Irons are thus named because their club heads are made of metal. These days woods are also sometimes made of metal but that is a very recent development. Irons have had metal heads almost since the start of the golf game.
The heads of irons are thin from front to back. The club faces are grooved to ensure spin on the ball. Some advanced golfers might choose a blade style of iron but beginners should select a cavity style back.
The difference here is that the blade style has a full back and the cavity has exactly that - a cavity or hollowed out area. Beginner golfers should always make sure to select irons that are described as game improvement clubs as that is exactly what they are designed to do. They will provide the beginner golfer with the most help.
Composition of the Iron SetA typical, off-the-shelf set of irons will include a 3-iron through pitching wedge (advertised as "3-PW"), 8 clubs in total. The clubs are identified by a number (3, 4, 5, etc.) on the sole of each club, except for the pitching wedge which will have a "PW" or "P."
Different irons may be available for purchase separately and these include a 2-iron and additional wedges (gap wedge, sand wedge, lob wedge). None of these additional clubs are necessary for beginners, and especially not the 2-iron. 1-irons used to be available, too, but are now virtually extinct. Most beginner golfers will not be able to control the longer irons and it is a waste for them to have them in the bag. There are other clubs which suit them instead.
Loft, Length and DistanceAs you go through the set, from the 3-iron to the pitching wedge, each iron has a little more loft than the previous, and a little shorter shaft length than the previous, so each club - when going from 3-iron to PW - hits the golf ball little less distance than the previous. That is, a 5-iron has less loft, a shorter shaft, and produces shorter shots than the 4-iron; the 4-iron has less loft, a shorter shaft, and produces shorter shots than the 3-iron. The pitching wedge has the most loft, the shortest shaft, and the shortest distance in the traditional 3-PW iron set.
The yardage gap between irons is normally in the region of 10-15 yards. Your 3-iron should therefore produce shots that are 10-15 yards longer than your 4-iron. The specifics of this gap depend on the player and how well he plays golf, but the gap should be consistent from club to club.
Also, as you move through the set to the shorter, more lofted clubs, the resulting shots will have a steeper trajectory and this means that shots will rise at a steeper angle and fall at a steeper angle. That also means that a ball hit with the 8-iron - if hit correctly - will roll less once it hits the ground compared to a ball hit with a 4-iron which will normally run quite some distance.
Long, Mid- and Short IronsIrons are generally categorized as long irons, mid-irons and short irons. Long irons are the 2-, 3- and 4-irons, mid-irons are the 5-, 6- and 7s while the short irons are the 8- and 9-irons and pitching wedge.
For most beginner golfers the short irons are easier to hit than the mid-irons, which are easier to hit than the long irons. The reason for this is that as loft increases and shaft length decreases, a club becomes easier to master. A shorter shaft makes a club easier to control in the swing. More loft helps get the ball airborne and adds a little more control to the shot.Distances with IronsIt is important that a golfer learning his distances. How far you hit each club is much more important than trying to hit each club to some predetermined 'correct' yardage. There is no 'right' distance for each club, there is only the individual golfer's distance. Having said that, a typical male recreational golfer might hit a 4-, 5- or 6- iron from 150 yards, while a typical female might use a 3-wood, 5-wood or 3-iron from that distance. Beginners often overestimate how far they are 'supposed' to hit each club because they watch the professionals hitting 220-yard 6-irons. A beginner g olfer should not compare himself to another golfer who might be more advanced.
Hitting IronsIrons can be played from the tee box, using a golf tee, and it is often appropriate to do so. On a par - 3 hole, for example, you will probably use an iron on your tee shot. Or a new golfer might use an iron off any tee in order to have better control over the shot.But most of your iron shots will come from within the fairway. Irons are designed with divots in mind. That's why they have a leading edge that is somewhat sharply rounded. If you take a shot with an iron and dig up a chunk of turf, don't feel bad. It is also appropriate to make a deeper divot (which is called a fat shot), but it is also correct to replace the divot after the shot. That is because iron shots are played with the ball positioned so that it is struck on the downswing. That is, the club is still descending when it makes contact with the ball.
Knowing which iron to use in any given situation is mostly due to how much time you spent practising each club to learn how far you hit each one. But trajectory also often comes into play. If you need to hit the ball high - to get over a tree, for example, or to make the ball land softly on the green and have little or no roll, you would choose one of the higher-lofted clubs. So learning the trajectory of each of your irons - how high the ball climbs, and how quickly it climbs, with each iron - is another important factor in any golfer's game plan.
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