How to Know Which Golf Club to Use
Golfers just starting out in the game often wonder which clubs to use in different situations on the course. Here is a helpful guide to follow during your next round.
The average golfer has more than a dozen clubs in their golf bag. Someone starting and heading out onto a golf course for the first time may not yet understand which golf club to use. How far you want to hit the ball or where you are near the hole will dictate the type of golf club you take out.
Until a player develops the instinct to know which golf club is best, here are some basics for learning what a situation calls for.
Golf Clubs
Golf clubs are numbered from low to high. The lower numbers will let you hit the ball further, whereas the higher numbers are meant to help you with shorter distances. Though not all golf club types are numbered, several are. The number refers to the loft, aka the angle the golf club faces. As you change the loft, so will the golf ball's height and distance.
Golf Putters
Most non-golfers think of putters when thinking of a golf club. A putter is used to carefully roll the ball along the green and sink it into the hole. New and used putters range in size from 34 to 35 inches tall. There are also putters with a flat or mallet and different subcategories for those above average height.
Golf Drivers
A golf driver is all about driving for a distance. It has the lowest loft angle of any golf club. That said, it's pretty easy to use. For beginners, they may not get the control and consistency with a driver as they could with a slightly smaller club.
Golf Wedges
Wedges are your go-to when lifting your ball above tall grass and getting up and off a sand trap. They're available in several types, ranging from 45 degrees of loft which is a pitching wedge, or 64 degrees with a lob wedge.
Hybrid Clubs
Many golfers favour hybrid clubs. They are a combination club, blending a fairway wood head with an iron-length shaft design. As we mentioned, drivers being more difficult to handle for accuracy, a hybrid would be what most would grab instead.
A hybrid club is more likely to give you the spin and soft landing you want. It will also help guide your ball exactly where it needs to be.
Golf Irons
Irons have the power to help you out of almost any situation. Grab your irons if you need a club with the most power possible. They find their best use within 200 yards of the green. The closer you are to the green, the higher the number you want. As a general guideline, irons range from a 2-iron for 105 to 210 yards up to a 9-iron for 55 to 135 yards.
Fairway Woods
Fairway woods are pulled for use on the fairway. If you're not sure what to grab for a given shot, fairway wood is a solid choice most of the time. If you aren't sure which fairway product is most suitable, some general distance guidelines are a 3-wood for 125 to 240 yards, a 4-wood for 110 to 220 yards, a 5-wood for 105 to 215 yards, or a 7-wood for 90 to 170 yards.
Golf Club Length
Before collecting each golf club for your game, ensure they are properly fitted to your height. A golfer using clubs not appropriate for their height will notice that the clubs feel heavy, their posture is too upright, it will feel like you're standing too far away from the ball, and your angle may be difficult to judge.
Golf Practice
Even if you have all the right clubs, you won't get the performance you expect if you don't know how to use them. Every club hits a little differently. A driver should be swung slightly upwards to launch the ball upward. Iron should be driven down into the ball so that the loft puts in the work to launch it off the ground. The saying, "Practice makes perfect." is truer than with one's golf game.
The best golf club to use depends on your ability to know how much you can hit the ball with each club. So practice. Hit roughly 50 balls with each club. Take away the five longest shots and the five shortest shots, and figure out your middle of those 40 remaining shots. This can be a chore, but you will have your average yardage at the end of this practice, reinforcing the best golf club for any given shot.
GUEST POST: 5 Reasons to take up golf
Thinking about picking up the game of golf? Guest blogger Oscar Waterworth provides five reasons that's a great idea.
(Oscar Waterworth is a freelance golf writer, amateur golfer and a father of two golf- loving kids from Sydney. He loves contemplating about the game and ways in which he can improve it.) I’ll bet that you have heard a lot about golf being a passive and dull sport, right? What’s it all about, hitting a ball and walking hundreds of meters just to hit it again? I even heard famous comedians making jokes about it. Well, I am here to smash those beliefs into smithereens and give you some pretty solid reasons for you to pick up a golf club and head straight towards the nearest golf course.
1) Exercise and stress relief. Spending time in the sun and having long walks from one hole to another is always a great exercise for me, because I don’t like exercising in a sweaty gym. One of the leading problems in people’s lives is obesity, with all the junk food and great amounts of sugar we consume every day. You walk extensively and burn a lot of calories by playing golf.
After a long week of everyday work and stress, nothing calms me down better and refills me with positive energy than an 18-hole game.
2) Nature. One reason more for you to get out of the overcrowded city streets and enjoy in a healthier and “greener” environment. This one time I wanted to play golf and enjoy some sea air, so we picked one of the many golf clubs in Sydney that had beach golf courses. Golf is a sport which enables you to enjoy great views, unlike football or baseball which are played in closed fields. I had a great game that day with fresh sea air and sea gulls flying around, and that is something that you just have to experience by yourself. You can choose a course which is near a forest or a mountain, and get in touch with nature with a rich plant and animal life surrounding you on a 200 acre golf course. I just have to warn you that there are possibilities of squirrels snatching your golf balls.
3) Socializing. It’s another great aspect I can add up. I usually play with a few of my closest friends, but I also like to bring my family to the golf course. It doesn’t matter who’s a better player, golf is a sport that can be played equitably by everyone, male or female, young or old. But what I like the most about this part is that you can develop new friendships.
It happened numerous times that I arrived in a golf club wanting to have an individual game, but instead I joined another group of golfers and had a magnificent game. I unexpectedly met new people and a couple of them became my good friends. It reveals the humble nature of the sport and that might also seduce you.
4) Concentration and discipline. You have to be concentrated and learn to manage your emotions in order to play a nice, quality game. It makes you to get to know yourself better, to train your patience and responsibility. I found a parallel between golf and life, because I can’t blame anybody else but myself if I make a bad shot and send the ball to a cat box. The golf ball course can be unpredictable so I need to change and adapt me strategy and perspectives. I commit to the game and have set goals, just like in real life.
5) Personal challenge. Golf can be an addictive game and while you play it your brain releases endorphins. But, unlike gambling or other forms of addictive activities, golfers don’t play it just for the win or the perfect shot, because it is a game which requires skill and that is where these types of addictiveness diverge. I’ve been playing golf for quite a long time, and I always found away to improve my skills and get better at it through years. I constantly learn and that is what keeps me not wanting to put the golf club away.
Of course, besides all the mentioned benefits of golf, there’s something that thrills every golfer and makes him go back to the golf course and improve his game, and that is a chance of a hole in one. I don’t think I need to explain that. So, get your golf cap, shoes, and some nice clubs and go enjoy this great and noble sport!
