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Why are clubs called woods even though modern woods are often made of metal?

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Tiger Woods follows through on his golf swing after teeing off, standing in tall grass with spectators watching in the background at St Andrews Golf Links. — golf American golfer Tiger Woods competing at the British Open (Open Championship) at St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland, 2005.

Clubs are called "woods" because they were traditionally manufactured from wood, such as apple, beech, or persimmon, to create the club head.1

While modern technology has shifted the construction of these clubs to materials like stainless steel and titanium—which offer performance advantages—the name persists as a traditional classification in golf terminology. By the 1980s, metal club heads became widespread among professionals, and by the turn of the 21st century, the transition to metal was nearly complete. Although the term "metals" is sometimes used in modern golf parlance to reflect these material changes, "woods" remains the standard name for these specific clubs.1