Breaking 80 a few times is great, but to consistently shoot in the 70s usually requires top-tier equipment. There are no complete sets at this level of play. Better players need to the maneuver the ball from any lie, though a little forgiveness never hurts. That’s why the TaylorMade M6 series clubs comprise much of our top picks for the best women’s golf clubs for advanced players.
The TaylorMade M6 women’s driver and M6 women’s irons and hybrids (set) earn top picks because they all have flexible faces for added power but still let better players work the ball.
Our top pick for the best women’s fairway metals for advanced players is the Cobra King F8. And for wedges, our top pick is the Cleveland Ladies CBX, which provide all the scoring ability of heavier wedges while reducing weight and adding forgiveness using a cavity-back design.
Taking your game to the next level will require a serious investment in both money and time. Building a set out of professional quality clubs will give the advanced player the tools to improve. Breaking 90 was the hard part. With time and effort, most advanced players can achieve single-digit handicaps.
Top Pick Driver – TaylorMade M6 Driver
We use the driver more than any club in the bag (except the putter), so naturally it’s the star of any advanced player’s club set. You have to trust it, and your driver should perform in kind. TaylorMade has been a force in driver design since it invented the metal driver decades ago. It has built its reputation on technology and innovation. That tradition continues with the user-friendly TaylorMade M6 driver.
When constructing the M6 driver, TaylorMade starts with a non-conforming face, which rebounds the ball faster than the rules of golf allow. TaylorMade then injects just the right amount of resin into the clubhead to reduce face spring. It brings the resulting ball speed down to just below the legal threshold. Nothing is faster.
Features
- Aerodynamic head design to improve airflow and clubhead speed
- Added carbon in sole lowers weight to move CG low and back for higher flight
- No fiddly bits or weights to move around – simple and powerful
- Twisted Face technology corrects ball flight on common mis-hits
- Hammerhead slot behind the face makes it hotter and increases sweet spot
Benefit – Ideal Weight Position
Most players see little benefit from moveable weights. Better players make small corrections with their hands to adjust ball flight for each shot. Sure, once the perfect setup is achieved, adjustability can make the driver swing more robotic. But, it is not necessary.
More important for the mortal player is a low center of gravity, which helps launch the ball high, and a fair amount of forgiveness. TaylorMade’s Twisted Face launches toe hits higher and drops the trajectory on heel shots, correcting the mistakes better players tend to make.
Benefit – Adjustable Hosel
TaylorMade saved the buyer money on movable weights, but still supplied an adjustable hosel. Players can adjust it for both loft and lie, lowering or raising ball flight as needed while also correcting overcooked draws and fades. Adjustability can also encourage fades or draws when needed.
Runner Up Driver – Callaway Rogue Driver
Our runner-up is the Callaway Women’s Rogue driver. Its Jailbreak technology – which uses vertical bars to increase ball speed, is a boon to the distance-challenged. The X-face VFT design and triaxial carbon fiber crown increase MOI to preserve distance that mis-hits can rob.
Features
- Hotter face thanks to impressive Jailbreak design
- Aerodynamics by aircraft manufacturer Boeing
- Lightweight (40 gram), premium Aldila Quaranta shaft
- Adjustable hosel for loft and lie
Benefit – Aftermarket Shaft
Many players simply take the stock shaft out of their drivers and install an aftermarket one as a matter of course. No need to do that here. The Aldila Quaranta shaft is a premium option that comes stock. It is light and tough, and should outlast the clubhead.
Drawback – Not Quite the Pop of the M6
The Callaway Rogue women’s driver is plenty long, but TaylorMade pushes ball speed to the absolute limit. TaylorMade tests each M6 individually and adjusts ball speed to suit. The Rogue is a close second, and it may work better for some players. Most others need all the speed they can get.
Top Pick Fairway Wood – Cobra King F8 Fairway Wood
TaylorMade M6 fairway metals are as good as the other clubs from that series, but they can be pricey. Fairway clubs can take a pounding. Most better players need a workhorse fairway wood, not a boutique exotic. Our top pick in women’s golf clubs for advanced players in fairway woods is the Cobra King F8.
