As a high handicapper, you might be wondering what the best golf clubs for high handicappers are. These clubs should offer you exceptional forgiveness because you likely aren’t a consistent ball striker.
Also, they must help you launch the ball and be easy to hit. That’ll make your golfing life as a high handicapper much more enjoyable.
These are the best golf clubs for high handicappers in 2022.
Best Golf Clubs for High Handicappers: Our Top Picks
Best Driver: Callaway Rogue ST Max Driver
Value Driver: Cleveland Launcher XL Driver
Best Fairway Wood: TaylorMade Stealth Fairway
Best Hybrid: Cleveland Launcher XL Halo Hybrid
Best Irons: Titleist T400 Irons
Most Forgiving Irons: Wilson Launch Pad Irons
Best Wedge: Titleist Vokey SM9 Wedge
Best Putter: Odyssey Eleven Putter
Callaway Rogue ST Max Driver
The Callaway Rogue ST Max brings about some significant improvements from the original Rogue series; with more Tungsten, a Triaxial Carbon Crown and built-in forgiveness, this is a great driver for slower swing speeds.
- Premium feel and performance
- Exceptional forgiveness
- Suitable for low and high handicappers
- Low center of gravity
- Slight draw bias
- Wide selection of shafts available
- Draw bias won’t suit everyone
- Clubhead does look very large
Lofts: 9°, 10.5°, 12° | Flex: Light, Regular, Stiff, Extra Stiff | Left Handed Option: Yes, in 9° & 10.5°
The Callaway Rogue ST Max is the best driver for high handicappers. With a large head, this driver inspires confidence when you address the ball.
It’s a premium driver, and you notice that in the performance and feel. You’ll love the feel this driver offers, especially when you hit one flush out of the middle.
This driver offers exceptional forgiveness on off-center strikes. Your distance and accuracy won’t suffer much when you miss the sweet spot.
The large hitting area makes this driver feel extremely stable and solid when you hit the ball. And a low center of gravity helps high handicappers launch the ball in the air for optimal trajectory.
The distance on offer with the Rogue ST Max is unrivaled. Also, there’s a slight draw bias to help if you’re slicing the ball a bit, as many high handicappers do.
Related: Best Forgiving Drivers For Beginners & High Handicappers
Cleveland Launcher XL Driver
This driver has a huge head and a high moment of inertia for great forgiveness. The adjustable hosel allows you to find the perfect loft for your game.
- Large head for extra forgiveness
- Adjustable hosel
- Lightweight but powerful
- Weight balanced for enhanced control
- Two length options
- Generates less speed than other options
Lofts: 9°, 10.5°, 12° | Flex: A Flex, Regular, Stiff | Left Handed Option: Yes, in 10.5°
The Cleveland Launcher XL is an excellent value driver for high handicappers. A large head gives you more forgiveness when you don’t strike it quite right off the tee.
This driver is adjustable—something Cleveland hasn’t done with past models. You can change the loft at 0.5-degree increments to dial-in performance, and it’s a great added feature to this driver.
The Action Mass CB is another nice feature. Cleveland placed an 8g weight inside the end of the grip to give you better balance when you swing. That means you get more control over the club and where the ball ends up (hopefully the fairway).
This driver also comes in two-length options. The longer option will help you get more distance, while the shorter option offers even more control.
TaylorMade Stealth Fairway Wood
A Carbon Fiber Twist Face offers a more efficient energy transfer at impact. That gives you increased ball speeds. The carbon face feels differently but super solid.
- Incredible forgiveness
- Great distance
- High launch
- High spin
- Easy to hit
- Not adjustable
The TaylorMade Stealth Fairway is the best fairway wood for high handicappers. It’s easy to hit for players with less ability.
This fairway wood also offers incredible forgiveness. The larger head makes it more forgiving than TaylorMade’s other Stealth model.
You get great distance with this fairway wood, with the ball coming fast off the face. That’s excellent for high handicappers because they usually need some extra distance.
The Stealth promotes a high launch and helps players who struggle to get the ball in the air. It also gives you more spin, with both these features making this fairway wood easy to hit.
The table below shows the options available in the TaylorMade Stealth Fairway.
| Wood Name | Loft in Degrees | Availability |
| 3-Wood | 15 | RH/LH |
| 3HL | 16.5 | RH/LH |
| 5-Wood | 18 | RH/LH |
| 7-Wood | 21 | RH |
| 9-Wood | 24 | RH |
Related: Best Fairway Woods For High Handicappers
Cleveland Launcher XL Halo Hybrid
This hybrid has the highest MOI of any Cleveland model to date, giving you plenty of forgiveness. The stepped crown drops the center of gravity for high-launching shots.
