by Bob Duden

Created on: November 27, 2008   Last Updated: January 29, 2009

If you are truly in the dark about what clubs go into a golf bag, before you set foot on a golf course you should start with a bit of rudimentary literature on the subject. Do some reading on the matter before you head out to the links just to determine what tools you need to play the game. A plumber may carry a hammer but, how often does he need it? A carpenter might carry a wrench but, what good is it to him? The same principle applies to golf clubs. The arbiters of golf, the Royal and Ancient and the USGA have determined that you can carry a total of fourteen clubs. The selection of exactly what clubs you need to play the game becomes a personal testament to your skills; something that you are constantly honing and refining.

Here's a primer to what should be in your bag: of those fourteen clubs, you can carry woods, irons, wedges and putters. There is now a new category which technology has determined to be an easier club to hit - the hybrid. So, you can now select from five categories, the fourteen clubs that you can carry. Of course, time and practice will also determine if you need to actually carry fourteen and that's part of the honing and refining, which we'll discuss later. The first club you'll need on that first tee is usually a driver. It's most likely the longest club in your bag and certainly the biggest. It's designed to get you off the tee, straight down the fairway and leave your ball in play. You then come to what we will call the long clubs, the fairway woods and the hybrids. The determining factor here is distance and accuracy and that only comes from practice. One player might look at a 200 yard shot and need a five iron, a different player might need a three wood for the same shot. So, selecting your fairway woods and hybrids goes into that honing and refining process. That brings us to the irons, definitely accuracy oriented clubs that also need to be sorted by the distance you can hit them. One player might look at a 125 yard shot and need a pitching wedge, another player with the same exact shot might need a seven iron. Selecting a set of irons can be a never-ending process. There are cavity backs, muscle backs and blades. There are cast or forged heads and graphite or steel shafts. When it comes to your irons, the best decision you will ever make is to see a club fitter and buy what fits your swing.

You are off the tee, down the fairway and your ball now sits inside 100 yards to the flag stick. It's in an area we'll call around the

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