Which Golf Club Should I Use?
Which club should I use?
When you’re new to golf, the array of golf clubs available can be bewildering. Why all these clubs? What are they used for? Do I really need that many? I’ll try to answer these in order.
There is such a wide variety of clubs because of the wide variety of situations your golf ball can get into. It may be on a tee, on a green, on the fairway, in a bunker, in the area around the green, on dirt, in brush, by a tree, etc. There are different clubs for different situations. You may already be familiar with them:
Drivers: Used for driving the ball off the tee when you need to have it go a long distance
Fairway Woods: Also used for long distance, sometimes off the tee when the hole is not long enough to require a driver, also used on the fairway when the ball still has a long distance to go.
Hybrids: Used as an option for both fairway woods and irons.
Irons: Used to hit ball a variety of distances on the fairway. The lower the number of the iron, the longer distance it is used for.
Wedges: Typically used to get yourself out of a touch situation, or to chip or lob a ball a short distance to the green.
Putters: Used on the green.
There is lots of advice out there on when to use which club. Generally, this advice goes something like, “Use XXX club when your ball is YYY-ZZZ yards from the hole.” The problem with that advice is that we all have different ranges for our clubs. The distance I can hit a 7-iron is certainly different than the distance Tiger Woods can hit one, and likely different than the distance you can hit one. So the best way to determine which club YOU should use in any given situation is to figure out what your specific distances/capabilities are for each club. To do this, go to a driving range and hit several balls with each club, Write down the distance each ball goes. Do this several times. After a couple of weeks you will have a lot of data for each club. Now, you can construct a chart like the following (the club list you use may be different than the one I have specified below):
- Driver: ___ to ___ yards
- 3-Wood: ___ to ___ yards
- 5-Wood: ___ to ___ yards
- 4-Hybrid ___ to ___ yards
- 7-Iron ___ to ___ yards
- 9-Iron ___ to ___ yards
- P-Wedge ___ to ___ yards
- S-Wedge ___ to ___ yards
Now, in order for this to be somewhat accurate, you have to take averages from your “good shots.” If you top a ball and it goes 5 yards out, don’t count it. You’ll have to do some subjective analysis about what is typical yardage for you with that club. Likewise, if you hit an unusually long shot with a sand wedge, I wouldn’t count it in my average range – it’s not likely you’ll hit it that distance often, so not likely you’ll choose it for that distance.
Once you have this information, make a little card with your personalized distance chart on one side and the list of club situations I posted above on the other side. Laminate it, punch a hole in it, and use a golf towel hook to hang it on your bag as a handy reference tool you can use to determine which club to use in which situation when you are out on the course.
As to whether or not you need all of these clubs, as a beginner, probably not. Especially if you are playing on 9-hole par 3 golf courses. Many of the clubs are best used by professionals and probably won’t make much difference in your game until you achieve more experience with them. Also, it is useful to work with a smaller set until you get well used to each one of their capabilities and how they work for you. When I first started playing, I purchased three clubs: a 4-Hybrid, a Sand Wedge, and a Putter. Since then, I have added (one at a time) a Driver, a 5-Wood, a 7-iron, and a Pitching Wedge. This set of seven clubs has proven more than adequate for my level of play – and it’s a lot easier to carry. I just carry them around in a lightweight bag that is sometimes called a “Sunday” bag or a “Carry” bag. You can see examples of these in my Golfer Newbies Store.
Note that tournament regulations specify a maximum of 14 clubs in your bag. Pros will own more clubs than this, and choose which clubs they want depending on the course they are playing on. Generally, though, both pros and amateurs develop “favorite ” clubs – ones they tend to hit better than others for one reason or another. Once that happens, you may find you carry even fewer clubs over time.
I’d enjoy getting comments on your experiences with and preferences for your clubs.
Tiger Woods on How to Improve Your Putt
Generally, I don’t enjoy reading the articles and books that offer step-by-step descriptions of various ways to swing the clubs. They are boring, and I rarely can apply much from them anyway. However, the book by Tiger Woods is an exception. I started it the other day, and it is really one of the most helpful books on how to improve your golf game and golf swing I have read. I haven’t yet finished the book, but I was very impressed with the chapter on putting (Tiger says you should start with improving your putting game, then your chip shots, then short irons all the way through to your driver – shortest to longest rather than the other way around). He also recommends that you follow the same routine every time you putt. Developing this kind of consistency will most certainly improve your game. I’ve summarized it here for you, but you definitely should read the book for yourself.
