A golf club has three parts - the Grip, the Shaft and the Head.

Look into a standard set of clubs and you’ll find the following sets: a putter, eight irons (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and Pitching Wedge), and three woods (the 1, 3, and 5) for a grant total of twelve clubs. Official golf rules state that each golfer can carry up to 14 clubs in the bag. The easiest and most useful addition is a specialty wood or another iron.

Woods - They are used to hit the ball for distance. If a hole is 410 yards from tee to green, most golfers will use a wood to smack it from the tee. A wood has a hollow body and a large head. When you have 185 yards or more to get the ball to the green, use one of your woods.

The Driver - The Driver (also called the 1 Wood) has the lowest “loft” of any golf club. Loft is the angle of the club face. The face controls trajectory and affects distance. A 1 Wood driver has a loft of 7-12 degrees.

Most golfers also carry 3 and 5 woods in their bags. A 3 wood has a loft between 15 and 18 degrees, and a 5 wood has a loft between 20 and 22 degrees. The higher the golf club number, the higher the loft. In addition, the higher the golf club number, the shorter the club.

Irons - These clubs are generally used when you are less than 200 yards from the green. Use a higher iron, the closer you are to the green. A standard golf club set (of irons) consists of the 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 irons and the PW.

Wedges - Wedges are specialty irons. The first wedge is the PW, which is usually about 48 degrees in loft. Wedges increase by 4 degrees increments. So wedges commonly come in 48, 52, 56, 60 and 64 degree lofts. The PW is the highest lofted iron in a standard set.

Wedges are extremely valuable to the golfer. Most golfers own a few wedges and couldn’t live without them. They are generally designed as “blade clubs” because you are close to the green. Wedges are important for clearly-defined shot control.

Putters - A putter has one purpose and one purpose only: getting the ball into the hole while you’re on the lowest cut grass called the green. After you have whacked the ball 255 yards right down the left side of the fairway, clobbered your second shot another 150 yards into the bunker (sand trap - oops!), and then chipped it up onto the green with a PW, it is time to putt. Many golfers spend a lot of time on the green working on their putting game.

In this post, I’ve listed the main ingredients of a Golf Club, the primary piece of Golf Equipment that an aspiring golfer needs.