Stepping up to the first tee with a bag full of clubs can feel intimidating if you don't know what each one is for. From the massive driver to the delicate putter, every club has a specific job. This guide will walk you through exactly what comes in a golf club set, explaining the purpose of each club so you can build a bag that gives you confidence on the course.
Before we break down the individual clubs, you should know about the most important rule regarding your equipment: you are only allowed to carry a maximum of 14 clubs in your bag during a round of golf. You can carry fewer, but never more. This rule forces you to think strategically about which clubs will serve you best on a particular course.
Most complete, ready-to-play boxed sets will come with 11 to 12 clubs, leaving you a few open spots to add your custom choices as you improve. This 14-club limit is why understanding the function of each club is so important - it's all about making sure every club in your bag earns its place.
Commonly referred to as "woods" (though they are almost always made of metal these days), these are the longest clubs in your bag, designed for maximum distance off the tee or on long fairway shots. They have the largest heads and the longest shafts, allowing you to generate the most clubhead speed.
This is the big dog. The driver has the lowest amount of loft (typically between 8 and 12 degrees) and the longest shaft, making it the one built for pure distance. It's almost exclusively used off the tee on par 4s and par 5s. Newer players often have a love/hate relationship with the driver because its length and low loft can make it harder to control. But when you connect with it, there's no better feeling in golf.
Fairway woods are more versatile than the driver. A 3-wood has more loft than a driver (around 15 degrees) and a slightly shorter shaft, making it easier to hit consistently. You can use it off the tee on shorter holes where control is more important than raw distance, or you can hit it from the fairway to reach a par 5 in two shots. A 5-wood (around 18 degrees) has even more loft and is even easier to get airborne from the fairway or even light rough.
Hybrids are one of the best innovations in modern golf equipment, especially for amateur players. A hybrid club seamlessly blends the easy-to-hit nature of a fairway wood with the accuracy of an iron. They were designed to replace the hard-to-hit long irons (like the 2, 3, and 4-irons).
_Why are they so helpful?_ Their design features a lower and deeper center of gravity than a traditional iron, which helps you get the ball into the air easily, even from tricky lies in the rough. If you've ever struggled to hit a 4-iron, trying a 4-hybrid will feel like a revelation. Many beginner and intermediate sets now include one or two hybrids instead of the corresponding long irons.
Irons are the workhorses of your set and will be used for most of your shots from the fairway into the green. They are designed for precision and control rather than just pure distance. They are numbered, typically from 3 or 4 up to 9.
The concept is simple: the lower the iron's number, the less loft it has and the farther the ball will travel. Conversely, the higher the number, the more loft it has, which means a higher, shorter shot. So, a 5-iron will go further than an 8-iron. A standard set gives you predictable distance "gaps" between clubs, so you might hit your 7-iron 150 yards, your 8-iron 140 yards, your 9-iron 130 yards, and so on.
You can group your irons into three categories:
Wedges are your short game specialists. They have the highest lofts of any club, designed for delicate shots around the green, from the sand, and on very short approaches.
The Pitching Wedge is usually the next club down from a 9-iron and almost always comes included with your iron set. It typically has a loft between 44-48 degrees and is used for longer chip shots and full shots from around 100-125 yards.
As the name implies, a Gap Wedge (typically 50-54 degrees) "fills the gap" in distance between your Pitching Wedge and your Sand Wedge. It's a great utility club for shots that are too short for a PW but too long for a SW.
The Sand Wedge (54-58 degrees) is primarily designed to get you out of greenside bunkers, thanks to a special feature on its sole called "bounce." That bounce helps the club skim through the sand instead of digging in. It is also an excellent, versatile club for high, soft chips and pitches around the green.
The Lob Wedge (58-62 degrees) has the most loft of any club in the bag. It is a specialty club used for hitting very high, soft shots that stop almost immediately on the green - think "flop shots." It's incredibly useful for getting over a bunker or when you don't have much green to work with.
