Your Personal Primer Course on Golf Clubs

by Kevin T. Fairbanks

Golf clubs are usually considered a set consisting of a driver, fairway woods, irons and putters. The advanced golfer would have at least a driver, metal fairway woods, irons and a putter in their golf bag. The trend lately has been to replace some of the longer irons and fairway woods with hybrid golf clubs.

According to the rules of golf, as set forth by the United States Golf Association (USGA), a golfer’s bag may hold 14 clubs. Most golfers will carry a driver, two fairway woods, 7 irons, 3 wedges and the putter. Each golfer has their own preference for the mix of golf clubs that comprise the 14 golf club limit. As mentioned earlier, some longer irons and fairway woods have been replaced in recent years with hybrid golf clubs.

The driver is the club that is most golfers favorite golf club, even though it is usually not used on every hole. The driver golf club is the longest golf club with the biggest head at the end of the shaft. This allows the golfer to hit the golf ball with the greatest distance, but not always the most accuracy. Rules regulate the size of the club head. The golf club driver will be the most expensive single golf club in the golfers bag. Name brand golf club drivers will cost between $200 and $400. Discount golf club drivers can be purchased for around $100 or even less.

The fairway woods have club heads that are slightly more lofted than the driver, and are used for long shots when the ball is lying on the ground. The club heads used to be made of wood, but now are mostly metal. Fairway woods normally retail from $150 to $300. You can realize major savings with clone golf woods that run at quite a discount over name brand golf woods.

Hybrid golf clubs have made a big entry into the world of golf clubs. They are very versatile golf clubs that are used in place of long irons and fairway woods. Hybrid golf clubs combine the best features of the fairway wood and long irons. Wit this versatility, they can be used almost anywhere on the golf course. Prices for hybrid golf clubs run similar to drivers, but discount hybrid golf clubs are available along with clone and knockoff hybrid golf clubs.

The busiest group of golf clubs is the golf club irons. Most of the shots will use an iron in a typical round of golf. Golf club irons are used to hit the golf ball from a normal range of 125 yards to 225 yards out from the putting surface. The golf club iron sets have clubs numbered from 2 through 9. The higher the club number, the higher the loft, the shorter the shaft and the shorter the distance of the shot. A 9 iron would result in a high, arcing shot close to the putting green, around 125 yards or so. A 2 iron would result in a low, long shot of around 225 yards.

Golf club wedges can be part of the golf club iron set purchase. Normal golf club wedges include a pitching wedge, the sand wedge and different lofts of lob wedges. These golf club wedges are used for shots that are within 100 yards or closer to the green. These shots are sometimes referred to as the money shot because they should get you very close to the pin. The number of wedges carried by the golfer is dependent upon their particular golf game and their strengths and weaknesses.

Golf club irons have two primary types to choose from. Fro the lower handicapped golfer, forged irons enable shaping of golf shots for easier draws and fades. For the higher handicapped golfer, cavity-backed golf club irons are more forgiving on off-center shots, have a larger sweet spot and allow the golfer to hit straight shots easier. A set of golf club irons is usually considered a 2 through 9 iron, a pitching wedge (PW) and a sand wedge (SW). This set of 10 irons can range in price from $250 up to and over $1,500. Knockoff golf irons would provide similar quality for a significant savings. These are also known as clone golf club irons or discount golf club irons.

The last and probably most utilized golf club is the putter. The golf club irons are used for the money shots. The putter is the money club. The old saying “Drive for show, putt for dough” is a very true statement. The putter is used on every golf hole at least once. The putter will be the golf club that ultimately puts the golf ball in the hole. This club provides the golfer the best opportunity to cut strokes from their golf round.

There are many varieties of putters in all shapes and sizes. Some of the putter shafts are so short that the golfer grips it near his knees, and some are so long that they are gripped at the golfer’s chest. Many golfers spend their entire lives changing putters to find the one that feels right for them. Simple putters can cost as little as $20 but some of the more exotic putters can cost as much as $300.

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