The golf clubs

Golf is played with golf clubs, which makes them the most important piece of gear you’ll need for playing golf. Many different types of golf clubs are used for playing different types of shots in different situations.

In golf, you are allowed a maximum of 14 clubs in your golf bag. You are not allowed to exceed this number, but you can play with fewer clubs if you want to. Typically, a golf bag consists of 1 putter, 3 woods, a couple of wedges, and the rest are irons.

When your first start out, you typically shouldn’t worry too much about getting the perfect fit clubs, unless your proportions are different than standard, like being really tall or short.

Irons

Iron clubs are used for approach shots and for shots approximately between 100 and 200 yards. The main idea with irons is to get the ball elevated with more backspin than with wood clubs.

Each iron club has a number associated with it; 9 iron, 8 iron, 7 iron, etc. The bigger the number, the more loft it has and the shorter it goes. 9 iron has typically between 40 to 44 degrees of loft while 3 iron has around 20 degrees of loft. The more loft the club has the bigger the shot’s launch angle is, making the ball go higher and thus shorter.

You’ll usually need at least irons from 9 to 5 iron in your first-ever golf set.

Woods and hybrids

Wood clubs include driver, 3 wood, and 5 wood. There are also so-called utility clubs which are hybrids that can replace your long irons, such as a 4 hybrid. Woods and hybrids are used to hit the ball further than with irons.

Driver, also previously known as 1 wood, is the biggest and least lofted club in your bag, which is used primarily for hitting tee shots in longer par 4 and par 5 holes.

Out of all the wood clubs, the driver is usually the most important one as you’ll need the most distance in par 4 and par 5 holes.

Wedges

Wedges are the most lofted clubs in your bag and are used for shorter approach shots to the green. There are many different types of wedges, such as: pitching wedge (PW), sand wedge (SW), gap wedge (GW), and lob wedge (LW).

You’ll usually need at least a sand wedge in your bag which you use for getting out of bunkers and lofted chip shots around the green.

Putter

Putter, as the name suggests, is used for putting. A putter is the most important golf club in your bag as almost half of the shots you will take during a round of golf are with a putter.

Shafts

While it is not mandatory to worry about shafts when you are first starting out, it is good to know a little bit about them. Shafts come in different materials and stiffness and if you have any idea about your club head speed, you might want to consider that when choosing your clubs.

Usually, when you are just starting out, your club head speed is slow and therefore regular shafts might be a good option.

Grips

There are lots of different options these days when it comes to grips. Different materials, styles, and thick grips might be important to take a look into. If you have big hands, you might need larger grips.

The Essentials

Once you have figured out your clubs, you do need to find some essentials to get playing on the golf course.

The golf bag

The golf bag is where you carry all your clubs, peripherals (such as car keys, phone, wallet etc.), snacks, water, golf balls, and so on. Basically, you want to have everything in your golf bag to carry around the golf course during your round of golf.

Glove

Most golfers prefer to use a golf glove while playing golf, but it is not required by any rules. While there are different sizes and styles of gloves on the market, your best option is to go to your local golf shop and try out different gloves to find the best-fitting one.

Tees

Tees are needed for tee shots. Again, there are many different types of tees on the market, but just a normal bag of regular tees should be fine when first starting out.

Balls

You can’t really play golf without golf balls, so you definitely need them when first starting golf (and thereafter). This is where you should most probably look to save some money as you might not need the best golf balls on the market right out of the gate. Golf ball prices vary a lot as the best balls on the market cost around 70$ / dozen, and the cheapest ones only about 20$.

Apparel

Golf used to be more strict when it comes to clothing; you typically had to wear straight pants and a polo shirt. These days, however, there is more room for choosing your style, but some golf-specific styles are still recommended.

Shoes

Picking up a pair of golf shoes is highly recommended, as golf shoes have more grip than regular shoes. This is useful when swinging the golf club on a grass surface where normal shoes would slip, causing more bad shots. It’s important from a swing perspective to have a good grip on the ground to be able to hit more good shots.

Pants

Getting a pair of pants might not be required at first when starting golf, but generally, golf pants are designed to look cool while still maintaining flexibility to swing the golf club.

Some golf courses may have more strict guidelines than others regarding how to dress. You typically don’t see people wearing jeans or suit pants on the golf course. Shorts and skirts are allowed.

Shirts

A very common choice of shirt in golf is a polo shirt. This applies to both men and women. Regular T-shirts are not very commonly used and are not recommended. Knits are widely used for all genders.

Rain gear

A round of golf might take up to five hours which means the weather can change. While it might not be necessary to get a complete set of rain gear, at least an umbrella can be beneficial if it starts to rain.

Other

It is possible to carry all sorts of equipment in your golf bag as long as you can carry everything and your equipment isn’t used for breaking any rules.

Pen

While technology is getting more regular in golf, it is still common to mark your score down to a scorecard. More and more people are marking their scores on all sorts of applications, but it might be required in different countries to send your scorecards to your local golf course to count towards your handicap.

Pens are typically found on all golf courses.

Water bottle

Always bring water with you on the golf course as a round of golf might take up to five hours.

Towel

To keep your clubs in good condition, it is advised to have a small towel to clean your club face after each shot. Taking a shot with a dirty club not only affects your shot but also degrades your golf club as the dirt that gets between the club face and the ball causes small damage to the club.

Technology

Not necessary, but as technology has evolved, there are now many tools available that you can use when playing golf. These are such as range finders, GPS watches, shot tracking apps etc.