- Easy to launch
- Can hit it from any lie
- Phenomenal forgiveness
- Higher ball speeds on off-center strikes
- Helps you keep clubface straight from the rough
- Not as long as other hybrids
- Impact sounds a little loud
The Cleveland Launch XL Halo is the best hybrid for high handicappers. Its combination of features makes the game easier for these players.
This hybrid is exceptionally easy to launch, allowing you to get the ball in the air and stop on greens when needed. The high launch also makes it easy to hit from any lie.
If you’re in the rough, Glide Rail technology on the sole helps you keep the face straight on impact. So, you can keep the ball straight and launch it high regardless of the lie.
The head design is larger than most hybrids and boasts the highest MOI of any Cleveland hybrid. That means extra forgiveness when you don’t strike the ball so well.
Cleveland designed this hybrid to help players escape bad lies with power and accuracy. It’s a versatile hybrid that’ll help high handicappers in various situations.
Related: Best Hybrid Golf Clubs for High Handicappers
Titleist T400 Irons
The Titleist T400 is a premium golf iron with an impressive feel, extreme forgiveness, and really easy launch.
- The wide body design makes launch incredible easy
- Higher ball speeds than other Titleist irons
- Tungsten weighting for a better feel
- Progressive set design
- One of the more expensive options for golf irons
The Titleist T400 are the best irons for high handicappers. They’re extremely long and super easy to hit.
These irons are one of the longest on the market, giving you excellent distance. The lofts are strong and will provide high handicappers the extra distance they often need.
But don’t think the stronger lofts make these irons harder to launch because that’s not the case. With up to 100g of tungsten in each head and super-thin forged faces, you get an explosive launch with these irons.
So, you get fast ball speeds and a high trajectory. That increases your chances of hitting the ball far enough to make the green and stop it there.
Titleist used a progressive set design for the T400s. That means blade lengths, sole widths, and hosel lengths change throughout the set, giving you the optimal center of gravity positioning and preferred shaping for each club.
You also get excellent forgiveness with these irons. Whether it’s an off-center strike or a slight chunk, these irons still perform well.
Related: Best Irons for Beginners & High Handicappers
Wilson Launch Pad Irons
The Wilson Launch Pad Golf Irons are a hybrid type design with a higher launch, a midsize grip, and a look that provides increased player confidence.
- Amazing forgiveness
- Easy to generate higher clubhead speeds
- Lightweight
- Thin face for maximum ball speeds
- Higher launching ball flight
- Lacks precision and feel
- Short irons not as responsive as other models
The Wilson Launch Pad irons are the most forgiving for high handicappers. They’ll help you out if you can’t seem to find consistency on the course.
The wide soles make them forgiving and easy to launch. With a progressive design, the sole is widest on long irons and progressively gets thinner through the bag to the short irons. So, you get the most forgiveness where you need it with the long irons.
A hollow construction and incredibly thin face help you maximize your ball speeds. Also, their lightweight nature helps you generate more clubhead speed with minimum effort.
That combination translates to more distance for you. So if you need forgiveness and extra distance, these irons deliver at a very reasonable price.
Titleist Vokey SM9 Wedge
More Bob Vokey is never a bad thing. The latest update on his signature wedge is the most technologically advanced design in all three areas. This is tuned to help you hit the shots that you want.
- Improved control on the previous model
- Phenomenal feel
- Fantastic spin
- Versatile - a range of options to choose from
- Classy design
- Three stylish finishes – tour chrome, brushed steel, jet black
- Minimal gains on the SM8
For high handicappers, the Titleist Vokey SM9 is the best wedge. It offers you great control and will help you dial in your wedge game.
That’s because the added control helps your consistency around the greens. When your wedge play becomes more consistent, you can start shooting better scores as a high handicapper.
And the SM9 wedge performs well on off-center strikes, making it forgiving for high handicappers. It has a progressive center of gravity design, giving you the optimal forgiveness for each wedge loft.
This wedge comes in a wide range of options, making it highly versatile. With six grind options and lofts between 46 and 62 degrees, you have 23 different options to choose from.
Related: Best Golf Wedges For High Handicappers & Beginners
Odyssey Eleven Putter
The design of this putter enhances forgiveness and helps players better align their putts. With the center of gravity moved further forward, you get a tighter dispersion on your putts.
- Advanced forgiveness
- Easy to align putts
- Multi-material construction for better performance
- New TPU insert for improved sound
- Stroke Lab shaft options
- High price
The Odyssey Eleven Putter is the best putter for high handicappers. It offers an amazing combination of forgiveness, easy alignment, and performance.
The shape of this putter advances forgiveness. Also, the center of gravity sits further forward than other mallet putters, giving you better performance on off-center hits.
This putter will benefit you if you struggle with consistency on the greens. It helps you to tighten your dispersion on putts and keep your speed consistent. That means your putts will get closer to the hole, leading to more holed putts in time.
