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Renaissance Club

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A golf club is a club used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf . Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a club head. Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; irons , the most versatile class, are used for a variety of shots; hybrids that combine design elements of woods and irons are becoming increasingly popular; putters are used mainly on the green to roll the ball into the hole. A set of clubs is limited by the rules of golf to a maximum of 14 golf clubs, and while there are traditional combinations sold at retail as matched sets, players are free to use any combination of legal clubs.

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76-557: The Renaissance Club is a golf club in Scotland , located four miles (10 km) west of North Berwick , twenty miles (30 km) east of Edinburgh . It hosted the 2017 Scottish Senior Open , 2019–2024 Scottish Opens , and Ladies Scottish Open in 2019 and 2020. Scorecard : Source: In the Scottish Open in 2019, hole 7―15 were used in front nine holes, and hole 1―6, 16―18 were used in back nine holes. In

152-410: A "condition of competition". Wedges that conform to the new standard are often marketed as "CC" or "Condition of Competition" wedges; this moniker is likely to fall into disuse as players upgrade clubs and the use of non-conforming irons diminishes. Notes Bibliography [REDACTED] Media related to Golf clubs (equipment) at Wikimedia Commons Investment casting Investment casting

228-410: A combination of high-lofted woods (up to 7-wood) and hybrids to replace the 5, 6 and 7-irons, allowing these players to achieve greater carry distances with slower swings. Putters are a special class of clubs with a loft not exceeding ten degrees, designed primarily to roll the ball along the grass, generally from a point on the putting green toward the hole. Contrary to popular belief, putters do have

304-473: A compromise to club-makers after imposing and enforcing a 460cc volume limit on these same club heads. Many recently developed woods have a marked "trampoline effect" (a large deformation of the face upon impact followed by a quick restoration to original dimensions, acting like a slingshot), resulting in very high ball speeds and great lengths of tee shots. As of 1 January 2008, the USGA and R&A have settled on

380-589: A driver, instead using a 3-wood for tee shots and making up the difference on the approach using a lower-lofted iron. The most common omissions are the "long irons", numbered from 2 to 5, which are notoriously difficult to hit well. The player can supplement the gaps in distance with either higher-numbered woods such as the 5 and even the 7-wood, or may replace the long irons with equivalently-numbered hybrid clubs. If hybrids are used, higher-lofted woods are often omitted as redundant, but ladies' and seniors' sets commonly feature both hybrids and high-lofted woods, omitting

456-406: A flat-topped "putter grip". This disqualifies many chipper designs, but there are some USGA-conforming chippers, and non-conforming designs can still be used for informal play. The shafts of the woods were made of different types of wood before being replaced by hickory in the middle of the 19th century. The varieties of woods included ash , purpleheart , orangewood , and blue mahoe . Despite

532-521: A loft (often 5° from truly perpendicular at impact) that helps to lift the ball from any indentation it has made. Newer putters also include grooves on the face to promote roll rather than a skid off the impact. This increases rolling distance and reduces bouncing over the turf. Putters are the only class of club allowed to have certain features, such as two striking faces, non-circular grip cross-sections, bent shafts or hosels, and appendages designed primarily to aid players' aim. Present in some golfers' bags

608-443: A low, medium or high kick; a low kick means the shaft will store energy closer to the club head, which means the club head can twist more but also allows for higher club head speeds. A high kick shaft will store energy closer to the grip; such a shaft will feel firmer when swinging it and will give better control over direction, but the same strength swing will flex the shaft less, which will reduce club-head speed. Widely overlooked as

684-626: A matched set. Irons are typically grouped according to their intended distance (which also roughly corresponds to their shaft length and thus their difficulty to hit the ball); in the numbered irons, there are long irons (2–4), medium irons (5–7), and short irons (8–9), with progressively higher loft angles, shorter shafts, and heavier club heads. As with woods, "irons" get their name because they were originally made from forged iron. Modern irons are investment-cast out of steel alloys, which allows for better-engineered "cavity-back" designs that have lower centers of mass and higher moments of inertia, making

760-418: A one-piece "sleeve" made of rubber, synthetic or composite material that is slid over the shaft and secured with an adhesive. These sleeve grips allow club makers and golfers to customize the grip's diameter, consistency (softness/firmness) and texturing pattern to best fit the player. Clubs with an outer "wrap" of leather or leather-like synthetic still typically have a "sleeve" form underneath to add diameter to

