How to Build the Ultimate Golf Club Set
Golfers may look at their golf clubs like they look at their children. All of them are precious and all are important. And sometimes they can be the source of endless frustration or unfettered pride. That's why golfers build their sets in a painstaking manner. The United States Golf Association allows golfers to have a maximum of 14 clubs in their bag.
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Instructions
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Look for a driver (8-to-12 degree loft) that feels comfortable and substantial when you hold it in your hands. However, don't look for a war club. You don't want a club that is too heavy because you won't be able to swing it consistently. Hold the driver in your hands and realize that you are going to use it off the tee on nearly every par 4 and 5. Even if you are not a big hitter, you will need to drive the ball consistently.
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Buy a 3-wood (14-to-16 degree loft) and a 5-wood (19-to-22 degree loft) to complete your set of woods. You may not use these clubs a lot, but they are very valuable on long fairway shots and some tee shots. You may want to trade either the 3- or 5-wood for a hybrid club. A hybrid club can hit the ball for distance like a wood and for accuracy like an iron.
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Use 3- (20-22 degree loft), 4- (25-27 degree loft), 5- (28-31 degree loft) and 7-irons (36-39 degree loft) when you need to hit the ball to the green or put the ball in a position to approach the green. You may want to use a 6-iron (32-35 degree loft) instead of the 5-iron. You can use both if you don't have a hybrid club in your bag. The 2-iron (18-19 degree loft) is not as popular as it once was was and many golfers don't have it in their bag. The rare 1-iron is virtually impossible to hit with consistency.
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Make sure you have 8- and 9-irons in addition to a pitching wedge, a gap wedge, a lob wedge and a sand wedge for your approach shots. The 8-iron has a loft of 40-43 degrees and the 9-iron has a loft of 44-47 degrees. The standard pitching wedge (loft of 48-50 degrees) should be for longer approach shots, the gap wedge (51-54 degrees) should be used for moderate approach shots, while the lob wedge (59-62 degrees) can be used on the shortest approach shots. The sand wedge (55-58 degrees) is used when you are in the bunker.
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Place a putter in your golf club. No club is more important when it comes to scoring than your putter. Some players prefer a longer putter because it delivers a smoother stroke while other plays like a smaller putter because it gives the golfer a better feel for the ball.
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