The Most Common Golf Clubs

Here's a listing of the most common forms of woods, irons and wedges you can expect to carry in your bag.

1w - The driver.  Most commonly used on the tee, and designed to deliver long, low shots.  This club has the least loft of all the clubs in the bag.

3w, 5w, 7w - Fairway woods.  You can use them either on the tee, on a long fairway, or out of the rough.

PT - Putter.  Used mainly on the green, this club is designed solely for rolling the ball into the hole.  Since the putter has no loft at all, it will not hit the ball into the air.

1i - The one-iron has the least loft of any iron club, meaning it will hit the ball lower and longer.

3i - The three-iron has more loft than the one-iron, but it'll hit the ball a shorter distance.

4i - The four-iron is very common on short, par-3 or par-4 courses.

5i - The five-iron is also a very common club to use on short par-3 or par-4 courses.

6i - The six-iron is mostly used on the fairway when a player is halfway to the green.

7i - The seven-iron is mostly used on the fairway when a player is anywhere quarter- to halfway to the green.

8i - The eight-iron is mostly used on the fairway when a player is a quarter-way to the green.

9i - The nine-iron is mostly used in chipping situations where a player is less than a quarter-way to the green.

PW - Pitching wedge.  Used to chip the ball onto the green, and for hitting out of bunkers.

SW - Sand wedge.  Used mainly to hit out of bunkers and usually, either onto the fairway or green.  This has the most loft of any club, meaning it will hit the ball higher, but shorter, than the others.