Clubs
Rule of thumb: about 10 metres between consecutive clubs — a higher number flies shorter and a little higher (a 9-iron carries shorter and higher than a 7-iron).
- Driver — off the tee on longer holes, once your 7-iron contact is reliable. Most distance, least forgiving — the small, worn head punishes off-centre hits, so smooth tempo beats swinging hard.
- Fairway wood — your friendlier long club. Off the tee when the driver feels risky, and for long approaches. Much easier to get airborne than the long irons.
- Long irons (4–6) — longer approaches. The 4-iron is the hardest club in the bag to hit cleanly; reach for the fairway wood when in doubt.
- 7-iron — mid approaches, and the club to learn your swing with. Most of your range time.
- 9-iron — shorter approaches; flies higher and stops quicker.
Setup by club
Rule of thumb: the lower the club number (the longer the club), the wider the stance and the further forward the ball.
| Club | Stance width | Ball position (front / back) |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | Widest | Off the front foot |
| Fairway wood | Wide | 20 / 80 |
| 7-iron | Standard | 40 / 60 |
The front / back numbers are where the ball sits between your feet — a smaller front number means the ball is further forward. So 40 / 60 (7-iron) is just forward of centre, 20 / 80 (fairway wood) is well forward, and the driver is played off the front foot.
Lesson learnings
Backswing
- Eyes stay on the ball.
- Turn through the shoulders.
- Left arm straight, right arm folds.
⚠️ Watch-out: don’t let the club go too far behind your back at the top.
⚠️ Watch-out: extend the arms on both the backswing and the through-swing — keep your width; don’t let the arms collapse or chicken-wing.
Downswing / through
- Turn through the hips and turn the body.
- Weight moves from the back foot to the front foot; the back foot turns up onto the toes.
⚠️ Watch-out: stay down in your posture — don’t push up onto your toes and lose your height during the swing. The trail foot rolling up in the follow-through is fine; your whole body rising is not.
Driver
- Wider stance, ball off the front foot (see Setup by club).
- Through the ball, let the club release — the forearms rotate and the clubhead folds over past impact.
How to practice: start with half swings, then build to full swings.