It is difficult to identify at a glance which club heads are cast and forged when you first get into golf. However, you'll quickly learn the differences that make them easy to tell apart. Cast heads have lumps and bumps all over them as the weight is moved around to help forgiveness - best for beginners and game improvers.
What is the difference between forged and cast iron golf clubs?
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.
How can I tell the difference between cast and forged club heads?
It is difficult to identify at a glance which club heads are cast and forged when you first get into golf. However, you'll quickly learn the differences that make them easy to tell apart. Cast heads have lumps and bumps all over them as the weight is moved around to help forgiveness - best for beginners and game improvers.
What are forged golf irons made of?
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.
Should you choose cast or cast for your golf clubs?
Boyd says: “There’s kind of a tradeoff with both as far as manufacturing. You have a bit more flexibility with cast as far as what you can do with the tooling. It’s a lot simpler to tool and a lot less expensive to tool and produce cast golf clubs.
How can you tell if irons are forged?
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.
What is the difference between forged and cast clubs?
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 or cast golf clubs better?
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.
Are forged clubs harder to hit?
Forged or players' irons, undoubtedly, are slightly more challenging to hit in comparison to cavity-back or cast irons. With forging, the iron is formed using a single, solid piece of steel. Thus, there's not much flexibility there for making the golf club as highly forgiving as molten-metal-poured cast iron.
How do you tell the difference between cast and forged?
Forging and casting are two very different manufacturing methods. When something is cast, the material is heated above its melting temperature and poured into a mold where it solidifies. When something is forged it is physically forced into shape while remaining in a solid state – although it is frequently heated.
Do any pros use cast irons?
Although many pros still use forged irons, a large number now use investment cast irons and there is no stigma attached.
Can a high handicapper play forged irons?
Considering that blades or players' distance irons are commonly crafted using the forged method, these irons are best suited to low handicappers and professionals. The heads of forged irons are often compact, the sweet spot sits directly behind the center of the face, and they are the least forgiving of the irons.
Do professionals use forged irons?
Earlier I mentioned that blades or players' irons are the most common club crafted using a forging process. It is for that reason that lower handicappers and professional golfers use forged irons.
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.
Do forged irons wear out faster?
Forged irons use softer steel than cast irons, but unless you're playing golf multiple times per week, the average player won't notice much different in terms of longevity. While both are manufactured to be high quality, forged irons are purer than cast irons and, in theory, should last longer.
Do forged irons feel softer?
forged irons question held by many golfers — perhaps most golfers — is that forged irons feel softer than cast irons. That is, that forged irons have a noticeably softer feel at impact with the golf ball than do cast irons.
Do any tour players use cast irons?
Tour players use cast playability clubs and forged blades alike, but they keep it on the center of the clubface with great regularity. For many better players (probably no worse than single-digit handicap), a good forged iron will provide them sufficient playability.
Why are forged irons better than cast?
The main difference in the two methods is this: in a cast process, there can be small air bubbles that are created in the process and when cool turn into tiny voids, whereas in forged clubs this does not occur, the metal is solid throughout.
Do pros use forged irons?
Forged irons made a comeback after the turn of the century thanks to new manufacturing techniques, including some designs borrowed from their cavity-back cousins. By 2010, approximately 80 percent of PGA Tour golfers carried forged irons in their bags.
Are forged irons more forgiving?
Considering that blades or players' distance irons are commonly crafted using the forged method, these irons are best suited to low handicappers and professionals. The heads of forged irons are often compact, the sweet spot sits directly behind the center of the face, and they are the least forgiving of the irons.
Do forged irons wear out faster?
Forged irons use softer steel than cast irons, but unless you're playing golf multiple times per week, the average player won't notice much different in terms of longevity. While both are manufactured to be high quality, forged irons are purer than cast irons and, in theory, should last longer.
How does forging work?
Simply put, forging works with a solid metal material using compressive forces to achieve a desired shape; whereas casting works with liquid metal, poured into a mold to form the desired geometry.
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.
What is investment 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.
Is forged iron more expensive than cast iron?
Firstly, the manufacturing process and materials used while making forged irons costs more and is more time consuming than creating a cast iron.
Is PXG forged or cast?
At PXG, we offer both cast and forged irons: our 2021 0211 DC Irons are cast, and our flagship 0311 Irons are always forged.
Who Should Use Forged Irons?
Forged irons are known to be the better feeling club, so, therefore, the better players will naturally gravitate towards the forged irons. There are situations where higher handicappers feel as though forged is a better fit for their game.
What is a forged wedge?
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. The most important part about a golf wedge is making sure that it has the feel, bounce, and spin that you need to hit a variety of shots.
Are Vokey Wedges Cast Or Forged?
An interesting fact that surprises many golfers is that Vokey wedges are cast and not forged. The Vokey wedges are made by Titleist, and they are very high performing and one of the most widely used on the PGA Tour.
Why are cavity back wedges so popular?
Some cavity back wedges made by Cleveland are becoming increasingly popular because they are making the wedge game that much easier for the average golfer. In years past, the only wedge options were available were more like the blade-style wedges.
What happens if you miss a shot with a cast iron?
If they miss a shot slightly with a cavity back or cast iron, then they still have a chance of a decent result. If you miss a ball with forged iron, you will likely see some ugly golf shots. Some like to argue that this forces a high handicapper to get better at golf.
What is a cast iron?
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 back irons.
Can a high handicapper use forged irons?