836-434: A part of the club, the shaft is considered by many to be the engine of the modern club head. Shafts range in price from a mere US$ 4 to over US$ 1200. Current graphite shafts weigh considerably less than their steel counterparts (sometimes weighing less than 50 grams (1.8 oz) for a driver shaft), allowing for lighter clubs that can be swung at greater speed. Beginning in the late 1990s, custom shafts have been integrated into

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912-483: A putt, which is more difficult with a lofted iron due to a difference in lie angle. Most chippers have a loft greater than 10 degrees, which is the maximum loft permitted by the Rules of Golf for a club to be classed as a putter, so these clubs are actually classed as irons. To be legal for sanctioned play, a chipper cannot have any feature that is defined in the rules as allowable only on putters, e.g. two striking faces or

988-420: A putter may have two such faces if their characteristics are the same, and they are opposite each other. Page 127 of the USGA rules of golf states: A putter is a club with a loft not exceeding ten degrees designed primarily for use on the putting green. Therefore, any double sided club with a loft greater than 10 degrees is not legal. The trim ring, usually black (It may have additional trim colors), that

1064-511: A regulation that limits the acceptable "trampoline effect" to a coefficient of restitution (COR)—a measurement of the efficiency of the transfer of energy from the club head to the ball—of .830. Other large scale USGA rulings involve a 1990 lawsuit, and subsequent settlement, against Karsten Manufacturing, makers of the PING brand, for their use of square, or U-grooves in their immensely popular Ping Eye2 irons. The USGA argued that players who used

1140-532: A set. They are primarily utilized from the tee box and, on longer holes, may be employed for the second or even third shot. The largest wood, often referred to as the driver or one wood, is frequently crafted from hollow titanium and incorporates feather-light shafts. The length of the woods has been increasing in recent decades, and a typical driver with a graphite shaft is now 45.5 inches (1,160 mm) long. The woods may also have very large heads, up to 460 cm (28 cu in) in volume (the maximum allowed by

1216-400: A subclass of irons with greater loft than the numbered irons (generally starting at 47°–48° of loft, above the 9-irons of 44°–45°), and other features such as high-mass club heads and wide soles that allow for easier use in tricky lies. Wedges are used for a variety of short-distance, high-altitude, high-accuracy "utility" shots, such as hitting the ball onto the green ("approach" shots), placing

1292-412: A vacuum to improve the quality of the casting and minimize porosity . Typically VPC machines consist of an upper and a lower chamber—the upper chamber, or melting chamber, housing the crucible, and the lower casting chamber housing the investment mould. Both chambers are connected via a small hole containing a stopper. A vacuum is pulled in the lower chamber, while pressure is applied in the upper, and then

1368-431: A variety of shots from all over the course, from the tee box on short or dog-legged holes, to the fairway or rough on approach to the green, to tricky situations like punching through or lobbing over trees, getting out of hazards, or hitting from tight lies requiring a compact swing . Most of the irons have a number from 1 to 9 (the numbers in most common use are from 3 to 9), corresponding to their relative loft angle within

1444-498: A wax pattern compound of excellent properties, developed an investment material, and invented an air-pressure casting machine. In the 1940s, World War II increased the demand for precision net shape manufacturing and specialized alloys that could not be shaped by traditional methods, or that required too much machining. Industry turned to investment casting. After the war, its use spread to many commercial and industrial applications that used complex metal parts. Investment casting

1520-566: Is 1.3–4 micrometres (50–125 μin) RMS. The history of lost-wax casting dates back thousands of years. Its earliest use was for idols , ornaments and jewellery , using natural beeswax for patterns, clay for the moulds and manually operated bellows for stoking furnaces. Examples have been found across the world, such as in the Harappan Civilisation (2500–2000 BC) idols, Egypt 's tombs of Tutankhamun (1333–1324 BC), Mesopotamia , Aztec and Mayan Mexico , and

1596-533: Is a deliberately low upper limit such as four clubs, or three clubs plus putter, with a typical load being a wood or hybrid, middle iron, wedge and putter, although often with significant variation between players with regards to which specific clubs are favored in each role. The ruling authorities of golf, The R&A (formerly part of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews ) and the United States Golf Association (USGA), reserve

