When do I use each of the clubs in my bag?

When you first start playing golf you’ll find that some clubs are easier to hit than others. You may have experienced that you hit the ball better and you’re not sure why? Yes, that does happen in the beginning. As embarrassing as it can be sometimes, how far we hit the ball is part of the humility we all must learn as a golf beginner. Making the ball go up in the air seems difficult at first. Beginners tend to try and scoop the ball or sweep it in the air. Later on they discover that the ball goes in the air by hitting down on the ball. It seems really counter intuitive to hit down with the club to make the ball go up.

Are you ready to learn what each club in the bag is used for and when? Great! Let’s figure it out together!

Remember the previous post about the 4 categories of golf shots? Good! Each of the clubs in the distance chart below shows 4 levels of golfers. Each club below has specific purpose that fits into the 4 categories (The Drive, Iron Play, Chipping, and Putting).

Club	Beginner	Average	Good	PGA Tour
Driver	190 yards	220 yards	250 yards	296 yards
3 Wood	170 yards	210 yards	225 yards	262 yards
5 Wood	150 yards	195 yards	205 yards	248 yards
3 Iron	135 yards	170 yards	180 yards	228 yards
4 Iron	125 yards	160 yards	170 yards	219 yards
5 Iron	120 yards	155 yards	165 yards	209 yards
6 Iron	115 yards	145 yards	160 yards	197 yards
7 Iron	105 yards	140 yards	150 yards	185 yards
8 Iron	95 yards	130 yards	140 yards	172 yards
9 Iron	80 yards	115 yards	125 yards	159 yards
Pitching Wedge	70 yards	100 yards	110 yards	146 yards
Gap Wedge	60 yards	90 yards	100 yards	135 yards
Sand Wedge	50 yards	80 yards	95 yards	124 yards
Lob Wedge	40 yards	60 yards	80 yards	113 yards

I am making the assumption that the 4 categories of golf shots made sense to you. Please don’t worry if you are still confused. I promise I will fill in the gaps as we go along and fill in any missing concepts. Don’t fret or worry that you hit the ball at the beginner yardage in the chart.

I am going to walk you through playing the first hole of a 18 hole course. I will skip a fair amount of the details that will be important later. Right now we will focus on what club to use and why, ok?

The illustration above is very common on most golf course websites. It may also be present on the back of the course scorecard. Scorecards are free and included with your green fees. The Course Starter may also provide scorecards with a pencil to record your score on the first tee. What it is showing is the shape of the hole, along with the optimal drive and approach distances. It usually is mapped out from the longest tee yardages.

When you are standing on the tee box you will notice a few things. First, the tee box has grass cut usually in the shape of a square or rectangle. Depending on the course you will find 3 to 5 Tee Markers. I will explain in more detail later, what the tee markers represent and what you need to know. For now, we’re going to focus on what you see in the picture above.

This particular hole has 3 tees to choose from. It’s very common on almost every course you play to have 3 tee boxes. You will know them by color.

1. Blue
2. White
3. Red

Some courses have two extra tee boxes to accommodate pro golfers and scratch golfers.

• Gold
• Black

Blue tees are the furthest away from the hole and reserved for “Good” golfers as indicated in the table above. Blue tees are also referred to as “The Tips”. Blue tee markers represent the longest yardage to play the hole.

White tees are where you will find “Average” golfers who may have a great golf game. Don’t be fooled into thinking that the white tees are “less than” the blue tees. I once played with a octogenarian physicist who played from the white tees who hit the ball straight but not very long. He ended up beating me that day by 5 strokes because he was consistent and hit the ball straight every time.

Red tees are now called the “Forward” tees. “Beginner” golfers should consider playing from the red tees on their first round on an 18 hole course. Most men will choose to play the white tees. Women tend to choose the red tees to shorten the distance they must play. The different distances are given a rating and slope for tees. Right now, it won’t be relevant until you establish a Handicap Index.

