A golf club is the stick-like equipment a golfer uses in the sports golf to hit the golf ball. A golf club is composed of a shaft with a lance, which is used for grip, and a clubhead. There are a variety of main article compositions of golf clubs:
1. Woods have large head and long shaft meant for maximum club speed. Generally, golf balls hit by wood clubs drive in great distance. Persimmon wood was used traditionally for golf clubs; however, other manufacturers altered the composition to some laminated woods.
In 1979, manufacturer TaylorMade Golf developed the first metal wood made of steel. Today, wood clubs are made of graphite shaft and materials like carbon fiber, titanium, or scandium, with steel, titanium, or composite head. Even when metal is being used, a golf wood club is still called as such to indicate its intended purpose on the golf course and its shape.
1. Iron golf clubs are forged-iron-made clubs, flat-angled, and have shorter shaft than a wood club. This kind of club is intended for shots approaching the green, through or over trees, or the base of hills. Wedge is a specialized iron that is used for short distance, high altitude, high accuracy shots. There are six types of wedges (pitching wedge, gap wedge, sand wedge, lob wedge, and ultra lob wedge) which one can opt to use, depending on the ideal degree or approach shot.
2. Hybrid golf clubs have a combination of a wood and an iron composition. These clubs give the wood club’s long distance ability and the iron club’s recognizable swing.
3. Putters are specialized clubs. These clubs have a loft or strike not beyond ten degrees intended to mainly roll the ball along the grass toward the cup. Putters actually have 5 degrees loft from perpendicular impact that helps to lift the ball, which also increase the ball’s rolling distance and condenses bouncing over the turf. A chipper, a variation of putter, is usually used for low-speed swings to lift the ball in short distance, about 25 yards or 23 meters, on the green.
Whatever the material of golf clubs, golf enthusiasts must keep in mind the ratio: the bigger the stick, the bigger the differential in distances. Example, Tiger Woods, a grand slam golf champion who plays in PGA tour of America once hit a 7-iron out of deep rough, almost 200 yards dead across the Pacific Ocean, to a tiny green in the US Open. Thanks also in some part to personalized golf tees that he has.
A set or round of golf must at least have no more than 14 clubs. Usually, a full set consists of a driver, two fairway woods (generally 3- and 5-woods), a set of 3- to 9-iron, a pitching wedge, a sand wedge, a putter.