Golf club

Some golf clubs

Golf is played with golf clubs of various types. There are four major categories of clubs, known as woods, hybrids, irons, and putters. Wedges resemble irons and may also be counted among these. A golfer is allowed to carry up to fourteen clubs during a round.

While it is possible to play a range of different shots using only one club, modifying only the speed and direction of swing, this is not a particularly successful technique. It is much easier to keep the swing as constant as possible and achieve different lengths and characteristics of ball flight using a different club for each shot. To facilitate the choice of a club for any particular situation, all irons (and many woods and wedges) come in sets of similar clubs graded by loft (see below), shaft length, and weight. Clubs are numbered for identification with the smallest numbers indicating the lower lofts (a 5 iron has less loft than a 6 iron).

Various clubs are designed with the face having differing loft (the angle between a vertical plane and the clubface when the club is at rest). It is loft that makes a golf ball leave the ground on an ascending trajectory, not an upward direction of swing: with the exception of the tee shot, the club actually hits the ball in a horizontal or slightly downward motion. The impact of the clubface compresses the ball. Grooves on the clubface impart a counterclockwise (from a parallel view of the swing) spin, known as backspin, on the ball, that when combined with the rebounding effect of the ball, give it lift. Typically, the greater the loft, the higher and shorter the resulting ball trajectory.

A typical set of clubs generally consisted of 3 woods, 2 wedges, a putter, and 8 irons (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 irons, plus a pitching wedge). This has changed greatly in the last 25 years, as most players have opted to take 2, or even as many as 5, of the difficult-to-hit longer irons out of the bag in favor of higher lofted woods, known as fairway woods, and extra "utility" wedges. In part, this reflected a redesign of clubs in which manufacturers reduced the lofts of the irons to make them appear to hit longer. In effect, today's 3 iron has a loft that is equivalent to a 2 iron of years ago.

Types

Woods

Woods are the longest clubs in the bag and mostly used for long shots. They have large heads that are somewhat spherical in shape with a slightly bulging clubface and a flattened sole that slides over the ground without digging in during the swing. Originally the "wood" heads were made of persimmon or maple wood, hence the name. Modern club heads are usually made of hollow steel, titanium or composite materials, and are also called metalwoods. The first steel metalwoods were filled with foam in order to ensure structural stability.

The longest wood, the 1 wood, is usually referred to as the driver. It also has the biggest head, making it ideal for use off the tee. The shorter woods (today, the 3 and 5 woods are most commonly used, with 4, 7 and 9 woods occasionally used) are referred to as fairway woods, and feature a shallower face height which enables players to hit them off the turf. The driver can also be hit from the turf, although it requires a high level of skill to execute the shot correctly.

The typical loft for wood faces ranges from 7.5 to 31 degrees. Higher lofted fairways woods are usually preferred by ladies and senior players, as they get the ball up in the air easier than long irons at lower clubhead speeds.

The shaft length in woods varies from about 40-48 inches or 100-115 cm. The shaft enters the head at the top corner nearest to the player through a hollow tube known as a hosel in such a way that the face of the wood is roughly at a right angle to one side of the shaft. Modern woods may employ a slightly closed face to make them easier to square at impact for the average player. Some companies, such as Callaway Golf, famously eschewed the hosel in order to place more useable weight in the head. This made the clubs easier to hit, but the process resulted in far less of the shaft being affixed to a surrounding structure. This had the effect of weakening the bond between the shaft and clubhead while also exposing more of the shaft to direct contact with the ball on particularly poor swings and was often a culprit in shaft breakage in the more fragile graphite shafts.

The current standard length for the driver is 45 inches, formerly 43.5 inches was most common. Some players prefer shorter driver shafts (43.5"-44.5") because they are easier to use, though the shorter shaft slightly reduces distance. Graphite shafts are usually preferred for woods due to their light weight, which enables users to generate higher clubhead speeds and thus, greater distance. As with many aspects of golf equipment, shaft length is subject to R&A regulations. The maximum legal length of a shaft is 48 inches, although some woods such as Black Rock's Killer Bee, have been made with shaft lengths of up to 50 inches. These woods are mainly used in long drive contests, and are not tournament legal.

