The scoring clubs are the ones you hit the scoring shots with. The scoring shots are the ones that make the biggest difference in getting the ball into the hole as quickly as possible.

The three most important clubs are the driver, wedge, and putter. (See The three most important clubs.) Let me add two more.

One is an advancement club. Say you’re in the fairway, but too far from the green to get on with the next stroke. Play an advancement shot.

This shot eats up yards, but with a club that isn’t hard to hit, and still gets you close enough to the green so you can have an easy shot to get on.

I like to use my 24-degree hybrid for this purpose. Say I’m 260 yards from the hole on a par 5. This club will leave me a medium-length pitch for my third.

Or if you want, 260 yards is two easy 8-irons. (See The mathematics of club selection.)

The second club I want to add is a chipping club. For garden-variety chips, essentially approach putts from off the green, use a 6-iron. It gets the ball on the green and running, which is how you chip the ball into the hole.

So you have five clubs: a club for the tee (not necessarily the driver), two clubs for shots around the green, a club to eat up distance from the fairway in a controlled manner, and a putter.

Get good with these clubs, and the shots they hit, and see how easy golf gets.

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