Golf Club & Distance Guide

CLUB DISTANCES  How should a person decide what clubs to use and where ...

You have different clubs because each one hits the ball a different distance. How far should those distances be?
There's no set distance for a given type of club, because every club is different and every golfer is different. Golfers are stronger or weaker. They have more or less skill. The club shaft is longer or shorter. The angle of the club face is more or less steep. These all affect how long a ball will go when hit by a given club.
However, if you get a matched set of clubs, they should all work the same relative to each other. That is, if you choose any club, then as you go up and down the scale, you should hit each subsequent club around 10-15 yards longer or shorter. So you simply figure out what one of the clubs does consistently for YOU, and what the between club differential is for YOU, and now you know exactly which club to use in which situation.

You are allowed to carry 14 clubs in your bag (including your putter) ... the Driver is the club to use off the tee ... the loft on the Driver can range from 8 degrees to 11 degrees normally ... the loft is the angle of the club face from perpendicular ... a putter has a 0 degree loft since it has a flat face ... the 3 Wood is the club used from the short grass of the fairway and has a 13 degree loft ... the 5 Wood or should be used from the rough if it's not cut too long ... if the grass is long, a 7 Wood or even a 9 Wood could be used ... the loft on the 3 Wood is the same as the loft on the 3 Iron ... the loft on the 5 Wood is the same as the loft on the 5 iron ... but since the shafts are longer then the iron counterparts, more power will be generated with the swing and the ball will go farther ... as far as distance goes, the 7 Wood will go about as far as the 3 Iron and the 9 Wood will go as far as the 4 Iron ... Now how far is that? you may ask ... there is an approximate 12 to 15 yard difference between consecutive clubs ... in other words, the 4 Iron should go 12-15 yards further than the 5 Iron ... if you want to calculate just how far you hit your clubs, you have to start at the driving range ... take your 7 Iron and hit 20 balls ... yes, I know, some you'll hit great, some you'll hit like crap and as you play more, your good hits will out number your crappy hits ... but for now, just hit 20 and see how far out the majority of them end up ... for my 7 Iron it's 140 yards if I'm playing lousy, 150 yards if I'm playing well ... let's assume It's a nice day, I've had a good night's sleep, I'm in a good mood and I'm swinging well this day ... I'd subtract 12-15 yards  for my 8 Iron (135-137 yards); 9 Iron (120-122 yards), Pitching Wedge (105-108 yards), etc .... so you see, it all starts at the driving range with a couple of clubs and a pad of paper.