Golf Club Mechanics Explained

A bag of golf clubs is a lot like the paint brushes in an artist's toolbox. Each club, like each brush, performs a specific function on the course. This article will delve in to the different clubs in the golfer's bag and explain them in detail. Let's start with discussing the three types of clubs:

WOODS: woods are the longest clubs in the golfer's bag used for driving the ball off the tee for the opening shot of each hole. They are the clubs with the large, bulbous heads designed to send a golf ball sailing hundreds of yards with a single swing. The further you are from the hole, the more you'll be using your woods.

IRONS: these make up the majority of your club set. Irons are designed for all types of tasks. Some can hit a ball nearly as far as a wood, while others are capable of sending the ball a short distance in a high, arching trajectory.

PUTTERS: putters are built for finesse shot. They are strategically designed to help guide a golfer's aim and steady his hands, sending the ball rolling in to the cup from a short distance away.

There are three parts to every club, which I'll review beginning from the side closest to the ground, called the head. The head is the part that actually hits the ball. Wood and Iron refers to the type of club head. Then there's the shaft, which is the long part of the club connecting the top and the bottom. The part of the club you hold is called the grip, which is discussed in more detail below.

As your surf the net looking at different sets of clubs from various manufacturers, you'll notice that the shaft, head and grip are the available in a wide variety of designs and materials. It is this information that largely determines how a club is priced. But no matter how differently they appear in these descriptions, all clubs have a lot of similarities as well because in order to be used in a round of golf or tournament play, they must conform to certain rules established by one of two organizations. In the United States, the rules of golf are established by the United States Golf Association (USGA). The rules of golf for the rest of the world are established by The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of Saint Andrews (in Scotland). Incidentally, the Saint Andrews course is alson one of the most beautiful and highly recommended courses in the world. For the most part, the rules established by these two bodies are the same, though there are some differences.

Now let's look at the main parts of the club in a bit more detail:

GRIP: The golf club's grip is very important, as it connects the club to the golfer's hands. According to the rules of golf, the grip has to be round, without obvious bumps. You'll see grips made of rubber and grips made of leather with an assortment of small holes, grooves and ridges. All of these qualities are designed to make it easier for you to hold onto the club. There are various sizes of grips to accommodate different hand sizes and grip styles. According to most experts, the ideal material and design of the grip are a matter of personal preference.

SHAFT: The golf club's shaft connects the grip to the head and, like the grip, must be basically round in cross section. Most modern golf club shafts are made of either steel or a carbon-fiber and resin composite material. Carbon has the advantage of being lighter than steel, but clubs with carbon-fiber shafts also tend to be more expensive. As in grips, shaft material tends to be a personal preference. The stiffness of the shaft is another variable. Most golfers, at least in the United States, seem to prefer a shaft that is stiffer, and manufacturers have obliged. If you swing a golf club like Tiger Woods, your body will coil and uncoil during a golf swing so that you apply plenty of energy to the face of the golf club when it meets the ball. If your swing is this good and if you are this strong, you want a very stiff shaft so that every bit of energy you generate in your swing is delivered to the ball, and none is absorbed in making the shaft of the club bend and vibrate.

However, if you do not have a Tiger Woods swing, then you can get a shaft with some flexibility to do some of the work of sheer muscle with a well-timed "whip" motion that stores energy from the top of the swing in a bent shaft, then releases it in time to deliver that energy to the ball.

HEAD: The golf club's head is where all the energy of the swing is transferred to the golf ball. There is a lot more variation in the appearance of golf club heads than there is in either golf club shafts or grips, but all the variations fall into one of the three broad categories with which we started this article: woods, irons and putters.

Many golfers say the new forgiving clubs make a huge difference in their game. Variations are available for all levels of strength and experience, but choosing the right club and using it well are up to the golfer.

A poor choice of club and a bad swing can still produce the worst of shots from the best of clubs. And that's a good thing because it means the quality of the golfer is still of some importance in the game of golf.

Gary Gold has been playing golf for 26 years on some of the world's best courses. A retired management consultant, he now offers advice to golfers via his website: http://www.golfclbs.com. Visit him there for more tips on everything related to golf clubs.