The set of golf clubs

Once you’ve been introduced to the idea of golf clubs, you might ask which ones you actually use. What goes into a set of golf clubs?

Although there are many different individual clubs to choose from, a typical golf bag contains a pretty standard set of clubs. At least in terms of what kind of club, and how many.

The idea, of course, is to ensure that you have sufficient choice to find a club to match the current position of your ball. So if you’re stuck in sand or rough grass, 4 yards or 400 yards away from the hole, you’ll always have a club suited to the task in hand.

You don’t have unlimited choice, however, as the rules of golf state that you can have no more than 14 clubs with you as you play the game.

So which ones do you take?

A typical full set of golf clubs includes…

• a driver
• two fairway woods
• eight irons
• a putter
• two specialist clubs, such as a wedge or hybrid

Those numbers aren’t fixed in stone. People have different preferences - some might play with fewer irons and more woods and specialist clubs, for example.

The driver
This is the granddaddy club - the one you use at the start of any hole where you need to smack the ball as far as possible. Drivers are the most expensive clubs out there, and also the ones with the most technology invested in them.

Fairway woods
These are similar to drivers, since they’re designed to hit the ball long distances. However, they’re intended for use in the middle of a hole, where the ball is lying on the grass rather than carefully positioned on top of a golf tee.

Irons
These clubs come into play when you’re still not on the green, but where distance becomes less of an issue than accuracy and control of the ball.

As you approach the hole, you don’t want to thump the ball ahead…you want to pitch it accurately to a position close to the hole to improve your chances of getting it in the hole with your next shot.

So clubs designed to whack balls long distances - drivers and fairway woods - aren’t well-suited to the task.

Putters
Once you’re on the green, you’re looking to roll the ball along the flat surface and into the hole. Drivers, fairway woods and irons are designed to launch the ball into the air. Putters are designed to roll the ball - so they’re the clubs you use on the green.

Hybrids
Some irons are particularly difficult to use, especially when you’re a beginner. These are the ones where you still need to send the ball some distance (but not enough to warrant a fairway wood). There are also occasions where your ball is stuck in difficult terrain, and still some way from the green.

Hybrids were developed to give golfers a different option in these circumstances. They combine the qualities of a fairway wood and an iron, and make it easier for golfers to make those difficult shots.

Wedges
Wedges are similar to irons, but are designed for very particular circumstances. A pitching wedge, for example, is a club you’d use when you’re very close to the green (but not on it). A sand wedge is one you might use to get yourself out of the bunker (like the name suggests).

So now you know the kinds of clubs that go in a golf set! We’ll look at these in more detail in further articles.