Golf Club

Golf Club
Weapon type	Close Combat Weapon
Technical specifications
Rate of fire	0.75s per hit. 15s to kill a Tank

"FORE!"

―The Survivors

The Golf Club (also commonly known as the Driver) is a close combat weapon in Left 4 Dead 2, first introduced in The Passing DLC. Once exclusive to the Passing (and still so on the Xbox 360 version) , the Golf Club can now be found, albeit uncommonly, in other campaigns (in the PC version only).

It spawns in the following campaigns:

• Dead Center (PC version only)
• The Passing
• Crash Course (Left 4 Dead 2, PC version only)
• Dead Air (Left 4 Dead 2, PC version only)
• The Sacrifice (Left 4 Dead 2, PC version only)

Melee Mechanics

Melee weapons replace Pistols in the secondary weapon slot. Unlike Pistols, close combat weapons never need to be reloaded and cannot run out of ammo (excluding the Chainsaw). They have two main drawbacks: a limited reach and (with a few exceptions) relatively long cooldown periods. Close combat weapons cause minimal friendly fire damage to the Survivors, even on Advanced and Expert difficulty levels (the Chainsaw is an exception).

These weapons are extremely effective. All melee weapons, on all difficulties, kill Common Infected and most Special Infected in one hit, aside from the Charger (which takes two—but see point below), the Witch (which takes four), and the Tank (which takes twenty, excluding the Chainsaw). Due to their death effects, it is generally advised to melee neither the Boomer (unless there is no choice) nor the Spitter (unless it is possible to move away immediately from the resulting acid splash).

The melee weapons appear to do more damage if an Infected's head or upper body is targeted. With the correct timing it is possible to kill a Charger with one hit while it is charging, allowing a Survivor to "level" a charge without first dealing damage to the Charger and to gain the achievement "Level a Charge".

The Golf Club is classified as a blunt weapon, and will splatter blood onto the screen. As a blunt weapon, it can knock an Infected's head off. Aside from causing this decapitation, it generally doesn't gib infected.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Excellent attack rate and range.
• Can spawn anywhere.
• Attacks are less obstructive to the user's vision.

Cons

• Cannot be used to cut a Smoker's tongue.
• Does not appear in most campaigns (limited to the Passing on Xbox 360).
• Not recommended for killing Boomers due to bile showering attacker and any nearby Survivors.

Achievements

Main article: Achievements

	CONFEDERACY OF CRUNCHES	(30G)
	Finish a campaign using only melee weapons.

---

	HEAD HONCHO	(15G)
	Decapitate 200 Infected with a melee weapon.

---

	TANK BURGER	(30G)
	Kill a Tank with melee weapons.

---

	BEAT THE RUSH	(15G)
	In a Survival round, get a medal only using melee weapons.

---

	LEVEL A CHARGE	(15G)
	Kill a Charger with a melee weapon while they are charging.

---

	FORE!	(25G)
	Knock off the heads of 18 Infected with the Golf Club.

Notes

Nick holding the Golf Club

• The Golf Club seen in-game is based on a variety of said object commonly referred to as a "wood" or "driver". This class of club runs from Number 1 to Number 5 and are used to hit (drive) a golf ball the furthest distance when teeing off at the start of a long hole. When picking one up, the Survivor will correctly identify the club as a driver. Traditionally, woods had their club head made out of hardwood such as persimmon with shafts (or shanks) made of tough, whippy steel tube. Modern woods tend to have their club heads made out of metals such as titanium or composite materials such as carbon fiber. The Golf Club seen in-game appears to be made out of metal, which explains the metal clang heard upon hit.
• The Golf Club is essentially the same as the Katana in function, as they share the same hitboxes, animations and swing speeds, but is classified as a bludgeoning weapon and thus generates less gore. This also makes it unable to cut the Smoker's tongue.
• The Golf Club could not be obtained in The Sacrifice prior to the September 24, 2020 update for the PC version despite the campaign taking place in the same location as The Passing (the city of Rayford). Following said update, it now also appears in Dead Center, Crash Course, and Dead Air in addition to The Sacrifice.
  • However, the Golf Club remains exclusive to The Passing in the Xbox 360 version.
• Upon hitting an enemy, the Golf Club produces a sound akin to striking a golf ball.
• In first person view, the Survivors are seen to hold the Golf Club by the shaft (either to prevent blinding the player as they swing the club or the ValveBiped.weapon_bone being set too high on its model), while in third person they hold properly by the grip.
• The original Survivors formerly had no lines involving the Golf Club (other than those for when they received friendly fire from a fellow Survivor using this weapon) before The Last Stand Community Update was released for the PC version on September 24, 2020. The aftermath of the update's release saw modifications to pertinent talker files for the original Survivors where they will now also comment upon spotting and picking up the Golf Club.
  • The update also introduced a new metallic sound effect for the Golf Club that can be heard upon it being dropped on the floor.
  • There was also the addition of a rotation dampening effect to its world model, fixing a bug in which it would spin endlessly in place after being swapped out with a pistol or another melee weapon, and attachment fixes for the original Survivor's models so that the weapon will be displayed on their backsides when it is unequipped.
• The number of Infected heads needed for the "FORE!" achievement is taken from a standard game of golf, which has 18 holes.
• The Golf Club is featured as an unlockable weapon in another Valve game, Team Fortress 2, and is named the Nessie's Nine Iron.
• Together with the Frying Pan and the Guitar, the Golf Club seen in-game is also featured in Dying Light courtesy of the Dying Light - Left 4 Dead 2 Weapon Pack DLC released on October 25, 2019.