Golf equipment - why do you need so many clubs?

According to current golf rules, a player can take max. 14 clubs to the golf course. Clubs can be put in five different categories by lenght, loft and material.

Woods

Woods are long-distance clubs, meant to drive the ball a great distance down the fairway towards the hole. They generally have a large head and a long shaft for maximum club speed. Historically woods were made from real wood. In the late 1980s manufacturers started using metals (steel or titanium); even more recently manufactures have started using space age materials such as carbon fiber or scandium. Even though most 'woods' are made from different metals they are still called 'Woods' to denote the general shape and their intended use on the golf course. 

Irons

Irons are golf clubs with a flat angled face and a shorter shaft than a wood, designed for shots approaching the green or from more difficult lies such as the rough, through or over trees, or the base of hills. As with woods, "irons" get their name because they were originally made from cast iron. High-loft irons are called wedges. The higher the number gets on the scale, the lower amount of angle difference from 90 degrees. 

Hybrids

Hybrids are a cross between a wood and an iron, giving these clubs the wood's long distance with the iron's familiar swing. These clubs generally are used instead of either fairway woods or low-numbered irons, though some manufacturers produce entire sets of hybrids or "iron replacements" that incorporate hybrid design to add distance and forgiveness to a player's entire set of irons from 3 or 4 all the way to pitching wedge.

Wedges

Wedges are irons with a higher loft than a 9-iron, which is typically lofted at about 44 degrees. Wedges are used for a variety of short-distance, high-altitude, high-accuracy shots such as hitting the ball onto the green ("approach" or "attack" shots), placing 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). 

Putters

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 towards the cup. Contrary to popular belief, putters do have a loft (often 5 degrees from truly perpendicular at impact) that helps to lift the ball from any indentation it has made. This increases rolling distance and reduces bouncing over the turf.

Other equipment

In addition to clubs, player needs a golf bag which is made of nylon or leather and is cylindrically constructed around a plastic frame. When on the green, the ball may be picked up to be cleaned or if it is in the way of an opponent's putting line; its position must then be marked using a ball marker (usually a flat, round piece of plastic or a coin). Most of the gloves have ball markers attached to them. Gloves help grip the club and prevent blistering. Golfers wear special shoes with inter-changeable spikes attached to the soles. These can be made of metal or plastic, designed to increase traction thus helping the player to keep his/her balance during the swing, on greens or in general wet conditions. A pitch mark repair tool (or pitchfork) is used to repair a pitch mark (depression in the green where a ball has hit the ground). A tee is an object (wooden or plastic) that is pushed into or placed on the ground to rest a ball on top of for an easier shot; however, this is only allowed for the first stroke (tee shot or drive) of each hole. A golf cart or golf buggy is a small vehicle designed originally to carry two golfers and their golf clubs around a golf course with less effort than the traditional method of walking.