Can someone explain my golf clubs to me?
I am totally new to the sport and have some clubs, although I am unsure of what they all mean and if my set is complete (would I need anything else)?
Excuse my ignorance with the game, but all I have been able to do is write down what is on the clubs and post them here in the hope that someone can explain exactly what the clubs are!
Here goes, apologies if I sound totally stupid (although we do all have to start somewhere!):
BIG THICK CLUBS
. ‘1′ – ‘360cc’
. ‘3′ – ‘195cc’
. ‘5′ – ‘175 cc’
THINNER CLUBS
. ‘P’
. ‘3′
. ‘4′
. ‘5′
. ‘6′
. ‘7′
. ‘8′
. ‘9′
‘ ‘F’ – (also says on it ‘attack wedge’)
It also has a putter, but I understand what that is!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Well, James and J the question is not as silly as you might believe, many golfers have little idea as to what they have in their bag so here is is a little run through:
Big thick clubs are called woods although they are not made of wood anymore, the name harks back to the old days of persimmon clubs which were made of wood. The differences are the 1 wood is your driver, used to drive the ball off the tee. The 3 and 5 woods are fairway woods which are used on the fairway, although you can use them off the tee as well. The difference between them is the loft on the clubface. The loft or angle of the face gets progressively greater as you go up the numbers.
Thinner clubs are called irons and no, they are not made of iron either. The 3/4/5 are referred to as long irons, the 6/7/8 are mid irons and the 9/P/F are short irons or wedges. Again the angle of the club face increases with the numbers.
You would generally use a long iron for the longer shots on the fairway, wedges for short shots and mid irons in between. The higher the loft, or greater the angle of the face reduces the forward distance the ball will travel but increases the height it will acheive.
So for example on a long par five you may tee off with a driver (1 wood), take your second shot with a five wood or 3 iron depending on your preference, if you land short of the green you take a wedge and chip it onto the putting surface.
Of course this is not set in stone and there are subtle variations in how you use each club but that is the basics.
The only other club you will need is a putter. Do not skimp on a good quality putter, unlike all the other clubs in your bag the putter can last a lifetime.
If you are a beginner then start the right way with this terrific ebook Golf For Beginners!
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1 is your driver to use off of the tee box…3 and 5 of the “thick clubs” aka “woods” are your fairway woods that you use for long distance shots…and your “thinner” clubs or “irons” are for use in the fairway. the lower the # the farther and lower the trajectory of the ball will be. the “P” is a Pitching wedge used for close to the green shots and the “F” is like a sand wedge used for sand traps and chip shots. your set is complete!! hope I helped and good luck! golf is a great game.
Kansieo.com
the first answer is a good basic description.
i say for the new golfer use this as a guide
1 = tee off
3 = 220 yards
5 = 200 yards
3 = 205
4= 195
5 = 185
6 = 160 yards
7 = 145 yards
8 = 130 yards
9 = 115 yards
p = inside 100
f = around the green
stick with that and adjust acordingly
Kansieo.com
The ‘big thick clubs’ are your metal woods. To get into a bit more detail:
1 Wood = driver, which is designed to not hit down into the ball (you want to speep the ball when using this club, and be sure to use longer tees and tee the ball high – 2 3/4″ long tess minimum). Never try to hit down and never try to help the ball up in the air.
3 & 5 = fairway woods – if these clubs have other numbers on them, such as 15 and 19, those are the degrees of loft of the clubface, which all clubs have.
- The 360cc is the volume of the clubhead, and these ‘metal woods’ that appear quite large & thick are actually very thin when it comes to the thickness of the material. Chances are, if the driver says “1 Wood” on it, it’s a beginner’s set. These are generally much less expensive, but are also made more cheaply. When you do improve, the first club you’ll want to upgrade will be the driver (for future reference). The driver you have now probably has a uniflex shaft, or in other words the same flexibility regardless. Once you improve a bit, you will realize the weight of the club and the flex of the club won’t feel quite right. The brand name clubs cost more, but have a much better weight to them, and are also available in a much better shafts with different flexes. The heads are also available in varying lofts to accomodate your swing shape and the height that you hit the ball.
- The irons, which are smaller and have much narrower soles (the bottom of the club) are designed to dig. For these, in order to hit the ball up in the air, you want to hit down and thru the ball – and remember you don’t hit the ground first, the club is applied to the ball and then it digs into the ground slightly.
3 iron – longest iron in your bag regarding club length & potential; clubs will get shorter regarding both length & potential distance all the way down to the pitching wedge (48 degrees of loft generally), gap wedge (52 degrees), sand wedge (56), & lob wedge (60 – this club will be the shortest in your bag & will go the shortest distance when you make a full swing).
The F wedge or attack wedge is simply a b.s. term probably for gap wedge. It’s just a sales tactic used to make the product sound more enticing. Companies like Dick’s does this a lot with their basic full sets such as Acquity & Walter Hagen. These full sets are absolute junk and merely cosmeticly appealing. The weighting is off, the materials are cheap, and just a waste of money unless you are only planning on playing once or twice a year.
Unlike what many other people are led to believe, there is no set distance one “should” hit the ball. It all depends on the person & the golf swing. It will take a little time before you develop an actual ‘distance’ for each club in the bag.
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1is your driver to use off of the tee box…3 and 5 of the “thick clubs” are your fairway woods that you use for long distance shots…and your “thinner” clubs or “irons” are for use in the fairway. the lower the # the farther and lower the trajectory of the ball will be. the “P” is a Pitching wedge used for close to the green shots and the “F” is like a sand wedge used for sand traps and chip shots. Put the 3 and 4 iron away, they are very hard to control.
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“F” is just another name for the wedge, its known as a “Fairway” wedge. As companies who manufacture them can actually name it anything they want. Its just another way of convincing the customer that this wedge has different usages, but at the end of the day does exactly the same as all the others…..! ! !
Certain companies actually make a:
Fairway / Rough / Lob & Sand wedge, but all 4 are the same, just different lofts……..
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just watch a golf tournament on tv. it will answer most of your questions.