Actually varying golf clubs are designed to hit a ball at different distances. They come in different degrees of loft to help the ball get in the air further. A regular set of golf clubs is a combination of many varied angle lofts for a golfer to choose from when encountering different terrains and situations.

Let’s now meet them.

They are actually categorized into four types according to Golfsmith.com and they are:

• Woods are the clubs that propel a golf ball the farthest, from 200 to 350 yards, when used properly. At one time, the head of this type of club  was made of wood, such as persimmon or hickory, which gave the club its name.
• Irons have clubheads made of metal and are typically used by the golfer when his ball is fewer than 200 yards from the green. Numbered 1 through 9, the irons possess a higher degree of loft than the woods, with the 9-iron  having the most.
• Wedges are used to strike the ball and make it fly high into the air before landing on the putting surface. These clubs are lofted much higher than the others; for example, a pitching wedge  has a loft between 46 to 51 degrees, and a lob wedge’s loft can be as high as 64 degrees. Golfers usually select a pitching wedge when the shot is as far as 130 yards to the green and a sand wedge to escape from bunkers and very tall grass.
• Putters are the clubs that get the most use. It is utilized to roll the ball along the green toward the hole. Putters come in different sizes, with the standard putter about 34 to 35 inches tall.

According to them clubs come with numbers on them; those with lower numbers are designed so the player can hit the ball a longer distance than the higher-numbered ones.

Furthermore About.com states that there is one more category which is called Utility/Hybrid Clubs.

The terms “utility clubs” and “hybrid clubs” are generally used interchangeably. They denote a category of clubs that combine elements of both woods and irons into their design.

So now that you know what’s for what? What are you waiting for?

Aside from being fun, did you also know that a Swedish study found out that golf actually prolongs life?

On an article on ScienceDaily.com, it is said that:

“The death rate amongst golfers is 40 per cent lower than the rest of the population, which equates to an increased life expectancy of five years.”

The study, which is published in Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, is based on data from 300,000 Swedish golfers and shows that golf has beneficial health effects.

Aside from that according to an article on Better Health Channel, there are lots more  benefits that you can get from playing golf such as:

• Staying fit
• Improving muscle tone and endurance
• Losing weight and body fat.
• Be a great way to keep in touch with friends
• Assist in reducing stress (as a result of the physical activity and also due to the pleasure of walking in an open and pleasant environment)
• Provide opportunities to meet new people
• Help develop a sense of community connectedness.

Now if that is not a reason enough to start playing golf, I do not know what is!

I found a brief history introduction on Golf on About.com which states:

Golf originated from a game played on the coast of Scotland during the 15th century. Golfers would hit a pebble instead of a ball around the sand dunes using a stick or club. After 1750, golf evolved into the sport as we recognize it today. In 1774, Edinburgh golfers wrote the first standardized rules for the game of golf.

But if you want to read about a more in depth post here is a link of a write-up where you can track down its progress and know how it has developed from its mere beginnings and what made it popular.

Here’s a synopsis on what you can find in that post:

Since the beginning of time, man has preoccupied himself with a stick and a rock, making his drudgery into a game.
In the earliest of times he swung the stick at the rock, propelling it towards some predetermined destination. This, it can be said, was the precursor of golf. Unfortunately, it also is the precursor to just about all the sports that require a ball and some object to propel it.

Isn’t that something?

You can even find who made this sport popular in its early years.

Now, if you do not know yet, there are two basic forms of playing Golf. These are the Match play and Stroke play. To read more about these types check out this link here. You can also find the different types of tournament that exist in the world of golf which some are official and some tagged as “non-official”.

Golf is becoming ever more popular nowadays.

Have you tried playing golf?