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Golf club (equipment)
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Golf clubs are used in the sport of golf to hit a golf ball. Each club is composed of a shaft with a lance(grip) and a clubhead. Woods are used for long-distance fairway shots; irons, the most versatile class used for a variety of shots, and putters, used mainly on the green to roll the ball into the cup.
An important variation in different clubs is loft, or the angle between the club's face and the vertical plane.
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Golf clubs are used in the sport of golf to hit a golf ball. Each club is composed of a shaft with a lance(grip) and a clubhead. Woods are used for long-distance fairway shots; irons, the most versatile class used for a variety of shots, and putters, used mainly on the green to roll the ball into the cup.
An important variation in different clubs is loft, or the angle between the club's face and the vertical plane. It is loft that makes a golf ball leave the tee on an ascending trajectory, not the angle of swing; virtually all swings contact the ball with a horizontal motion. The impact of the club compresses the ball, while grooves on the clubface give the ball backspin (a clockwise spin when viewed from a parallel standpoint to the left of the ball). Together, the compression and backspin create lift. The majority of woods and irons are labeled with a number; higher numbers indicate shorter shafts and higher lofts, which give the ball a higher and shorter trajectory.
While the variation of clubs can differ greatly between golfers, a set used to play a round of golf must have no more than 14 clubs. A full set typically consists of a driver, two fairway woods (generally 3- and 5-woods), a set of irons from 3 to 9, a pitching wedge, a sand wedge, a putter, and one more club of the player's choice. Many amateurs opt to avoid the 3- and 4-irons (that many find difficult to hit), and replace them with more forgiving clubs, like hybrids.
Club Types
Woods
Woods are long-distance clubs, meant to drive the ball a great distance down the fairway towards the hole. They generally have a large head and a long shaft for maximum club speed. Historically woods were made from Persimmon wood although some manufacturers - notably Ping - developed laminated woods. In the late 1980s manufacturers started using metals (steel or titanium); even more recently manufacturers have started using materials such as carbon fiber or scandium. Even though most 'woods' are made from different metals they are still called 'Woods' to denote the general shape and their intended use on the golf course. Most woods made today have a graphite shaft and titanium head.
Irons
Irons are golf clubs with a flat angled face and a shorter shaft than a wood, designed for shots approaching the green or from more difficult lies such as the rough, through or over trees, or the base of hills. As with woods, "irons" get their name because they were originally made from cast iron. High-loft irons are called wedges. The higher the number gets on the scale, the lower amount of angle difference from 90 degrees. Irons are often cavity back or muscleback. A cavity back iron is any iron in which a small to large amount of the metal across the back of the head is removed, allowing that weight to be re-positioned on the perimeter of the head, farther away from the head's center of gravity. A muscleback iron is the term given to any iron in which there is no cavity on the back of the head, i.e., the weight is more evenly distributed across the back of the clubhead.
Wedges
Wedges are irons with a higher loft than a 9 iron, which is typically lofted at about 42 degrees. Wedges are used for a variety of short-distance, high-altitude, high-accuracy shots such as hitting the ball onto the green ("approach" or "attack" shots), placing the ball accurately on the fairway for a better shot at the green ("lay-up" shots), or hitting the ball out of hazards or rough onto the green (chipping).
There are usually five types of wedges with lofts ranging from 45° to 60°: pitching wedge (PW 48°), gap wedge (GW 52°), sand wedge (SW 56°), lob wedge (LW 60°), and ultra lob wedge (LW 64°). The pitching wedge is sometimes called or labeled as a 10 iron, and the gap wedge is sometimes called an approach wedge and labeled with AW.
