Max
Cavity back club sets are great for beginners. Mid handicappers get to the stage where they want to hit the ball a little further, and you’ll need an intermediate club set that will release your ambitions. The TaylorMade Sim Max gives increased distance and forgiveness. Just what the intermediate golfer is looking to develop.
Read Our Full Review8. Wilson Staff D7 Forged Irons
This club set features a traditional mid-sized club head. The compact club head makes it much more of a player’s iron. Wilson has reduced the offset in the D7 and given a thinner topline to appeal more to the better golf player while still retaining all of the great looks of the classic Wilson profile.
Read Our Full Review9. TaylorMade M6 Club Set
So if you are approaching the intermediate level, you will be looking for greater accuracy. The Taylormade M6 club straight is specifically designed to hit the ball further and straighter. For shot-making ability, it offers great performance.
Read Our Full ReviewTaylorMade Sim Driver
Even though this has made our list of the best clubs for intermediate players, you’ll find the Sim driver in the golf bag of many professional golfers. It’s really good. This driver shape is designed to give you a faster swing speed while offering explosive distance.
The club head is oversized, allowing you to maximize both playability and forgiveness. Twinned with this, you’ll have the option to customize the clubhead. Once you reach the intermediate player stage, you’ll have a better idea of your usual shot. You can add draw or fade bias as you see fit.
The clubface is slightly curved. This feature is designed to reduce sidespin leading to straighter shots off the tee. This is definitely something that an intermediate golfer wants to carry in their golf bag.
I LIKE
- Offers increased swing speed
- Straighter shots
- Quite Customisable
I DONT
- No rear adjustment to the clubs weighting
Callaway Mavrik Driver
The Callaway driver is easy to hit and offers massive distance. What could be better? As you get up to the intermediate level, your swing speed is bound to increase, and it pays to have something in your golf bag that will allow you to realize your potential.
The Mavrik Driver features Callaways patented ‘jailbreak’ technology. Two bars give stiffness to the clubhead, promoting a fast ball speed. This also allows Callaway to place the center of gravity much more towards the face, increasing the moment of inertia, leading to straighter shots.
The cyclone aero shape has been designed by artificial intelligence to reduce drag and increase swing speed. This, when paired with the SS20 flash face, produces insanely fast ball launches and speeds.
If you like the driver’s look, Callaway also offers the same technology and performance in fairway woods.
I LIKE
- High launch speeds
- Massive oversized head to increase confidence
- Great looking
I DONT
- Not customizable
Ping G410 Plus Driver
This Ping driver looks fierce! It also performs in the same way. Distance and playability are standard features of all ping club sets. This driver is no different. The key feature of this driver is adjustability. By now, you’ll be familiar with your Swing and what shot you need to remove to make your golf game perfect. Ping allows you to customize your center of gravity to blend out undesirable shots.
The standout feature of this driver is the ‘dragonfly’ technology located on the oversized club head. The interior structure saves weight, allowing you to manipulate the clubhead more effectively, aiding in forgiveness.
Essentially this driver allows you to perform a custom fitting experience for yourself and gain optimum performance. It’s perfect for next-level intermediate golfers.
I LIKE
- Easy to customize and tune
- Encourages faster swing speeds
- The large confidence-building club head
I DONT
- Some may find the dragonfly grooves on the clubhead distracting
Titleist T300 Irons
Back in the day, Titleist was seen as a real players iron. With the launch of the Titleist AP2, all that changed. It was proven possible that you could get excellent performance but also a degree of forgiveness. The same can be said of the Titleist T300 Irons.
The Clubs have a midsized face giving you confidence over the ball. Twinned with this is a large helping of forgiveness. The clubs have tungsten inserts in the toe, increasing MOI. What that means for you as a player is that it is less likely to twist with off-center shots. A straighter clubface on impact means straighter shots.
I LIKE
- Extreme forgiveness
- Excellent, consistent performance
- Straight ball flight
I DONT
- Strong lofted. Not ideal for higher ball flight
Mizuno JPX 921
Forged golf club sets have traditionally been the hallmark of the better player. Being one-piece clubs, they offer a superior feel. While these clubs offer great forgiveness, they have a few other features that make them more of an intermediate club set.
The head on the Mizuno JPX 921 is slightly smaller and compact, with a reduced offset. This leads to a slightly more closed clubface, great for adding distance and lower trajectories. However, you’ll still find a decent measure of forgiveness. The perimeter stability frame’ is designed to negate the effects of off-center strikes.
You’ll still get rocket fast ball speeds from this iron. The clubface has been made thinner, allowing it to flex slightly on impact. An increase in distance, with a greater ability to shape shots? Sounds like a prime choice for an intermediate golf club.
