If you are anything like me, you have seen the STIX golf clubs being advertised quite heavily recently. For this STIX golf club review, I wanted to test a few things, mainly:
- Are the STIX a good investment for beginner golfers?
- How does STIX compare to a premium (or higher-end) golf club set?
- What are the quality and longevity of the STIX golf clubs?
I’ve spent a few weeks working with the STIX golf clubs. Including using the clubs out on the course, in practice and performing testing with the STIX using a Foresight GC3 launch monitor against my premium, fitted golf clubs for context to share with you.
TLDR
The STIX golf clubs are a really good option for golfers wanting an all in one package set. There are many good options on the market these days, but these fall into our top 5 recommendations.
- The wedges and irons are a real strength of the set.
- The ability to get these custom-fit in different lengths is another huge bonus.
- The driver is designed to help players with a slice.
- In our testing vs premium fitted equipment (~$3,000) we found the irons and wedges performed exceptionally well. But the setup for driver and fairway woods didn’t quite match what we needed.
- Golfers with faster swing speeds and higher ball flights will really get on well with the driver and all of the STIX equipment. However, if you have a slower swing speed and struggle with getting your driver high enough you may want to check out other package sets like the Cobra Fly XL and TaylorMade RBZ complete set.
In summary, the STIX golf clubs are a really good option for beginner to intermediate golfers wanting an all in one solution. They are one of the few complete sets to offer custom fitting – great news for golfers needing shorter or longer clubs.
As much as I like data and launch monitors; on-course testing will always feel the most real. So if you have been considering the STIX golf clubs for your game or as an extra set of clubs, this should be all the information you need.
STIX Golf Clubs – Full Review
First Impressions/Unboxing
The STIX Golf clubs are purchased as a complete set, and you can get them with or without a golf bag. I got the complete golf set, with a bag in the black finish. They come all in one box, well protected, inside the golf bag. After about twenty minutes of unwrapping and removing plastic, your STIX golf clubs are ready to go.
Driver
The driver is an offset club head with 460cc (just like all the top drivers on the market). As soon as I looked at the driver, the first thing that stood out was that it sits closed to your target at set up and is built to help any player that may struggle with a slice.
The top-down look is pleasing and easy to align, once you get used to this closed/toed-in look.
When I hit the driver, I found it very consistent. Hitting the ball straight is not difficult; after a few swings, I was able to get a feel for it and hit some consistent shots and allow for the fact this is really built to help golfers who slice the golf ball.
Overall, ball flight is relatively low despite the loft being 10.5 degrees. The spin rate on the driver is low, lower than I thought it would be. Interestingly two of my swings had the exact same spin rate for a drive, something I don’t see happen all that often – if I could only learn to be that consistent on a regular basis!
Fairway woods
The set comes with a 3-wood and a 5-wood. The 3 wood is 16 degrees whereas the 5 wood is 19 degrees. I like the look of these fairway woods. One of my biggest pet peeves with fairway woods is when the club sits up high on the ground.
The STIX fairway woods are large, but the way they are designed hides the size, and they still seem relatively low profile. Of course, this isn’t going to look like a Titleist TSR3 or something like that, but in the category of packaged sets that we are talking about, somebody paid attention to the design of these clubs.
To me, this feels almost like a driver, and it’s not the look I want when setting up to hit a shot down the center.
Hybrids & Irons
The irons are very clean looking. Cleaner than I expected, and I was pleasantly surprised by this.
From a distance perspective, the irons are about average. For instance, I hit the 7 iron on average about 150 yards, the same distance I would hit my normal 7 iron.
I would have no concerns about the STIX clubs and distance throughout the entire set. You will see a few fewer yards than you get with premium simply because of the technology in the clubhead, but that is to be expected.
The ball flight on the irons is piercing. It won’t reach the same max height as in some other complete iron sets. I think a lot of this has to do with the shaft and length customization. The STIX clubs offer you the chance to get into a set that works for you as opposed to trying to force a set to be a fit for your game.
From a forgiveness standpoint, a little bit of offset in the iron head and a relatively large clubface help to encourage the irons to fly pretty straight. I hit a few fades, but mostly I was just getting used to the shaft; the ball would have still landed on the green.
Wedges
I think my favorite part of the STIX golf clubs is the wedges.
They are very clean-looking blade-style wedges. The shaft in the wedges is the same as it is in the irons, just a different length. One of the problems that I know I have to deal with in my current equipment is too much variation between the irons and the wedges when it comes to the shaft.
I love how wedges flow into the irons with the STIX set.
The wedges are lightweight, high launching, and have enough spin to stop the ball on the green. That being said, they don’t spin as a Callaway Jaws or Titleist Vokey might spin. Prepare for a few extra yards of rollout, but with the lightweight feel and construction, you will have no trouble judging what your wedges will do.