Tiger’s Putting Routine:
- Take a general view of the putt while standing behind the ball.
- Walk to the hole while taking a side-view of the line to help determine slope.
- Examine the area around the hole.
- Walk back to the ball and crouch behind it to get the clearest view of break and speed.
- Stand alongside the ball and make two practice swings.
- Move the putter behind the ball and then shift your feet forward.
- Take two more looks at the line and the hole.
- Make the putt.
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Getting Started on the Golf Course
As you get started playing golf, you might find it intimidating to get out on the course for the first time. I know I felt very intimidated. It helped a lot that my brother and sister-in-law took me the first time, and I went with my sister-in-law and her mother and sister the second time. Now, however, I am back home in Chicago and am facing the prospect of either going to a course by myself, or finding someone I don’t know very well to play with. My friends here don’t seem too interested in playing golf.
My brother has recommended that I start with public 9-hole courses, and I have started a list of those to try. To help you out in this regard, I am also creating a page on this site of public 9-hole courses that would be good for beginners. If you have any recommendations in this area, please submit them via the comments and I will add them to the page.
Meanwhile, I found a very helpful book that has reduced some of the anxiety about going out to the course on my own. I have a link to it below – it is really a great book for beginners – short, easy to read, and full of great information for the newbie.
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It’s Not Just Your Father’s Golf Tee Anymore
You might think a tee is a tee is a tee. And if you do, you are wrong. The number and variety of tees available is almost as mind-boggling as the number of golf balls. There are two things you should know about tees.
Types of Tees: You can categorize tees into three major groups – wooden tees, plastic tees, and specialty tees.
- Wooden tees: Most wooden tees are the traditional ones we have all seen – and, when I was young, the only kind available. They come in a few different sizes (more about sizes below). Some have markings or additional wooden bands around the tee to help you know how far to push the tee into the ground.
- Plastic tees: There are a variety of plastic tees available. Some are shaped and sized exactly like the traditional wooden tee. Others, such as the so-called “zero-friction tee,” are shaped like a traditional tee but instead of a little cup-shaped top have three or four points that the ball sits on so that the ball has less contact with the tee and therefore, theoretically, less friction. Plastic tees don’t break as easily as wooden tees, so they last longer, but they are more expensive.
- There are a few other tee designs purported to help your game in different ways. There are brush tees, anti-slice tees, and stinger tees. Whether these really help I don’t know. I’ll probably try them, but I suspect that, like golf balls, I’m not good enough to notice any difference.
Lengths of Tees: There are four basic sizes of tees: 2-1/8″, 2-3/4″, 3-1/4″, and 4″. Generally, people use the shorter tees for irons, hybrid clubs, and low-profile woods. Longer tees are used for drivers. The bigger the driver, the longer the tee used. You decide which one to use based on the position of the center of the ball. The center of the ball should be at the top of the club-face when the club is resting on the ground. This should give you the maximum distance.
Tees also come in many different colors, and you can also get them personalized if you want. Just remember that tees are only used on the tee-off area of a hole. You can’t use them on the fairway or in the rough.
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All About Par
In golf, par is defined as the standard number of strokes a “scratch” (0 handicap golfer) should be able to achieve for each hole on a golf course, or for the entire course; “a par-5 hole”; “par for this course is 72.” There are a couple of things you might want to know about par.
- First, notice that the definition is based on a scratch golfer. Most likely, if you are reading a Golf for Newbies site, you are not a scratch golfer. You likely have a handicap score. This handicap is calculated as the as the average score over par for several games. So, for instance, if you on average score 20 points over par, then your handicap is 20. In competitive golf this handicap is set by a governing organization. So, in essence, on a par 29 course with a 20 point handicap your personal “par” would be 49.
- Originally, par was not a fixed number. It would be adjusted for a particular course based on weather, fairway conditions, etc. Now, however, it is a fixed number and is based on the yardage for the hole. A hole’s par includes 2 putts, so a par 3 hole assumes you can get to the green from the tee and then have 2 putts. A par 4 includes the tee shot, a fairway shot, and 2 putts. A par 5 includes the tee shot, two fairway shots, and 2 putts. The yardage ranges these pars are calculated on are shown below.