Irons

Some Irons

Irons are used for shorter shots than woods, usually shots approaching the greens. Irons are the most versatile clubs in the bag, allowing advanced players to hit a variety of different shots with the same club. Irons usually range from numbers 1 to 9, with lower numbered irons having lower lofts. The shortest irons are called wedges. The typical iron set however consists of the irons 3 to pitching wedge. Highly skilled players may use a 2 iron, but the 1 iron is nowadays almost never used even amongst professional players. The dwindling use of the longest irons is largely attributed to the rising popularity of hybrid clubs, which offer a better trajectory and ease of use.

Irons can be classified into long, mid and short irons. The 1 to 4 irons (with lower lofts) are usually considered 'long irons', the 5 to 7 irons 'mid irons' and the 8 to pitching wedge (with higher lofts) 'short irons'. This classification may differ from person to person, depending on skill level. Some better players may consider a 7 iron a short iron, while a high-handicap player may think of a 5 iron as a long iron. Though long and mid irons are typically used for approach or tee shots, the short irons and wedges may also be used for the short game (pitching, chipping, sand play, and in some instances even putting).

Iron heads are typically solid with a flat clubface. There are roughly two types of irons, cavity back irons and muscle back irons. Muscle back irons are smooth at the back, while cavity back irons have a hollowed out back, a 'cavity'. Traditionally all irons were muscle back designs. These designs are also called 'blades' for their low amounts of offset, thin toplines and thin soles. This nickname has become a synonym for difficult to hit irons, though modern blade design has made them slightly easier to hit by various methods, such as moving the center of gravity slightly lower. It is often said that "if you can hit a blade, you can hit any kind of iron".

Ping introduced the first cavity back iron, which removed mass from the back of the club and moved it lower and to the perimeter of the iron. This achieved two things: it made the irons more forgiving on mis-hits, and the lower center of gravity made the irons launch the ball higher, adding distance to shots for the average player. This comes at a cost, as the 'feel' (feedback) of the club is greatly reduced. Exceptions include Mizuno's 'cut-muscle' design, which is neither cavity nor muscle back.

There is a general consensus that muscle back irons are for highly skilled players, as they need to be hit consistently well and with a high clubhead speed for a player to get the most out of them. Cavity back irons are for the average player, although many professional players still utilize the forgiveness cavity backs provide. Modern iron design is usually targeted towards the average golfer. Many equipment manufacturers mostly produce easy to hit cavity back irons with thick soles, offset, toplines and oversize clubhead sizes. Though they greatly aid the average golfer, better players may dislike these designs, not only for their aestetics but also because the design limits the variety of shots a player is able to hit.

Irons are mainly produced by two processes, casting and forging. Cast irons are produced by casting molten metal in a pre-shaped cast. Forged irons are heated and beaten into the desired shape. Cast irons (Example: Ping G5 Irons) provide the user with less feel and are more difficult to hit consistently and are generally preferred by the low handicap golfer, and are impossible to alter more than a degree, as the casting process causes the metal to set firmly. Forged irons have a softer feel and are more forgiving to a user (for example the Wilson OS Irons), and can be bent to the user's specifications, though the bending also naturally occurs during play, forcing players to check the lies and lofts of their irons periodically.

The typical lofts for irons range from 16 to 48 degrees. Modern day irons have lower lofts than their contemporaries from the old days, caused by the desire of the average golfer to hit the ball as far as the professionals. This was a difference in skill, but the equipment manufacturers were happy to comply. This resulted in the modern day pitching wedge to have a loft similar to an old 8 iron. Nowadays pitching wedges may have lofts up to 45 degrees, though the difference in distance between the professionals and average golfers remains.

Shaft lengths typically range from 36 to 40 inches (90-100 cm) in length. Iron shafts are usually made from steel, as the material provides better feedback needed for the shorter shots. Graphite shafts are mostly used by ladies and seniors, as the lightness of the material allows for a needed increase in clubhead speed and as a result of that, distance.

Hybrid woods

A new type of wood known as a "hybrid" combines the straight hitting characteristics of irons with the low center of gravity characteristics of higher lofted woods. A "hybrid" is often used for long shots from difficult rough. Hybrids are also used by players who have a difficult time getting the ball airborne with long irons. In a 2005 study by the Darrell Survey Company, nearly 19% of U.S. consumer golfers were using at least one hybrid club, up from only 7.5% in 2004. Hybrids are being used more often by better players due to the increased height applied to the shot and their ease of use. The majority of professional golfers now carry at least one hybrid club in their bags.

