2Academy · The bag
Golf club types: know your bag
Every club in a set, what it is for, its loft and how far it carries against the others, with a chart you can scale to your own numbers.
The fourteen-club limit
A golf bag holds at most fourteen clubs. Rule 4.1b of the Rules of Golf, published by The R&A and the USGA, says a player must not have more than 14 clubs during a round, and the limit applies from the start of the round. In stroke play the penalty is two strokes for each hole where the breach happened, up to a maximum of four strokes in the round. In match play the match score is reduced by one hole for each hole where it happened, up to two holes. This page paraphrases the Rule; read it at randa.org.
Fourteen is a ceiling. You may carry fewer, and many beginners should.
The families
Clubs fall into five families. Within a family, a lower number means less loft and a longer club.
- Woods. The driver and the fairway woods. Large heads, long shafts, the most distance. The driver is for the tee. Fairway woods can be played from the tee or from the fairway.
- Hybrids. A head between a wood and an iron. Hybrids are commonly used to replace the long irons, because many players find them easier to launch from the ground.
- Irons. The numbered clubs, usually from 4 or 5 down to 9. The middle of the bag, used for approach shots from the fairway or a short tee.
- Wedges. Pitching, gap, sand and lob wedges. High lofts, short shafts, used for shots near the green and out of sand.
- Putter. Used on the green. It has a few degrees of loft, enough to lift the ball out of its resting spot, and it is the club you use most.
Interactive
Know your bag.
Select a club in the bag to see its loft, its job and where it sits among its neighbours. Then enter the distance you carry your 7-iron, and the chart scales every other club from it. The carries are a teaching model, not a target: replace them with your own as soon as you have them.
Use the arrow keys to walk the bag.
Wood
Driver
- Loft
- 9–12deg
- Across current models
- Carry, model
- 230yd
- 200–255 yd, model
The longest club: from the tee on long holes, when the landing area is wide enough.
Carry against the rest of the set
A teaching model, not a target: every carry is scaled from the 7-iron you enter, by the gaps of a typical set, and the putter has none. Your number is kept on this device only. Measure your own on a range or a launch monitor.
The chart
All fourteen at a glance.
| Club | Loft, current models | Carry, model (yd) | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | 9–12° | 200–255 | The longest club: from the tee on long holes, when the landing area is wide enough. |
| 3-wood | 15–16.5° | 180–225 | A second shot on a par 5, or a safer tee shot than the driver. |
| 5-wood | 18° | 170–210 | An easy-launching club for long approaches from the fairway or light rough. |
| 4-iron | 19–22° | 150–185 | A long approach, or a low punch under branches. Many sets replace it with a hybrid. |
| 5-iron | 22–25° | 140–175 | Long approaches, and a low running shot into the wind. |
| 6-iron | 25–28° | 130–165 | Mid-to-long approaches to the green. |
| 7-iron | 29–32° | 125–155 | The usual reference club for mid approaches, and for comparing one set with another. |
| 8-iron | 33–36° | 115–145 | Shorter approaches that fly higher and stop sooner. |
| 9-iron | 37–40° | 105–130 | High approaches and longer chip-and-runs. |
| Pitching wedge | 42–44° | 90–115 | Full shots from close in, pitches and chips. |
| Gap wedge | 48–52° | 85–105 | Fills the distance gap between the pitching and sand wedges. Some makers call it an approach wedge. |
| Sand wedge | 54–56° | 75–90 | Bunker shots and soft pitches; its sole is built to glide through sand. |
| Lob wedge | 58–62° | 65–80 | The highest, shortest shot: over a bunker to a flag close behind it. |
| Putter | A few degrees | Rolls | Rolling the ball on the green, and sometimes from just off it. |
Loft ranges span current published specifications (Callaway Elyte, Titleist T150 and Vokey SM10, TaylorMade Qi10; read 17 October 2026) and vary by model and year: check your own clubs. Carries are the chart's teaching model, from a 140-yard 7-iron.
What loft does
Loft is the angle of the clubface, and it trades distance for height. A low-lofted club sends the ball out low and far. A high-lofted club sends it up steeply and shorter, and the ball lands more softly. The club number is only a label for that angle, which is why a 7-iron from one maker can match the loft of a 6-iron from another.