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1672-414: Is a large gap but not unplayable). Other clubs may be omitted as well. On courses where bags must be carried by the player, the player may take only the odd-numbered irons; without the 4, 6 or 8 irons (the 3 is sometimes removed instead of the 4) the bag's weight is considerably reduced. Carrying only a driver, 3-wood, 4-hybrid, 5-7-9 irons, pitching and sand wedges, and a putter reduces the number of clubs in

1748-442: Is a maximum, it is not a minimum; players are free to use any lesser number of clubs they prefer, so substitutions for the common omissions above are not always made; a player may simply choose to play without a 5-wood or 2–4 irons, instead using a 4-wood and moving directly to their 5-iron as desired distance decreases (a 4-wood in a skilled golfer's hands averages 200 yards; a 5-iron in the same player's hands would be about 160, which

1824-491: Is a tapered steel tube or a series of stepped steel tubes in telescopic fashion. This has improved the accuracy of golfers. The grips of the clubs are made from leather or rubber. The shaft is a tapered tube made of metal (usually steel) or carbon fiber composite (referred to as graphite). The shaft is roughly 0.5 inches (13 mm) in diameter near the grip and from 34 to 48 inches (86 to 122 cm) in length. Shafts weigh from 45 to 150 grams (1.6 to 5.3 oz), depending on

1900-491: Is an industrial process based on lost-wax casting , one of the oldest known metal-forming techniques. The term "lost-wax casting" can also refer to modern investment casting processes. Investment casting has been used in various forms for the last 5,000 years. In its earliest forms, beeswax was used to form patterns necessary for the casting process. Today, more advanced waxes, refractory materials and specialist alloys are typically used for making patterns. Investment casting

1976-515: Is drawn from below the top of the pool, so the metal is free from dross and slag (which are lower density (lighter) and float to the top of the pool). The pressure differential helps the metal flow into every intricacy of the mould. Finally, lower temperatures can be used, which improves the grain structure. This process is also used to cast refractory ceramics under the term vacuum casting . Vacuum pressure casting ( VPC ), properly referred to as vacuum assist direct pour , uses gas pressure and

2052-494: Is for players with a slower swing speed (70–79 mph (113–127 km/h)), and the stiffer shafts, such as S-Flex and X-Flex (Stiff and Extra-Stiff shafts) are reserved only for those players with an above average swinging speed, usually above 100 mph (160 km/h). Some companies also offer a "stiff-regular" or "firm" flex for players whose club speed falls in the upper range of a Regular shaft (90–100 mph (140–160 km/h)), allowing golfers and club makers to fine-tune

2128-419: Is found directly on top of the hosel on many woods and irons. The ferrule is mostly decorative, creating a continuous line between the shaft and the wider hosel, but in some cases it can form part of the securing mechanism between hosel and shaft. Ferrules of differing weights can fine-tune the center of mass of the overall club head, but for these minute adjustments, screw-in weighted inserts at specific points on

2204-422: Is not practicable to define 'plain in shape' precisely and comprehensively." These two rules are used as the basis for most of the more specific rules of Appendix II, including that no club may have a concave face (1931) and various rules defining what is "traditional" about the shapes of specific clubs, while allowing for the progression of technology. The "traditional and customary" rule was originally used to ban

2280-402: Is the chipper , a club designed to feel like a putter but with a more lofted face, used with a putting motion to lift the ball out of the higher grass of the rough and fringe and drop it on the green, where it will then roll like a putt. This club replaces the use of a high-lofted iron to make the same shot, and allows the player to make the shot from a stance and with a motion nearly identical to

2356-550: Is used in the aerospace and power generation industries to produce turbine blades with complex shapes or cooling systems. Blades produced by investment casting can include single-crystal (SX), directionally solidified (DS), or conventional equiaxed blades. Investment casting is also widely used by firearms manufacturers to fabricate firearm receivers, triggers, hammers, and other precision parts at low cost. Karsten Solheim famously revolutionized golf club design through his company PING by incorporating investment casting for

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2432-406: Is valued for its ability to produce components with accuracy, repeatability, versatility and integrity in a variety of metals and high-performance alloys. The fragile wax patterns must withstand forces encountered during the mould making. Much of the wax used in investment casting can be reclaimed and reused. Lost-foam casting is a modern form of investment casting that eliminates certain steps in