Wedges

Wedges are irons that usually have a loft of more than 44 degrees. Pitching wedges (also known as 10 irons) have a loft of 44-50 degrees and are rather similar to other irons. Sand wedges have specially designed undersides that use a feature known as "bounce", which combined with a loft of 54-58 degrees make them suitable for shots from bunkers or from the rough. Gap wedges represent a compromise between a pitching wedge and sand wedge—hence the name. Lob wedges have a very high loft (up to 64 degrees) and are used for approach shots, from sand, or difficult recovery shots requiring an extraordinarily high shot and short distance.

Putters

Putters come in a variety of head shapes and have a very low loft and often a short shaft. They are used to play the ball on the green, but may occasionally be useful for playing from bunkers or for some approach shots on courses with tightly mown fringe and fairways.

Construction

The parts of a club are the shaft, the grip, and the head.

Shaft

The shaft is a tapered tube made of metal (usually steel), or graphite fiber. Some "matrix" shafts have incorporated two construction materials, such as a graphite shaft with a steel tip in True Temper's Bi-Matrix. The shaft is roughly 1/2 inch in diameter (12 mm) near the grip and between 35 to 45 inches (89-115 cm) in length.

Shafts are quantified in a number of different ways. The most common is the shaft flex. Simply, the shaft flex is the amount that the shaft will bend when placed under a load. The load in this case represents the swing of a given golfer. Golfers who have faster swing speeds generally use shafts that are less prone to bending, i.e. stiffer shafts. Another method of measuring shaft stiffness is the frequency of a given shaft, that is the number of cycles per second the shaft makes when struck by a tuning fork. The stiffer the shaft, the greater the frequency is. Different manufacturers have different standards for measuring the flex of a shaft, so one company's standard should not be taken as universal. For example, Grafalloy's Blue model tends to play stiffer than does Aldila's NV-65 shaft. Most shaft makers offer a variety of flexes. The most common are: L (Lady), A (Known as soft regular or Senior Flex), R (Regular Flex), S (Stiff Flex), and X (Tour Stiff, Extra Stiff or Strong Flex). Some companies also offer a stiff-regular flex.

Many male golfers tend to use shafts that are too stiff for their level of playing ability. A shaft that is too stiff will result in a loss of distance because the golfer is not strong enough to place enough load on the shaft to cause it to deform and thus "whip" through the ball. Occasionally, some golfers play with shaft flexes that are too light. The major problem caused by a "whippy shaft" is a loss of accuracy. In general, shaft stiffness appropriate for any particular player is dependent on the club-head speed reached by said player. A regular flex shaft is for those with an average head speed (80-94 mph), while an A-Flex (or senior shaft) is for players with a slower swing speed (70-79 mph), and the stiffer shafts, such as S-Flex and X-Flex (Stiff and Extra-Stiff shafts) are reserved only for those players with an above average swinging speed, usually above 100 mph.

On off-center hits, the clubhead twists as a result of a torque. In recent years, many manufacturers have produced and marketed many low-torque shafts aimed at reducing the twisting of the clubhead at impact. The less the clubhead twists laterally, the greater the golfer's accuracy. Most recently, many brands have introduced stiff-tip shafts. These shafts offer the same flex throughout most of the shaft, in order to attain the "whip" required to propel the ball properly, but also include a stiffer tip, which cuts back drastically on the lateral torque undergoing in the head. This translates into greater accuracy with the same distance as a regular shaft.

Prior to the 1930s, hickory was the dominant material for shaft manufacturing, but it proved difficult to master for most golfers, as well as being quite frail. Steel was the ubiquitous choice for much of the next half century. Although heavier than hickory, it was much stronger, more durable, more uniform, and more consistent in its performance. Prior to steel, a player would need a slightly different swing for each shaft given the inherent inconsistencies in the hickory shafts. Graphite shafts first appeared in the 1960's, but did not gain widespread use until the early 1990's.

Widely overlooked as a part of the club, the shaft is considered by many to be the engine of the modern clubhead. Current graphite shafts weigh considerably less than their steel counterparts, allowing for lighter clubs that can be swung at greater speed. Within the last ten years, performance shafts have been integrated into the club making process. Performance shafts are designed to address specific criteria, such as to launch the ball higher or lower. Whereas in the past each club could come with only one shaft, today's clubheads can be fit with dozens of different shafts, creating the potential for a much better fit for the average golfer.

