Wilson Magnolia Women's Set vs Callaway Reva Ladies Package Set: Read our head-to-head verdict

Wilson Magnolia Women's Set vs Callaway Reva Ladies Package Set: Read our head-to-head verdict

With more and more women players taking up golf it comes as no surprise that major golf club manufacturers have responded by producing more women's gear and more affordable equipment on the whole as well. One such avenue they have gone down is the package set route.

Often designed for beginners to remove many of the complications around selecting clubs, a golf club set generally includes everything you need to get straight out on the course - a driver, fairway woods, a range of irons and wedges, and a putter. You’ll also get a bag, so you’re ready to get swinging straight from the purchase. Given all of this, we have found that these sets are a cost-effective and simple way for beginner players to get out on the course. And the gear is good too, no longer are package sets poorly made and feel awful to use. 

In this piece, we are going to focus on two great examples of this, the Wilson Magnolia golf package set and the Callaway REVA package set. Both of these sets are great in their own right but which one is best for you and comes out on top when pitted against each other? We will look at what's in the set, looks, performance, and the overall appearance of the two. 

What is the set made up of?

The Wilson Magnolia set includes a high-lofted driver, easy-to-hit 3-wood, 4, 5, and 6 hybrids, 7 iron through to sand wedge, putter, and a beautiful trolley bag. 

The Callaway Reva set includes a driver (12.5 degrees), three wood, 5 and 6 hybrids, 7-9 irons, a pitching and sand wedge, and a putter as well as a snazzy cart bag and five headcovers. 

Looks

The Reva set has that unmistakable, very appealing Callaway look right throughout the bag. The driver has a big circular target-style sweet spot on the face which makes it look like it's impossible to miss and it acts as a great focus point at address. The cavity back irons and wedges look great from the back and are very inviting at address.

The highlight of the set though is the ladies Odyssey Stroke Lab putter. The head has a distinctive blue fang shape with two very clear white alignment lines (cleverly a golf-ball width apart) and triple dots for centre striking. 

To complete the package the Reva clubs are housed in a good quality trolley bag that's made from a lightweight and waterproof material with seam-sealed zips to prevent rain from penetrating into your bag. There's plenty of pockets for storage and it's light to lift on and off your trolley, You can also choose from black, red or blue Reva set options, making it one of the best women's golf sets on the market. 

For the Magnolia set Wilson have gone down the big and rounded look for their clubs. This helps to improve confidence when addressing the ball and allows for more forgiveness when you have mis-strikes. This goes through the bag from drivers to irons, whilst the putter is a fang shaped mallet with blue lines to help with alignment.

All these great looking clubs are housed in a beautiful blue trolley bag that’s really lightweight to lift in and out of your car boot and onto your trolley. There are pockets galore including ones for your scorecard, valuables and water bottle, plus a matching rain cover to keep your clubs dry.

All the woods and hybrids come with lovely blue headcovers to match the bag and the clubs are also detailed with the same blue to really make this good looking set pop.

Performance

Wilson hasn't scrimped on the quality for this great set. The metal woods and irons are all fitted with decent lightweight graphite shafts that feel easy to swing. The driver has a very rounded, oversized head with lots of loft to give you confidence and help you launch your tee shots easily.

Replacing difficult-to-hit long irons with hybrids has been a trend in ladies' golf equipment for a few years now and the Magnolia hybrids are designed with strong lofts, a large sweet spot, and low weighting in the head to make them really easy to hit. We love the simplicity of the small heads. We tested the hybrids from lots of different positions on the course and found them very versatile, great from all sorts of lies, particularly the rough.

The irons have also been designed for ease of use with oversized heads, and weight cleverly positioned to the perimeter for better balance and forgiveness, so even your mishits fly straight. Our only criticism is that the Magnolia irons were slightly 'head heavy', however, this may encourage you to swing with a smoother tempo and a freer, more powerful action.

We love the addition of a bespoke sand wedge, it’s not something you usually see in a package set but it’s a really great idea. Having more spin control around the greens is a definite must. An eye-catching mallet-shaped putter completes the set. The fang shape of the head really makes this feel balanced and assists with a smooth, pendulum stroke. The simple bold centre alignment line gives a very clear guide to help you aim.

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The Callaway Reva set features a high lofted (12.5 degrees) driver with a fixed weight screw that helps you launch the ball higher and hit it further. The ball flies powerfully off the face with a pleasing high-pitched 'ping' sound, instantly becoming one of the best beginner golf clubs for ladies trying to improve quickly. The resulting high ball flight will definitely make a dramatic difference to your distance if you lack swing speed as it boosts carry distance. 

The complementing fairway wood (3 wood) has a super-sleek shape. The shallow profile really encouraged me to sweep shots away off even the tightest of fairway lies with ease. It offered up a powerful flight that ran out just enough upon landing without losing stopping power into greens.

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Traditional long irons are replaced by two easy-to-hit hybrids (5 & 6) which have sizeable heads that look nearly impossible to miss and enough loft so that your long approach shots stop quickly. It then transitions into the cavity back irons, which feel effortlessly light to swing and are unbelievably easy to use. My mishits hardly veered off-line, such was the stability and forgiveness on offer. 

The feel was a touch on the firm side yet spin control going into the flag was impressive. You'll be delighted with the results of a well-struck shot. As a better player I'd prefer to see a couple of specialist wedges for the opportunity to impart some shot-making creativity but the Reva set wedges can execute the basic chip and pitch shots easily enough. 

Both irons and woods are fitted with buttery soft grips which are soft and tacky. They will be a godsend to anyone suffering with arthritis in their fingers and generally boost the comfort you experience using the clubs.

I was particularly pleased that a ladies Odyssey Stroke Lab putter was part of the Reva set, which includes a specialist shaft designed to improve the tempo and consistency of your stroke. It is slightly shorter in length and the grip smaller than the standard men's Odyssey Stroke Lab putter, which should all contribute to you having greater control on the greens. I loved the responsive feel off the face and the really true roll out. 

Overall Appeal

The Wilson Magnolia is at a great price point considering a decent set of ladies irons alone can set you back somewhere in the region of $1000 these days, it’s an absolute delight to see a complete set of clubs for women comfortably under that, slotting in as one of the best women's package sets you can buy.

The Callaway REVA will appeal to golfers of different ability levels. While it is ideally suited to the new golfer, it would also be a good choice for an average skilled player who looking to upgrade from their beginner set to something a bit more upmarket.

Which one should you choose?

Choose the Wilson Magnolia Women's Set if…

- You are looking to start on a budget
- You are after a very forgiving set
- You want a great-looking package set 

Choose the Callaway Reva Package Set if…

- Budget is less of a concern when getting started 
- You want stylish-looking clubs that are reasonably forgiving 
- You’re looking to upgrade from a basic set to something a bit flashier