In The Weeds Golf Podcast

Welcome to the In The Weeds Podcast!

This is Episode 1 - Golf Club Anatomy

I cover what the different parts of each club is called and answer the following questions:

Why are there so many different types of golf clubs?

-  There are many different types of golf clubs in order to make the game easier to play and so that there is less specialization that is required.  If you only had 3 different golf clubs you would have to hit those 3 clubs from a much wider variety of situations and locations compared to 14 clubs.  With 14 clubs, a standard swing will be your best option much more often which makes the game easier.  In addition to making the game easier there are many different types of clubs that specialize in certain conditions and situations.  A driver, for example, is made to almost exclusively be hit off of the tee and on a tee box.  Because the situation is so specialized designers have been able to make drivers accomplish the goal of hitting the ball as far as possible and have been able to pull more levers in doing so.  Since you don't have to worry about hitting a driver out of sand or deep grass, certain design features can be implemented that help the ball go really far from a specific situation.  Other clubs are made for a wider variety of situations and as a result look much different.  A wedge, for example, is made to be hit from any type of grass or sand and is most often the club with the most flexibility.  The design of the wedge has evolved over time and because of these conditions it looks and is required to be much different from a driver.

What does each golf club do?

- Generally, each golf club is made to go a specific distance.  The length and loft of each golf club vary in order to make each club go a different distance.  While other factors and conditions influence the design and intent of each club the most important thing is altering distance.  Each club is made with the purpose of slotting into a specific distance gap and while that exact distance will be different for every golfer the gap that it fills will always be the same.  A 7 iron will almost always go short than a 6 iron and a 6 iron will almost always go shorter than a 5 iron.  In order to get that to happen clubs graduate in length and in loft.  The length of the club is simply how long it is from one end to the other with the shaft being that part that lengthens the most.  As the shaft gets longer, it becomes a longer lever and it allows you to multiply the speed and force that your hands are applying to the golf club.  The loft is the angle of the face.  A club with a small amount of loft, like a driver, has a very vertical face that points towards the target more.  A club with a lot of loft, like a sand wedge, has a face that points much more towards the sky.  The loft does numerous things but the biggest fact