Understanding The Different Types Of Golf Clubs

After 20 years living on a golf course, you'd think I would know the different golf club types. It wasn’t until recently when I started playing golf where I learned the purpose of the various clubs. If you’re a beginner like me, let’s get to know what each of the golf clubs are for and when to use them.

Woods, Irons, and Hybrids are the 3 material types of golf clubs. Although Wedges and Putters are types of clubs, for this article I'm treating them as sub-types because of their intended purpose.

Woods, Irons, and Hybrids

Woods are golf clubs whose club heads were initially made of wood. Today there are also made of metal like steel or titanium alloy and still go by the name of woods. A woods golf club has a fat club head and the club’s main purpose is for hitting the golf ball off the tee or down the fairway.

Irons are golf clubs which have flat club heads that are made of metal. Besides hitting the golf ball off the tee or down the fairway, an irons most useful purpose is to get the golf ball into the air and over obstacles like trees or lift the ball out of grass.

Hybrid golf clubs have metal club heads that combine the best features of woods and irons. Their combined features make them more forgiving to amateur players. Hybrids usually replace the 2-5 irons.

Club Head Numbers

Aside from specialty golf clubs like wedges and putters, golf club heads are numbered 1 through 11. The lower the number, the taller the golf club, the club head face has a steeper sloping angle, and the golf ball travels farther. The higher the club head number gets, the golf club gets shorter, the club head face has a lesser sloping angle so the golf ball goes steeper into the air, and the golf ball flies less distance.

Of the same club head number, woods are taller than irons and hybrids, has a steeper club face angle, and hits the golf ball farther.

Typically golf professionals use a 1 wood, also known as a driver, on their tee shot to hit the golf ball as far as they can down the fairway. For recreational players, it’s best to use higher numbered clubs because they’re shorter and much easier to control your golf swing.

Wedges and Putters

Wedges are irons that are used for lifting your golf ball out of grass, sand traps, and over obstacles like bunkers. There are 4 types of wedges: pitching, sand, gap, and loft. Each has its purpose based on the situation you’re in. But in the order I have listed, the club face angle gets less steep and the golf ball flies higher into the air at a steeper angle.

You might use a pitching wedge to get the ball out of the grass next to the green. You don’t need a lot of lift, just enough to get over the grass and onto the green. On the other hand, if your golf ball is in a deep bunker next to the green, you would use a loft wedge to lift the ball at a sharp angle upward and over the bunker onto the green.

The putter is primarily used when your golf ball is on the green and you’re shooting for the hole. The putter has 3 styles of club heads: traditional blade, heel-toe, or mallet. For beginners, the mallet is the preferred putter because its design makes it easier to hit the ball with greater success.

If you’re thinking of taking up golf and haven’t purchased golf clubs, it’s best to start with beginners or starter golf club sets. These clubs provide the proper balance for you to learn and enjoy golf.

David Johnson is getting to know the joys of golfing and learning how to improve his golf handicap.

A Beginner Golf Set Is Plenty for a Novice

There are many different kinds of golf equipment on the market today and for the novice this can be quite confusing. That's why a Beginner Golf Set is advisable. If you make this choice, it is usually a lot less expensive and it takes all the work out of the decision-making. You as a beginning golfers need to hone your skills, and left time this will surely take place with practice. You only need to select clubs that are compatible with your ability, and as you get better you can upgrade to higher-quality clubs.

We are starting, you need to get the basics down first so there isn't any real reason to buy a lot of different clubs to begin with. As an example, a typical Beginner Golf Set may contain a Fairway 3 Wood, 450cc Driver, Irons, Hybrid Wood, a Silver Diamond Putter and a stand bag. There shouldn't be any more than around 14 clubs.Some people prefer to use a long iron in place of the hybrid as they simply prefer it. You will see a lot of beginners with hybrids because the perform the jobs of both the fairway wood and the long iron in one club.

Selecting the right driver is important, and you need to consider the appropriate loft as well as the shaft flex and the grip. With a regular shaft you're going to have more flexibility, as opposed to a shaft that has stiff which might be kind of hard to get a decent swing speed with.  The novice will probably find that the clubs they mostly use are the 7-iron and the pitching wedge. Probably one of the next buys you will make is a sand wedge which is a real benefit to helping you get out of the bunkers. Some good advice for someone who is just starting out in buying clubs, is to buy cavity back clubs over the option of forged blades. You do have the option though to purchase every piece of equipment you need as a separate item, but you will find much better deals by just buying a beginner golf set. If you keep everything in good condition, you may be able to sell it on when you reach the point where you want to upgrade.

Lots of times you can pick up these golf sets with accessories and extra items, so you want to keep an eye out for deals that might pop up. They almost always come with a basic stand bag. The set may also contain tees. There are also a lot of different types of golf balls that you can choose from, and if you're a novice buying the most expensive won't benefit you any at all. The priority at this stage is to get distance on the ball, so the less expensive two-piece with a hard center is ideal.

After you have picked up your beginning golf set, you need to take into consideration some of the other items that you are going to need that probably weren't included with your set. Some of the essentials will include a well fitting golf glove, a pair of golf shoes, and a nice set of waterproof clothing. You're also going to want to get in a bit of extra practice, so you might think of this in addition. A chipping net can provide you with a lot of fun and some good training as well. If you were to pick up a putting machine, rainy days wouldn't have to keep you from having some golfing fun.

There are a huge number of specialty golf stores that you can pick up these items as well as just regular sports stores and many online merchants too. You could also, if you feel really lucky, join the competition from a golf magazine to see if he could win a beginner golf set, or you can just search the classifieds as lots of people list them there as well.

 

You can find lots of utility golf clubs by visiting http://www.golfutilityclubs.com