How to Know When to Use Each Golf Club

Walking up to your ball and feeling a jolt of panic about which of the 14 clubs in your bag to pull is a feeling every golfer knows. Instead of second-guessing, this guide will give you a clear framework for choosing the right club for every situation. You'll learn the job of each club, how to factor in conditions like wind and lie, and how to build a simple, repeatable process for every shot.

Understanding the Basics: Loft and Distance

Before we break down the clubs themselves, let's cover the single most important concept: loft. Every club in your bag (except the putter) has a face angled to a certain degree. This angle is called loft. The less loft a club has, the lower the ball will fly and the farther it will travel. The more loft a club has, the higher the ball will launch and the shorter it will travel.

• Lower Loft (Driver, 3-wood, long irons): Less backspin, more roll, travels farther.
• Higher Loft (Sand wedge, lob wedge): More backspin, lands softer with less roll, travels shorter.

Your entire bag is a family of clubs built to create distance "gaps." Your 7-iron should fly about 10-15 yards farther than your 8-iron, which should fly 10-15 yards farther than your 9-iron, and so on. The number one step in confident club selection is knowing how far you actually hit each club. Go to a driving range with technology or use a personal launch monitor to get your baseline yardages for an average, well-struck shot with every club.

The Long Game Clubs: Drivers, Woods, and Hybrids

These are your power clubs, designed to advance the ball as far as possible down the fairway. They have the longest shafts and the lowest lofts in your bag.

The Driver (1-Wood)

This is the big dog. With the lowest loft and longest shaft, it’s built for one thing: maximum distance off the tee. Its large head size makes it forgiving on off-center hits when used with a tee.

• When to Use It: Predominantly on par 4 and par 5 tee shots. The goal is to set up your next shot from a good position in the fairway.
• When To Reconsider: On shorter par 4s where accuracy is more important than distance, if a fairway is extremely narrow with heavy penalties (water, deep woods), or if you’re struggling with a slice or hook and simply need to find the fairway. Bunkers at your driver distance are a big sign to think about using a different club.

Fairway Woods (3-Wood, 5-Wood)

Think of fairway woods as smaller, more versatile versions of your driver. They have more loft than a driver, making them easier to hit off the ground.

• When to Use Them From the Tee: They make a great alternative to the driver on tight holes or short par 4s. A well-struck 3-wood off the tee gets you safely in play, which is often a better strategy than hitting a driver into trouble.
• When to Use Them From the Fairway: This is their primary job. When you have a long way to go on a par 5 or a long par 4, a fairway wood is your go-to for covering maximum ground. They require a good, clean lie to hit well off the turf.

Hybrids

Hybrids are your get-out-of-jail-free cards. They blend the easy-to-hit nature of a fairway wood with the accuracy of an iron. The head design helps the club cut through rough more easily than an iron, and its higher launch angle helps the ball land softer on greens than a traditional long iron.

• When to Use Them: Any time you'd traditionally reach for a 3, 4, or 5-iron. This includes long approach shots into par 4s, tee shots on long par 3s, and shots from light to moderate rough where an iron might get tangled. For most amateur golfers, hybrids are a much more forgiving and consistent option than long irons.

The Irons: Your Approach Shot Tools

The irons are the core of your set, designed for precision and control on your shots into the green. They are generally grouped into long, mid, and short irons.

Long Irons (4-iron, 5-iron)

Long irons are designed for longer approach shots, generally from 170-200+ yards for a male golfer. They have less loft and require a more precise strike to get airborne properly. Many players replace their 4-iron, and even their 5-iron, with easier-to-hit hybrids.

• When to Use Them: On long approach shots from the fairway, long par 3s, or for a low, running "punch" shot under tree limbs.

Mid-Irons (6-iron, 7-iron, 8-iron)

These are the workhorses of your bag. You'll likely use these clubs more than any other for your approaches to the green. They provide a great balance of distance and control, allowing you to hit high, soft-landing shots that hold the green from a variety of distances (typically 130-170 yards).

