What Golf Clubs to Use for What Distance?

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Golf is a complicated game, so as a beginner it’ll take some time to grasp the basics. Nevertheless, it’s good that you start learning about it at some point.

One of the most fundamental parts of golf is a golf club. There are various types of clubs, and each of them designed to meet a specific purpose with different offerings and shortcomings. You’ll find yourself utterly confused if you set out to purchase them without proper knowledge and assistance.

But that’s what we’re here for; we’ll guide you about the different kinds of golf clubs and their uses.

Callaway Golf Men's Strata Complete 12 Piece Package Set (Right Hand, Steel)

Types of Golf Clubs and What Distances They’re Made For

There are 6 different types of golf clubs that you’ll carry in your bag. We’ll discuss each one of them in detail.

1. Drivers

TaylorMade Men’s RBZ Black Driver, Black, Right Hand, Regular Flex, 10.5 Degrees
  • A large, 460cc Titanium head with an adjustable loft sleeve allows for optimized launch and trajectory
  • Ultralite Titanium core strategically positions mass for higher launch and trajectory control
  • Premium matrix White tie 55 shaft for maximum distance and smooth feel
  • Legendary speed pocket performance for high launch and low spin, resulting in more distance
  • New satin black finish with elegant detailing to improve alignment; Grip: TM textured 0.620 43g (men)
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The first type of golf club that every beginner must know about is the driver as it’s used for the tee shot.

These are commonly known as the woods, because historically, they used to be made with wood. However, golf clubs in today’s age have nothing to do with wood.

Regardless of the fact that the material used to make the modern drivers range from steel, titanium, etc, they’ve retained their name from the past.

The driver is precisely, the ‘1 wood’. Having the lowest loft compared to the other clubs, it has a specific feature and use. The loft angles of the driver range from as low as 7° to 11°, depending on how much height you want your ball to get.

The driver is the longest club with the largest club head and sweet spot amongst others. The biggest and the most famous driver club head comes in the size of 460cc. The shafts are mostly made using graphite.

As a beginner, you’re best suited to a 460cc driver, as it offers high forgiveness, minimizing your missing off-center strikes. Skilled and professional golfers prefer using a driver with a lower cc such as 440cc or less as it provides better control and shot range.

2. Fairway Woods

TaylorMade Men’s RBZ Fairway, Black, Right Hand, Stiff Flex, 3 Wood, 15 Degrees
  • Legendary speed pocket for high launch and increased carry distance
  • Strategically positioned mass pad for optimal launch, sound, and feel
  • Shallow profile lowers the center of gravity to increase playability from the fairway
  • Lightweight 55 RocketFuel shaft for increased speed and distance
  • New satin black finish with elegant detailing to improve alignment
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The wood category also includes the fairway woods, although much like the driver, it has no association with wood.

They’re also well known by the names of ‘fairway metals’ or ‘metal woods’.  The fairway wood club basically means 3, 5, and 7 wood clubs with other loft ranges in the category.

The material used to make the fairway wood shaft is graphite. But you might find some golfers who use steel shaft fairway woods too. These clubs are quite similar in appearance to the drivers, but with a slightly small club head size.

The feature that clearly sets the two apart is its flat clubface and bulbous shape. Each time you strike a hit, the club head slides over the grass.

3. Hybrids

Pinemeadow Golf Men’s Excel EGI Hybrid Club, Graphite, 32-Degree, 7, Regular, Right Hand
  • CLUB/LOFT: 3 Hybrid/19°, 4 Hybrid/22°, 5 Hybrid/25°, 6 Hybrid/28°, 7 Hybrid/32°, 8 Hybrid/36°, 9 Hybrid/40° & PW Hybrid/45°
  • HYBRID MOVEMENT: More and more players are trading in their traditional irons and replacing them with hybrids. The EGI hybrids allow you to do this for every iron in your bag. Join the movement and expect an improvement in your game
  • BIGGER SWEET SPOT: All hybrids feature a nice balance of weight throughout the entire club head that increases and widens the sweet spot. The shape of the club head allows you to use these clubs from various lies, good or bad
  • GRAPHITE SHAFT: Hybrids are equipped with a Pinemeadow Graphite shaft. The hybrid shaft paired with the stainless steel clubhead gives you the best combination you need in a hybrid
  • HEADCOVER: All hybrids come with a headcover to protect your club while it is being transported in your golf bag
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Golf has evolved with time and the hybrid is proof of this. Hybrid golf clubs are commonly known as the product of the 21st century golf game.

Hybrid golf clubs are also well known by the name of utility clubs, as the two terms are used interchangeably by golfers.

