Good golfers couldn’t play all the different types of shots they need to if they had just one club. That is why they go out onto the course with 14 clubs in their bag. There are three basic types of clubs : woods, irons and putters.
Woods are used for hitting the ball a long way. They are called woods because the heads used to be made from wood. Now they are made from metal, graphite, plastic or wood from the persimmon tree. Like the iron clubs, the woods are numbered. The No.1 wood is called a driver and hits the ball further than any other club. The No.2 hits almost as far and makes the ball fly a little higher, the No.3 is a little shorter and higher again, and so on.
Irons can do everything a wood can except hit the ball as far. They are numbered 1 to 9 and then you have more iron clubs called wedges. The No.1 iron hits the ball low and long. No.9 and the wedges are for hitting high, short shots.
The reason the clubs hit the ball different distances, even though they are swung basically the same way, is the angle of the clubhead. This angle is called the loft on the club. If the club has a big angle on it – which means a lot of loft – it will hit the ball high but not far. If there is not much angle at all – a very little loft – it will hit the ball low and long.
The putter is the only club that is not designed to get the ball into the air. Its job is to give the ball a good, smooth roll across the green and into the hole.