Hybrids
Hybrids are a cross between a wood and an iron, giving these clubs the wood's long distance with the iron's familiar swing. These clubs generally are used instead of high-numbered woods and/or low-numbered irons, though some manufacturers produce entire sets of hybrids or "iron replacements" that incorporate hybrid design to add distance and forgiveness to a player's entire set of irons from 1 to pitching wedge. Most hybrids take the place of an iron, but the hybrid is easier to hit than its respective iron. These clubs are often referred to as "Rescues" because the TaylorMade Rescue was one of the first clubs to utilize this design, as well as the use of the clubs to get one out of a tricky position (to be in fact rescued by the club).
Putters
Putters are a special class of clubs with a loft not exceeding ten degrees, designed primarily to roll the ball along the grass, generally from a point on the putting green towards the cup. Contrary to popular belief, putters do have a loft (often 5 degrees from truly perpendicular at impact) that helps to lift the ball from any indentation it has made. This increases rolling distance and reduces bouncing over the turf. Also present in some golfers' bags is the "chipper" which is designed for low-speed swings to lift the ball a short distance about 25 yards/23 meters, onto the green. The club can be used in place of the pitching wedge with an abbreviated swing to accomplish the same end.
Construction
Shaft
The shaft is a tapered tube made of metal (usually steel) or carbon fiber composite (referred to as graphite). The shaft is roughly .5 inch/12 millimeters in diameter near the grip and between 35-48 inches/89-115 cm in length.
Shafts are quantified in a number of different ways. The most common is the shaft flex. Simply, the shaft flex is the amount that the shaft will bend when placed under a load. A stiffer shaft will not flex as much, which requires more power to bend and "whip" through the ball properly (which results in higher club speed at impact for more distance), while a more flexible shaft will whip with less power required for better distance on slower swings, but may torque and over-flex if swung with too much power causing the head not to be square, resulting in lower accuracy. Most shaft makers offer a variety of flexes. The most common are: L (Lady), A (Soft Regular, Intermediate or Senior), R (Regular), S (Stiff), and X (Tour Stiff, Extra Stiff or Strong). A regular flex shaft is generally appropriate for those with an average head speed (80-94 mph), while an A-Flex (or senior shaft) is for players with a slower swing speed (70-79 mph), and the stiffer shafts, such as S-Flex and X-Flex (Stiff and Extra-Stiff shafts) are reserved only for those players with an above average swinging speed, usually above . Some companies also offer a "stiff-regular" or "firm" flex for players whose club speed falls in the upper range of a Regular shaft (90-100 mph), allowing golfers and clubmakers to fine-tune the flex for a stronger amateur-level player.
On off-center hits, the clubhead twists as a result of a torque, reducing accuracy as the face of the club is not square to the player's stance at impact. In recent years, many manufacturers have produced and marketed many low-torque shafts aimed at reducing the twisting of the clubhead at impact, however these tend to be stiffer along their length as well. Most recently, many brands have introduced stiff-tip shafts. These shafts offer the same flex throughout most of the shaft, in order to attain the "whip" required to propel the ball properly, but also include a stiffer tip, which cuts back drastically on the lateral torque acting on the head.
Widely overlooked as a part of the club, the shaft is considered by many to be the engine of the modern clubhead. Current graphite shafts weigh considerably less than their steel counterparts, allowing for lighter clubs that can be swung at greater speed. Within the last ten years, performance shafts have been integrated into the club making process. Performance shafts are designed to address specific criteria, such as to launch the ball higher or lower or to adjust for the timing of a player's swing to load and unload the shaft at the correct moments of the swing for maximum power. Whereas in the past each club could come with only one shaft, today's clubheads can be fit with dozens of different shafts, creating the potential for a much better fit for the average golfer.
Prior to 1935, hickory was the dominant material for shaft manufacturing, but it proved difficult to master for most golfers, as well as being quite frail. Steel would become the ubiquitous choice for much of the second half of the twentieth century. Although heavier than hickory, it is much stronger and more consistent in its performance. Prior to steel, a player would need a slightly different swing for each shaft given the inherent inconsistencies in the hickory shafts. The graphite shaft was first introduced in 1973 but did not gain widespread use until the mid 1990's and is now used on almost all woods and some iron sets, as the carbon-fiber composite of graphite shafts boasts increased flex for greater clubhead speed at the cost of slightly reduced accuracy due to greater torque. Steel, which generally has lower torque but less flex than graphite, is still widely preferred by many for irons, wedges and putters as these clubs stress accuracy over distance.
