Which Golf clubs are most used/important?

[Daliman]

[ QUOTE ]
For good to great players, this is simple.

Most important club is the putter.

Second most important club is the driver. Getting off the tee long and in the fairway is the key to making birdies and eagles.

Third most important club is the wedge.

For weaker players, I think you can reverse the wedge and driver.

For me, the list is probably something like this: (for playing a difficult course from the tips)

1. Putter
2. Driver
3. Pitching wedge
4. 3 wood
5. 6 iron
6. 4 iron
7. 7 iron
8. 5 iron
9. Sand wedge
10. 3 iron
11. 8 iron
12. 9 iron
13. 4 wood
14. Lob wedge

If the course was very tight and tough, the 3 wood become much more important (and may actually be #2). If there are long par 3's, longer irons become more important. For a muni course, 9 and 8 irons are key, since the approach is always 150 or less. This is my normal list, though.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am surprised that both you and offtopic rate the Driver so high. I would think that the driver would appear to be most important or close only to those that don't know much about the game, but I guess I was wrong,( I DON'T know much about the game). It seemed to me that there are plenty of great players out there that are nothing special off the tee, but I guess it IS one of the major things now seperating the man from the boys on the pro tour; pretty sure al the top 4 are big hitters.

This is what I pay you guys the big bucks for....

[offTopic]

[ QUOTE ]
I am surprised that both you and offtopic rate the Driver so high. I would think that the driver would appear to be most important or close only to those that don't know much about the game, but I guess I was wrong,( I DON'T know much about the game). It seemed to me that there are plenty of great players out there that are nothing special off the tee, but I guess it IS one of the major things now seperating the man from the boys on the pro tour; pretty sure al the top 4 are big hitters.

This is what I pay you guys the big bucks for....

[/ QUOTE ]

Disclaimer: Despite my detailed answer, I suck at golf. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Anyway, my list was based entirely on personal experience.

I've had OK rounds where I've putted poorly, but I've never had even a decent round when I was spraying it all over the place off the tee. Case in point this past weekend (prolly only SF Bay Area folks will have any idea about these courses) I couldn't get off the tee at Cinnabar Hills on Saturday and shot 59 [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] - 46. Made an adjustment yesterday at Bayonet, and shot 42-46. Golf is rigged.

[J.A.Sucker]

All of the great players (even the shorter-hitting tour players) are GREAT drivers of the golf ball. They either have great length (Daly), or great accuracy (Justin Leonard). If they have both, they are Woods, Singh, Els, Phil, etc. Simple as that. The game is damned easy when you're in the short grass.

[B Dids]

Why are you using a metaphor that you don't understand? That just seems like lame, dishonest writing to me.

[nolanfan34]

[ QUOTE ]
Why are you using a metaphor that you don't understand?

[/ QUOTE ]

Good, I'm not the only one who wondered that. Just seemed like a strange choice.

[B Dids]

You write for a living, that might be part of it.

[B Mando]

Short game guru David Pelz did a study that showed that a majority of your shots are from with-in 100 yards. I forget the exact percentage of shots that his study showed for an average round of golf but without question your putter is your most important club. The rest is based on the type of course you are playing. My home course is only like 6400 from the tips and I hit driver-wedge into every green. The course is also very forgiving off the tee so the use of my driver at this course is not very important at all. Now there is another course I play that is very long and has very long par threes, yet 2 rather short(reachable) par 5s so when I play this course I am always using my long irons much more than I usually would. If your short game is good your game is always good though(assuming you know how to hit a decent ball) so I would say the most important clubs are obvouisly your putter and wedges. Most courses(that dont cost 150$ a round) are barely over 6000 yards. For every course that is 6500 and green and lush there are 5 that are 5900 with greens worse than putting on my carpet. What I am trying to say is that the importance of your 'other' clubs is very dependent on the course, and most people play short courses(or from the bitch tees) and therefor short irons and wedges are much more important.

My list of clubs in order of importance are -

1. Putter
2. My 54 degree
3. PW(46 instead of the standard 48)
4. 9
5. 8
6. Driver
7. 7
8. 6
9. My 60 degree
10. 5
11. 2 (hit on tight holes)
12. 3
13. 4
14. 3 wood(I never use this club except when I am going for a par 5)

[SossMan]

[ QUOTE ]
For a muni course, 9 and 8 irons are key, since the approach is always 150 or less.

[/ QUOTE ]

weak.

[on_thg]

[ QUOTE ]
For good to great players, this is simple.

Most important club is the putter.

[/ QUOTE ]

Truth.

1. Putter. Hate the [censored] thing, but it's #1.
2. Pitching Wedge. Used on almost every shot from 105 yards on in.
3. Driver. Sets up the hole, usually needed for distance.
4. 7 Iron. The trusty 150 yard club, also rarely used for chipping.
5. 5 Iron. All purpose. The utility infielder of golf clubs.
6. 1 Iron. Hit frequently from the tee and in place of fairway woods.
7. Hybrid club. I carry a 14 degree one for max distance. Still learning how to use its full potential.
8. 9 Iron
9. 8 Iron
10. 6 Iron
11. 4 Iron
12. 3 Iron
13. 60 degree wedge. Useful from the sand and really good lies. Also useful for skulling shots across greens and into parking lots.
14. Sand Wedge. I don't know why I carry one, since I think I'm fully converted to using the 60 degree job out of the bunkers.

[B Mando]

[ QUOTE ]
All of the great players (even the shorter-hitting tour players) are GREAT drivers of the golf ball. They either have great length (Daly), or great accuracy (Justin Leonard). If they have both, they are Woods, Singh, Els, Phil, etc. Simple as that. The game is damned easy when you're in the short grass.

[/ QUOTE ]

Great point. Fred Funk hits the ball like a girl and probably isnt over 5 feet tall but he hits every fairway and his results over the past years certainly prove that distance isnt THAT important. He won the players this year, that should say enough. You definitly wont see him winning a US Open though. YES I KNOW COREY PAVIN WON ONE, but that was before courses were tiger-proofed.