Golf is one of the best sports around. It is relaxing yet challenging, steeped in tradition yet always changing with new golf courses and club technology. For these reasons, along with the initial cost of buying good golf clubs, taking on golf as a beginner can be a very daunting task. One of the first things beginner golfers should learn is about the different types golf clubs. After all, choosing the best club for a shot is a big part of golf game success. Let’s take a step-by-step look at the different types golf clubs we see on the course.
Drivers
So, you’ve finally made it to a golf course to play your first round of golf. You’ve acquired a set of clubs, and you step up to the first tee. Now what? Well, now it is time for a driver. A driver is a long-shafted club with a full head used to hit a ball off the tee. The club head aims to achieve maximum distance, so there will not be much lift when you swing it. Club heads are limited in size, but many popular models feature ‘oversized’ club heads that approach the legal size limits set by the USGA. Oversized drivers are often a good choice for beginning golfers, because they can give you a long, straight shot even if you do not hit the ball just right. The ability of a golf club to straighten and elongate bad shots is called ‘forgiveness’. Many brand name drivers can cost anywhere from $200 to $400. However, sometimes good drivers can be bought at a discount if you find the right sale, or you can purchase a used driver. For great discounts on brand name driver clubs, see our driver pricing information. We even have cheap drivers that are under $100, perfect for beginners!
Fairway Woods
Fairway woods a similar to drivers. They are basically drivers that provide different trajectories. This trajectory is often called ‘loft’. Basically, the higher the ball goes in the air, the more loft it has. Fairway woods are a misnomer of sorts because they, like all other golf clubs, are usually made out of metal. The name ‘wood’ is just a reference to the old days, when these golf clubs were actually made out of wood.
Fairway woods come with different numbers associated with them, which indicates the amount of loft. Starting at two (the driver counts as the one wood), fairway woods can go up as far as eight and nine, but these higher numbered fairway woods are not as common. The higher the number wood, the more loft the golf club provides. For example, a three wood will hit a ball lower and longer than a five wood, which will hit a ball higher and shorter. Fairway woods can be used for shots from (you guessed it) the fairway, or from off the tee instead of a driver, for a more accurate tee shot. A beginner wood set would normally consist of a three, five and seven wood, and cost somewhere in the range of $150 to $300 dollars. At Total Golf Clubs, we feature fairway woods for all budgets, everything from discount fairway woods, which won’t break your budget, all the way up to the brand name fairway woods you know and love.
Irons
Golf irons make up the majority of a golfers clubs on the course, Vclubshop ru and for good reason. Two thirds of the shots you take in a normal round of golf will utilize an iron club of some kind. Irons are used to hit a golf ball off the ground in mid-range situations, usually distances around 125 to 225 yards. Like fairway woods, each iron club is assigned a number based upon the loft-angle of the club face. These numbers range from one to nine. The nine iron has the most loft, and is used to hit high, short shots. The one iron has very little loft and is used to hit low, long shots. With the range of distances and lofts made available by irons, good club selection is imperative to a good round of golf.
There are two main types of irons. Forged irons are typically used by more experienced golfers. They can be used to really shape a shot, and give the ball draw (right to left movement) or fade (left to right movement) as well. For a beginner golfer, the cavity-backed irons are a recommended, because they are more forgiving, and have a larger sweet spot (area of the club face that will render a good shot). This will allow you to hit straight shots easier and more often, which is a very good thing. All irons have a grooved club face. These grooves are what helps the ball get the best loft and spin possible.
An average set of golf irons will contain irons numbered two through nine, and a pitching wedge and sand wedge, which we will cover in the next section. These ten iron sets are essential in getting the ball as close to the pin as possible, and can range in price from $250 up to and over $1,500. If you are not a serious golfer yet, you may want to consider buying a cheap set of irons to start with. We offer iron sets and individual irons all at competitive prices.
Wedges
As mentioned in the previous section about irons, there are clubs very similar to irons that are called wedges. Wedges are often called specialty clubs, or utility clubs, because of their very specific purpose. Wedges have a very high loft and are used for short, controlled shots, usually close to the putting green. You may select a wedge if you need to get the ball high up to get it over a tree, out of a sand trap, or just want the ball to drop like a stone with a little forward bounce onto the green. The most common wedges you will see are the pitching wedge, the sand wedge and the lob wedge. Depending on a golfer’s personal preference, he or she may choose to forego using a wedge in favor of a two iron or a hybrid club. Wedges can be bought with a iron set, or purchased separately.
Sand wedges were developed to give golfers an easier time getting out of sand traps. With a club face that is almost horizontal, sand wedges slice through the sand under the ball to give it a good amount of loft as it lifts the ball out of the bunker. Pitching wedges are used from the rough or the fairway just outside the putting green. They are the best club for laying the ball up on the green gently, so that the ball will not travel too far from the hole.
Putters
So let’s recap: We’ve used our driver to tee off at the beginning of the hole, a fairway wood or maybe an iron next to get us to the green, and perhaps a wedge in case we got into a little bit of trouble along the way. Now we have finally made it to the green. Although the ball is now the shortest distance it’s been from the hole, the hardest shot still awaits. Putting is one of the most difficult aspects of golf to master. Perhaps that is why there are so many varieties and technologies available in putters, and whole companies that are solely devoted to it (e.g. Odyssey).