I've got a confession to make... I have been playing golf for 13 years and really have not done any research on how golf clubs actually work.

The problem we face is not truly understanding how golf clubs actually work. The average golfer will take a visit to his/her local golf store without doing any actual research.

Why? Wouldn't you rather know what happens when a club hits a golf ball before purchasing? Another lingering question is does it really make any difference at all how the actual club is designed or are all these new club technologies released every year a bunch of hype.

In this article we will take a look at how each golf club sends the golf ball down the middle of the fairway (we can only hope) and why each club is very unique.

Before you rush off to purchase your first set of irons or that oversized driver you really must understand the different types of clubs. Each club has a unique purpose on the golf course.

For example, when using your woods (the clubs with giant heads on them, made of titanium/steel wood in modern day times) it will get the ball traveling hundreds of yards off the tee.

Your irons, which have the largest selection to choose from are not designed for real great distance but they are designed for high trajectory and accuracy. Then finally you have your putter. This club is designed for very short distances (typically on the golf green) and allows you lots of control and finesse.

Believe it or not the golf club has several parts that make that round dimpled ball travel down the middle of the fairway.

Here I will quickly describe each part of the golf club. The hosel is where the head actually connects to the shaft of the club. The face of the golf club is where the club tries to make contact with the ball. The sole of the club is what rests on the ground when your lining up a shot.

You ever wonder what the slope of a golf club meant and why it is important? The slope of a club is very important to a golfer when selecting a club when their are obstructions in front of him/her on the golf course.

The higher the slope of the club the higher the trajectory of the ball (if your like me your drives always fall in front of a tree or in the trees!). Here I will list the average slope of each club:

putter: 0 degrees
sandwedge: 56 degrees
pitching wedge: 47 degrees
9 iron: 43 degrees
8 iron: 39 degrees
7 iron: 35 degrees
6 iron: 31 degrees
5 iron: 27 degrees
4 iron: 24 degrees
3 iron: 21 degrees
3 wood: 20 degrees
5 wood: 15 degrees
Driver: 10 degrees

As you can see there are many parts and angles that make up a golf club. One should consider getting his or her golf clubs customized to their physical body build. This can be done by any local golf club maker or teaching golf pro. The standard golf clubs off the shelf may not be designed for a person who is 5 foot 2 or for someone at the other extreme of 6 feet and above.

In closing, the most important part of the golf club is the actual golfer. My own personal experience and success story was buying oversized forgiving golf clubs. This included the driver and the irons. Choosing the right club is really up to you the golfer! You still can hit a bad shot by making a poor club selection and executing a poor swing. That is a good thing though, that means you still have to practice and the golfer does make up part of the overall success of a straight shot! So do your homework and buy the right clubs and then get on the driving range or golf course and put those new golf clubs to the test.