when did golf irons start being cast

What is a cast golf irons?

The cast golf irons are mostly known as being cavity back irons. Although they are cast golf irons, most people call them cavity back designs.

When was the first cast iron made?

Even the best historians, archeologists and scientists may never truly know. But perhaps that’s why history is so intriguing. Some historians believe that iron casting began in ancient China as early as 6000 BCE while others believe that only copper and bronze castings were being made at this time.

What is the newest cast of Cleveland Golf Company Irons?

The newest cast release for the Cleveland Golf Company is the UHX iron. The UHX is a progressive iron set. The wedges are going to be thinner and more workable than something like the four iron that almost starts to look a little like a hybrid.

Should you buy forged or cast golf irons?

When it comes to forged vs. cast irons, there is no right or wrong answer. If you like the feel of a forged, then you should play with forged; if you want the forgiveness and distance of the cast, then you should play with that. Find a set of irons that you like, regardless of how they were manufactured and learn to play them well.

Do any pros play cast irons?

Bubba Watson is just one of the many pros who use investment cast irons. Back in the days of Bobby Jones, you played forged irons. There were no retail outlets; instead, golfers had blacksmiths make clubheads for them from a block of iron. Modern golfers have less trouble getting clubs, but they have more options.

When did golfers stop using wooden clubs?

In the mid-20th century, both the USGA and the R&A ruled that golf clubs with steel shafts could be used in tournaments. While steel was used for club shafts, wooden heads were the norm for drivers and fairway woods until the 1970s.

Why are cast irons more forgiving?

The shape and design of the cavity back iron itself are what make it so forgiving and easy to hit. The center of gravity can be built to be lower, and there are inserts, weights, and even things like urethane microspheres that get injected into the club head itself.

Why are forged irons better than cast?

It's often said a golfer can feel the ball “stay on the face longer” with forged irons, and that this “sticking” to the face provides more shot control and workability (the ability to curve the ball and adjust trajectory).

When did steel shafts start in golf?

1925Around 1925 the steel shaft was introduced in the United States, although blacksmiths had experimented with them since the late 1890's. The R&A, named from The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, is the governing body of the game of golf.

When did drivers switch from wood to metal?

1979That changed in 1979 when the TaylorMade golf company began making drivers and other woods out of metal, giving rise to one of the great oxymorons of all time, the metal wood. Two years after their introduction, the first professional golf tournament was won with a metal wood — the Houston Open.

Do pros use cavity back irons?

According to Titleist, 70% of tour players use cavity backs while 30% use blades. Cavity back irons provide increased forgiveness while blades offer more control and a better feel. This is why a lot of tour players have both cavity backs and blade irons in their bags.

Do forged irons last longer?

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 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 forged irons wear out faster?

Problem, as you say, forged clubs do tend to wear a little quicker than cast. I use my previous R7 irons as an example. When I sold them there was hardly any wear for a club I'd had and used 3-4 times a week for 12 months.

Why do pros use blade irons?

Not only that, blade irons are best utilized by high-speed golfers who create enough spin and height to hold the green and to execute curved shots with precision. “For the same reason a blade is more difficult to hit, it's beneficial for those who hit intentional bad shots, or shape shots,” Briand says.

Are Taylormade Burner irons cast or forged?

Taylormade launched this iron late last year as an iron for the better player wanting forgiveness and something a little larger than a compact cavity as there is some offset and the top line is not thin by any means. The Burner Forged is soft and forgiving and simply looks great.

When did golf clubs use steel?

The use of steel was trendy in the 1920s. However, it was widely contested until 1929, when the Prince of Wales used it in a match. Clubs made with steel shafts were more robust and lighter and could produce better accuracy. However, this posed another dilemma. With a lighter club, a golfers swing also had to change.

Where did golf originate?

However, the officially documented invention of golf was in the 1400s in Scotland . No matter its origin, one fact remains: use clubs to hit balls into holes to score and, ultimately, win.

What are the different types of golf clubs?

