As part of my ongoing series of how we can learn a lot from golfers of yesteryear, I would like to compare the golf clubs that Jim Barnes, who won the first PGA Championship ever -- carried in his bag to what golfers use today.

In 1916, Jim Barnes' set of golf clubs consisted of three woods -- a Driver, Brassie (2-wood) and Spoon (3-wood). These clubs featured wood shafts and heads with ivory inserts.

His bag contained six irons -- a Cleek (2 iron-3 iron); Midiron (4 iron-5 iron); Mashie (6 iron-7 iron); Pitching Mashie (8 iron-9 iron); Mashie Niblick (9 iron); and a putter with more than 6 degrees of loft. These clubs were designed with iron heads and wood shafts.

The evolution of equipment has changed with the way golf is played. Today's golf professionals play with sets that are comprised of two to three woods and feature titanium heads and graphite shafts. In addition, they carry state-of-the-art utility clubs and irons that are all part of a bag of 13 clubs, as well as the latest in putters.

Modern equipment is designed for courses with watered and closely mowed fairways, leading to raked bunkers and very fast and smooth greens. As a result, the sets of today's players are configured to cover from 300-yard tee shots to 60-plus degree lofted wedges.

Conversely, Barnes' equipment was designed for tee shots that carried 200-plus yards in the air to non-watered fairways, allowing for more than 50 yards of roll. Shots were played to greens that were bumpy and hard, as they landed on the fairway with a trajectory designed to roll on to the green.

In upcoming columns, I will compare the equipment and type of shots produced in Barnes' era and how you can use your equipment for the many different shots you will encounter on the course.

Meanwhile, if you are interested in reading Barnes' groundbreaking "Picture Analysis of Golf Strokes: A Complete Book of Instruction," -- originally published in 1919, and re-released just last year -- visit www.pga.com.

To find a PGA Golf Professional near you to help you master your golf technique and purchase the right equipment for your game, be sure to visit www.PlayGolfAmerica.com, and use the ZIP code search tool.

Rick Martino is Director of Instruction for The PGA of America. He teaches at the PGA Learning Center in Port St. Lucie, Fla., and is ranked among the Top 50 instructors by Golf Digest Magazine. The author of the PGA Manual of Golf (Warner Books/$34.95), Martino can be reached at (800) 800-GOLF or by email at pgalearningcenter@pgahq.com.