Traditionally, club makers forged a club head by heating a piece of iron and manually shaping it into its finished form. In the 1970s, the casting process started to become popular and by the 1990s most golf irons were cast by pouring molten metal into pre-formed molds.
What is the difference between forged and cast club heads?
These heads are generally referred to as forged/milled and are less expensive than a true hand forged clubhead. The advantage that cast heads have over forged heads is in the level of design possibilities. In the cast process, there is really no limitation on design.
How are golf club heads made?
In this process, a wax model of the club head is made and then this model is coated with a ceramic mixture. Once the ceramic mixture is hard the internal geometry of the ceramic is now exactly like the club head model. The wax is then melted out of the ceramic mold and is replaced by a molten metal.
What is a forged Golf Club?
Simply put, the process of making a forged golf club basically involves the molding and beating of a soft piece of steel into place by heat exposure. The high temperature to which the metal is exposed makes the metal easier to handle and a lot more malleable. Golf club forging has been a practice since the beginning of the 20 th century.
What happens to the heads of cast iron golf clubs?
Once the steel has hardened, the quicksand outer shell is cracked off the cast iron clubs molds and the unpolished golf heads are exposed. At this stage the club heads are still connected to the tree.
What are the heads of golf clubs made of?
The club heads were often made from woods including apple, pear, dogwood, and beech in the early times until persimmon became the main material. Golf clubs have been improved and the shafts are now made of steel, titanium, other types of metals or carbon fiber.
What is the difference between forged and non forged golf clubs?
The Forged Iron Difference Cast irons are made by pouring hot metal into a mold, or cast, which gives the club heads their shape. Forged irons, on the other hand, are carved out of a solid piece of metal. As you might imagine, forging is a more expensive process, but most golfers agree it leads to a better product.
What's the difference between forged and cast golf irons?
A forged golf iron is a club that is made out of one solid block of metal. The irons are carved and shaped, and they are one solid piece of material. A cast iron is an iron that is made from a mold. Hot metal is poured in the mold into the desired shape, and the result is a cast iron golf club.
Are forged irons the same as blades?
They were known as forged irons, or as blades, because the sleek slabs of metal resembled a knife blade. Blades have a very small sweet spot, so a golfer must be sufficiently skilled to use them effectively. If you miss the sweet spot, you can expect shots that slice or hook and travel shorter distances.
Do all pros use forged irons?
By the mid-1990s, only about half the players on the PGA Tour were using forged irons. In the 21st century, however, many forged irons incorporate design ideas made popular by cast-iron clubs. Even some cavity-back clubs, formerly the sole province of cast-iron manufacturers, are now being forged.
Which is stronger forged or cast steel?
Forged steel is generally stronger and more reliable than castings and plate steel due to the fact that the grain flows of the steel are altered, conforming to the shape of the part. The advantages of forging include: Generally tougher than alternatives.
What's better forged or cast crankshaft?
But tensile strength is only one part of the picture. A forged-steel crank has an elongation rating of 20-22 percent before failure--far greater than cast iron, so ductility is the forged crank's real advantage over cast iron.
Which is better cast or forged irons?
Forged clubs make it easier to shape ball flight This is an attribute geared toward the better player that benefits solid shots and hurts on mishits. The cast club conversely tends to have more of a game improvement design with a lower, deeper center of gravity, which helps get the ball up in the air and aids mishits.
Can a mid handicappers use forged irons?
Should Mid Handicappers Use Forged Or Game Improvement Irons? If you are confident enough to sacrifice a little forgiveness for distance. You should consider testing a set of players' distance irons. I would not recommend giving blades a go at this point.
What is better blades or cavity backs?
Although blades are less forgiving than cavity backs, they tend to have less offset, better turf interaction, and improved workability, when compared to cavity back irons. They also force consistency from the best players in their swing which is why they are still favored by tour pros.
Do blades or cavity backs go further?
The main difference is that cavity back irons are bulkier than blades and have a hollow section at the bottom of the club. Cavity backs have a much bigger sweet spot, are a lot more forgiving, and will generate more distance. The reason most weekend golfers use cavity backs is because of the increased forgiveness.
Are blades cast or forged?
Golfweek's Don Patton notes that all irons were crafted this way until the 1960s until cavity-backs were created from casts. Blades or players irons are the most common form of forged iron that is available on the market.
What is a maraging golf club head?
Another more recent addition to the number of materials used in golf club head manufacturing is maraging steel, which is an alloy or family of steel with unique properties. Typically maraging steels are harder than non-maraging steels like 431 or 17-4 and used primarily for face inserts rather than the whole head.