At that time, there were five main styles of clubs from which to choose: 1 Play Clubs or Longnoses, for driving 2 Fairway Clubs or Grassdrivers, for medium-range shots 3 Spoons for short shots 4 Niblicks, which are similar to wedges 5 Putting Cleek

What wood is used in golf clubs?

Woods were typically made with popular persimmon wood due because it was both durable and powerful. Until 1991 when the first “metal” wood emerged, persimmon was the wood of choice for most golfers. Wedges had already been fused with metals since the late 1800s.

What is a Haskell golf ball made of?

It was made from a solid piece of rubber called gutta-percha. Greater distance and durability gave this golf ball precedence over others. Later in 1898, the Haskell three-piece ball was invented and became the standard for the next ninety years.

When was the featherlite golf ball invented?

Other metals were cheaper and more desirable but were prohibited due to the type of ball used. The Featherlite golf ball was invented in 1618. It was made from leather and feathers. If golfers hit the Featherlite with anything other than wood, it would occasionally explode upon impact.

What are golf clubs made of?

Most clubs were made with a solid piece of wood, but some were fused and connected by leather straps. While wood/iron fusions worked for shorter range clubs like wedges, longer drivers became too heavy to maneuver. Other metals were cheaper and more desirable but were prohibited due to the type of ball used.

When was the steel shaft invented?

For the sake of this piece were going to stick with the modern evolution of the game’s equipment starting off with the invention of the steel shaft in the early 1900s. Some of the first steel shafts came from a fishing rod producer in Britain by the name of Apollo and we’re developed in the early 1920s. The shafts were much more consistent ...

Why is the golf club called the "driver"?

Now to the “big stick.”. The term “driver” comes from the idea that the longest club was meant to be driven as far as possible from the teeing area and hence the name stuck. The club heads were made of persimmon, because of the strong dense nature of the wood.

What is the hosel on an iron?

For irons, the hosel, an undefined part of the iron, is very noticeable, forming a barrel shape on the inside face of the club and the "heel" of the sole of the club. Many modern irons have a more offset hosel, integrated into the clubhead at a lower point and further from the hitting area of the club.

What is a pitching wedge?

The pitching wedge is the lowest-lofted club typically called a wedge. It lies on the cusp between the numbered irons and the wedges (in fact it is sometimes labelled the "10-iron"), and is useful for a variety of short shots from firm or semi-soft lies.

What are the 5 to 7 irons?

The irons from 5 to 7 are typically called the "mid irons", and are generally used from the fairway and rough for longer approach shots, between 130-210 yards depending on the club, player and course. They are also used on hillier fairways to avoid hitting a low rise, which is a risk with long irons. These irons are commonly needed for the second shot of a long par-4 or the second or third shot of a par-5, and whenever the player must "lay up" their tee or second shot to avoid a hazard in range of their woods or long irons. Mid irons are common "bump and run" clubs in close-in situations where the player does not wish to hit a more lofted chip shot, but needs more rolling distance than a pitch or bump-and-run with a short iron would produce.

How many clubs can you have with a driver and two fairway irons?

This usually comes at the cost of having to remove other clubs, often the long irons, from the bag in order to meet the 14-club limit; with a driver and two fairway irons or hybrids, for a player to have four wedges, they must start their numbered irons at the four-iron instead of the three.

What is the lowest lofted iron?

The 1 iron, or driving iron, is the lowest lofted and longest iron (14 or 16 degrees of loft), although Wilson did make a 0 iron for John Daly. Often called a butter knife because of how it looks, the 1 iron has the least surface area on its face and so is commonly regarded as the most difficult club in the bag to hit.

What is a wedge iron called?

Irons with higher loft than the numbered irons are called wedges, which are typically marked with a letter indicating their name, and are used for a variety of "utility" shots requiring short distances or high launch angles. Prior to about 1940, irons were given names rather than numbers.

What is a cavity back iron?