Anytime I put a new club in the bag, it’s hard to get used to the feel, but with the STIX, it only took a few chips, and I was pretty sold on the quality of the wedges. Again, out of wet conditions, and when you are trying to spin one back, you will struggle a bit.
Most complete package sets include just one or two wedges, which are almost an afterthought; this is not the case with STIX. If I had to say one negative thing about them, it’s that they are a little light, but heavy wedges are a preference thing for me.
Putter
I was again pleasantly surprised by the putter included in this set. It is a mallet putter with a jumbo grip, and when I ordered the set one inch short, it meant the putter was 33″, the perfect length for me.
Putters are an easy place to cut corners in package sets, but again, that is not the case here.
The putter is easy to line up, has a large enough clubface, and has a really clean look to it. When you have been playing golf as long as I have, the putter is something that you can be really particular about.
I found the STIX putter to feel just a little light at first, but I think it’s smooth. In addition, a piece of lead tape on the clubhead could probably fix the weight for me; it’s more me being particular than it is pointing out a problem in the clubhead.
The large grip is a bonus and not something I thought would be included.
The rest of the set
It’s worth mentioning that the grips on the STIX clubs are nice. They feel like a mix between a Golf Pride Tour Velvet and a Winn Dri Tac. They all have a slight bit of tack to them, which is helpful when playing in warmer conditions.
The stand bag is an additional charge, but well worth it. In fact, I like the bag just as much, if not more, than my current Cobra carry bag. The clubs, when placed in the matching bag, do have a very sleek look to them; if looking like you are going to play well matters to you, STIX has you covered.
Buying Options & custom fitting
Custom fitting is a huge standout feature of the STIX golf clubs.
The sets are available in 5 different length options and three different flexes. The customization makes this so simple for people purchasing their first set of clubs or those not interested in a custom fitting.
I would love to see STIX one day offer you the option to get the irons in one length and the driver and fairway woods in another, all as part of a package deal. For myself, the woods can be the standard length, but irons I do better when they are a little shorter. Right now, you could purchase individual clubs from STIX and set it up this way, but complete sets are the same customization throughout.
Still, this is being nit-picky; STIX is already doing more than others when it comes to package set customization. For tall golfers, short golfers, and those who know a stock shaft in a complete set won’t be an option, the STIX set is a no-brainer.
Golf Insider verdict
The bottom line is that these STIX golf clubs are a strong choice for golfers shopping for packaged sets. The affordability is great considering the quality of the equipment and the customization is an extra cherry on top for those in need of it.
I think it’s really important for golfers to be smart about what they expect from package sets. With current pricing on new releases to the market, expect to pay over $3000 for what you get with the STIX set for $999.
The difference in $2000 may mean you gain a few yards with the premium sets; in addition, feel and workability will probably be slightly improved. For most golfers, the STIX complete set makes complete sense.
I would recommend the following players look into the STIX golf club sets:
- Beginner golfers
- Infrequent golfers who struggle with a slice
- Any player that needs customization for height or swing speed
- Golfers looking for a second set at a vacation home or travel
- Occasional players that want something with good quality that will work for the average golfer
- Teenagers that want to work on their golf game and become more involved without having to get a custom set cut down for their height
STIX Compared To Premium golf clubs
I don’t have the newest or most premium golf clubs on the market, but they are fitted to be and suit me well. So we’re not expecting STIX to keep up with all the fitted gear, but rather look at what the trade-off is between spending ~$3,000 on custom fit clubs and the $999 option ‘fit online’ option from STIX
Currently, I’m playing:
- Callaway Mavrik Driver stiff shaft, standard length
- Callaway Epic 5 Wood regular shaft, standard length
- Callaway Apex DCB Irons with a steel regular flex shaft, one inch short
STIX data
| Ball Speed (mph) | Spin (rpm) | Launch Angle (º) | Carry distance (yds) | Total distance (yds) | |
| Driver | 129.62 | 2269.2 | 13.3 | 209.54 | 223.42 |
| F/wood or Hybrid | 120.26 | 4729.2 | 15.04 | 175.02 | 189.02 |
| 7-iron | 107.68 | 5734.8 | 15.86 | 147.74 | 159 |
| Wedge | 86.56 | 8474.6 | 24.56 | 107.48 | 115.72 |
My fitted clubs
| Ball Speed (mph) | Spin (rpm) | Launch Angle º | Carry distance (yds) | Total distance (yds) | |
| Driver | 136.1 | 2809.8 | 13.8 | 222.16 | 234.02 |
| F/wood or Hybrid | 128.46 | 3749.4 | 12.08 | 194.92 | 210.26 |
| 7-iron | 105.36 | 4909.8 | 18.7 | 147.36 | 156.32 |
| Wedge | 90.06 | 7549.2 | 24.08 | 114.54 | 127.08 |
Driver
On average, the STIX driver was about 11 yards shorter in carry distance and total distance. The launch angle was essentially the same, but the ball speed and spin were lower, meaning a less optimized trajectory and shorter carry and roll.