Why use titanium in golf clubs?
Second, the reason for titanium is for the strength and lightweight nature.
What is the maximum size of a golf driver?
Drivers can also be made of 17-4, but due to the high density of the material, the limit on size is approximately 250cc without the risk of cracking during normal play. Because golfers prefer larger, easier-to-hit drivers, virtually no drivers today are even manufactured from stainless steel.
What are forged irons made of?
They were made of softer steels and had other features such as less hosel offset and thinner top lines that appealed to professionals and better amateurs who appreciated the superior feel and ability to shape shots. The cost of making forged irons was higher than for their cast counterparts.
When did Ping irons start making golf clubs?
All golf irons were forged until the late 1960s when Ping began producing irons with a revolutionary cavity back design. By positioning the club’s weight around the periphery of the club head, Ping designers made them more forgiving of off-center hits. They found that the new head shape was much easier to make using a method called investment casting. This also allowed them to switch the club head material to stainless steel, which is harder and more durable than the carbon steel used in forging.
When did golf irons start being cast?
In the 1970s, the casting process started to become popular and by the 1990s most golf irons were cast by pouring molten metal into pre-formed molds. In 2010, manufacturers still use both of these processes to make forged and cast irons.
What Is Casting?
Investment casting is an efficient method for creating complex geometries and requires no secondary processes, such as milling, to achieve the final form. The process involves heating a metal until it is molten and then pouring it into a mold.
What Is Forging?
Forging starts with a solid piece of metal – block, billet, or ingot. The process then uses heat, metal tooling, and compressive forces to alter the material’s shape.
Comparing PXG Cast Golf Irons and Forged Golf Irons
At PXG, we offer both cast and forged irons: our 2021 0211 DC Irons are cast, and our flagship 0311 Irons are always forged.
Still Trying to Decide? Come Find the Perfect Irons for Your Game with a PXG Fitting
Through a fitting at PXG, you can swing all our latest products. PXG Fitting Specialists are on-hand to dial-in your performance with clubs that suit your game and your wallet! To find out which of our irons perform the best for you, book a golf club fitting online with us or give us a call at 1.844.PLAY.PXG.
What is a forged iron?
A forged golf iron is a club that is made out of one solid block of metal. The irons are carved and shaped, and they are one solid piece of material. A cast iron is an iron that is made from a mold. Hot metal is poured in the mold into the desired shape, and the result is a cast iron golf club. The cast golf irons are mostly known as being cavity ...
What is cast wedge?
Cast Wedges. For some players, they are going to want forged clubs throughout their entire bag, and this will include the wedges. Forged wedges are quite popular among the lower handicap players. Many people don’t realize that some of the best wedges are a cast design.
What is cavity back iron?
The cavity back irons are considered game improvement irons. They are much easier to launch, and they are more forgiving than the forged irons. Without the cast irons, many middle handicappers would still be high handicappers. The process of producing a cast iron is quite a bit easier and cheaper than that of a forged.
What is a Cobra King iron?
However, true players know that the Cobra forged irons are some of the best feeling clubs in the game of golf.
Is a forged iron better than a cast iron?
Forged irons are thought to be more of a player’s club. Since this is a more traditional iron and has been around for many years, the forged iron gets a better name than the cast iron. In reality, cast irons are going to be almost as good as a forged iron in the modern golf world.
Do cast iron golf clubs exist?
In years past, when blacksmiths were the ones that were designing and producing golf clubs, the cast iron clubs did not exist. Since the discovery of the cast golf clubs, the clubs themselves have become quite a bit more forgiving. The cavity back irons are considered game improvement irons. They are much easier to launch, ...
Is a forged iron harder to hit than a cavity back iron?
Forged irons are usually a little harder to hit than a cavity back iron. Since a forged iron is molded from a single piece of metal, it is hard to give it the capabilities that it needs to be quite as forgiving as a cast or cavity back iron.
How to make a club head?
The manufacturing process of the forged iron clubhead starts with a piece of iron/ steel. That is a manual process. A craftsman heated the iron as extreme red hot. Then using the forging hammer, he gave shape to that piece of iron. This process of heating and hammering continued until the desired shape was displayed. After that, the finishing process starts. For finishing up, the head needs some grinding, buffing, and specifying touch of the craftsman. The entire process is costly and lengthy. But the manufacturer can control the final output as per the demand.
What type of irons are used in a clubhead?
The clubhead possibly comes with different types of irons. Among them, the golf manufacturing company mostly uses cast irons and forged. There is a confusion among the golf players about which form is better between Forged vs. cast iron? This article will help you to alleviate your confusion.
