Drivers
Drivers and Woods are one and the same thing. Years ago all Woods were made from wood but today as well as wood they can be made from metal or a composite material such as Graphite.
Driver is the term mostly associated with the number one wood. It derived from the terminology ‘driving the ball the furthest distance’. Drivers all have a distinct shape, a bit like a lower case letter b.
It is possible to buy seven woods. They are numbered one through to seven. The number one wood is commonly called a driver whilst the other six are usually still called woods. Most golfers and most golf sets will carry three woods, numbers one, three and five.
The rules of golf limit the number of golf clubs you can carry to fourteen so golfers have to decide what combination of woods and irons they will carry. They have to carry a putter so that leaves the golfer thirteen to choose from.
The number one wood or one driver is normally used on the tee on long holes as it’s the club that can drive the ball the furthest distance. The driver is used on the tee as the golf ball has to be teed up, usually about an inch off the ground in order to be hit properly.
The other woods can be used on the tee or on the course itself, usually as a second shot in place of a long iron.
Woods are designed for distance not accuracy and the lower numbered woods have become bigger and bigger so that the sweet spot becomes easier to hit. The sweet spot is the optimal place on the club face that the golf ball should be hit.
Drivers were becoming so big in fact that in 2004 rules were put in place limiting drivers to 460cc, which is the cubic capacity of the club head. They also stipulated that a driver club face could not be more than 2.8 inches from the sole to the crown of the club head and the distance from the heel to the toe must not be more than 5 inches. The last stipulation which covers not just the driver but all golf clubs, except the putter, is that a golf club shaft cannot be longer than 48 inches.
