An award-winning ham or club sandwich starter (5)
I believe the answer is:
irons
'an award-winning ham' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'club sandwich starter' is the wordplay.
'club' becomes 'iron' (type of golf club).
'starter' suggests taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'sandwich' is 's'.
'iron'+'s'='IRONS'
'or' is the link.
(Other definitions for irons that I've seen before include "Metal leg shackles" , "Presses clothes" , "sporting equipment" , "Smooths the golfclubs?" , "Metal-headed golfclubs" .)