Golf is an exciting and challenging sport for beginners that promotes physical activity, social interaction, and vitamin D intake. It puts less strain on the body compared to other sports that involve heavy equipment.

Woods include 3-wood, 5-hybrid and irons from 6-iron to sand wedge. Beginner golfers are advised to opt for “super game improvement” woods that have perimeter weighting and a low center of gravity making them super forgiving on off-center hits.

Woods

Woods are long golf clubs with larger club heads and taller shafts designed to hit the ball further than other types of golf clubs. These club heads are typically numbered and the higher the number, the more loft the wood has. Woods have traditionally been made from wood, but since the 1980’s, manufacturers have used metal to make them more forgiving and easier to hit. This allows them to incorporate design features such as perimeter weighting and a low center of gravity.

A 3-wood is most commonly found in a golfer’s bag as the second longest club in their set after a driver. The 3 wood’s lower loft and larger head grants a more consistent trajectory than a 5 or 7 wood which can help to ensure that a missed drive will still have plenty of roll time on landing.

The hosel is the portion of the club head to which the shaft attaches and it is important for how a wood feels and performs. Traditionally, a thick hosel was used to secure the shaft to the head but modern woods use a smaller hosel which is designed to allow as much of the clubhead’s mass to be contained within the head as possible for better balance and power.

Higher-numbered woods are often referred to as fairway woods and they are designed for shots from the fairway that need to have a lot of distance, such as the second shot on a par 5. Many golfers also carry a 3 and/or 5 wood in their bag to be used on the tee when their driver will not grant them enough distance to reach the green.

Irons

Irons make up the majority of a golf club set, from 2 through 9-iron (and sometimes a pitching wedge). They have smaller clubheads than woods and are often solid, although some have hollow heads. Irons also typically have angled faces etched with grooves that grip the ball and impart spin. Irons tend to have narrower soles than woods, which allows the golfer to "work" the ball for more control.

The metals in irons can either be forged or cast, with most professional clubs being forged. Modern investment casting techniques allow for mass production of iron sets, and this process allows manufacturers to remove weight from the backs of the clubheads to improve consistency and to distribute it around the perimeter of the clubhead in what is known as cavity or perimeter weighting. This design makes it easier to achieve consistent results even when the ball is hit slightly off-center, compared to traditional bladed irons.

Golf champions and highly skilled amateurs still prefer the feel of muscle back, or pure bladed, irons. These clubs have a fuller, or muscled, back that lacks the cavity and are less forgiving than the cavity-backed designs used in most game improvement iron sets. In some instances, these players opt to use hybrid clubs - which combine the best attributes of woods and irons - to replace their 3 and 4 irons.

Hybrids

A hybrid is a cross between a fairway wood and an iron, providing the more forgiving nature of the former with the swing characteristics of the latter. As such, they're useful for shots from the rough or off the tee, as well as in chipping.

The wider sole of a hybrid, as opposed to a wood, also helps it to dig less into the grass, and its lower center of gravity can help you get up and over water or bunkers with shots that are more likely to find the green than a long iron. Some hybrids, especially those with a higher loft angle, can even replace traditional irons on approach shots when you need to clear an obstacle.

In fact, many sets designed for less muscular players will use a combination of high-lofted hybrids and "iron replacement" irons (ranging from 3 to pitching wedge) to offer players more options when attacking the greens.

A hybrid is a good option for players who have difficulty with the longer irons, either due to slower swing speed or because they're often too inconsistent with them to trust their distances. It's important to note that you should always be properly fitted for all clubs in your bag, including hybrids, to optimize consistency and accuracy. Our in-store PROS can help you find the right set makeup, shaft type, shaft length, lie angle and grip size for your body and swing.

Wedges

Wedges are a hugely important part of the golf club set. They are used in the short game which typically takes place within 30 - 120 yards of the green. It is recommended that all golfers carry a minimum of three wedges in their bag, with some players encouraging an even higher number.

One of the most popular types of wedge is the pitching wedge. These have a lower loft than other wedges and are often used for "bump and run" shots from the rough or fringe into the green. Another common type of wedge is the sand wedge which has a lot more loft than a pitching wedge and allows players to play from deep sand bunkers. The sand wedge also has a high bounce which is good for softer conditions.

For more advanced golfers, there is the lob wedge. This has a very high loft and produces a very high arching shot that rolls out less once it hits the green. It is also very effective for putting as it can be used to hit the ball up onto the green from below the pin. Lob wedges usually have a steep attack angle which creates a lot of backspin on the ball to keep it from skipping off the green. There have been a few material frenzies with wedges over the years such as beryllium copper and nickel, but today most are made from soft stainless steel.