A fantastic set that offers up surprisingly good performance for what is a small price tag. The drivers and irons are easy to get airborne, with the putter providing forgiveness and a number of alignment aids to help accuracy. You won't find much better around this price.
For
- Driver and irons in particular are fantastic
- 10 clubs is more than enough to play golf with
- Superb value
Against
- Putter grip is a let down
- No putter cover
The MacGregor CG4000 package set is an excellent starting point for those looking for a set to start their golfing journey. The finish could be improved, but they are functional, easy to use and there is everything you will need on the course.
For
- Great value
- Everything you need to get started
- Really easy to launch
Against
- Desperately need to add a putter cover
MacGregor CG3000 vs MacGregor CG4000 Package Set: Read our head-to-head verdict
While there will be generations of younger golfers who will not be too familiar with the brand, for golfers of a certain age MacGregor are remembered as being one of the biggest names in the sport. Numerous major championship victories were achieved with its clubs but in recent times MacGregor has rebranded and is now more synonymous with value equipment, and specifically for producing some of the best golf club sets.
The best sets for beginners are extremely popular with new golfers because you get everything you need to get out on the course and start to hone your skills until you are ready to upgrade to more advanced clubs.
The benefit of this is huge for new golfers as it removes the daunting prospect of buying your clubs individually and/or getting fitted for them. More experienced golfers would be better served steering away from package sets and instead look to be fitted properly, but for casual golfers and newcomers a package golf club set is just the ticket.
The reason they are ideal is that they provide everything a new golfer needs and they are usually excellent value. If you are new to the game and aren't sure if you'll stay the course (sorry!) then you won't want to shell out a lot of money on clubs that you might not be needing in a couple of months.
Package sets have everything a new golfer needs. They generally include a driver, fairway woods, a range of irons and wedges plus a putter. You’ll also get a bag to house everything in. While some of the more high end ones such as the Callaway XR set can be quite expensive, generally the prices are very affordable.
MacGregor specialize in this category and two of the best cheap golf club sets are the MacGregor CG3000 and MacGregor CG4000 package sets, so to help you decide which one suits you best we've put them up against each other.
When testing package sets we look at the range of clubs included, the price point and the intended player, as well as the quality of the materials used, and of course what kind of performance you can expect. Other things to consider when buying a package set include the cost - generally ranging from $300 to up to $1,500 - quality, number of clubs, and of course the look.
What is the set made up of?
The CG3000 and CG4000 have the same 10 club set up featuring a 13-degree driver, 18-degree fairway, a 24-degree hybrid, 6-SW and a putter. This allows for possible expansion in your set by adding more specialist wedges and perhaps an extra hybrid. Both sets are available in either graphite or steel shafts. We would suggest the graphite option for slower swingers as it is lighter and should help beginner golfers produce more swing speed which in turn will get the golf ball airborne more easily. The clubs come in either a cart or stand bag, both of which have plenty of pockets, a good number of dividers, a decent grab handle and a main strap for carrying.
Looks
Neither set has that premium look and feel we experienced with other sets like the TaylorMade RBZ SpeedLite package set or PXG's 0211 Z golf club set, but you have to factor in that these two MacGregor offerings both come in significantly cheaper.
Both the CG3000 and CG4000 sets provides a lot of confidence at set up, as all the clubs have oversized profiles specifically designed for the novice player.
The driver on the CG3000 features a handy alignment aid on the top, whilst the woods offer a lot of offset, a slicer's best friend. Along with the top end of the bag, the irons provide a thick topline, again with plenty of offset, while the putter has a fang shape with two long red sightlines that assist with aim as well as a shorter white line at the front that helps position and strike the ball centrally.
The CG4000 doesn't offer too much of a difference and retains all of the things we enjoyed in the CG3000. With the irons, the visual is reasonable from the back, but is once again better in behind the ball, which is where it matters right? The paint job in the cavity could be slightly higher quality as some of this overspills a touch, but that is being fussy.
