MacGregor DCT3000 Men's Package Set Review

MacGregor DCT3000 Men's Package Set Review

As a mid-teen handicapper who has been playing golf for 45 years, I have worked my way through a fair few sets of clubs. I was therefore very interested to apply the Golf Monthly testing strategy on a completely new set and bag, to prepare a brief video after their first outing, and to see how they would stand up to the more expensive kit that I currently use. This would be the first package set I had tried out in a long time, and I felt it would need to work very hard to impress.

VIDEO: Watch Rob Smith deliver his verdict on this entry-level club set

This beginner’s set comes with 12 clubs from driver to putter, thus very sensibly leaving the golfer to make personal decisions on wedges once some experience and personal preference has been gained. The remaining clubs are a 3-wood, a pair of hybrids, 5- to 9-iron, and pitching and sand wedges. They come in a choice of graphite or steel shaft.

The driver itself is a chunky 460cc 10.5-degree model whose large head and sweet spot offer a forgiveness that is ideal for those new to the game. Bearing in mind that my own driver cost me pretty much the same as this entire package, I was very impressed. This driver looked, felt, and most importantly behaved, in a very similar fashion. It may not be the best driver on the market, but for its target golfer, it is way better than adequate.

By contrast, the graphite-shafted 3-wood has a relatively small head, but this makes it much easier for shots from the fairway or when the ball is sitting up in the rough. The two hybrids, also graphite-shafted, are 21 degrees and 24 degrees, and therefore similar to a 3- and 4-iron but again much easier to use for the beginner than a long-iron. Each of these four longer clubs comes with its own stylish, branded headcover.

All of the cavity-back irons feature an oversized head with perimeter weighting, and yet again I found them to be both forgiving and good for distance, very similar to my usual set. My only two concerns about the whole package comes with the two wedges. The first is that because I normally carry four, these two clubs between them have to cope with anything from 120 yards in. The other is that the sand wedge is simply a slightly more lofted version of the pitching wedge, and I found this made it a little more difficult to play from sand or for finesse shots from just off the green.

These are minor quibbles, based on having played for a very long time, and should not be an issue for the club’s target audience. The putter has quite a heavy head, but again this should be fine for those who are learning the game as it is more likely to keep the club on line.

The bag is smart and lightweight, with plenty of storage space for valuables and waterproofs. I cannot really vouch for how this whole set compares with other similar packages such as the Strata Men's Golf Package Set, but my personal view is that this set would be hard to beat.

In addition, this whole package comes at a price many people now pay for just a driver, and as such it represents excellent value. For me, it has to be right up there among the very best package sets on offer. I would also say that for those new to golf, anyone coming back to the game, or even those wishing simply to try something new, the MacGregor DCT3000 Men’s Package has a tremendous amount to offer.