2508-572: The Benin civilization in Africa where the process produced detailed artwork of copper, bronze and gold. By far, one of the earliest identified uses of the investment casting process was seen in objects found in the 'Cave of Treasure', discovered in Southern Israel. These items were identified as being made around 3700 BC using Carbon-14 dating techniques. The earliest known text that describes

2584-519: The Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence , Italy . Investment casting came into use as a modern industrial process in the late 19th century, when dentists began using it to make crowns and inlays, as described by Barnabas Frederick Philbrook of Council Bluffs, Iowa in 1897. Its use was accelerated by William H. Taggart of Chicago, whose 1907 paper described his development of a technique . He also formulated

2660-567: The traditional and customary form and make . The club must be composed of a shaft and a head and it may also have material added to the shaft to enable the player to obtain a firm hold (see 3 below). All parts of the club must be fixed so that the club is one unit, and it must have no external attachments." In addition, Appendix II-4a states, regarding club heads, that "the club head must be generally plain in shape . All parts must be rigid, structural in nature and functional. The club head or its parts must not be designed to resemble any other object. It

2736-444: The "flop wedge" or FW, 64°–68°). Hybrids are a cross between a wood and an iron, giving these clubs the wood's long distance and higher launch, with the iron's familiar swing. The club head of a hybrid has a wood-inspired, slightly convex face, and is typically hollow like modern metal woods to allow for high impulse on impact and faster swing speeds. The head is usually smaller than true woods, however, not extending as far back from

2812-565: The Eye2 had an unfair advantage in imparting spin on the ball, which helps to stop the ball on the putting greens. The USGA utilized John L. Saksun , founder of Canadian golf company Accuform Golf, as a consultant to set up methods of measuring the unique grooves and determining PING's compliance with the rulings. Saksun, by proposing a cost-effective solution to help PING change the design of subsequent Eye2s, saved PING hundreds of millions. PING subsequently withdrew their US$ 100 million lawsuit against

2888-491: The Ladies Scottish Open, in 2019, hole 7―15 were used in front nine holes, and holes 1―6, 16―18 were used in back nine holes, while in 2020, holes 1―6, 16, 14, 15 were used in front nine holes, and hole 7―13, 17, 18 were used on the back nine. This golf club or course-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Golf club The most significant difference between clubs of

2964-404: The USGA in sanctioned events; drivers with even larger club-head volumes are available for long-drive competitions and informal games). The shafts range from senior to extra-stiff depending upon each player's preference. Irons are clubs with a solid, all-metal head featuring a flat angled face, and a shorter shaft and more upright lie angle than a wood, for ease of access. Irons are designed for

3040-867: The USGA. Ping’s older clubs were "grandfathered in" and allowed to remain in play as part of the settlement. However, the USGA has begun phasing in a ban on square grooves in golf. Manufacturers were required to discontinue noncompliant clubs by January 1, 2011. According to the USGA, as January 1, 2010, professional golfers on one of the top tours, or those attempting to qualify for one of the three Open Championships (since then four) will need to use new conforming wedges (those without square grooves). Moreover, those who plan to qualify for any other USGA championship (Amateur championships—under 18, Amateur, over 25, and over 50 in both sexes, and four-ball, along with international team championships), will need new conforming wedges by 2014. In addition, this regulation includes IGF and USGA-sanctioned regional amateur events as well, as

3116-418: The adhesive cures, it creates a very strong bond between grip and shaft and the grip is usually impossible to remove without cutting it off. The hosel is the portion of the club head to which the shaft attaches. Though largely ignored by players, hosel design is integral to the balance, feel and power of a club. Modern hosels are designed to place as little mass as possible over the top of the striking face of

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3192-475: The average female player's height and swing speed. Variations on this basic set abound; several club options usually exist for almost any shot depending on the player's skill level and playing style, and the only club universally considered to be indispensable is the putter. Some consider the modern deep-faced driver to be equally irreplaceable; this is cause for some debate, as professional players including Tiger Woods have played and won tournaments without using