Looking at the distance chart above, it should be obvious that the distance of a beginner golfer is 190 yards with the driver. A good golfer has a 60 yard advantage over a beginner. If the good golfer played the red tees, they would have an unfair advantage with their approach shot to the green. As you approach the irons called wedges your shots will be more accurate. The loft of the club will help you get the ball in the air and tend to go straight.

I will explain why shortly, I promise.

Playing a hole with the correct clubs

Let’s look at the hole were about to play virtually, ok? Let’s look at two important things on your scorecard before we step up to the tee. The first thing you must factor into your club selection is how many strokes are required for Par. The hole we’re going to play is a Par 4. It’s going to require 4 strokes. One stroke from each of the shot categories.

• The Drive (From the tee box)
• Approach Shot (Iron Shot from the fairway or rough)
• Chip Shot (if you miss the green)
• The Putt (most “Good” golfers need 1 to 2 putts to make par)

The goal is to hit a good approach shot and stick the ball close to the flag (pin). If you can get the ball close to the hole on your approach shot you will give yourself a good chance to make birdie. Birdies are tough. The mental focus required to execute a solid putt will come with time and putting practice. At this point making par is still tough to do.

You will remember your first par. It’s quite an accomplishment for a beginner to create a 4 shot series to make par. Even more special is when you make your first birdie. The golf bug will be watching you, waiting for its moment. It will sink its teeth in deep, and you will never forget it. It’s in this moment the sheer joy and excitement you feel is something that will fuel your passion.

Playing the first hole (The Drive)

Alright, we’re going to play from the red tees on this hole. The distance is 309 yards. The club selection from the white tee box will be a Driver. A beginner can cover 190 yards with a “Drive” off the tee. Of course, many things can happen with your shot. We’re going to assume that your golf teacher taught you the fundamentals well. You end up getting an extra 8 yards with your drive. Some times adrenaline gives you an extra few yards due to being excited and nervous.

Your 198 yard drive put the ball in the middle of the fairway. You’re proud of yourself and you should be! You have completed your first shot and first drive in style. Now, you have your next club selection for your approach shot. I am going to skip how you know you hit the ball 198 yards for the moment. I will explain how to figure out where your ball is yardage-wise off the tee in another post. There are a number of ways to figure this out. You can do it the old fashion way or use technology. More on that later. Many courses now provide GPS in the golf cart and provide a lot of information to help you choose what club you should hit.

Approach Shot (Iron Play)

Alright, with the help of your caddie, you’ve determined that the pin is in the middle of the hole. Your caddie tells you that you have 111 yards to the hole. From the table above you now have a decision to make. A beginner hits their 6 Iron 115 yards and their 7 iron 105 yards. 111 yards is between your 6 Iron and your 7 Iron. This is of course assuming that you hit an optimal shot within your ability.

In the beginning, your confidence will be low in your shot making ability. However, I’ve seen golfers who think every time they step up to the ball history will be made. That’s ok too! Optimism will take you far as long as you can deal with the “Truth”. Brush it off and play one hole at time is a good philosophy too. Confidence is important. Putting a bad shot out of your mind and the expectation you have going into the hole is a double edge sword.

Alright, you made the decision to play your 6 Iron. At this point, you have figured out that each club has a distance attached to it. You won’t always hit the distance in your skill range. If you don’t hit the planned shot you envisioned, that is ok too. The mental game of golf is a long road. Having a mindset that works for you will be important as you develop more skill. The mental part of the game is the difference between the good and average golfer.

Let’s be optimistic on this hole shall we? You go through the checklist in your head provided by your golf instructor as you stand over the ball. You execute the shot exactly as you were taught. You stand there in a beautiful pose watching the ball arc into the air on it’s way to the green (short stuff). Mission accomplished!

Your golf buddies are impressed! One of your foursome has eagle eyes. He proudly lets you know that your ball did hit the green, but rolled to the back of the green into the longer grass surrounding the green. Ugh!

The Chip Shot

You were hoping for two putts to make par. That would have been the best outcome, but now you are faced with the challenge of chipping the ball close enough to the whole to save par. The golf gods giveth, the golf gods taketh with no mercy. Now you are in golf club selection territory that you are unsure about. There are no distances in the chart above to tell you what club you should hit. Now what?

