Golf clubs are an essential golf item useful for shooting golf balls on a golf course. The club comprises the head, a grip, and a shaft. There are many types of golf clubs, all with different numbers that a player can choose from.
The numbers on the clubs determine the distances a player can achieve when they use them to strike the ball. Generally, the clubs with lower numbers are better for making shots at a farther range than those with higher numbers.
Below are the types of golf clubs.
1. Iron
Irons have metal clubheads, and golfers often use them when their ball is less than 200 yards away from the green. The club comes in various sizes, numbered from one to nine, and generally has more loft than woods. The 1-irons, 2-irons, and 3-irons are long irons, and they possess a small amount of loft, which means that a golfer will send a ball the farthest with them.
The 4-irons, 5-irons, and 6-irons are the middle irons and are best applicable when the golf ball is between 150 and 170 yards away from the hole. The 7- to 9-irons are the shorts irons, and a golfer can quickly get the golf ball into the air with them due to their loft. Since the 1-irons and 2-irons are the hardest to use, a typical golf set will contain 3- to 9-irons.
2. Wedges
Golfers use wedges to strike golf balls into the air before it lands on the putting surface. They have more loft than the other clubs, and they come in four different types. They are the sand wedge, pitching, gap, and lob wedge. The sand wedge helps remove a ball from tall grass and sandpits; the lob wedges have the most loft and are best suitable for making shots that need height, not distance.
The gap wedge is better for striking golf balls along a short-range onto the putting green; it has less loft than the sand wedge and more loft than the pitching wedge, while the pitching wedge is better for balls that are a further position away from the green. Some consider the pitching wedge an iron because of a few of its similar characteristics to irons. Typically, golfers add it to their set of irons.
3. Driver
The driver is the longest club, and it hits balls the farthest; hence players commonly refer to it as the big dog. Its large clubhead and long shaft make it easy to play balls at a long distance. Although they are best suitable for distant shots, they may not always be necessary since not every hole may require distance.
The use of this club should depend on how far or close the hole spot is, and one can determine through a hole map which is usually on the scoreboard. The shaft of drivers come in different types according to their degree of flexibility; they are stiff, senior, extra stiff, regular, and ladies.
Since the shaft flex depends on how much it can bend, one would select the suitable one for them according to their swing speed. The less swing one has, the more flexible the shaft should be and vice versa.
4. Fairway woods
Fairway woods or fairway metal have clubheads ranging from 3 to 9 wood. The smaller the number, the longer it is, and vice versa. They are similar to drivers but with smaller clubheads. They have a flat clubhead with a loft angle ranging from 12 to 20 degrees. Fairway woods have graphite shafts that give players better swing speeds.
Other types of clubs include hybrids and putters.