Unlike the fairway woods of old, Cobra constructs the F8 series woods similarly to how it makes its drivers. The forged E9 475 stainless steel face has variable thicknesses, increasing the spring of the ball off the face. Aerodynamic trips around the face decrease drag for faster head speed.
Cobra retains its use of rails on the sole to improve turf contact, while carbon fiber in the crown moves discretionary weight low and rearward for higher launch. Compared to your old fairway woods, the hitting the Cobra King F8 off the deck or a tee is as close to using a mini driver as you can get.
Features
- Variable thickness, stainless steel face that flexes like a driver
- Carbon fiber crown allows for extra low center of gravity
- Adjustable hosel for loft and lie
- Dual rails reduce the surface area that contacts the ground
Benefit – Higher Ball Speeds
Better players often cling to an old fairway metal like a security blanket. Old Trusty works, they figure, so why risk a change. While your old woods were aging in your bag, though, manufacturers like Cobra were hard at work.
The Cobra F8 face springs like previous generation drivers did. Center of gravity is optimized thanks to carbon fiber and a heavy screwed-in weight. You’ll get a higher, longer ball flight and a guaranteed hotter face. Meet your new trustee.
Runner Up Faiway Wood – TaylorMade M4
The TaylorMade M4 fairway metal has much of the same tech as the Cobra F8, but it is perhaps a better match for a TaylorMade M6 set. A springy stainless steel face contributes to higher ball speeds, while a similar carbon fiber crown helps push the CG lower.
The M4 has a wider footprint than the F8 though, which increases the contact area with the turf. It requires a more precise strike, but many players prefer the M4 sound, which TaylorMade tunes for a pleasant click.
Features
- Ni-Co (nickel cobalt) superalloy stainless steel face is plenty hot
- Five layers of carbon fiber in the crown moves 8 grams of weight lower
- Speed Pocket behind the face (like on the driver) increases flex
- Fluted hosel improves sound and feel of shots
Benefit – Uncompromising Performance with Value
As the M4 ages, its price continues to fall. Still, there is not much on the new-club market that can beat it for playability and ball speed. A new generation of fairway woods will likely displace the M4 (and its contemporaries), but it has not happened yet. Get them while you can!
Drawback – Availability
Depending on the loft of fairway wood you need, the gracefully aging M4 may not be an option for you. The Cobra F8 is a newer model and is more readily available. It is also the M4’s equal in every respect. Still, if an all-TaylorMade set is your goal, the M4 has to be a main target.
Top Pick Hybrid and Irons – TaylorMade M6
Irons have come a long way in the last few years. The advent of flexible faces has improved ball speed across the board. The result for most players is using one or two less clubs on the average approach shot, with reduced hole proximity as a reward.
Leading the way in this effort has been, you guessed it, TaylorMade. The TaylorMade M6 women’s irons combine a super thin face and Inverted Cone technology to increase ball speed on every strike. There is also compression damping to lessen vibrations when those strikes aren’t perfect.
The Speed Bridge on the back helps stiffen the clubhead to prevent energy loss on mis-hits, while a lower CG helps lift the ball, helping slower swings produce higher shots. Better players appreciate the minimal offset – These are workable game-improvement irons.
TaylorMade M6 hybrids share the Twist Face technology of their driver counterparts. They have low-profile faces and wide soles for playability from any lie. The M6 hybrids also have stepped crowns that help optimize CG placement while serving as alignment aids.
TaylorMade M6 hybrids and irons are truly the best women’s golf clubs for advanced players.
Features
- Hot faces – super thin in the M6 irons and Twist Face in the M6 hybrids.
- Set makeup is optimized for better female players
- Soles designed for playability (thin in M6 irons, wide in M6 hybrids)
- TPU insert in hybrid’s Speed Slot improves feel, sound and face flex
- Anti-vibration damping on the irons imparts buttery feel
Benefit – Available as a Set
When hybrids and irons come from the same series, moving from one to the other becomes intuitive. There is no noticeable change from the TaylorMade M6 irons to the hybrids. The M6 hybrid is simply easier to hit than comparable irons. As a set they flow seamlessly.
Benefit – Feel of Forged Irons
TaylorMade upped its feel game on the M6 irons, utilizing high-tech materials to help eliminate vibrations. The HYBRAR badge on the back of the face is made from ABS and aluminum. It dampens better than previous models, while a viscoelastic adhesive improves sound.