I LIKE
- Beautifully high launch
- Great forgiveness
- Massive distance
I DONT
- The large head shape might not be to everyone’s taste
Ping G710 Irons
When you are looking to up your golf game, distance goes a long way (pun intended) to lowering your score. By hitting the ball further and straighter, you set yourself up for easier shots into the green.
Ping has made its name in forgiveness, distance, and performance. This high quality set is the latest iteration promises both in a single club set. Did I mention that they are also absolutely beautiful in the looks department?
The G710 are some of the longest clubs on the market. You’ll get a high flight, lots of backspin, and plenty of stopping power, especially on those into green shots. The distance is aided by strong lofts paired with a high launch. The longer the ball is in the air, the further it travels. Great for hitting more greens in regulation.
I LIKE
- The ultimate in forgiveness.
- Easy launch and straight golf shots
- Excellent feel
I DONT
- The black hyrdropearl finish tarnishes easily.
TaylorMade Sim Max
Cavity back club sets are great for beginners. Mid handicappers get to the stage where they want to hit the ball a little further, and you’ll need an intermediate club set that will release your ambitions. The TaylorMade Sim Max gives increased distance and forgiveness. Just what the intermediate golfer is looking to develop.
This club set looks phenomenal. It feels like forged iron but plays like a more forgiving game improvement iron. The 17% thinner face ensures really high launch speeds but offers forgiveness in heaps too!
Intermediate golfers still hit the odd bad shot, the large face area increases stability, and the wide sole will make light work of the turf if you happen to make a ‘heavier’ shot. Combined with the larger sweet spot and free-floating face, this club set will offer excellent forgiveness but just that little extra power needed to take your game to the next level.
I LIKE
- Superb forgiveness
- Oversized heads will give confidence to the intermediate golfer
- Great distance and ball flight
I DONT
- A little muted when it comes to feel.
Wilson Staff D7 Forged Irons
This club set features a traditional mid-sized club head. The compact club head makes it much more of a player’s iron. Wilson has reduced the offset in the D7 and given a thinner topline to appeal more to the better golf player while still retaining all of the great looks of the classic Wilson profile.
The technology within the clubhead has been optimized to offer distance and forgiveness. On the sole of the club, you’ll find a row of power holes. These dampen vibrations give these irons a really soft feel, perfect for gauging your shots as an intermediate golfer.
The lower center of gravity should give a relatively high launch and a huge increase in ball speed.
I LIKE
- A massively responsive club set
- Beautiful looks in the Wilson profile
- Excellent feel for intermediate golf clubs
I DONT
- Higher handicaps may struggle to hit them consistently
TaylorMade M6 Club Set
So if you are approaching the intermediate level, you will be looking for greater accuracy. The Taylormade M6 club straight is specifically designed to hit the ball further and straighter. For shot-making ability, it offers great performance.
As with the Sim max golf club set, the M6 features the rear-mounted cavity back ‘speed bridge’ designed to keep the clubface more rigid for explosive distance. The face of this club is subtly twisted to straighten those shots that miss the sweet spot. Sidespin is also reduced, so these irons offer the potential to blend out that unwanted shot shape that plagues beginner golfers.
If you are looking for a club that provides scope to improve the M6 is a worthy choice.
Callaway Strata Complete Golf Set
So you’ve seen our list of woods and Irons as separate golf sets…
If you are an intermediate golfer looking for a complete set, Callaway has produced one of the best full sets.
The Callaway Strata 12-piece set gives a great performance out of the box. The set includes a Driver, a 3 wood, a hybrid fairway wood, 6 – 9 iron, A pitching wedge, a stand bag, and a putter.
This complete golf set offers distance and forgiveness. Both the 3 wood and the driver feature an oversized clubhead. For those still cagey about hitting a fairway wood, you’ll find a wood hybrid with a massive sweet spot. The Callaway Strata irons are constructed from stainless steel and offer both control and forgiveness. The best thing is that the set comes with a putter!
I LIKE
- Everything you need in a full golf club set
- Good performance in all clubs
- High quality complete set
I DONT
- Offer average performance across the board. You may want something more ‘custom’ to suit your personal preference.
Buying Guide and FAQ
in Your Set of Clubs
I’ve included this first as, if we are being honest, this is a large factor when you are choosing a set. However, I want to start with a few words of warning. Don’t ‘cheap out’ when it comes to buying a set of clubs.
You are going to want to play often, so look at your new set as an investment. The more you enjoy using them, the more you will play, so try and view the initial outlay in terms of ‘price per use’ instead of a ‘one-off’ cost.
When it comes to getting value for money, which is better? A golf set that you will grow out of in a short space of time (just like with your beginner’s golf set)? Meaning you will need to go shopping for golf clubs again? Or a set that might be slightly more expensive but will be good enough to accompany you on your journey as you improve as an intermediate golf player?