What is a cast iron head?
That is newer than the forged irons. The manufacturing process of cast iron heads is also known as the investment casting or last wax process to the manufacturers. Cast irons are the game improvement irons.
Why were irons stymied?
While shaping metals with early hand-forged processes did limit the design possibilities for metal irons, the development of irons was more effectively stymied by the poor durability of the early golf balls. Irons had to wait for a better ball to come along.
Is shaft more important than club head?
The shaft component in many cases (and how well it matches your game and swing) can be FAR more important than the particular club head design. Better players should focus even more heavily on matching the right shaft with a decent club head design and then being properly fitted.
Is there a Japanese sword in golf clubs?
And, despite the marketing hyperbole suggesting otherwise, there are in fact NO golf clubs made today like Japanese swords with hand-forged, thin layered, and folded steels.
Can you have both cast and forged clubs in one club?
The truth is either forged or cast clubs can be right for you, and now you can even have a little of both in one club with the multi-material combinations. The good news is you have a lot of choices, just don’t let yourself be seduced by misleading marketing.
Is golf an emotional experience?
There is no denying that for many of us golf is still an emotional experience on many levels. So, the looks and sounds and feel matter. It may not be about medal play scores for some of us at all!
Is a golf club hand forged?
Forged golf club manufacturing processes are no longer “hand forged” for nearly a century now. They are instead “drop-forged” with huge drop forge “hammers” – so large they literally shake the factory floor with every forging hammer blow.
How to identify zinc ironheads?
Zinc ironheads are the cheapet ironheads and are typicallly offered by mass merchandizers. You can identify them by their large heads and their softness, which means they will ding and get marked up easily. Before an iron head is put into production, it is designed on a computer using sophisticated CAD software.
What is a cast iron club made of?
All cast iron clubs are made from stainless steel. Stainless steel combines iron with nickel and chromium and other trace materials. Most good quality irons are made from either 17-4 or 431 grade stainless steel. Cast clubheads made from 17-4 steel are a little harder than clubs made from 431. If you want to have the lie ...
How many times is the head hit?
The force used is very precise, and along with the head of the rough head this creates the molecular structure of the head. The head is hit a third and fourth time, by which the head is now well defined and is in a smooth and unblemished state.
Do forged clubs have a softer feel?
Some say hitting a ball with forged clubs has a softer feel. This softness does make it easier to adjust for lie and loft but it also may lead to the lie and loft changing over time due to use. This is why most pros have their lofts and lies checked pretty well every day.
Why are forged clubs so expensive?
This part of the process requires very skilled craftsmen and is extremely labor intensive. The cost of labor is the main reason why forged clubs are much more expensive.
How many degrees should forged clubs be?
One instance where forged clubs might be a necessary option is when it is determined in the fitting process that the golfers set up or his general swing characteristics require that the lie angles be markedly upright or flat, more than 2-3 degrees.
What is the difference between forged and cast iron?
Firstly, the main difference between cast and forged irons is the actual process of manufacturing. With cast irons, the manufacturing process is called the “investment casting” or “lost wax” process. In this process, a wax model of the club head is made and then this model is coated with a ceramic mixture. Once the ceramic mixture is hard the ...
What is the advantage of casting over forged?
The advantage that cast heads have over forged heads is in the level of design possibilities. In the cast process, there is really no limitation on design. In forged clubs, there are limitations. I doubt we will ever see a forged head with a huge undercut cavity and extra wide sole.
Can you play forged clubs with cast irons?
There are forged or forged-milled clubs that are designed to benefit a 20+ handicapper. So, if you want to play a forged club, you can be sure there is one that will fit your swing. It should also be mentioned that many low handicap players play with cast irons. This is even true on the Tour.
Do forged heads equate with blades?
There is still the misconception that forged heads equate with blades. This was so in the past, but today there are many heads available that are considered game improvement irons. These clubs have cavity backs and great perimeter weighting, for those who want the feel of forged but the forgiveness of a cast iron.
What are some of the facts about club adjustment?
Here are some of the facts, and fallacies, about club adjustment. 1. A manufacturer’s new set of clubs doesn’t guarantee accuracy. While golf club manufacturers certainly try to make a consistent product, there are often inconsistencies in the lofts and lies of the clubs and they may not be progressively consistent from one club to another .
How to improve golf ball flight?
Using a club bending machine to change the angle on a golf club is among the fastest ways to improve a player’s ball flight. Whether it’s changing the lie to improve accuracy or changing loft to make sure that the player’s clubs are progressively consistent, angle bending is a major factor in club performance.
