Some play for the weekend activity and there are others who'd like to move up in the ranks. If the occasional pastime is your stride, a low- to mid-performance club can work for you, while a high-performance club is suitable to those who'll play more often.
- Set a budget
The notion that the more costly the club, the better it is purely doesn't hold water anymore. If you do enough research and read reviews you'll find a club that matches your degree of interest. Don't be fearful to check out used clubs as they can give you the best odds of getting the club you want at a good value.
Now that you know your interest level and have established a budget, here's a concise run-through of kinds of golf clubs and what each one does.
Woods
A standard golfer's bag will have a driver (called 1-wood) and a couple of fairway woods (3- and/or 5-wood). A driver is the longest club (typically 45 inches) making it the toughest to handle during a swing.
Irons
Irons feature thin clubheads with grooves on it. Experienced players opt for a blade style iron while beginners get a cavity-back style. A blade-style has a clubhead with a full back, while a cavity back's clubhead is hollow. It is hollowed out to make a perimeter weighting effect helpful for less-experienced golfers.
Irons are categorized as long (1, 2, 3,4), mid- (5,6,7) and short (8,9). Short irons are the easiest to hit while the long ones are the hardest. The shorter the iron, the more loft there is and for beginners, the more loft, the better.
Putters
Putters are the clubs most regularly used in the game and come in clubhead styles of blade, heel-toe and mallet. Lengths come in belly putters, standard and broomstick (long) putters. Which selection to get is an individual pick.
Utility clubs/hybrids
The clubs combine features of woods and irons and are best for beginners who may not want to buy too many clubs straight out.
Lastly as a final word before bringing them out of the golf shop, most new clubs fit individuals at the typical height of 5'10" for men and 5'5" for women. If you are significantly shorter or taller than these numbers, you should get your club fitted to your height.
Begin with these considerations to develop on your study when choosing your golf clubs. The game becomes that much more fun with the little endeavor you make now.
