In order to get good at golf, you have to know which club to grab for any situation on the course. For someone new to the game, it can be extremely confusing determining what each club is for, and why there are so many in the bag. They will likely know what a putter is for, and (maybe) what a driver is for, but the twelve clubs in between are pretty much a mystery.
So, we have (a maximum of) fourteen clubs in the bag. All of these clubs have a different 'loft', or angle. The least lofted club is the putter, which has only a couple of degrees of loft, and the most lofted club is the sand wedge, which could have as much as sixty-eight degrees of loft (although most sand wedges average more like fifty-six degrees).
The reason the putter has almost no loft is because the intent is to get the ball rolling immediately, without the ball going up in the air. The putter does have a couple of degrees of loft because this helps to get the ball rolling more smoothly off the face of the club, without popping or bouncing off of it.
Shots that are closest to the green but not on the green (chip shots) require a lot of loft but not the most. The idea with these shots is to get the ball on the green on a lower trajectory and rolling the majority of the way on the green rather than flying in the air. The best plan is to take a club with just enough loft to get the ball on the green just past the fringe and rolling the rest of the way. For example, if a ball is right next to the green (a couple of feet away from the fringe) and the pin is set on the opposite side of the green, a seven iron might be an appropriate club selection because this will pop the ball over the fringe, get it on the green on a low trajectory and rolling towards the pin.
If the ball is a bit further away from the green (say ten feet or so) and there is not as much green to work with, a pitching wedge might be a good club selection, because this will have a bit more loft to it, allowing the ball to fly a little higher and land a bit softer (translating to the ball flying further in the air and not rolling as much on the green). If the ball is even further away (twenty to sixty yards for the average golfer) then a sand wedge is probably the best option, because the ball should fly on an even higher trajectory and roll the least amount when it lands, spending the majority of its time in the air and very little rolling on the green. One can pretty much aim right for the pin, or just before it, with the sand wedge.
The shots explained above (shots from approximately sixty yards and in) comprise the 'short game' in golf. These shots require some creativity and a lot of touch and should be practiced often. Club selection will depend not only on the proximity to the green but also where the pin is on the green. Almost all clubs in the bag can and should be used for the short game. Practice different shots with different clubs and determine what works best in each situation, following the premise that the more green one has to work with, the less lofted club should be used in order to maximize the roll on the green.
Shots that are even further away from the green (sixty to two hundred and twenty yards for the average golfer) are much more cut and dry, because the golfer will be performing a 'full swing' rather than the partial swing required for the short game. The rule here is simple, the closer to the green, the more lofted club should be selected. A good benchmark is to take one less lofted club for every ten to fifteen yards further away from the green (one hundred yards away may require a nine iron while one hundred and twelve yards away may require an eight iron.. one hundred and eighty yards away may require a five wood while one hundred and ninety five yards may require a three wood).
In summary, one should get creative and experiment with different clubs when practicing the short game, and also go to a driving range to determine approximately how far each club is hit when performing a full swing.