One common question that golf professionals get is can higher handicappers use forged irons. The answer to this is that a high handicapper can use any club that appeals to them. There are no rules, but there are a few considerations to keep in mind.
What is the difference between casting and forging a golf club?
There are two options available to golf clubs designers and engineers - casting or forging the raw material into a clubhead. Casting involves pouring molten metal into a mould while forging consists of hammering the metal into the desired shape. There is also the option of using some cast and some forged components on the same clubhead - a method which is becoming more popular.
What is the difference between forged and cast heads?
In contrast, forged heads are streamlined and classic in their design with no unnecessary design elements at all - only for the best ball strikers out there!
Why use steel in cast iron?
Using steel that sets harder makes cast irons more durable, have increase ball speed and thus add more distance than their forged counterparts.
What is forging in golf?
In simple terms, forging is hammering metal into the shape you want it. In golf, the process is a little more refined, but the premise is the same. A simple billet of steel is pressed and rolled hundreds of times to turn it from a block to a playable golf club. In order to allow this to happen, the steel needs to be much softer than the version used in casting.
Why do golf clubs have cavity back irons?
As any liquid (in this case metal) fills whatever container it's poured into the very nature of casting allows manufacturers to be more creative in their designs. Given this, the process lends itself to cavity back irons, clubs primarily designed for beginners and game improvers. The process allows mass to be cast to the clubhead's outer edges to create what is known in the industry as perimeter weighting, which increases the club's forgiveness by reducing twisting on off-centre hits.
What is the head of a golf club?
The head of a golf club, especially a set of irons, is a very recognisable shape, even to non-golfers . However, the process to achieve this universally recognisable shape can vary dramatically from model to model, and even between irons within the same set.
What is the new technology in golf?
Another relatively new technology making its way into the golf industry is 3D printing. As the process becomes more refined, it can now be applied to make an intricate part for a clubs- like the top line cover on the Cobra RADspeed irons.
Who designed the first investment cast club?
By the late 1950s investment cast clubs entered the market. At first it was only putters, designed and cast by Karsten Solheim.
What is a forged iron?
The clubhead starts its life as a piece of steel. It's heated until it's red hot, then the craftsman uses a machine called a forging hammer to pound the steel into shape .
How did cast iron start?
Cast irons began with molds into which molten metal was poured. This let the worker form the clubheads into any shape he wanted. When they cooled, he broke the molds and finished the clubheads. Investment cast clubs not only incorporated cavity-back designs, but they were less expensive than forged clubs.
Is there a difference between forged and cast irons?
Former U.S. Golf Association Technical Director Frank Thomas says there is no longer any real difference between forged and cast irons – provided, that is, that the designs are the same. Cast irons are now capable of providing the same feel and quality as forged irons.
Do forged irons have the same design as cast irons?
Forged irons incorporate many of the same game improvement designs as cast clubs. But the primary choices you face when choosing between the two are the same as they have always been – how the irons feel and how much you're willing to spend.
Is air bubble bad for pro casting?
Many held to tradition, feeling that these new cast clubs were inferior. In many ways they were. Air bubbles were always a danger with investment casting. These bubbles could affect a pro's accuracy, although they were rarely a problem for the amateurs.
Who uses investment cast irons?
Bubba Watson is just one of the many pros who use investment cast irons.
What does price equate to in forged clubs?
Advocates of more expensively made forged clubs and processes suggest to you inferences of price equated with performance, greater attention to detail, precision, quality, craftsmanship, and manufacturing process demands and skill . A few of these suggestions might be valid in some brand-to-brand comparisons, but is there real value-added from a critical performance attributes standpoint?
What is a drop forged golf club?
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. A red hot cylindrical bar of carbon steel is “drop-forged” through 3 to 5 progressive dies. With each blow, the bar gradually morphs into a very rough golf club shape (that still requires extensive work before becoming a golf club head). You can see good examples of this drop forging process on the Internet.
What is a RAW forging?
They were L-shaped pieces of scaly steel with the longer leg of the “L” flattened and angled to become the clubface and the shorter leg left in a cylindrical shape to become the hosel. There was much work then yet to be done to manufacture a conventional forged iron, with 50 to 60 grams of steel (20%+ of the total weight) commonly removed during the shaping and finishing manufacturing processes.
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.
What are multi-material club heads?
Now, Multi-Material club heads are becoming the new standard with some forged parts and other investment cast steel parts that are combined to provide the best of both worlds. Other additional materials are even added for vibration dampening and final weight adjustment is done with high-density tungsten pieces inserted to increase MOI and move the CG positions significantly. These multi-material combination club heads now commonly include forged steel + investment cast or CNC milled steel (or exotic alloys) + high-density tungsten weighting inserts + urethane vibration dampening molded pieces + stamped aluminum graphics badges, totaling 5 or more materials and parts in a single club head. These are generally exceptional golf clubs, and they represent the direction of the future.
When did forged irons start being offered?
Perimeter weighted, cavity-back forged irons were not even offered commercially until as recently as the late 1980’s – and still only when the forging producers were forced to do so by the economic reality of declining forged irons sales, as investment cast offerings from the OEMs began to gain broader consumer acceptance.
How old are perimeter weighted irons?
Perimeter weighted irons are in fact a 100 year-old idea. The archives of the patent office and our golf history are rich with many amazing ideas. We are literally talking about 500 years of golf nuts (like ourselves) contemplating how to improve their games with better golf club designs.
