Roth Regatta

For a beginner golfer on the market for a new set of Golf Clubs, the choice and variety of clubs on offer can be somewhat over whelming.  If you don’t know your putter from your driver then this article is for you.

A basic set of golf clubs will generally consist of the following:
Woods: 1 (Driver), 3, 5
Irons:  5, 6, 7, 8, 9, PW (Pitching wedge), SW (Sand wedge)
Putter

I have listed the clubs above in order of potential striking distance of the ball; with the 1 Wood (or Driv

er) being the powerhouse of the set, used for getting as much distance as possible from the tee, and the Putter the most refined, generally used for those final delicate shots to sink the ball. With the exception of the putter, you can expect the clubs to be easier to control, that is, strike the ball in the intended direction, the further down the scale you go.

Notice the sliding scale common to Woods and Irons with the smaller numbers giving the most distance.

Standing out from the rest

of the Irons are the Pitching Wedge and Sand Wedge, these are special clubs designed for specific types of shots. The pitching wedge has a wide open face, enabling the ball to be “pitched” high into the air. The pitching wedge does not offer great distance, but is very useful when an object such as a tree or high faced bunker needs to be cleared. The sand wedge has an even wider face and is designed to get the ball out of a bunker as efficiently as possible. The open face allows the club to sl

ice through the sand underneath the ball and scoop it out. Try to imagine a closed faced club striking the sand; it would simply catch the sand and come to an abrupt halt, leaving the ball in the sand and vibrations shuddering through your arms.

As explained briefly above, putters are for those final putting shots once you have reached the green. Putting is an art form in itself and millions of dollars have been spent trying to design the perfect putter. A beginner golfer can expect to take more shots on the green than getting there in the first place.

As well as the standard clubs there are also specialty clubs such as the Lob wedge and the Fairway Driver. The Lob Wedge is an exaggerated pitching wedge with a wide open face designed to get the ball sky high.

Fairway drivers are a fairly new addition to the golf market and have replaced the bigger irons (1, 2, 3 and 4). Fairway drivers, sometimes referred to as “rescue clubs” (taken from the first of its type: the TaylorMade Rescue) are storming the market as they offer equivalent distance to the bigger irons but are far more forgiving, giving the golfer much greater accuracy.