Golf equipment is another area that can be confusing. Here are the main types of
equipment you may, need or want have as you start playing golf.

Putter: The putter is the club in your bag that has a completely flat side and a flat
base. Putters come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Putters are intended to roll
the ball along the ground and are typically used when on or near the green.

Iron: Irons are typically the thinnest club heads in your bag. A typical player’s bag
may have numerous irons numbered 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and/or P. Clubs with
smaller numbers have less loft (point more horizontal, less “up in the air”) and are
longer. When playing a shot with a lower numbered club, it should travel further, fly
lower and roll more than a higher numbered club.

Wedge: A “wedge” is a special type of iron used for hitting the shortest shots in
golf. This club usually has an “S”, “W”, “L”, or a number such as 55, 56, or 60 on it.

Hybrid club: This type of club is new in the last few years and is a cross between
an iron and a fairway wood. Hybrids usually replace longer irons (3, 4, 5, 6 irons)
or fairway woods.

Driver: A “driver” is typically the longest club in the bag. It is intended to advance the ball as far as possible. Drivers come in different lengths and degrees of loft, often written on the club (sometimes 10, 11, 12 or 13). This club requires the
most skill to use and some newer golfers will find they hit other clubs further than a
driver.

Fairway wood: Sometimes now called a fairway metal since they are now made
from metal. The fairway wood is typically a rounded club and looks a bit like a
smaller version of a driver. They often come numbered 3, 5, 7 and 9.

Definitions:
Grip: The part of the club you hold. Typically made of rubber.
Club head: The part of the club you hit the ball with.
Club face: The actual part of the club you want to hit the ball on. This is the flat
part of the clubhead (which may be at an angle).
Shaft: The thing that connects the grip and the clubhead. Typically made of
metal or graphite.

The number 1 wood is commonly called the driver and has the lowest loft usually between 9° to 12°. This is designed to hit your maximum distance but can be the hardest club to hit.

The drivers is usually hit off the tee on a tee for the best chance of a solid strike but can also be used on a fairway where you have a long way to the green. This must be tempered though as a poorly hit driver covers less distance than a well hit fairway wood or iron. Also off the fairway the driver results in less height and may not cover the expected distance. See more on the driver.

The 3 wood typically has 15° or 16° of loft and a 42″ shaft making it easier to hit than the driver. Although classed as a fairway wood the 3 wood is used by many off the tee because it is easier to hit. For some, it will hit the ball further than a driver for those that typically hit the ball low the extra loft will give a greater distance.

The 5 wood typically has 19° or 20° of loft and is usually used on the fairway as the club as it results in greater distances than your irons.

Fairway woods by their design do not “dig in” as easily as irons making them easier to hit as they slide along the top of the grass. In the rough they also an advantage as they are less likely to be caught up in the long grass as long as the ball is not sitting down too deeply where you need to hack it out with a wedge.

Although the fairway woods have a lower loft than and of the irons the head design allows you to hit the ball higher and the extra length in the shaft gives you the length.

This being the case many find fairway woods easier to hit than their long irons and have replaced their 3, 4 and sometimes 5 irons with 7, 9 and 11 woods which will hit the equivalent distance with a higher flying ball.

This higher flying ball also has the advantage that it will not roll as much and may stop on the green where the iron will bounce and roll right off. This high ball flight is not so good on windy days and some professionals will swap their woods for irons when playing in windy conditions.

For those new to the game woods were named when they were in fact made out of wood. Today most woods are made out of metal which leads to the term ‘metal wood’.

These are usually used for the full swing shots chosen depending on the distance you require to hit the shot. This may be distance to the flag on the green or to a lay-up distance that is short of a lake or other hazard.

This is achieved by the varying lofts of each club from 42° for the 9 iron to 20° for the 3 iron and the length of the shaft which are in 1/2″ increments.

The longer irons from 5 to 3 are usually more difficult to hit and therefore can be less accurate. This is because of the greater length of the shaft is harder to control and the lower loft that can create more sidespin that slices or hooks the ball to the right or the left.

The irons start with the sand wedge the most lofted club in the bag. It is specifically designed for shots in the bunker because of the bounce in the sole of the club help bounce it off the sand and prevents it from digging in.

It is important to learn the correct technique for bunker shots as it is different from other shots in that you should purposely hit the sand before the ball. The ball should come out on a cushion of sand.

You can use the sand wedge off the fairway as it flies the ball high to clear bunkers and other obstacles and also flies the shortest distance for a full swing. 

So we talked about that April is the PGA Free Fitting Month but what is fitting you ask. You know how you have to fitted for shoes and eyeglasses and if you aren’t fitted for these then they don’t work for you right? Well golf clubs are the same way. You can’t just go out and buy a set of golf clubs, you need to be fitted for them so that they fit you properly and improve your game.

What’s nice about getting fitted for golf clubs is that it only takes about 15 minutes usually.