The current settings for men are:
- Par 3 – Up to 250 yards
- Par 4 – 251 to 470 yards
- Par 5 – 471 yards to 690 yards
- Par 6 – 691 yards or more
The current settings for women are:
- Par 3 – Up to 210 yards
- Par 4 – 211 to 400 yards
- Par 5 – 401 to 575 yards
- Par 6 – 575 yards or more
About Golf Balls
If you’ve been out shopping for golf balls, you are no doubt aware that there is a dizzying array of brands and types to choose from. The one thing you need to know if you are a Golfer Newbie is, until you get really really good, it doesn’t matter which ball you choose. You aren’t going to be able to tell a difference. So, pick one that suits you, whether it’s by price, look of the box, name, brand or whatever. If you want, try several different kinds and see if you can tell any difference. Don’t get too hung up on which golf balls to buy – just buy some and go have fun! You might want to consider a pack of recycled balls like the one below. This will save you lots of cash when you watch your golf balls go sailing into the water features. You might also want to mark your golf balls with a permanent marker in some way that will let you know it is your ball when you find it out in the rough among other players’ balls.
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More About Your Golf Clubs
So, back on the topic of the “right sticks,” (see previous post). One of the truly helpful things I learned in the book I talked about in the previous entry was the information on club length and loft. The author made the point that most of us are using drivers that are way too long and with too low a degree of loft. (Loft refers to the angle of the club face and has a bearing on how far the club can hit the ball.) Today, if you go to a sporting goods store and buy a driver, unless you are a really terrific pro-level golfer, you are buying a club that you will find very difficult to control and is not the best choice for you as a driver. The book suggests you consider a 3 Wood a better choice for a driver. Actually, when I made the measurements the author suggested (wrist to floor length, hand length, finger length, age, and estimated swing speed, it became apparent from the charts in the book that I should be using a 5 Wood as my driver. In addition, I learned that I should be using a “light” flex shaft. There are technically 3 kinds of shafts – Stiff, Regular, and Light. Sometimes you’ll see a Senior flex or Women’s flex as well, but these are basically “light” flex shafts. So, I purchased a 5 Wood with a light flex. This is a shorter club than the driver I had, by about 3 -1/2 inches, and has a loft that is twice as high. And, the book was right – I am able to hit with a lot more control and accuracy, and distance hasn’t suffered that much. The club I purchased is shown below, but there are many others that would be just as good or better.
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Choosing Your Clubs
If you’ve gone and looked at golf clubs at a sporting goods store, you’ve likely been overwhelmed at the options, the terminology, the brands, the sizes and on and on. Before I read this book I made several purchasing mistakes. The main point of the book is getting the clubs that are sized and weighted right for you. And though the author emphasizes getting custom made clubs, the information he gave on clubs proved invaluable. I did not go buy custom made clubs, but I did take the information and went and bought some clubs that were much more suitable for me — and, as the author promises, my game greatly improved. Right sizing is important! Check it out — you won’t regret it.
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Playing by the Rules
For most golfers, the rules are a very serious matter. The problem is, there are lots of them, some of them are quite complicated, and some of them seem to make no sense. In addition to the rules, there is the whole matter of golf etiquette. Another whole set of things to learn. For instance, did you know you are not supposed to put your golf shoes on in the parking lot? I don’t know why, and it seems silly to me, but there you have it. Now you know. Not knowing this stuff when you get out on the course makes it clear to everyone that you are a newbie. So, it is worth putting some effort into learning the rules and the etiquette guidelines. I’ve included a link below to a book that might help you understand the rules better. For more information on this topic you can also go to a summary of the rules on my Rules Summary page. And yes, I am shamelessly monetizing this blog. A girl has to make a living.
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Getting Hooked on Golf
I never thought I wanted to play golf. It seemed dumb. It seemed expensive. It seemed like it didn’t take enough effort to count as exercise and enough challenge to count as sport. And of course, I couldn’t have been more wrong. It is great exercise, lots of fun, extremely challenging and fun to learn, gets you outside in beautiful settings and provides opportunities to spend time with good friends and family having a good time together. There is nothing like the feeling you get from hitting a ball well and watching it sail out towards the green. In my second game I hit a drive that went all the way to the green, though it landed in a bunker just to the left of the green. Then, I got it out of the green in one shot with my sand wedge and it went right in the hole! A birdie! I hadn’t even made par on a hole before that. I was hooked. A good book for newbies: Golf for Dummies (see below).
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