Part 1: Getting to grips with the different clubs as a Beginner
At a glance, golf might seem relatively straightforward. After all, you’re just hitting a ball into a hole, how complicated can it get? Well, as many beginners soon find out, the game is full of technical jargon and confusing terms that can quickly become very overwhelming.
To prevent you from getting overwhelmed as you explore the wonderful world of golf, we’ve put together a glossary of the different golf clubs used to play golf, providing you with the foundations to kickstart your golfing journey. Check it out below.
The Clubs
Golf clubs are the most important part of golf; without them, you wouldn’t get very far! A golf club has 3 main components; the grip, the shaft and the head. This is relatively easy to get our heads around but when it comes to the different types of golf clubs, this is where it can get confusing for newcomers. We’ve written up a quick rundown of the most popular golf clubs and their roles for beginners to learn and understand more.
Driver
The Driver is perhaps the most well-known of all the clubs. It’s the biggest and is the club you’ll use to hit the farthest on the course. Typically ranging from 8.5 to 12 degrees, this beast is normally released when teeing off on the long holes (Par 4 and 5’s).
Fairway Woods
Other largely shaped clubs in the bag are called Fairway Woods or Woods for short. Woods hit the ball slightly shorter than the driver and are typically used off the tee or fairway. Fairway Woods comes with different lofts which determine the height and length of the shot, typically in the form of a 3 wood, 5 wood and 7 wood. Some companies produce a 4 wood and 9 wood but these are not seen as much in the modern game.
Hybrid
A relatively new club in people’s bags is called the Hybrid. A Hybrid has a smaller head, shaft length and more loft when compared to Fairway Woods. With their compact design, these clubs are normally added to a player’s bag to replace long irons (1, 2, 3, 4) as they offer far more forgiveness and useability on the course. A Hybrid would be a great beginner essential club to have because it can be used in a lot of different scenarios when playing i.e. from the tee, from the fairway, from the rough, and even for chipping on occasions.
Irons
The Irons are viewed as the most used club in the bag. Their small shaped head, different lengths and lofts allow players to hit a variety of distances and shapes when used. The typical view of an Iron is to be used when teeing off on a Par 3 and for follow-up shots after hitting the driver on a Par 4 and the third shot on a Par 5. The standard Iron range is 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Iron and Pitching Wedge, but for the more skilled player, they can opt for a 1 and 2 Iron. The 1 and 2 Iron are harder to hit due to the club face being more closed and the shaft length longer but many skilled players use these Irons because they feel they have better control of the ball than with Hybrids.
Wedges
For the shorter higher shots we have Wedges. As mentioned above a Pitching Wedge can be classified as both a Wedge and an Iron, but the role of the Wedges are for pitching, chipping, approach shots and bunker use. The Wedges can be broken down into 4 groups; Pitching Wedge or PW which has a loft of 44-48 degrees, Gap Wedge which has a loft of 49-53 degrees, Sand Wedge or SW which has a degree of 54-58 degrees, and a Lob Wedge which has a loft of 59-64 degrees.
Chipper
A Chipper is a mixture of a wedge and a Putter in one. The design of the Chipper is to help with the shots around the green and is often seen as an easier club to use than a Wedge.
Putter
The Putter is arguably the most important club in your bag and is used on the green to gently hit the ball into the hole. Like with all the other clubs, the Putter has been one of the clubs in the bag which has experienced a fresh makeover. Categorised into blades (classic design) and mallets (semi-circle designs) the Putter can now be purchased with different grips, shaft lengths, club face lofts and lie angles. Putters aren’t one-fits-all, so we would suggest trying a few out to pick your preference.
Glossary
Degrees – refers to the angle of the club face. Also called loft, this helps distinguish one golf club from the next due to the different ball flights and distances of the shots. A lower degree or loft will hit the ball lower and longer whereas a higher degree/loft will hit the ball higher and shorter.
Conclusion
When starting out it can be so overwhelming, but we hope the breakdown of each club can point you in the right direction. As a beginner, purchasing a package set is a great way to start because they come with a mixture of the clubs listed above, are cheaper than buying individual clubs, and are the ideal way to learn and develop your swing with each club.