Grip

The end of the shaft opposite the head is covered either with a rubber, synthetic leather, or colloquially, a leather grip for the player to hold. The modern grip has also undergone a number of iterations and the vast variety of models makes it far easier for a discriminating golfer to find a model that is comfortable to him or her.

Clubhead

Each head has one face which contacts the ball during the stroke. Clubs may have two striking faces, as long as they are identical and symmetrical (some putters and chippers are designed in this fashion, and may be used by left or righthanded players).

Older persimmon and maple woods had heads that were primarily made of those materials, except for occasionally a metal sole and/or faceplate. These wooden headed clubs were dense and heavy, and were generally much smaller than today's clubheads. Their smaller surface area also made consistent contact more difficult, as the sweet spot of these clubs was considerably smaller than today's models.

Gary Adams, founder of Taylor Made Golf, is considered the father of the modern metal wood. Adams began to market his club in the late 1970's, but it was nearly a decade until metal woods became more popular with most golfers. Many PGA Tour players still used persimmon woods into the 1990's.

Metal woods provided an advantage over persimmon in that they were constructed with a stronger and lighter material which allowed manufacturers to make larger clubheads. Larger clubheads resulted in larger faces, which meant that it was easier to make solid contact with the ball. These larger clubheads also expanded the sweet spot of the club, or the optimal striking area on the face of the golf club. The larger the sweet spot, the better the chance of hitting a good shot.

Furthermore, the use of titanium as a metal in golf club construction has revolutionized the equipment industry. Since titanium has a higher strength to weight ratio than steel and has better corrosion resistance, it is an ideal metal for golf club construction. Manufacturers could now make woods with greater volume, which increased the hitting area, and thinner faces, which reduced the weight. The first mass-produced titanium wood bought in large quantities, The Callaway Golf Great Big Bertha, was introduced in 1995. It had 253 cubic centimeters of volume, which was the largest clubhead being manufactured at that time. Subsequent drivers were even larger, which made the driver even easier to hit consistently. As a result of this technological expansion, the USGA has curbed the volumetric growth of drivers by instituting a size rule which states that no club can measure greater than 460 cubic centimeters.

Traditionally, most iron heads were made by forging, which involves the careful shaping of the club head through hammering and pressing of heated steel. Today, most modern golf club heads of all types, not just irons, are cast through a process known as investment casting. This process allows manufacturers to redistribute the weight into the perimeter of the club, known as perimeter weighting, which helps to increase the accuracy of mishit shots. Forged clubs are still prized for feel and "workability", the ability to curve a ball's flight intentionally.

Regulations

The ruling authorities of golf, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) and the United States Golf Association (USGA) reserve the right to define what shapes and physical characteristics of clubs are permissible in tournament play. Many recently developed woods have a marked "trampoline effect" (a large deformation of the face upon impact followed by a quick restoration to original dimensions, acting like a slingshot), resulting in very high ball speeds and great lengths of tee shots. Current USGA and R&A regulations differ with respect to acceptable limits of the trampoline effect. Therefore, a few club types may not be played in tournament or professional play under USGA jurisdiction, but are allowed elsewhere.

Other large scale USGA rulings involve a 1990 suit, and subsequent settlement, against Karsten Manufacturing, makers of the PING Brand, for their use of square, or U-grooves in their immensely popular Ping Eye2 iron models. The USGA argued that players who used the Eye2 had an unfair advantage in imparting spin on the ball, which helps to stop the ball on the putting greens. Ping ultimately changed the design of subsequent Eye2s, the older clubs were "grandfathered in" and allowed to remain in play as part of the settlement. Today square grooves are considered perfectly legal under the Rules of Golf.

Nicknames (pre-matched set equivalents)

Woods

• [1] Driver
• [2] Brassie
• [3] Spoon

Irons

• [1] Driving Iron
• [2] Midiron
• [3] Mid-Mashie
• [5] Mashie
• [7] Mashie-Niblick
• [9] Niblick

Wedges

• [48 degree] Pitching Wedge (PW)
• [52 degree] Gap Wedge (GW)
• [56 degree] Sand Wedge (SW)
• [60 degree] Lob Wedge (LW)

See also

• Golf glossary