Golf clubs are necessary for all kinds of golfers’ equipment and it has a key role to play in both bettering your performance and also making your game more enjoyable whether you are new golf player or a professional golfer.
Several factors must be considered while you are packing your golf bag, however first, it is crucial to understand the availability of various golf clubs of different types, including their difference among various club types, when are they used and how can they impact the swing.
Few golf clubs of different types:
- Woods
Traditionally made from wood however modern woods are constructed from different metals. Meant for long range shots from tee and the fairway, they have the largest heads and longest shaft of all club kinds for maximum distance and ball speed.
Any typical golf set will feature 2 to 3 woods including the fairway and driver woods. As the name suggests, the fairway is used only for fairway shots, but the driver is used when you hit the ball from its tee.
2.Irons
As above the woods are not really a wood, in the same way iron golf clubs are also not made of iron either. They are instead made from steel. However, many golfers prefer graphite irons in place of steel irons because of their lightweight.
Used for striking the ball from its fairway towards green, the most forgiving iron set irons are usually numbered as 1 to 9, as shafts are getting progressively shorter, club heads heavier and loft angles higher.
3. Hybrids
Also called utility clubs, these hybrids are cross between the irons and woods. Initially used for getting out from rough, beneath trees, bushes and other obstacles near green and the fairway, many golfers now also use these hybrids for their fairway shots.
As ‘iron-replacement clubs’, however, any hybrids usually replace long irons till no. 5.
4. Wedges
Though wedges are golf clubs’ types of their own, they are sometimes treated as sub-category of irons as they have basically same heads although they are typically bit heavier in wedges.
As compared to iron, the wedges too have shorter shaft and a greater loft that is indicated by 2-digit number.
These golf clubs are further divided into following:
- Sand wedge
- Pitching wedge
- Lob wedge
- Gap wedge
- Ultra-lob wedge
Each wedge is designed for using in specific situations. For instance, sand wedge is meant for getting the ball out from soft hazards e.g. sand bunkers, while any lob wedge will be perfect for shots from any close to tall type of obstacles e.g. trees.
All these golf clubs are however meant for short shots that needs high accuracy.
5. Putter
Putter is used for last strokes, this is designed for rolling the ball inside the hole. Against the general belief, the putter has a loft however it typically does not exceed 5? to help lifting the ball from indentations on green while minimizing bouncing.
You can get in many different golf club sizes, designs and shapes, while the choice of ‘right’ putter is normally a personal preference.