3268-417: The bag to 9; this is a common load-out for a "Sunday bag" taken to the driving range or to an informal game. A skilled player can usually overcome the lesser selection of club lofts by reducing their swing speed on a lower-loft iron and/or placing the ball further forward in their stance to get the same carry distance and/or launch angle as the next higher loft number. Another increasingly common informal format

3344-443: The ball accurately on the fairway for a better shot at the green ("lay-up" shots), or hitting the ball out of hazards or rough onto the green (chipping). There are five main types of wedges, with lofts ranging from 45° to 64°: pitching wedge (PW, 48–50°), gap wedge (GW, also "approach", "attack", "utility", or "dual" wedge, typically 52–54°), sand wedge (SW, 55–56°), lob wedge (LW, 58°–60°), and ultra lob wedge (sometimes called

3420-981: The ceramic mould is made of water glass quartz sand. Silica sol method dewaxes into the flash fire, and silica sol zircon sand makes the ceramic mould. Silica sol method costs more but has the better surface than the water glass method. The process can be used for both small castings of a few ounces and large castings weighing several hundred pounds. However, it is most suitable for small parts at large volumes. It can be more expensive than die casting or sand casting , but per-unit costs decrease with large volumes. Investment casting can produce complicated shapes that would be difficult or impossible with other casting methods. It can also produce products with exceptional surface qualities and low tolerances with minimal surface finishing or machining required. Castings can be made from an original wax model (the direct method) or from wax replicas of an original pattern that need not be made from wax (the indirect method). The following steps describe

3496-418: The club compresses the ball, while grooves on the club face give the ball backspin . Together, the compression and backspin create lift . The majority of woods and irons are labeled with a number; higher numbers usually indicate shorter shafts and higher lofts, which give the ball a higher and shorter trajectory. Woods are long-distance clubs, meant to drive the ball a great distance down the fairway towards

3572-418: The club easier to hit and giving better distance than older forged "muscle-back" designs. Forged irons with less perimeter weighting are still seen, especially in sets targeting low-handicap and scratch golfers, because this less forgiving design allows a skilled golfer to intentionally hit a curved shot (a "fade" or "draw"), to follow the contour of the fairway or "bend" a shot around an obstacle. Wedges are

3648-402: The club head are usually used instead. The rules of golf limit each player to a maximum of 14 clubs in their bag. Strict rules prohibit sharing of clubs between players that each have their own set (if two players share clubs, they may not have more than 14 clubs combined), and while occasional lending of a club to a player is generally overlooked, habitual borrowing of other players' clubs or

3724-480: The club, which lowers the center of gravity of the club for better distance. Each head has one face which contacts the ball during the stroke. Putters may have two striking faces, as long as they are identical and symmetrical. Some chippers (a club similar in appearance to a double-sided putter but having a loft of 35–45 degrees) have two faces, but are not legal. Page 135 of the 2009 USGA rules of golf states: The club head must have only one striking face, except that

3800-450: The club-making process. These shafts will, within a given flex rating, address specific criteria, such as to launch the ball higher or lower or to adjust for the timing of a player's swing to load and unload the shaft at the correct moments of the swing for maximum power. Whereas in the past each club could come with only one shaft, today's club heads can be fitted with dozens of different shafts, each with slight variation in behavior, creating

3876-406: The everyday "wrap"-style grip are generally bought and installed by a clubsmith. Re-gripping used to require toxic, flammable solvents to soften and activate the adhesive, and a vise to hold the club steady while the grip was forced on. The newest replacement kits, however, use double-sided tape with a water-activated adhesive that is slippery when first activated, allowing easier installation. Once

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3952-558: The face, and the lie and shaft length are similar to an iron giving similar swing mechanics. These clubs generally replace low-numbered irons in a standard set (between 2 and 5, most commonly 3–4), which are typically the hardest clubs in a player's bag to hit well. By doing so they also generally make higher-lofted woods redundant as well. However, some manufacturers produce "iron replacement" sets that use hybrid designs to replace an entire set of traditional irons, from 3 to pitching wedge. Sets designed for less muscular players commonly feature

4028-541: The first time for clubheads. Quickly the process became an industry standard to allow weight distribution around the perimeter of the clubhead. Other industries that use standard investment-cast parts include military, aerospace, medical, jewelry, airline, automotive and golf clubs especially since the start of 3D printing technology. With the increased availability of higher-resolution 3D printers , 3D printing has begun to be used to make much larger sacrificial moulds used in investment casting. Planetary Resources has used