You spent several weekends at the golf clinic learning the short game. The wedge is supposed to do be used around the green for chipping. Why? Can’t I just use my putter to knock the ball onto the green? Then you realize that you don’t have a wedge in your bag yet. The best club you have at the moment to chip is a 9 Iron.

It is supposed to go 90 yards per the table above. You only have about 30 feet to get the ball into the hole. Your caddie points to a place on the green where you should land the ball. If you land your chip in the right spot it will run out close the hole to make your par.

Somehow, you execute an amazing shot that flys into the air at a low angle. It lands and continues to roll across the green straight towards the hole. The ball is rolling along at a fast pace. It races by the hole by about 5 feet. You didn’t factor in that you were chipping into a down hill part of the green.

Now you have a slightly up hill putt to make your par.

The Putt

What club is next? If you haven’t already guessed by now it is the putter. Your ball sits on the green closer to the hole than the rest of your foursome. You stand there proud as can be! Your caddie reminds you to put a marker down and pick up your ball. Huh? Why do I have to do that you ask? In the next post, I am going to briefly touch on a golf etiquette introduction. I am calling it Golf Etiquette 101. You will eventually take the 202 and 303 course which will help you understand golf’s history and why certain types of conduct on the course is required.

The Gentleman’s game

There are many different golf rules established by the USGA. There is one important rule called “Standards of Player Conduct”. There are other governing bodies as well, and I will cover those later. The official USGA official rule book outlines with the standard of player conduct is.

Golf Rule 1.2

• Acting with integrity
• Showing consideration to others
• Taking good care of the course

By putting a ball marker where your ball’s resting place is on the green, you are “showing consideration to others”. How you ask? If your ball is in the path of another player trying to putt or chip on the green, it is considerate to take all distractions of play off the green. This is one of the great things about golf. Paying attention to other players in your foursome is paramount. Golf has a ‘Code of Conduct” that other sports don’t always bring to the forefront. There are many examples that will be fun to illustrate and share. I will save some of the best stories for later.

So, now you have marked where you ball was on the green with a ball marker. You stepped back to let your playing partners make their putt. Now its your turn to make your 5 foot putt for par. You look at the putt from a couple of different angles like you’ve seen the pros do on TV. You’re not quite sure what you are looking at, but you look like a real experienced golfer doing it! You line up your putt visually.

You bring the putter back in your stroke and send the ball 10 feet past the hole. What!?! How did you do that? You are actually farther from the hole then your last putt. Learning distance control and factoring in the speed of the greens can be frustrating. This is true on the first hole of a course you have never played. There are other factors as well. We will cover many of the nuances you will encounter in future steps of your beginner roadmap.

Now you have to make a long 10 foot putt to make a bogey. You had a great opportunity to make par, but it wasn’t meant to be. Now you hit your putt and the ball goes all the way to the hole and rests on the right edge of the cup but doesn’t fall in the hole. So Frustrating! You walk to the hole and tap your Double Bogey into the hole.

It’s only the first hole. You have a lot more golf to play today. Hopefully you can let this missed opportunity go. The key is not to let it ruin the rest of your round. Many beginners get really down on themselves and struggle with expectations they can’t let go of. Eventually you will learn to play one shot and hole at a time.

So, we only played one hole this time. You didn’t use other clubs in your bag. Longer clubs such as the 3 Hybrid (which replaces the 3 Iron), or your 5 Iron will have their moment on a Par 5.

Summary of Shots – Hole #1

• Drive
  • 198 yards
• Approach
  • 118 yards
• Chip
  • 35 Feet
• Putt
  • First Putt (15 feet)
  • Second Putt (10 feet)
  • Third Putt (Half inch)

Overall, you played the hole from tee to green very well. You gave yourself a great chance to make par. Your putting let you down. It took 3 putts to get the ball in the hole. Time to put the hole out of your mind and develop a tactical plan to play the Par 5 coming up.