The main difference is the putter, which is a totally different head shape to the fang mallet in the CG3000 set. The putter in the CG4000 set is more like an Odyssey Two-Ball design and might just be the highlight of the set.
There isn't a huge amount of difference in the looks of either set but the CG4000 edges it, mostly because of the design of the woods.
Performance
Considering the low price, both sets pleasantly surprised us in terms of performance. The driver was a particular standout in both sets. The 13 degree loft in both sets gets the ball launching high and provides a perfect amount of loft for a beginner that tends to swing the club slower. It also feels fantastic off the face, lively and reassuringly solid. For us the CG4000 has a slight edge in terms of sound and feel but that's subjective and won't be the same for everyone. It's also true that sound and feel tends to matter less to new golfers than to those with more experience who know the difference.
The fairway woods and hybrids did not feel as great as the driver, however, with a much more 'dead' feel as opposed to the lovely feel you get from the big stick. We loved the flat-looking face of the fairway wood whilst the hybrid does take some getting used to due to the offset.
However, it is important to remember that offset is a higher handicapper's friend and the golfers that these sets are designed for will enjoy how user-friendly these clubs are. Despite the average feel, performance was fine with the fairway and hybrid in both sets.
The fairway woods come in at 18 degrees of loft (so essentially a five wood), whilst the hybrid at 24 degrees converts to around a 4 iron. Couple this with a 6-SW iron set and the gaps are just about right for a 10-club set, with beginners and higher handicappers having plenty of clubs at their disposal to hit for a wide range of yardages.
The irons also have a superb amount of forgiveness, something that is needed for those starting out in the game, whilst the wedges and putters felt surprisingly responsive too. A slight negative is the fairway wood and hybrid, which didn't feel as springy off the face as we'd have liked, but again, you have to take the price point into account.
The putter was a nice surprise in both sets and exceeded our expectations. The CG3000 putter reminded us of a mix between an Odyssey #7 fang and the Rose Axis1 and we really enjoyed using it. We didn't like the grip too much as it was very thin grip and similar to the ones on the irons and woods. We'd much prefer a more rounded or thicker putter-specific grip as the fitted one is far too thin.
With the CG4000 we enjoyed the forgiveness on offer and found the Odyssey 2ball style alignment aid very easy to line up. It felt pretty good too. Unfortunately, as with the CG3000 it does not come with a head cover and with it not being the most robust build quality, it chips incredibly easily.
The feel off the face was surprisingly good though and the head design is great for alignment and a bit of forgiveness.
Overall Appeal
Both these sets provide ample performance for new golfers at a superb price point, with both package sets certainly strong in most aspects golfers consider important. They're not perfect but at this price point, you can't expect too much and overall the value for money on offer here in both options is exceptional.
The MacGregor CG3000 is exceptional value and provides great bang for your buck, with the driver, irons and putter standing out. The fairway wood and hybrid perform well but don't feel overly fast, and we would customize the putter if we had the choice by adding one of the best putter grips to enhance the comfort and control.
The CG4000 really impressed us at the top end of the bag, especially the driver, which was very easy to launch and felt nice off the face. The putter is certainly of a better quality than we would normally expect in a package set in this price bracket.
All in all, the main difference between the two sets would be that the CG4000 offers just a tiny bit more in looks and performance. However, the difference is not great and given that the CG3000 is now quite a bit cheaper having been replaced by the new kid on the block, there is definitely extra value to be had with the older set if cost is a big consideration.
Which one should you choose?
Choose the MacGregor CG3000 Package Set if…
- You are new to the game and want something very cheap to get started
- You want irons that are easy to hit and forgiving
- You prefer to carry your bag rather than push a cart
Choose the MacGregor CG4000 Package Set if...
- You want a set of clubs that are easy to launch, particularly the woods
- You need offset to fight a slice
- You plan to utilise the putter in the set
