Why so many clubs?

A golf set is designed in such a way that each club is intended to hit a golf ball to a certain distance at a certain height. The game is simple if the golfer uses exactly the same swing with exactly the same power every time. The shaft length decides the distance the ball travels; while the face angle decides the height of the ball trajectory. In other words a golfer allows the club to decide the distance and trajectory. The longer the club the further the ball goes. The bigger the face angle the higher the trajectory of the ball. All that is required for the golfer to do is to hit the ball consistently with exactly the same power every time.

We do not try to hit the ball harder with the same club in order to move it further. This is because we are unable to measure how much harder we need to hit the ball the second time in order to get slightly more distance. All that is required for the golfer to do is change his club in order to get the distance he wants. He hits the ball with exactly the same force every time, using the same swing and exactly the same set up. The length of the shaft decides how far the ball goes.

The difference in ball distance between consecutive clubs is about 10M. If a golfer hits a golf ball 120M with an 8-iron, he will hit it 130M with a 7-iron and only 110M with a 9-iron. First of all, he needs to find out exactly how far he hits the ball by going to a driving range and keeping a record of these figures for use later on a golf course. Distances vary between golfers depending on physique, sex and age.
An important point to remember is this. The winner of a match is not decided by how far a golfer hits the ball. It is decided by how accurately he can place it with his clubs. The player who hits the ball the least number of times in a round, wins the match (stroke play).

On all the fairways there are distance markers to guide a golfer in his choice of clubs. A red (90M ) , white (135M) and blue marker (180M) are usually placed in the middle of the fairways to guide a golfer to choose a suitable club. Some golf cars also use a GPS meter to show the exact distance to the green (accuracy within one metre). All this estimations of distances is the responsibility of a professional caddy. Some times he even decides on which club the pro uses. Very often a caddy gets a percentage of the prize money for doing this work. It could be very considerable. Tiger Woods' caddy, Steve Williams made over $1.2 million last year.