Golf tips for Club Selection

Golf club selection is largely a matter of club distance. However, different clubs are required for short play and long play, and some can be more accurate than others. With up to 14 golf clubs to select from there can be a few clubs that may be suitable for tee-shots. Here are a few noteworthy golf tips for effective club selection.

Tee-shots

When selecting your club for tee-shots the club that will get you closest to, or on, the green is usually the most suitable golf club. This is certainly the case for par-3 holes where you can make it onto the green from the tee. Select an iron club that best matches the distance required, and note that you can potentially over-hit on short par-3s. If the par-3 has a fairway then it’s better to under-hit.

However, for longer holes the longest club is not necessarily the best to select. Note that these longer clubs are also the least accurate, so if there are lots of areas on a golf hole where you could potentially lose a golf ball it could be better to select a shorter more accurate golf club. This could potentially save you a penalty-stroke.

Short Play

For shorter play there are a greater number of golf clubs to select from. For starters, your club selection can depend on whether you’re pitching or chipping from off the green. In some cases it may well be possible to either chip or pitch onto the green, in which case always go for a chip as a better alternative to a pitch. This is especially the case when there is more wind, as pitching will be all the less accurate.

You can chip with a number of clubs from off the green. Again, the longer the club the further the chip will go. Note that the roll of the ball will cover most of the distance, and the ball will roll further on dry golf courses than wet ones. So, if it’s wet you should consider chipping with a slightly longer club than you might do from the same distance if it were dry.

When the course is very dry, and if you are not too far away from the green, then putting onto the green can be more effective than chipping. Just so long as you’re on the fairway you can putt the ball up to the flag with the putter. Even if you are in longer grass around the green you may still be able to putt onto it, and close to the flag.

The Rough

When in longer grass around the fairways and greens more lofted golf clubs are the most effective. As such, the wedges such as the sand and pitch wedge are among the best golf clubs to select for short play from longer grass. With these you can chip and pitch your way from the longer grass onto the green.

From further distances consider the 7-wood if the grass is not too long. The 7-wood is the shortest of wood clubs, and so it also has the most loft. With a 7-wood you can shoot your way out of the rough from over 100 yards.

These are just a few tips for golf club selection. Consider selecting shorter clubs for longer holes where you could potentially lose your ball from the tee, select the putter for chipping on dry courses, chip with longer clubs if the course is wet, and select shorter golf clubs with more loft if you are in longer grass.