Stix Golf Clubs Review: A Great, Affordable Solution for Getting Into — or Back Into — the Game

I’ve been playing golf for a very long time. I signed up for my first summer of junior golf when I was 10 years old, ended up playing one season in high school, and hit the course quite often throughout college, as well as the first few years after graduation. The game has been part of my life for over 20 years; I have no idea if I could calculate the total rounds I’ve played, but I’d wager that it’s a lot.

That said, I also haven’t actually played a full round in a long time — at least, until recently. When I moved to New York, I came by plane, so bringing my clubs from the West Coast wasn’t really an option — or, at least, a priority. (I’d slowly lost about half of my irons and a couple of wedges over the years, anyway.) It was a bummer, but golf is expensive — and not exactly accessible in NYC for someone without a car. So I just lived with it — or rather, without it.

A few months ago, however, I was invited on an Adidas golf trip in Whistler, British Columbia, and decided it would be the absolute best way to spend the better part of a week in late September. It lived up to every expectation I had — and it gave me the golf bug again. As my plane was on final approach to JFK, all I could think about was resurrecting my game…

…which left me with a bit of an issue. I still had no clubs here.

This is where I turned to Stix Golf.

Billed as the ideal way to get into the game of golf — or back into the game of golf, in my case — Stix makes high-quality, affordable golf clubs that look great and play just as well. You can snag a complete set like the one I tested, which comes with 14 clubs, or you can get a set of 11, a set of 9, an iron set, or even individual wedges. (You can also now buy lightly-used sets for a discount, which is an even more affordable way to buy a set of clubs.)

At first, this sounded too good to be true. But is it really? I put a complete set to the test to find out.

Courtesy

Stix Complete Set (14 Clubs)

• $799.20 at stix.golf
  $999.00 (20% off)

What’s Good About Stix Golf Clubs?

They come straight to your doorstep in just a few days.

I’ve never had super-nice clubs — in fact, this is the first set I’ve ever had that wasn’t secondhand. I used irons from the ’80s for the first five or six years of my golf-playing life before finally getting some used Callaway irons from eBay in high school, which went perfectly with my hand-me-down driver and wedges. They were nice, but they’d been ridden hard and put away wet.

With that in mind, receiving the Stix box at my door and stripping the bubble wrap off the clubheads was one of the most exciting experiences I’ve had in golf. I test a lot of things here at GP, but this was truly like Christmas morning. (I think my girlfriend rolled her eyes at least a few times as I was giddily ripping the packaging to shreds.) I know fast shipping and a pleasant unpacking experience seem like a given in 2022, but I didn’t expect the process to go so smoothly.

They’re really fun to hit, and help eliminate mistakes.

At my very “peak” I was maybe a 15 handicap, though I’ve probably averaged closer to 20–22 across my adult life. (I think I somehow got worse during that year of high school golf, but that’s a story for a different day.) It’s safe to say I need game-improvement irons to get the most from my rounds of golf.

Game-improvement irons, should you be unfamiliar, are a subset of clubs that you won’t find in a pro’s bag, but will help you hit the occasional pro-worthy shot thanks to their forgiveness and giant sweet spots. The Stix irons have been exactly that for me. The first time I addressed the ball with a Stix iron, I felt confident — even more confident than when I lined up some shots in Canada with my TaylorMade rentals.

Will Porter

Will Porter

This is as true for the actual swing, too. Though my scores were, ahem, very bad, I hit more strong golf shots in my first two rounds with the Stix clubs than I had in the last five years. (This is your daily reminder to practice your putting, something I had obviously been neglecting.) From the driver through the 60° wedge, Stix clubs are a delight to hit and instill a level of confidence I didn’t expect. As you may guess, the putter was, for me, a different story, but we’ll get to that in a bit.

Will Porter

A full set costs less than $1,000.

Yep, you score 14 clubs for just $999 (and sometimes less, thanks to frequent deals on the Stix website). This means you get a driver, 3-wood, 5-wood, 4-hybrid, 5-PW irons, a 52° wedge, a 56° wedge, a 60° wedge and a putter. I’ve never had a full bag of clubs before, even when playing competitively, and within my first two rounds, I had actually used every single club in the bag.

For the average golfer, having a club for every shot is a godsend; no more trying to muscle a pitching wedge 160 yards, Tiger-style, just to take a divot as big as a serving plate and have the ball drop 20 yards ahead of you (okay, maybe that’s just me). You get all of those clubs, plus headcovers for the woods and hybrid — making this one of the best values in the game, whether you’re just starting out or rejoining the ranks of weekend warriors like me.

What’s Less Than Ideal About Stix Golf Clubs?

The headcovers are somewhat shoddy.

For all that value, there are sure to be a few pitfalls. In this case, the pitfalls start with the headcovers. I understand that for such an affordable set, the brand may want to go easy on the expenses elsewhere, but these headcovers are, simply put, quite terrible.

There is essentially zero padding, and they’re incredibly difficult to actually place on the clubhead the correct way. This is frustrating when you’re trying to wrestle the headcover back on at every tee box throughout the round, not to mention a nuisance for the players around you just trying to get a move on. I immediately replaced the driver headcover with one from Malbon, and am currently looking for a few to replace the fairway wood and hybrid headcovers, as well.

Will Porter

The putter leaves something to be desired on the green.

I had the privilege of acquiring a Scotty Cameron putter, albeit a secondhand one, in high school, so this meant I was hitting the greens with the very best from a young age. This isn’t normal for every golfer, so take this with a grain of salt, but it only took a few warmup putts with the Stix putter to know it was going to be a problem. The ball leaps off the face like it’s a 3-iron, making it very difficult to gain the illusive touch required to avoid three- and four-putts. I’d also prefer a steel shaft on the putter, though I understand why it has a graphite shaft like the rest of the clubs.

Stix Golf Clubs: the Verdict

I love these clubs. Sure, there are a few shortcomings I’ll have to work with, but those are easy to forgive when I look into my bag and see a full set of clubs that are a joy to play with. They come in two very satisfying, clean colorways that won’t make you look like an amateur, and the actual design of the clubs is second to none, especially at that price point. You can choose from three shaft flexes that are well-explained on the website, so there’s no confusion about which you’ll need. You’re also able to purchase longer or shorter clubs, depending on your height.

If you’re just getting into golf, buying a set of Stix will save you the headache of piecemealing a full bag and will save you a ton of money upfront — money you’ll need for the thousands of range balls you’ll inevitably end up hitting those first few months (okay, years) of your golf career. If you’re just getting back into golf, these are forgiving clubs that should get you back to par in no time, too.

Courtesy

Stix Complete Set (14 Clubs)

• $799.20 at stix.golf
  $999.00 (20% off)

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