Golf Clubs

How many clubs do you actually need?

Fourteen is the maximum, not the target. The Rules of Golf let you carry fourteen clubs. Nothing says you have to. Most club golfers carry at least two they do not trust and would score better without, and a beginner with seven clubs they can hit will beat a beginner with fourteen they cannot.

Gapping matters more than the individual clubs. The point of a set is even distance gaps from your longest club to your shortest. If two clubs go the same distance, one of them is doing nothing. If there is a forty metre hole between two clubs, you have no shot for that yardage. Work out your gaps before you buy anything.

Build from the ends. The two clubs that touch the ball most are the driver and the putter, and they are the two most golfers leave longest before replacing. The clubs in between matter less than the golf industry would like you to believe.

What each club is for

• Drivers. The longest club in the bag and the one used off the tee on par fours and fives. Biggest head, lowest loft, most forgiveness on the modern ones. If one club in your bag is old, this is the one costing you the most.
• Fairway woods. For long second shots and for tee shots on holes too tight for a driver. A 3 wood is the longest, a 5 or 7 wood is easier to hit off the deck. Mini drivers sit between a fairway wood and a driver.
• Hybrids and utility irons. Built to replace long irons, which are the hardest clubs in golf to hit. A 19 degree hybrid does the job of a 3 iron and is far easier from the rough. Utility irons fly lower and suit better players.
• Irons. The approach clubs, usually a 5 or 6 through pitching wedge. Game improvement irons launch high and forgive off-centre strikes. Players irons are thinner and more workable and suit single-figure handicaps.
• Wedges. Everything inside about 100 metres. Most bags want two or three, spaced four to six degrees apart, starting from whatever loft your pitching wedge actually is.
• Putters. The most used club in the bag and the biggest range we carry. Blades suit a stroke with arc, mallets suit a straighter stroke and forgive off-centre strikes.

Our take on building a set

Buy one club at a time and buy the one that is costing you the most, unless you are starting from nothing, in which case buy a package set and take a lesson. Irons are the exception either way: buy those as a matched set, because the gaps between them matter more than any individual head does.

Common questions about golf clubs

How many clubs can I carry?

Fourteen under the Rules of Golf. A common set-up is a driver, one or two fairway woods, a hybrid, six or seven irons, three wedges and a putter. You are allowed fewer, and plenty of golfers score better with fewer.

Which club should I replace first?

The driver, if it is more than five years old, because the gap between generations is bigger there than anywhere else. After that, your wedges, because grooves wear out and a wedge is the cheapest club to replace.

Do I need to be fitted?

You do not need to be, but shaft flex and length change your distance and your direction more than the head does, and most golfers have never had either checked. MiMatch is free at every Drummond Golf store and takes about an hour.

What is the difference between game improvement and players clubs?

Game improvement clubs have wider soles, more offset and more forgiveness, and they are built to help you get the ball in the air. Players clubs are smaller, thinner and more workable, and they punish a strike away from the centre. Most club golfers score better with game improvement clubs.

You may also like

• Golf drivers
• Golf irons
• Golf putters
• Golf club sets
• TaylorMade clubs
• Callaway clubs
• Golf bags

Not sure which is right for your game? Every Drummond Golf store offers free MiMatch custom fitting. Our team analyses your swing and matches you to the right specs, at no cost and with no obligation to buy. Find your local store and book a fitting.