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What Is Each Golf Club's Use and Distance?

Golf Clubs & Their Uses

(BONUS: See Below, "Golf's Little Secret?")

WOODS

The 'woods' are used for long-distance hitting , they are meant to drive the ball the farthest distance (from the tee or fairway) towards the hole (Refer To Below Chart). They generally have a large head and a long shaft for maximum club speed. 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.
Woods are numbered in ascending order with the driver, or 1-wood, which is designed to hit the ball the greatest distance, having the longest length and lowest loft, typically between 7 and 13 degrees. However there is no industry standard and some overlap occurs. With the typical loft of a 2-wood being 12-13 degree a 1-wood and 2-wood could have the same loft. Other differences in club design, such as head size, face roll, weight distribution, lie angle, or club length, could also differentiate a 12° degree 1-wood intended for tee shots and a 12 degree 2-wood intended for fairway shots.

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 As with 'woods', 'irons' get their name because they were originally made from forged iron. High-loft 'irons' are called wedges. The higher the number on the numbered 'iron' gets, the lower amount of angle difference from 90 degrees (Refer To Below Chart).

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" 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 six types of 'wedges' with lofts ranging from 45° to 64° : 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" or "Utility Wedge" and labeled with "AW" or "UW" respectively.

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 No.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 (except chippers), 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. Newer 'putters' also include grooves on the face to promote roll rather than a skid off the impact. 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 (Refer To Below Chart). The club can be used in place of the pitching wedge with an abbreviated swing to accomplish the same end.

CHIPPERS

Another variation of the 'putter', called the chipper, has a similar look, feel and general construction as a "normal" 'putter', but with a much higher loft, often 30-45 degrees. It is used to lift the ball over or out of the rough or fringe and onto the green with a motion similar to a "putt". It can also be used for "lagging" (a "putt" made on the green from long distance for the sole purpose of setting up the ball for an easier second "putt"). A 'putter' used for this purpose would require a harder stroke and the rough or fringe could affect accuracy. A high-angle wedge could have similar accuracy issues and could also damage the turf on such a shot if made carelessly. However, its use is generally limited; it is best-suited for short-distance play from close-cut grass on a terrain level similar to that of the green, and as such most skilled golfers choose to use a low-bounce, wide-soled wedge with a putting motion to accomplish a similar effect and save the space the club would take for a more versatile club.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golf_club_%28equipment%29

GOLF CLUB DISTANCE CHART

NOTE: Distance Given Is In Yards and is Average Hitter
Club	MEN - Yards	WOMEN - Yards
WOOD - Driver
Big Bertha	230+	180+
1-Wood	220+	175+
2-Wood	210+	165+
WOOD - Fairway
3-Wood	210-230	170 - 185
4-Wood	190-210	155-170
5-Wood	170-190	140-155
7-Wood	Rarely Used	130-145
IRON
2-Iron	170-190	Rarely Used
3-Iron	160-180	140-160
4-Iron	150-170	130-150
5-Iron	140-160	120-140
6-Iron	130-150	110-130
7-Iron	120-140	100-120
8-Iron	110-130	90-110
9-Iron	100-120	80-100
WEDGE
Pitching Wedge	90-110	70-90
Sand Wedge	up to 100	up to 80
60 Degree Wedge	up to 60	up to 40

Source (Amended): http://www.diversegolf.com/golf_clubchart.html

Golf's Little Secret: It's In The Hips!

Picture source: www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8670952/Golfs-little-secret-Its-all-in-the-hips

It's the question that vexes amateur golfers perhaps more than any other: 'Why can't I hit the ball farther?'
By Stephen Adams, Medical Correspondent, 6:37PM BST 29 Jul 2011

While professionals like Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke regularly thump it well over 300 yards, most weekend players struggle to break 250. Even veterans like 61-year-old Tom Watson, the five-time winner of the British Open, will regularly out-drive fitter club players half his age. Now orthopaedic surgeons claim to have pin-pointed the reason, and say it is all in the hips.
Freeze-frame video analysis has found that professionals rotate their hips much more than everyday hackers when swinging the club back. This gives them much greater power and all-important club head speed on the downswing. Amateurs, by contrast, tend to rely more on their shoulders and arms.
Researchers at Stanford University in California made their conclusions after analysing the swings of 10 professionals and five amateurs. On average the pros rotated their hips by 56 degrees, relative to their shoulders, while amateurs managed about 10 degrees less than that. And while the professionals hit the ball at an average of 79mph, the amateurs' club head speed on impact was only about 65mph. Better players also tended to tilt their shoulders down more steeply.
Conrad Ray, one of the authors of the study, published in the Journal of Applied Biomechanics, said: "All golfers want to know how to hit the ball longer, and this study supports that speed is really a factor of relative body rotation." Jessica Rose, senior author of the study, said golfers could learn to hit the ball further without risking injury. She explained that twisting the upper back too much, while failing to turn the hips enough, was one of the leading causes of back injury among golfers.