Obviously, go for what you can afford, but trying to make a small saving now, may cost you in the long run.
A Forgiving Set
Ever heard the saying “don’t run before you can walk”? Ok, so you’ve taken shots off your game, and your confidence is high… All good. But you want a golf club set that is going to allow you to capitalize on your gains. If something damages your confidence, it is going to affect your game.
So, don’t invest in that set of forged tour blades just yet. Instead, go for something which is more playable and is still the easiest to hit. The best sets will still give you an occasional break if you happen to catch it thin or off the toe.
Features such as perimeter weighting, low CG, and thin, hot faces will all give you plenty of forgiveness but also allow you to squeeze every inch of distance out of the golf ball.
From our suggestions above, you’ll see that most are cavity or partial cavity backs. They have some common features with better players’ golf sets, such as less offset and strong lofts, but they will still give you a helping hand when things aren’t going so well in your golf game.
Look to Increase your Distance and Accuracy
If you look at the best intermediate golfers, they will normally tick two boxes. They hit the ball straight, and they hit the ball long. By choosing the right set to enable you to do the same, you should be able to take at least a few shots off your game… (Along with putting, which is a whole different kettle of fish)
Look for features that will give you more distance. Strong lofts and reduced offsets are key features for distance in the best intermediate iron sets. You’ll find many of the best sets offer further various innovations to add additional yards to your game.
Club Head Size in Intermediate Golf Sets
You’ll notice a marked difference in the clubhead size if you are looking to upgrade your complete set. Generally, intermediate club heads tend to be slightly smaller. You’ll find that they are more mid-sized instead of oversized. This is a good thing. It means you have to be more accurate.
If you don’t like the idea of playing with a smaller clubhead, then there are solutions. In our list above, the Ping G710 irons aren’t actually mid-size, but they look smaller due to the black finish. This is perfect as you get all of the looks of intermediate players set, but with the benefits of an easy to hit iron.
Golf Shot Control and Workability
Ok, most beginner golfers would give anything to hit it straight. Intermediate golfers might be looking for a club set that allows them to shape and move the ball a little more. Game improvement irons are great for getting the ball up and moving, but they offer little in the way of scope when shaping golf shots.
The best golf club sets for intermediate golfers will allow you to impart different levels and directions of spin on the ball. Something like the Wilson D7 irons above could be the best golf clubs to realize such qualities.
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Frequently Asked Questions ️
This is a good question. With a complete golf club set, you will probably find a stand bag and a set of golf clubs that includes everything. Irons, fairway woods, maybe even a sand wedge! But all that said, one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to a golf set. Ok, your set comes with a putter, but what if the wood is one of the best for you, but the irons aren’t quite up to scratch? You’ve just bought the world’s most expensive stand bag!
Our advice would be to treat your complete set as several different parts that make up a greater whole. By purchasing individually, you’ll create a custom golf set that is perfectly suited to your needs. And you will get to choose a super funky stand bag in your choice of color too!
Speaking in general terms, you want to tick a few boxes. Ideally, you will want a full set in your carry bag consisting of an easy to hit driver, irons that allow you to play most of your shots with confidence, perhaps a pitching wedge or two, and a great putter.
In specific terms and referencing our list above, you wouldn’t go far wrong with the Callaway Mavrik driver and the Ping G710 irons if you were looking for a complete set of golf clubs that will offer you the maximum in playability.
If you are getting towards 20 on your handicap, then you are probably mishitting at least one shot per hole. (Or you might be as dreadful at putting as me?) If you remember what we said above. The key to choosing the best golf club set is to address what you need to improve.
In this case, I would advise choosing a set that offers straightness and forgiveness over clubs that offer massive distance. Remember, if you are hitting it into the muck, there is nothing to be gained by hitting it a long way into the muck.
A forgiving club set alone should take shots off your game.
Ok, I’ll be blunt. Yes, they do. Granted, you might be on a path of diminishing returns if you choose to head up to the premium end of golf club sets. But for the money, the best golf clubs tend to cost just a little bit more.
Aside from more features to help with your golf game, you’ll be investing in high quality too, reducing the risk of having to spend yet more when it inevitably fails to deliver.
As we said above, try and view your potential new golf club set as an investment. You will be using them a lot, so why not get the very best golf club set that you can afford?
Closing Thoughts
If we had the choice, we’d almost certainly take forgiveness and ease over looks when choosing the best golf clubs for intermediate players. In a golf club set such as the Ping G710, you actually get both. When paired up with an awesome driver (and maybe a reliable wood hybrid), you’ll have a complete golf set that makes you a force to be reckoned with. More distance and forgiveness sounds like just what we need. See you on the course.