What are the advantages of using metal golf clubs instead of wooden golf clubs?
What are the advantages of using metal golf clubs instead of wooden golf clubs? Why are they made out of metal? What advantages does metal have?
There are a few good reasons. Some practical and some physical.
Wood is a natural material.
Titleist Vokey SM4 Oil Can Wedge Different wooden shafts behave differently so you have to know each particular club and its characteristics.
It is vary labour intensive to manufacture and it needs oiling and attention if it is to be used in all weathers.
It can break if subjected to a shock.
It is much heavier than a steel shaft so less energy is available to hit the ball.
But the really big reason is torsional rigidity.
A wooden shaft twists as you accelerate it so the head of the golf club is not pointing on the angle that you expect.
The amount of twisting depends on the acceleration at the moment you hit the ball.
So if you hit hard the ball "slices" to the right but if you hit gently it doesn't. Now if it was consistent it could be allowed for. But it isn't consistent.
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A tube ( whether of steel or any other material) is much stronger for any given weight and is much more resistant to twisting for any given strength. So the steel tube is almost free of the torsional effect.
The consistency also extends to being able to make shafts which are all identical so the golfer doesn't have to spend time learning each club.