Typical lofts
Makers publish loft for each model, and it varies by maker and model. Modern sets have strengthened (lowered) their lofts over the years, so the same number can mean different distances. Treat the table as examples, not as a standard.
| Club | Loft (degrees) | Example and source |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | 9, 10.5, 12 | TaylorMade Qi10 and Callaway Elyte X, both offered in these lofts |
| 3-wood | 15, or 16.5 in the high-launch version | Callaway Elyte fairway woods |
| 5-wood | 18 | Callaway Elyte fairway woods |
| 4-iron | 19, 22 | Callaway Elyte; Titleist T150 |
| 5-iron | 22, 25 | Callaway Elyte; Titleist T150 |
| 6-iron | 25, 28 | Callaway Elyte; Titleist T150 |
| 7-iron | 29, 32 | Callaway Elyte; Titleist T150 |
| 8-iron | 33, 36 | Callaway Elyte; Titleist T150 |
| 9-iron | 37, 40 | Callaway Elyte; Titleist T150 |
| Pitching wedge | 42, 44 | Callaway Elyte; Titleist T150 |
| Gap wedge | 48 to 52 | Titleist T150 W 48; Callaway Elyte GW 51 (its 47-degree club is labelled AW, an approach wedge); Titleist Vokey SM10 gap wedges run 50 to 52 |
| Sand wedge | 54 to 56 | Titleist Vokey SM10 |
| Lob wedge | 58 to 62 | Titleist Vokey SM10 |
Read down the rows and you will see each iron adds roughly three to four degrees of loft. Compare the two makers and the same number differs by about three degrees: Callaway's Elyte prints 29 on its 7-iron, Titleist's T150 prints 32. Check your own clubs: the loft is usually in the maker's specification list for the model.
Distances
Distance depends on the player far more than on the club. Clubhead speed, strike quality and conditions matter more than the number on the sole. For that reason this page publishes no table of distances you should hit; the chart above is a model scaled from your own 7-iron.
One measured figure is useful for scale. TrackMan, the launch-monitor maker, reported in 2017 that the average male amateur driver swing in its data had a clubhead speed of 93.4 mph and a carry of 204 yards. That is a nine-year-old average with no handicap breakdown, so it describes a crowd, not you. Carry is how far the ball flies before it lands; total distance adds the roll, which varies with the ground.
Any yardage you see for a "typical" player, here or elsewhere, is illustrative. Measure your own carry. A launch monitor at a range or a fitter will do it, or you can pace the distance on a quiet course and note where good strikes land.
Gapping
Gapping is the step in carry distance from one club to the next. You want the steps to be fairly even, so every distance you face has a club. Large holes, such as a long jump between your longest iron and your wedge, force you to take something off a swing.
To check yours, hit several good shots with each club, discard the stray ones and note the typical carry. Write the numbers in order. Where the step is much bigger or smaller than its neighbours, you have a gap or an overlap. The adjustable chart above does the subtraction for you.
A beginner's half set
You do not need fourteen clubs to learn. Many beginners are well served by a half set, commonly a driver or a fairway wood, a hybrid, a few irons spread through the range (say a 6, 8 and 9), a pitching wedge, a sand wedge and a putter. That covers every job in the families above with fewer decisions.
A short set has another advantage: you learn what each club does without choosing between near-identical ones. Add clubs when you can name the gap they fill.
How this ties to the plan
The 28-day practice plan asks you to practise with intention, and the bag is part of that. In the early sessions, learn two or three clubs well: note how far each carries and which way it tends to miss. In the later weeks, use those numbers when you write your Game Plan.
If tee-shot club choice is your question, read golf strategy. For why a club misses the way it does, see golf ball flight laws. And before any of it, make sure your grip and setup are sound.
Figures here come from the maker and rule pages listed below, read in October 2026. Models change, so confirm on the maker's current page. This is general information, not coaching.
What this lesson is not
- General information written to common teaching convention, not a lesson from a coach. A qualified coach who can see your swing outranks anything here.
- Interactive numbers are teaching models, labelled as such: not measurements, and not targets.
- Lessons are free and never decide election. The published rule on the plan page does, and only that rule.
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