4104-437: The flex for a stronger amateur-level player. At impact, the club head can twist as a result of torque applied to the shaft, reducing accuracy as the face of the club is not square to the player's stance. The ability of a shaft to twist along its length due to this torque is fundamentally a function of the flex of the shaft itself; a stiffer shaft will also torque less. To counter torque in more flexible shafts, club makers design

4180-559: The gravity pouring technique is to fill the mould using a vacuum. A common form of this is called the Hitchiner process after the Hitchiner Manufacturing Company that invented the technique. In this technique, the mould has a downward fill pipe that is lowered into the melt. A vacuum draws the melt into the cavity; when the important parts have solidified, the vacuum is released, and the unused material leaves

4256-584: The grip and give it its basic profile. According to the rules of golf , all club grips must have the same cross-section shape along their entire length (the diameter can vary), and with the exception of the putter, must have a circular cross-section. The putter may have any cross section that is symmetrical along the length of the grip through at least one plane; "shield" profiles with a flat top and curved underside are common. Grips may taper from thick to thin along their length (and virtually all do), but they are not allowed to have any waisting (a thinner section of

4332-615: The grip surrounded by thicker sections above and below it) or bulges (thicker sections of the grip surrounded by thinner sections). Minor variations in surface texture (such as the natural variation of a "wrap"-style grip) are not counted unless significant. Advances in materials have resulted in more durable, longer-lasting soft grips, but nevertheless grips do eventually dry out, harden, or are otherwise damaged and must be replaced. Replacement grips sold as do-it-yourself kits are generally inexpensive and of high quality, although custom grips that are larger, softer, or textured differently from

4408-427: The hardness of refractory materials used, investment casting can produce products with exceptional surface qualities, which can reduce the need for secondary machine processes. Water glass and silica sol investment casting are the two primary investment casting methods currently in use. The main differences are the surface roughness and cost of casting. Water glass method dewaxes into the high-temperature water, and

4484-417: The head not to be square at impact, resulting in lower accuracy. Most shaft makers offer a variety of flexes. The most common are: L/W (Lady/Women's), A/I (Soft Regular, Intermediate or Senior), R (Regular), S (Stiff), and X (Tour Stiff, Extra Stiff or Strong). A regular flex shaft is generally appropriate for those with an average head speed (80–94 mph (129–151 km/h)), while an A-Flex (or senior shaft)

4560-455: The hole. They generally have a large head and a long shaft for maximum club speed. Historically, woods were made from persimmon wood, although some manufacturers—notably Ping —developed laminated woods. In 1979, TaylorMade Golf introduced the first wood made of steel. Even more recently, manufacturers have started using materials such as carbon fiber , titanium , or scandium . Although most "woods" in golf are constructed from various metals,

4636-577: The indirect process, which can take two to seven days to complete. The main disadvantage is the overall cost, especially for short-run productions. Some of the reasons for the high cost include specialized equipment, costly refractories, and binders, many operations to make a mould, a lot of labor is needed and occasional minute defects occur. However, the cost is still less than producing the same part by machining from bar stock ; for example, gun manufacturing has moved to investment casting to lower costs of producing pistols . Additionally: The variation on

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4712-512: The introduction of steel club shafts (patented in 1910), as that material was not traditional for shafts; that specific ban was rescinded in 1924 by the USGA (the R&;A would continue to ban steel shafts until 1929), and steel would become universal until the development of graphite shafts whose introduction was less controversial. The "plain in shape" rule was more recently bent to allow for non-traditional driver club head shapes, such as squares, as

4788-530: The investment casting process (Schedula Diversarum Artium) was written around 1100 A.D. by Theophilus Presbyter , a monk who described various manufacturing processes, including the recipe for parchment . This book was used by sculptor and goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini (1500–1571), who detailed in his autobiography the investment casting process he used for the Perseus with the Head of Medusa sculpture that stands in

4864-406: The long irons entirely in favor of the lofted woods, and replacing the mid-irons (5–7) with hybrids. The combination allows for higher launch angles on the long-distance clubs, which gives better distance with slower swing speeds. Where a club is omitted and not replaced with a club of similar function, players may add additional clubs of a different function such as additional wedges. While 14 clubs

