Because the nature of the game of golf means that we have to hit lots of very different shots, we have to try and hit the hardest drives we could hit. We have to try and hit long iron shots, we have to hit high shots and low shots and putts. Whenever I sit down with a golfer and I say what’s your favorite club, I very rarely get the same answer every time. Some people say well the drive is my favorite club Pete because I love hitting it 250 yards that’s right. Other people hate the driver, they want the shortest club in their bag, they find that the easiest to hit. Other people like those mid iron shots from the fairway because it’s the shots they practice the most. So it’s very difficult trying to work out what’s the easiest club and what’s the hardest club to hit.

The club that you probably miss-hit the least is going to be the putter, very rarely do you miss-hit the putter. But actually the job of the putter is probably the hardest to do as well. Because you’ve got the smallest target, you got the smallest margin of error. So the putter for a lot of people isn’t necessarily the easiest club. Likewise the wedges, people think wedges are going to be quite easy because they are quite short and they have plenty of loft on them. But the areas around the greenway of using wedges will often have the most trouble, the most ponds, the most bunkers maybe a bit of that to bounce over the back of the green.

And the difference between a good wedge shot and a bad wedge shot can be very critical as well. You could be setting up for a little 20 yard all over a bunker, catch it thin, and it’s a 60 yard straight up bounce at the back. So a wedge is not necessarily the easiest club to use either. Then we come to the sort of stunted iron. Now this is a club that I think most people don’t have too many issues with possibly because it’s the club they learn; with most people that I teach we learn with the seven iron or a six iron, it’s the club they start hitting on the driving range. So for most people seven iron tends to be their bread and butter, their most favorite club. Then we look at the longer irons. Now, a lot of people these days drop in the longer irons because they find those quite difficult putting hybrid clubs in. Now if you are struggling with your long irons I would encourage you to take three, four, maybe even five iron outs and put at least two maybe three hybrid clubs in there. I’ve got my Thomas Golf 4 hybrid here, great club; hits the ball really nicely instead of having my four iron in the back.

And then we’ve got the driver, the longest club of all. Generally speaking, the longest club and the one with the least loft is going to the hardest to hit. But then again it’s the club that we give you a tee peg with. You are allowed to tee the ball up a couple of inches off the ground and sweep it away. Generally the tee shot you are always standing on the flat line, a teeing ground is leveled out for you. Generally speaking you’ve also got the biggest target waiting for down there, you don’t have to land on the green; you have to land on the fairway. So actually teeing off might be an easier shot for you. I think in answer to which is the easiest club to hit and how you should actually play it, I think as long as your clubs are well fitted for you and you don’t have too little loft in the driver, you don’t have two stiffer shaft, you don’t have too many long irons in there, I don’t mind if you have favorite clubs but I think having least favorite clubs is a problems.

So what I would encourage you to do is take any clubs in your bag that you haven’t hit recently, any clubs that you deem to be your least favorite clubs, take those to the driving range. Go and work on making your least favorite clubs your favorite clubs. Different psychology next time you go on the golf course you might start reaching for your least favorite golf club first and hitting that one nicely.