Woods Golf Clubs
There are many different types of golf clubs, but each one is different then the other producing a different result. Woods are used for long shots and are the longest clubs in the bag. When the Woods were first created the heads of them were acctually made of wood, which is were they got their name. But now in the modern day and age they are made up of hollow steel, titanium or composite materials. The heads are large and spherical in shape with a slightly bulging clubface and a flattened sole, which slides over the ground without digging in during the swing.
The longest wood, the 1 wood, is usually referred to as the driver. It also has the biggest head, making it ideal for use off the tee. The shorter woods (today, the 3 and 5 woods are most commonly used, with 2, 4, 7 and 9 woods occasionally used) are referred to as fairway woods, and feature a shallower face height which enables players to hit them off the turf. The driver can also be hit from the turf, although it requires a high level of skill to execute the shot correctly.
The typical loft for wood faces ranges from 7.5 to 31 degrees. Higher lofted fairway woods are usually preferred by ladies and senior players, as they get the ball up in the air more easily than long irons at lower clubhead speeds. The shaft length in woods varies from about 40-48 inches or 100-115 cm. The shaft enters the head at the top corner nearest to the player through a hollow tube known as a hosel in such a way that the face of the wood is roughly at a right angle to one side of the shaft.
Modern woods may employ a slightly closed face to make them easier to square at impact for the average player. Some companies, such as Callaway Golf, famously eschewed the hosel in order to place more usable weight in the head. This made the clubs easier to hit, but the process resulted in far less of the shaft being affixed to a surrounding structure. This had the effect of weakening the bond between the shaft and clubhead while also exposing more of the shaft to direct contact with the ball on particularly poor swings and was often a culprit in shaft breakage in the more fragile graphite shafts.
The current standard length for the driver is 45 inches, formerly 43.5 inches was most common. Some players prefer shorter driver shafts (43.5″-44.5″) because they are easier to use, though the shorter shaft slightly reduces distance. Graphite shafts are usually preferred for woods due to their light weight, which enables users to generate higher clubhead speeds and thus, greater distance
As with many aspects of golf equipment, shaft length is subject to USGA regulations. The maximum legal length of a shaft is 48 inches, although some woods, such as Black Rock’s Killer Bee, have been made with shaft lengths of up to 50 inches. These woods are mainly used in long drive contests, and are not tournament legal.