This doesn’t mean the STIX driver won’t perform well for you, rather it highlights how big a difference custom fitting can make. In this case, I can generate more speed with my current driver.
The STIX driver has an offset clubface, and it feels a little closed to me, if you slice the ball, the offset head and close face will help you straighten things out quite a bit.
Also the STIX driver we ordered was one inch short of standard because of the way I ordered this STIX golf complete set. My driver is the standard length, this will explain some of the difference, but not all of the loss in speed.
One of the biggest differences I noticed in the driver was the sound; it’s a bit more of a ping or hollow sound coming from the STIX, but certainly not enough to make it feel or sound “cheap.”
Fairway Wood
The set comes with two fairway woods, I tested the 5 wood vs. my Callaway Epic Speed 5 wood.
The Epic was consistently about 20 yards further. This was the biggest difference between the Callaway and the STIX. For some reason, I really like this Callaway Epic fairway wood, and the ball just jumps off the face of it.
You can see that ball speeds were, on average, 7 to 10 mph higher in the Callaway. The launch with my clubs are lower, with less backspin, resulting in less drag and longer carry distances.
Again this fairway wood is about one inch longer, so that’s part of the reason behind the 20 yards, but I think it’s also the technology in the face of the Callaway. Would I advise against the STIX set because of this? Absolutely not, it’s just something to be aware of, but the 5 wood in the STIX is still easy to hit and the increased backspin rate will keep your slicing and hooking shots straighter.
Irons
The Callaway Apex DCB irons I like, but they are not my favorite set of golf clubs I have ever had. Overall they are forgiving and have decent ball speed coming off the face.
With the STIX irons, the carry distance was almost exactly the same as my Callaway irons, and the total distance was, on average, about 3 yards further.
The ball comes off the STIX clubs hot, and you can tell that you are compressing the ball. I did notice that the spin rates were very high, but these are graphite-shafted irons compared to the standard steel shafts in my set.
The ball flight from the STIX golf clubs was pretty low, a penetrating ball flight for sure. The loft of the 7 iron on the STIX is 28 degrees compared to the 30 on my 7 iron, so that makes sense.
I like the STIX black clubhead, and it actually has a thinner profile, something that looks better to me than the DCB. It’s a bit offset, again not something that a scratch golfer will love, but a perfect fit for the mid to high handicappers and beginners.
Wedges
I compared the pitching wedge in each set to see the differences. The STIX golf irons have a pitching wedge with 45 degrees of the loft; the Callaway is 43 degrees.
The distance was about 10-12 yards further on the Callaway pitching wedge vs. the STIX wedge. The change in the distance we see here can mostly be explained by the 2 degrees less loft on the Callaway Wedge. When comparing club performance, always look at loft. Not all pitching wedges or iron lofts are the same.
The overall spin rates were quite high with the STIX wedges, and I did find the consistency in the STIX wedge to be really impressive.
In fact, I found that in the 52, 56, and 60 degrees as well. The STIX golf wedges are a bit of the “what you see is what you get” concept; once you know how the wedge handles, it kind of does things the same way every time.
Alternatives to the STIX golf clubs
We recently reviewed the best complete or package sets for beginners and most golfers who do not want to purchase clubs individually.
The Cobra Fly XL set stands out as the best overall option, although it will have a few fewer clubs than the STIX complete set. With the Cobra, you can expect a slightly better feel and higher launch. However, customization is something that you really only find in the STIX.
The Cobra has graphite shafts for slower swing speeds and steel for higher, but certainly no length customization.
Another option is the TaylorMade RBZ complete set. This set has great club speed and an impressive feel. It is, however, missing the 52-degree wedge, and can be about $200 more than the STIX (when you include the bag).
Frequently asked question
Are Stix good for beginners?
STIX are a good option for beginners. The STIX wedges especially stand out as a great way for a new player to learn to hit a variety of shots around the green.
Are STix headcovers included?
The STIX golf clubs do not come with head covers; they are purchased in addition. I would recommend getting one for the driver, 3 wood, and 5 wood. Especially when ordering in this nice black finish, you are going to see imperfections rather quickly.
How to choose a shaft for STIX golf clubs?
STIX has a guide on its website (and a chat with us function) that will help you decide between stiff shafts, active shafts, or regular. You can think of it pretty similar to stiff, regular, and senior flex, as described by other brands.
Final Thoughts
STIX makes a really impressive game improvement package for golfers that want custom (ish) clubs for a good price. Whether you’re a new golfer headed out for your first round or have been playing on weekends for a few years, I think you will be impressed with what STIX has to offer.
Even though throughout this STIX golf Don’t take just my word for it; look at the club data and see the consistency. Remember, too, when you are comparing a club that is nearly half or a third of the price as the individual club selections that have just come to market.