Runner Up Hybrid – Cobra King F8
Hybrids do not have to be the most expensive club in your set. The Cobra King F8 hybrid offers the frugal golfer a more-than-adequate tool for the jobs we ask our hybrids to do. These clubs get put through the wringer, so paying fairway metal prices may seem foolish to some players.
Features
- Shares the Baffler sole rails of the Cobra King F8 fairway woods
- Aerodynamic polymer trips decrease drag to increase clubhead speed
- Thin 455 stainless steel face flexes to increase ball speed
- Fixed weight in sole moves weight low and back, raising trajectory
Runner Up Irons – Callaway Rogue Irons
Like most irons in this category, the Callaway Rogue women’s irons are lightweight and boast a large cavity back. Variable Face Technology alters and optimizes face thickness on each loft. Urethane microspheres soften feel, and tungsten helps weight the sole to get the ball up.
Features
- Urethane injected into hollow cavity material to soften feel and optimize flex
- Face Cup design and thin steel help improve ball speed
- Premium Aldila graphite shafts
- Combines various high-tech, modern materials
Top Pick Wedges – Cleveland CBX2
If the iron set you are playing came with a sand wedge, do yourself a favor and chuck it. If you’re skeptical, watch an LPGA Tour event. You will never see a professional using such a club. The reason why becomes painfully obvious once you put a real wedge (or two) in your bag.
Our top pick for best women’s golf clubs for advanced players in wedges is the Cleveland Ladies’ CBX2. Its wide sole with V grind will outperform the wedge from your iron set in bunkers, around the green and on full shots. You’ll hold more greens and get it up and down more often.
Features
- From one of the premier wedge builders in the game
- Hollow cavity-back design provides forgiveness equal to iron-set wedges
- Dual-V sole grind improves bounce through the turf
- Laser, Rotex and Zip-groove milling provide unbeaten spin
- C shape from heel to toe helps contact when adjusting face angle
Benefit – Engineered with a Secret Cavity Back
Cleveland designed the CBX2 wedge with a hidden cavity to the rear of the heel section. The toe section, on the other hand, has a muscle-back design. In this way Cleveland was able to move the center of gravity microscopically closer to the toe, where it says more players strike the ball.
Benefit – Zip Grooves really Zip It
Besides the ability to play a variety of shots, wedges like the Cleveland CBX2 helps players score better by increasing the spin they are able to put on the ball. That added spin helps loft approach shots so they descend at a steeper angle and stop dead. It also helps on greenside shots lower for better control. There are three layers of milled groves on the CBX2.
Runner Up Wedges – Callaway Mack Daddy 3
The Callaway Mack Daddy 3 is the continuation of a long line of successful wedges from Callaway. Made famous by the antics of Phil Mickelson, Mack Daddy wedges have a proven track record of playability and the spin to compete with almost any wedge out there.
Features
- W grind on the sole improves feel of sand contact
- Optimal groove shape for spin depending on wedge loft
- Drilled holes in sole behind the face help optimize center of gravity
- Milled face provides friction for extra spin
Benefit – More Spin
Ever since the powers that be outlawed square grooves, manufacturers have been seeking ways to improve spin. Callaway has led the way. The grooves and milling on the Mack Daddy 3 provide the revs to rip the ball to a stop, requiring a deft touch so that you don’t spin it too much.
Drawback – W Grind is Somewhat Limiting
On soft grass or out of powdery sand, a wide sole like the W grind can make things almost too easy. But off of a tight lie, the added bounce becomes a liability. One solution is to carry another wedge with less bounce for those circumstances. Another is to have a thinner sole, like that on the Cleveland CBX.
Conclusion – Best Women’s Golf Clubs for Advanced Players
If you are ready for clubs like the ones we list here, you likely already have a decent set of intermediate golf clubs. In that case, all you need to do is gradually replace your existing set one piece at a time. Doing so lessens the economic impact of upgrading to players’ clubs.
Once you make the change, you will wonder why you didn’t do it sooner. There are shots that simply require quality equipment, and pulling them off saves strokes instantly. The consistency you’re likely to find will shave a couple more, but the enjoyment of the game is the real reward.