• When to Use Them: They are your standard club for most mid-range approach shots into greens on both par 4s and par 3s. Knowing your 7-iron distance is a fundamental reference point for your entire game.

Short Irons (9-iron, Pitching Wedge)

These are your scoring clubs. As the loft increases, the ball will fly higher, shorter, and land more softly. These clubs are all about accuracy and trying to get the ball as close to the hole as possible.

• When to Use Them: For approaches inside 130 yards. These are the clubs you hit when you're in range and ready to attack the pin. Full swings with short irons give you a great chance to make a birdie.

The Wedges: Your Short Game Specialists

From 100 yards and in, the goal shifts from distance to finesse. Wedges have the most loft and are designed for control around the greens, from bunkers, and on short-_`pitch`_ shots.

Pitching Wedge (PW)

Your Pitching Wedge is essentially your 10-iron. It's the most common wedge and is used for full shots from the fairway (around 100-120 yards for most), as well as longer chip and pitch shots around the green where you want some roll-out.

Gap Wedge (AW or GW)

As the name suggests, this club fills the yardage "gap" between your Pitching Wedge and your Sand Wedge. For most a full PW is ~115 yards and a full SW is ~85 yards, leaving a big 30-yard gap. The Gap Wedge fits right in that sweet spot (around 100 yards) and is invaluable for those awkward in-between distances.

Sand Wedge (SW)

Despite its name, the Sand Wedge is extremely versatile. The wide, heavy bottom (called the "bounce") helps it glide through sand without digging in, making it the perfect tool for greenside bunker shots. Its high loft also makes it excellent for short, high-lofted pitches and chips around the green when you need the ball to stop quickly.

Lob Wedge (LW)

This is the highest-lofted club in the bag. It’s a specialty tool for when you need to hit the ball extremely high from a very short distance, like when you’re short-sided behind a bunker and have very little green to work with. It's an effective but challenging club to master, so beginners should approach it with caution.

Beyond Just Distance: The Four Final Fsctors

Pros don't just pick a club based on the yardage. They look at the situation. Once you know the baseline yardage, you need to adjust for these key factors.

1. The Lie: Where is your ball sitting? A clean lie in the fairway allows you to pick any club. If the ball is sitting down in the rough, you need more loft to get it out. Hitting a 5-iron from deep rough is nearly impossible, grabbing a 9-iron to get it back in play is a much smarter choice.
2. The Wind: This is a big one. A steady headwind can easily take 10-20 yards off a shot. A good rule of thumb is to take one extra club for every 10 mph of headwind. Conversely, a tailwind can add the same amount.
3. Elevation: Are you hitting uphill or downhill to the green? An uphill shot plays longer than the yardage, so you’ll need more club. A downhill shot plays shorter, so you'll need less club. A simple guideline is to add/subtract one club for every 15 feet of elevation change.
4. Your Confidence: This is the unwritten rule. Do you have a "go-to" club you feel great about? Sometimes it’s better to take a smooth 90% swing with your comfortable 7-iron than to try and force a 100% 8-iron. Play the shot you feel most confident you can execute.

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right club moves from a guess to an educated decision when you build a consistent process. Start by knowing your baseline distances, then layer in your analysis of the lie, the wind, and the slope. Over time, this becomes second nature, allowing you to stand over the ball with a clear plan and full commitment to your swing.

Learning all these nuances happens out on the course, one shot at a time. For those tricky moments where a bit of expert advice could make all the difference, we designed Caddie AI. If you can't decide between two clubs when hitting into the wind, ask us and get a clear recommendation. Landed in a terrible lie and unsure how to play it? Snap a photo of your ball's situation, and we a will give you strategic advice in seconds. It’s your on-demand golf expert, helping you navigate the course with smarter strategy and more confidence on every shot.