The feature that makes the hybrid distinct from other clubs is that it provides a combination of both the woods and an iron golf club. This technical innovation utilized in these clubs offers a range of rare benefits. Hybrids are easier to hit shots with due to their design and features. They provide added distance and trajectory with great control and accuracy on each shot. The number of mishits is limited as the club head offers a large surface area.

The hybrid golf clubs offer plenty of benefits, which is why they can replace most of the iron clubs.

4. Irons

TaylorMade Golf M2 Iron Set 4-PW Right Hand Steel Regular Flex
  • Pushing the limits in iron design
  • Ultra-low CG & Max-cor
  • Geocoustic engineering
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Irons are highly used clubs as they enable hitting from any hole, or short or mid-range shots. Their club heads are made using metal that have deep grooves running from the toe to the heel. The grooves help to create more spin on the ball, making it easy to control the shot.

As these clubs are thin, they provide more accuracy on each shot.

The irons either come with ‘cavity back’ or ‘cavity muscle back’, and each of them has its own pros and cons. The cavity back has a hollow part in the back of the club head, lowering the center of gravity and providing high flight. Highly skilled golfers can use these to bend shots around obstacles.

The iron clubs usually come in a set of 6 to 8 individual irons that usually consist of 3-iron, 4-iron, 5-iron, 7-iron, 8-iron, 9-iron and a pitching wedge. The specification on the iron club set indicates what the set includes. For example, a 3-PW means that the set includes a 3-iron to 9-iron and a pitching wedge, and likewise.

6. Wedges

Pinemeadow Pre 3 Wedge Pack (Right-Handed, Steel, Regular, 52/56/60-Degrees)
  • Built standard with high quality Pinemeadow steel from Apollo(R), a 125 gram shaft with a low to mid kick point.
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You can turn around the result of the game with the help of wedges as they have a particular use and features. The look and build of these clubs is very similar to that of the irons. The lofts of the wedges help to distinguish them from the irons. Wedges generally have higher loft degrees that range from 46° to 64°.

There are different types of wedges available in the market.

A gap wedge is normally used to hit longer distance shots than the sand wedge. Gap wedges can help to easily cover those longer distances that you might fail to get by using a sand or pitching wedge. It generally is able to cover a distance of around 110 yards.

The most frequently used wedge is the sand wedge. It isn’t of much help to the players when hitting long-distance strikes. The main purpose of this wedge is that it allows the player to launch the ball high in the air, and is great for hitting sand bunker shots.

The lob wedge is much like the sand wedge, besides the fact that it allows to create more spin on the golf ball. The added spin of the ball allows you to control the ball on the green making putting it to the hole easier.

The pitching wedge typically falls in the iron category and is also sold along with the iron set. It’s commonly known as the 10-iron.

6. Putters

Pinemeadow Golf Men’s PGX Putter (Right Hand)
  • The PGX putter features a precise white finish which stands out when the putter is in the address position on the green.
  • This contrast of the white color against the green grass really helps maintain focus on the alignment lines that help ensure that your putter is on target at start.
  • At 380g the additional 40g weight of the mallet putter is tour-weighted, suited best for the faster greens that are more and more common around the world.
  • Includes custom PGX headcover
  • Putter length 34
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Arguably the most essential club in the game of golf is the putter as it’s used the most.

The distinctive feature of this golf club is that it has a flat clubface. Putters always come without any lofts or bounce angles. To provide a smooth feel to these clubs, plastics, or metals are used as inserts. When you’ve to putt the ball in the hole, these clubs will help to roll in the ball efficiently.

Mainly two common types of putters are available in the market. The blade putter can work wonders for skilled and professional players. This putter comparatively has a smaller head size and is the most prevalent one in the market.

The mallet putter comes with a large and heavy head. Golfers from different skill levels can use this golf club to avoid mishits and hit straighter shots. This putter offers more stability compared to the blade putter. Besides these, you’d find modern putters that, rather than skidding, create more rolls on the ball and as a result, you can smoothly slide the ball into the hole.

Our Final Thoughts

By now you must be well aware of the 6 different types of clubs, their features and usage. You can confidently choose your own clubs as you’d be able to easily distinguish them from each other. You’ll also have a better understanding of what golf clubs to use for what distance shots.

About The Author

ben croole golf guy author
Ben is an avid golfer who is working towards a low handicap. His best golf was played back in high school when he was occasionally shooting in the low-70's. Ben didn't play much until his late 30's where he's working to regain his touch with more practice and playing more often. He created Golf Guy in the hopes to share some of his knowledge of the game.
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