In short
Every pick comes from published rules and the maker's own specs, scored against your answers. Retailers never choose, see or approve our picks, and no one can pay to be included.
Build your bag asks about your game and your budget, then picks a full set of clubs with a plain reason for each one. This page sets out exactly how it decides, so you can judge the advice for yourself.
1. We sort you into a skill band
Your experience and handicap (or typical score) put you in one of four bands. The band decides which clubs make up your bag and how forgiving they should be.
- Band 1: Beginner
- Band 2: High handicap
- Band 3: Improving
- Band 4: Low handicap
Newer golfers get a 5 wood, hybrids in place of long irons and very forgiving irons. For beginners and high handicappers we also compare complete package sets, and recommend one first when it gives more for the money, or when we cannot build a complete bag club by club at your budget.
2. We score clubs against your answers
Each club that suits your hand, size and budget gets a suitability score out of 100:
| What we check | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Forgiveness | 40 | How close the club is to the forgiveness your game needs |
| Launch | 20 | Higher launch for slower swings, so the ball gets up |
| Your common miss | 20 | For example a draw-bias head if you slice |
| Skill range | 10 | Whether the maker designed it for golfers like you |
| How recent | 10 | Newer is a small plus, never a big one |
Then we weigh suitability against price, so you get the most club for your money. A club has to suit you before price counts: the cheapest poor fit never wins. Price only decides between clubs that fit almost equally well, and among those, a club that fixes your most common bad shot (a draw-bias driver when you slice, say) comes first.
We also check shaft flex. If a maker sells a club only in flexes well away from the one we suggest for you, we leave it out, and we tell you when a club comes in your flex.
Every slot then shows other good options beside our pick: one that costs less, one worth the extra money, or the closest fit. Swap any of them into your bag and the total updates, so the final choice is always yours. Already have a putter or a bag you like? Tell us and we spend your budget on the clubs you need.
3. We split your budget sensibly
When we build a bag club by club, the budget is shared out like this, and anything unspent rolls on to the next slot. If a key club still does not fit, we move the less important clubs to cheaper ones that still suit you, so the bag is complete:
| Slot | Share of budget |
|---|---|
| Irons | 0.35% |
| Driver | 0.2% |
| Woods and hybrids | 0.2% |
| Wedges | 0.1% |
| Putter | 0.1% |
| Bag | 0.05% |
4. We suggest flex and length as a starting guide
A starting guide, not a fitting. If you plan to spend more than about £500, book a fitting first.
| 7 iron carry | Suggested shaft flex |
|---|---|
| Under 100 yards | Ladies (L) |
| 100 to 119 yards | Senior (A) |
| 120 to 149 yards | Regular (R) |
| 150 to 164 yards | Stiff (S) |
| 165 yards or more | Extra stiff (X) |
| Your height | Suggested club length |
|---|---|
| Under 163 cm (5 ft 4 in) | Minus 1 inch |
| 163 to 169 cm (5 ft 4 in to 5 ft 6 in) | Minus half an inch |
| 170 to 184 cm (5 ft 7 in to 6 ft) | Standard length |
| 185 to 192 cm (6 ft 1 in to 6 ft 3 in) | Plus half an inch |
| 193 cm (6 ft 4 in) or taller | Plus 1 inch |
These are simple rules of thumb, set out in full so you can check them. A fitting, done in person with your own swing, is the way to be sure.
5. Where our data comes from
- Club details (forgiveness, launch, draw bias, lofts, left-handed versions, junior sizes) come from each maker's own spec page, and we link to it.
- Prices are the maker's recommended retail price (RRP) until live retailer prices are available. We label them as RRP and never type a retailer's price by hand.
- Used clubs: we will show used options next to new as soon as we have reliable used stock to link to. Until then, the tool says so rather than guessing.
6. What we never do
- Take payment to include a club or move it up the list.
- Let a retailer see or approve a pick before it goes live.
- Claim we have tested a club. We compare specs and apply the rules above.
- Pad a bag with a poor fit. If nothing suits a slot, we say so.
7. How we make money
Some links are affiliate links, marked Ad. If you buy through one, the retailer pays us a commission. It costs you nothing extra and never changes the picks. Read our affiliate disclosure for the details.
Try it
Answer a few quick questions and see the rules at work on your own game: build your bag. It is free and needs no sign-up.