Complete Golf Sets – What do they consist of?
Complete golf sets are pretty much the same today as they were one hundred years ago.
The traditional complete set of golf clubs usually consists of three woods and nine irons. The basic wood selection is a one wood (driver), a three wood and a five wood. The irons are usually 3 – 9 iron plus a pitching wedge and sand wedge.
Although the above configuration is generally accepted as being 'normal' it is not necessarily ideal for everyone.
Given the vast array of golf equipment that is now available to the modern golfer it makes far more sense to select clubs that suit your particular requirements.
The game of golf incorporates many different elements and shot types. Some of the shots require you to project the ball great distances whilst others require great accuracy.
Some of the shots are hit from off a tee whilst others are hit directly from the fairway, rough or even sand traps. To play the game well you need to master every type of shot.
The average player finds some types of shot easier than others. Every type of shot does however generally require a different club selection if it is to be played well. Club selection for these shots is not the same for everyone. Your ability will determine which club you require for each shot. The club selection will very often be extremely different for an advanced player to that of an intermediate or novice.
Complete Golf Sets – Which club is the most important?
As mentioned above a round of golf is made up of many different types of golf shot. If you are playing to 'regulation' you will take thirty six putts (2 per hole) and eighteen drives.
The putts will obviously be taken each time with a putter but the drives may be taken with a driver or any other club in your bag depending on the distance of the hole. The drive to a short par three may, for example, require nothing more than a nine iron or pitching wedge. The putter is therefore the most used club in the bag. In fact putting makes up around about 50% of your entire game.
The second most used club in the bag will generally be the driver. Most amateur golfers will use their driver on about twelve to fourteen holes of the course. This will vary depending on the length of each individual hole and the number of par threes on the course.
The average club golfer is unlikely to hit many of the greens in regulation so they will invariably be chipping the ball on a lot of the holes they play. Most players will use a short iron or wedge for these chip shots.
The remaining strokes between tee and green (or edge of the green) will be taken with one or other of the remaining clubs in your bag. Some of the clubs will only be used once or twice in a round and some may not be required at all!
It is clear therefore that the vast majority of your shots will be taken with either a driver, putter or short iron/wedge. In fact up to 75-80 per cent of your shots will probably be taken with these three clubs alone!
Complete Golf Sets – Which club is the hardest to use?
It is accepted that the longer clubs are the most difficult to hit. The driver is by far the most difficult to master followed closely behind by the fairway woods and long irons. The problem is that these most difficult clubs to use are also the ones that can propel the ball the farthest! As your ability improves these longer clubs become less troublesome.
Luckily golf club manufacturers are aware of the problems facing the novice golfer. They are constantly applying new technologies with a view to helping to make the game of golf easier and more enjoyable for beginners. Complete golf sets can now be matched much more closely to an individuals requirements than they could in the past.
Drivers are now available with more loft, larger heads and bigger sweet spots which make them more forgiving. Long irons and fairway woods are also being replaced with hybrids that are designed to help the average golfer make a cleaner contact with the ball. The design of mid and short irons has also changed significantly to assist the average player to become more accurate with their shots.