Grip
The modern grip has also undergone a number of iterations and the vast variety of models makes it far easier for a discriminating golfer to find a model that is comfortable to him or her.
According to the rules of golf, all club grips with the exception of the putter must have a circular cross-section. The putter may have any cross section that is symmetrical along the length of the grip on at least one plane. Grips may taper from thick to thin along their length (and virtually all do), but are not allowed to have any waisting (a thinner section of the grip surrounded by thicker sections above and below it) or bulges (thicker sections of the grip surrounded by thinner sections). Minor variations in surface texture (such as the natural variation of a "wrap"-style grip) are not counted unless significant.
Though materials advances have resulted in more durable, longer-lasting soft grips, grips eventually dry out, harden or are damaged and must be replaced. Replacement grips sold as do-it-yourself kits are generally inexpensive and of high quality, though custom grips that are larger, softer and/or textured differently from the everyday "wrap"-style grip are generally bought and installed by a clubsmith. Regripping previously required toxic, flammable solvents to soften and activate the adhesive, and a vise to hold the club steady while the grip was forced on, but the newest replacement kits use double-sided tape with a water-activated adhesive that is slippery when first activated, allowing easier installation. Once the adhesive cures, it creates a very strong bond between grip and shaft and the grip is usually impossible to remove without cutting it off.
Hosel
The hosel is the portion of the clubhead to which the shaft attaches. Though largely ignored by players, hosel design is integral to the balance, feel and power of a club. Modern hosels are designed to place as little mass as possible over the top of the striking face of the club, which lowers the center of gravity of the club for better distance.
Clubhead
Each head has one face which contacts the ball during the stroke. Clubs may have two striking faces, as long as they are identical and symmetrical (some putters and chippers are designed in this fashion, and may be used by left or right-handed players). The overwhelming majority of clubs have only one striking face.
Ferrule
The decorative trim ring, usually black (It may have additional trim colors), that is found directly on top of the hosel on many woods and irons.
Regulations
The ruling authorities of golf, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) and the United States Golf Association (USGA) reserve the right to define what shapes and physical characteristics of clubs are permissible in tournament play. Many recently developed woods have a marked "trampoline effect" (a large deformation of the face upon impact followed by a quick restoration to original dimensions, acting like a slingshot), resulting in very high ball speeds and great lengths of tee shots. As of January 1, 2008 the USGA and R&A have settled on a regulation that limits the acceptable "trampoline effect" to a coefficient of restitution (COR) – a measurement of the efficiency of the transfer of energy from the club head to the ball – of .830.
Other large scale USGA rulings involve a 1990 suit, and subsequent settlement, against Karsten Manufacturing, makers of the PING Brand, for their use of square, or U-grooves in their immensely popular Ping Eye2 iron models. The USGA argued that players who used the Eye2 had an unfair advantage in imparting spin on the ball, which helps to stop the ball on the putting greens. The USGA utilized John Saksun, founder of Canadian golf company Accuform Golf, as a consultant to set up methods of measuring the unique grooves and determining PING's compliance with the rulings. Saksun, by proposing a cost-effective solution to help PING change the design of subsequent Eye2s, saved PING hundreds of millions. PING subsequently withdrew their $100 million lawsuit against the USGA. Ping’s older clubs were "grandfathered in" and allowed to remain in play as part of the settlement. Today square grooves are considered perfectly legal under the Rules of Golf. However, the USGA has determined that square grooves will be banned from elite-level competition -- like the U.S. Open -- as of Jan. 1, 2009
See also
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