The White Hot insert is another nice feature of the Odyssey Eleven Putter. It gives this putter the premium feel and sound that Odyssey has become known for over the years.
Related: Best Putters for High Handicappers & Beginners
What to Consider When Buying Golf Clubs as a High Handicapper
When buying golf clubs as a high handicapper, you should consider forgiveness, ease of use, distance, launch, spin, feel, and price.
Forgiveness
Considering forgiveness is crucial when buying clubs as a high handicapper. Most high handicappers struggle to strike the ball from the sweet spot consistently.
Therefore, they need golf clubs that offer high levels of forgiveness. That ensures you won’t experience a drop-off in distance and an increase in wayward shots as a high handicapper.
The more forgiveness your golf clubs have, the less you’ll be punished for bad shots. So, you shouldn’t get into too much trouble on the course if you use forgiving golf clubs.
That’s especially true off the tee with a driver because things can go very wrong if you’re not hitting accurate shots. A forgiving driver like the Cleveland Launcher XL can keep you safe on the fairway.
Ease of Use
Golf clubs for high handicappers should be easy to hit, so you should consider ease of use when buying golf clubs as a high handicapper. If you have less ability, you will likely struggle to hit the shots a better player can.
You might not have the coordination or athleticism to hit some shots. However, the technology in golf clubs can help you out.
Manufacturers are developing innovative ways to help high handicappers play better golf. Whether it’s hollow construction or widening soles, they’re on the ball.
The technology is there to help high handicappers, so take advantage of it when buying golf clubs. Get golf clubs like the Titleist T400 Irons that are easy to use. Not only will you play better, but you’ll enjoy the game more.
Distance
Every golfer could use some extra distance. However, high handicappers are the players who need help with distance the most.
It’s amazing how much easier golf can get when you hit the ball further. Get more distance off the tee, and you’ve got a shorter approach shot to the green.
Hitting a 9-iron into the green instead of a 7-iron can make a huge difference to your scoring. You’ll get closer to the hole more often, giving you a better chance of making those birdies or pars.
Maybe hitting a TaylorMade Stealth Fairway wood into a par-5 could get you on in two. It’s always awesome having an eagle putt during a round.
Launch
The launch is critical to consider when buying golf clubs as a high handicapper. You likely struggle to get the optimal launch if you’re a high handicapper.
Golf clubs that promote a high launch can help you. They’re specifically designed to create a higher ball flight.
The optimal launch can set you up to get more distance from the tee. Also, a club like the Cleveland Launcher XL Halo allows you to launch the ball high and get it stopped quickly on the green.
Spin
When buying golf clubs as a high handicapper, you should consider spin. You want to look at the spin characteristics of any golf club, but it’s critical when buying wedges.
High handicappers often find it hard to stop the ball quickly enough on pitch shots. However, a wedge with good spin characteristics helps with that.
Knowing you can get the spin you want gives you much more control around the greens. A wedge like the Titleist Vokey SM9 can offer that control, giving you more accuracy when shooting at the pin.
Feel
You should consider the feel when buying golf clubs as a high handicapper. Just because you need more forgiveness and distance, among other things, doesn’t mean you should sacrifice feel.
Golf clubs these days have the full package. And feel is included in that package.
The best golf clubs like the Odyssey Eleven Putter offer feel for high handicappers.
Price
The price of golf clubs is another factor to consider when buying them as a high handicapper. Premium brands will cost more than other brands.
However, premium golf clubs give you the best overall performance. That’s not to say you can’t get excellent value with clubs such as the Wilson Launch Pad irons.
At the end of the day, it’s up to you how much you want to spend on golf clubs.
Should High Handicappers Get Fitted for Clubs?
Yes, high handicappers should get fitted for clubs. That’s especially true if they’ve been playing golf for quite a while and have a developed swing.
If your swing is unlikely to change, you should get a full fitting for your golf clubs. That allows you to get the equipment that’ll help you the most.
High handicappers who’re working on their games a lot and changing their swings might want to hold off on a full fitting. They should still get measured for their clubs, of course.
However, a complete dynamic fitting might not benefit them if they change their swing significantly. That can happen if you’re getting a lot of lessons, for example.
If your swing changes dramatically, the clubs will be fitted to your old swing. That’s something to consider when getting a fitting.
Conclusion
That concludes our buyer’s guide for the best golf clubs for high handicappers. As you now know, forgiveness is essential in golf clubs if you’re a high handicapper.
With forgiving clubs, you can still hit good shots and enjoy the game even when you miss the sweet spot. They also ensure your distance (and ego) don’t suffer too much.
The Callaway Rogue ST Max Driver fits the bill in every category for high handicappers. If you need a new driver, it’ll give you exceptional distance and forgiveness. And it’s super easy to hit.