4940-548: The material and length. Shafts are quantified in a number of different ways. The most common is the shaft flex. Simply, the shaft flex is the amount that the shaft will bend when placed under a load. A stiffer shaft will not flex as much, which requires more power to flex and "whip" through the ball properly (which results in higher club speed at impact for more distance), while a more flexible shaft will whip with less power required for better distance on slower swings, but may torque and over-flex if swung with too much power causing

5016-414: The most common. In industrial use, the size limits are 3 g (0.1 oz) to several hundred kilograms. The cross-sectional limits are 0.6 mm (0.024 in) to 75 mm (3.0 in). Typical tolerances are 0.1 mm for the first 25 mm (0.005 in for the first inch) and 0.02 mm for the each additional centimeter (0.002 in for each additional inch). A standard surface finish

5092-483: The mould. The technique can use substantially less material than gravity pouring because the sprue and some gating need not solidify. This technique is more metal efficient than traditional pouring because less material solidifies in the gating system. Gravity pouring only has a 15 to 50% metal yield compared to 60 to 95% for counter-gravity pouring. There is also less turbulence, so the gating system can be simplified since it does not have to control turbulence. The metal

5168-416: The potential for a much better fit for the average golfer. The grip of the club is attached to the opposite end of the shaft from the club head, and is the part of the club the player holds on to while swinging. Originally, the grip was composed of one or more leather strips wrapped around the shaft. The leather outer wrap on a grip is still seen on some clubs, most commonly putters, but most modern grips are

5244-409: The process. Investment casting is so named because the process invests (surrounds) the pattern with refractory material to make a mould, and a molten substance is cast into the mold. Materials that can be cast include stainless steel alloys, brass, aluminium, carbon steel and glass. The cavity inside the refractory mould is a slightly oversized but otherwise exact duplicate of the desired part. Due to

5320-547: The right to define what shapes and physical characteristics of clubs are permissible in tournament play. The current rules for club design, including the results of various rulings on clubs introduced for play, are defined in Appendix II of the Rules of Golf. The overarching principle of club design used by both authorities is defined in Appendix II-1a, which states: "The club must not be substantially different from

5396-443: The same type is loft , or the angle between the club's face and the vertical plane. It is loft that is the primary determinant of the ascending trajectory of the golf ball, with the tangential angle of the club head's swing arc at impact being a secondary and relatively minor consideration (though these small changes in swing angle can nevertheless have a significant influence on launch angle when using low-lofted clubs). The impact of

5472-452: The shafts with varying degrees of torque through their length, particularly along the thinnest part of the shaft where it joins with the club head. This results in a point at which the shaft is most flexible, called the "kick point"; above that point the increasing diameter of the shaft makes it more rigid, while below that point the shaft is reinforced internally to reduce torquing of the club head. Shafts have typically been classified as having

5548-455: The sharing of a single bag of clubs slows play considerably when both players need the same club. The most common set of men's clubs is: The above set is only 12 clubs; these (or equivalent hybrid substitutes) are found in virtually every golf bag. To this, players typically add two of the following: Women's club sets are similar in overall makeup, but typically have higher lofts and shorter, more flexible shafts in retail sets to accommodate

5624-471: The stopper is removed. This creates the greatest pressure differential to fill the moulds. The most common materials for vacuum casting process are the high nickel-based alloy and super alloys. Turbocharger products are a common applications for this casting process, though it is also regularly used in the manufacture of silver and gold jewellery. Investment casting is used with almost any castable metal. However, aluminium alloys, copper alloys, and steel are

5700-413: The strength of hickory, the long-nose club of the mid nineteenth century was still prone to breaking at the top of the back swing. The club heads were often made from woods including apple , pear , dogwood , and beech in the early times until persimmon became the main material. Golf clubs have been improved and the shafts are now made of steel, titanium, other types of metals or carbon fiber. The shaft

5776-407: The term "woods" persists to characterize their general shape and intended use on the golf course. Contemporary woods commonly feature a graphite shaft paired with a predominantly hollow head made of titanium, composite materials, or steel. This design emphasizes light weight, enabling faster club-head speeds. Woods, being the longest and most powerful clubs, typically consist of three to four options in

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