Most golfers also carry a #3 and #5 fairway wood as part of their arsenal. A #3 wood has a loft of 15 degrees, and a #5 wood has a loft of 18 degrees. The higher the golf club number, the higher the loft. The #3 and #5 wood are commonly referred to as fairway woods, because they are most often used during the second shot of play, when you are supposed to be on the fairway.

Hybrids
Hybrids are a recent innovation to golf. A hybrid is a combination of an iron and a wood and is an easier to hit alternative to a long iron. Hybrids are versatile enough to be used in any situation. Hybrids come in a range of four lofts – 16 (#2), 19 (#3), 22 (#4) and 25 (#5) Degrees. Hybrids replace their equivalent number long iron, e.g. a #3 hybrid will replace a #3 iron and a #2 hybrid can be used to replace a #5 fairway wood.

Irons
Irons are generally used for shorter distances and more control than drivers and fairway woods. The closer you are to the green, the higher the iron you will use. A standard set of irons consists of #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8 and #9 and the PITCHING WEDGE (PW). A sandwedge is generally a good option to purchase for shots out of sand traps. The #3 and #4 irons are harder to hit than the higher numbered irons. Many golfers choose to replace the #3 and #4 iron with higher lofted woods or hybrids which are easier to hit than traditional long irons, resulting in comparable distances.

Wedges
Wedges are really just speciality irons. The first wedge is the Pitching Wedge (PW), which is usually between 52 and 56 degrees in loft. The PW is the highest lofted iron in a standard set and lowest loft of the wedges. Lob wedges range from 58 to 64 degrees and are used for close range short and high shots to overcome obstacles close to the green. Wedges are extremely useful for your short game and it is beneficial to keep a selection of them in your bag.
Sand Wedges are another type of wedge and are designed to get you out of the dreaded sand traps. They have a shorter shaft and a more angled face to get under the ball in order to exit a bunker.

Putters
As the adage goes “Drive for show, Putt for dough”. The putter usually gets you in the hole, so it can be assumed, that choosing the right putter is critical to your game. Putters come in various styles and types.: short, belly, long, bent, centre-hosel, heel-toe, mallet, and so on. When choosing a putter the main things to consider are the: weighting, balance and feel. Better putters provide alignment aids to help you visualize the line from your ball to the target.

Often just to start out and “try” the game of golf and golfing a prospective women golfer will start out with her husband’s or boyfriend’s old or “favourite” “clubs”.

While it may be advisable to find out if you like the game before spending a veritable fortune on equipment, in almost all cases men’s golf clubs and golf equipment will prove to be unsuitable , and indeed a most trying event, for the vast majority of women to start out their golf careers with .

What advice can be given – start slow and small to begin with, go out and purchase or perhaps if possible borrow a ladies 6 or 7 iron or irons. These can be new, used or as said – perhaps even borrowed for the moment. Once you have conducted your test case and evaluations and know better if you are going to take the game seriously, if at all, then you can make the choice of whether to add to the single club, if you purchased it, look for a decent set or half set or perhaps even have figured out that this whole golf thing is not for you – well at least for the moment.

There are three main reasons why it is a much better idea to have specific ladies clubs rather than run of the mill standard golf sets. The reasons have to do with swing weight, shaft flex and grip sizes.

Firstly swing weight is the method of referring to how heavy the golf club feels when it is swung. In terms of club weights tables’ ladies golf club weights range from about C0-C8. If you try out men’s golf clubs for fun, you will more than likely find them too heavy to control, it can be said that the essence of the golf swing is to control the clubhead. If you swing too heavy a golf club it will control you rather than the other way around. If on the other hand if you are stronger than the average women due to your size of have played such sports as squash or tennis men’s clubs may be just fine for you. But even if you fall in this category of strength and physique you may well be better to start off with a women’s set of golf clubs and then perhaps progress to a regular man’s set of golf clubs.

Next to consider is the actual shaft on lady’s golf clubs. These shafts on the whole are made and chosen to be more flexible which helps to promote clubhead speed and thus ultimately to improve the actual distance that the golf ball will travel and cover. Until you can generate so much power that the slightly longer and firmer shaft of a man’s golf club will give you additional control without sacrificing distance, then it is always advisable to use ladies “L” shafts. Remarkably some older and less athletic men actually derive greater benefit on the golf courses by using ladies golf clubs with the more flexible shafts , as a means of increasing their golf game and decreasing their golf scores. This is a result of the whippy shaft and lighter weight that enables them to control their golf clubs and thus gain extra distance on the links without much additional effort or expertise whatsoever.

As a last point regarding the distinction between the two sets of clubs is the grips on the clubs. The grips on ladies golf clubs are much smaller than those on men’s clubs. This makes lady’s clubs much easier to hold. In the case of women who find that they either have fairly large hands and/or long fingers larger grips may be more advantageous.
In these cases fingers may find that large grips help them to grip the club correctly.

Golf and the sport of golfing are hard enough sports without handicapping yourself with what may be considering not the most optimal and tailored golf hardware for yourself and your golfing preferences. Why make life and your golf game burdensome and not the easiest and best for an enjoyable game, pastime and lowest possible scores for that round or rounds of golf at your favorite golf courses?

The Author of this article, Syd E. Nohcud,  also writes for Extended Stay Golf Sports Winnipeg  Hotel Theme Rooms