You use your putter more than any other club in the bag. Its sole purpose is to get the ball into the hole once you're on the putting green. There are endless designs, but they generally fall into two main categories:
Choosing a putter is incredibly personal. Find one that feels good in your hands and gives you confidence standing over the ball.
Now let's see how these clubs come together to fill a 14-club bag for different skill levels.
Most beginners buy a "boxed set" that comes with a bag and a perfect combination of easy-to-hit clubs. A great beginner configuration (11 clubs) looks like this:
This set prioritizes forgiveness. It ditches the hard-to-hit long irons in favor of a hybrid and focuses on the clubs you will actually use and learn with. There's plenty of room to add more clubs as your game develops.
An intermediate player is starting to dial in their distances and might want to add more scoring options. Their 14-club bag might look like:
This player has replaced their 4-iron with a hybrid, keeps the 5-iron for longer approaches, and has a full complement of three dedicated wedges for total control around the greens.
An advanced player makes every club choice based on precise distance gapping and shot preference. Their bag might be more specialized:
This setup reflects a player who wants total command over ball flight. They may favor a 4-iron over a hybrid for its workability and have their wedges dialed into precise 4-degree loft gaps for unparalleled distance control on short shots.
Understanding what comes in a golf set goes beyond just knowing the names of the clubs. It's about recognizing the job each club is designed to do, from blasting a drive down the fairway to tapping in a final putt. By building a set of 14 clubs that you trust and understand, you give yourself the tools to confidently handle any situation the course throws at you.
Of course, knowing what's in your bag is only half the battle, knowing which club to use and when is just as important. For those moments of indecision on the course - like being stuck between a 7-iron and an 8-iron, or staring at a tricky shot from the rough - having an expert opinion can save you strokes. This is where we designed Caddie AI to help. With simple descriptions or even by looking at a photo of your ball's lie, our AI coach can give you an instant, smart recommendation, taking a massive amount of guesswork out of your round and letting you commit to every swing.
Thinking about hosting a golf tournament fundraiser is the first swing, executing it successfully is what gets the ball in the hole. This guide will walk you through the entire process, step-by-step, from laying the initial groundwork months in advance to watching your happy golfers tee off. We’ll cover everything from securing sponsors and setting your budget to planning the on-course fun that makes an event unforgettable.
A golf handicap does more than just give you bragging rights (or a reason to demand strokes from your friends) - it’s the game’s great equalizer and the single best way to track your improvement. This guide breaks down what a handicap is, how the supportive math behind a handicap index a is, and exactly how you can get one for yourself. We’ll look at everything from Course Rating to Adjusted Gross Score, helping you feel confident both on the course and in the clubhouse.
The compression of a Pinnacle Rush golf ball is one of its most defining features, engineered specifically to help a huge swath of golfers get more distance and enjoyment from their game. We'll break down exactly what its low compression means, who it's for, and how you can use that knowledge to shoot lower scores.
Figuring out which spikes go into your new (or old) pair of Puma golf shoes can feel like a puzzle, but it’s much simpler than you think. The key isn't the brand of the shoe, but the type of receptacle system they use. This guide will walk you through exactly how to identify your Puma's spike system, choose the perfect replacements for your game, and change them out like a pro.
The Golf Genius app is one of the best tools for managing and participating in competitive golf events, but figuring it out for the first time can feel like reading a new set of greens. This guide cuts through the confusion and shows you exactly how to use the app as a player. We’ll cover everything from logging into your tournament and entering scores to checking the live leaderboard so you can enjoy the competition without any tech headaches.
Walking onto the first tee with sweaty palms, worried you’ll be a good partner to paly wtih...or even asked back again ...We’ve all been there - trust me! The real trick of feeling confortable... is about how you handle you’re ready to plsy. THIS guide explains the simple rules of the rode to show you hnow t play golf while staying calm relaxed and focused... an having much morse fun while you,',re aat it? You'll also play with confidence a dn make fiendsa while you're at i
Just ask a question or share a photo and Caddie gives personalized guidance for every shot - anytime, anywhere.
