What are golf clubs made of nowadays and in history?

Over the years golf clubs have gone through some pretty dramatic changes, a modern golf club maker looks more like an aerospace manufacturer than a sporting goods maker. One of the biggest changes is what the clubs are made out of. The modern golf club can be made out of a huge variety of materials, all of which will change the way that the ball flies off of the club.

The very first golf clubs that were used for centuries were simply tree branches that were carved into a shape that looked something like a club. Over time this would change and clubs were made mainly with iron heads and a wooden shaft. In the middle of the nineteenth century however clubs would start to appear that had wooden heads as well. This was mainly because of the improved golf balls that were being used. The new balls flew much better but they were too delicate and iron heads would damage the ball. Therefore clubs that were all wood became standard.

In the early part of the twentieth century golf balls improved to the point where it was again possible to start using metal heads. This is when it started to become common to differentiate between the woods and the irons that modern golfers use. This is the terminology that is used today despite the fact that most woods are not made of wood and most irons are not made of iron. Instead club heads can be made from a variety of different metals with steel being the most common. Graphite and plastic are also widely used as well.

The change in the materials that are used for club heads is not nearly as big as the ones that have occurred in the materials that are used for the shafts. In about the middle part of the twentieth century the wooden shafts were mostly replaced with steel ones. The problem with steel shafts however is that they do not flex as much as most golfers would like. The result is that you can now get shafts that are made out of aluminum, graphite or even titanium. That being said most shafts are made of steel.

While you can get your golf clubs made out of a wide range of materials the vast majority are still made with steel shafts and heads. The main reason for this is cost; things like titanium and graphite are very expensive. Really only the most serious of golfers is going to benefit from investing in a set of clubs that are made out of the exotic materials. As a beginning golfer they really aren't going to help your game any so you may as well stick to the steel clubs until you have become good enough at the game that a more expensive set of clubs will actually make a difference.