Cavity back, or perimeter weighted, irons are usually made by investment casting, which creates a harder metal allowing thinner surfaces while retaining durability, and also allows for more precise placement of metal than forging techniques. Cavity backs are so called because of the cavity created in the rear of the clubhead due to the removal of metal from the center of the clubhead's back, which is then redistributed, most of it very low and towards the toe and heel of the clubhead. This has the general effect of lowering the clubhead's center of mass, placing it underneath that of the ball allowing for a higher launch angle for a given loft. The perimeter weighting also increases the moment of inertia, making the clubhead more resistant to twisting on impact with the ball. The end result is a clubhead with a larger "sweet spot" that is more forgiving of slight mis-hits.

How did iron casting impact China?

One of the biggest impacts that China had on the evolution of iron casting occurred in 645 BCE when Chinese metallurgists began using sand molding. In this process, sand is tightly packed around an object, creating a mold. Then molten metal is poured into the mold to create a metal casting.

What is the Chinese blast furnace?

It must be refined before it can be used to make steel. The term blast refers to the hot combustion air that is forced into the lower part of the furnace through pipes called tuyeres as fuel is supplied from the top.

Why did Cort's contribution to the industry allow large-scale production of cast iron products?

Cort’s contributions to the industry allowed large-scale production of cast iron products because it no longer took so much time and manpower to rid the pig iron of its impurities.

Why did Britain import cast iron?

Between 1700 and 1750, Britain relied heavily on cast iron imports from Sweden, because it could not expand its capacity fast enough to meet the growing demand for cast iron. This was prior to Britain’s industrial revolution. At that time, the iron manufacturing industry consisted of small, localized production facilities that had to be located close to the resources they needed, such as water, limestone and charcoal. That’s because there were limited resources for transporting raw materials and finished goods.

What was the steam engine used for?

At this time, the steam engine was primarily used to pump water out of coal mines. Coal was a key part of the iron casting process, so this invention was integral to the industry and to the industrialization of England. Between 1770 and 1790, Scottish inventor James Watt improved on Thomas Newcomen’s work, making the steam engine capable ...

What was the impact of iron casting on Britain?

Innovations drive iron casting in Britain. Iron’s great impact on Britain can be attributed to a flurry of innovations that were introduced during the 1700s. The first of these occurred in 1709 when Abraham Darby became the first man to smelt iron with coke instead of charcoal in a coke-fired furnace.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of molten metal casting?

Then molten metal is poured into the mold to create a metal casting. The advantage of this process is the large variety of shapes and sizes that can be easily molded . The disadvantages are the unavoidability of defects and the fact that this process is quite labor intensive. This is the earliest known use of this process ...

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 SIM Max iron?

Interestingly enough, the TaylorMade SIM Max irons are designed to be as close to a forged iron as a cavity back can be. TaylorMade has always been a leader when it comes to ball speed and forgiveness. Where they wanted to change things on the SIM Max was they wanted to make them feel much better.

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 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.

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 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 P790 iron?

The P790 is a forged iron with a hollow body construction. The P790 has been a great mix of both forgiveness and distance for the players that have switched to them. The only problem with the P790 (and most forged golf clubs) is going to be the high price.

Why is it harder to hit the ball to the right or left?

Most avid golfers can tell you that because the perimeter weighting of the cavity back makes it easier for the club to hit the ball straight , it is by consequence harder to hit the ball to the right or the left. And there are times in a round of golf when an accomplished (at least in his own mind) player needs to curve his ball to ...

How long has the cavity back iron been around?

The cavity back iron has been around for some 50 years now, but it still carries the stigma of being a “game improvement” club.

When did the jigger end?

That was certainly true when the era of the cleek, mashie, niblick and jigger ended in the 1930s with the introduction of standardized numbered sets of irons (1-iron through wedge). Those clubs were popularized by Spalding Sporting Goods, and consisted of hand-shaped, chrome-plated carbon steel-forged club heads.

Who invented the cavity back iron?

And then came Karsten Ping who is generally credited with the invention of the cavity back iron. Strange thing though, Ping’s first cavity back golf club wasn’t an iron at all. It was the innovative putter design patented as the PING 1-A putter.

Is it easier to use cavity back clubs or blades?

Correctly shaping a shot is one of the small joys of golf, and it is more difficult to do with cavity back golf clubs, and easier with blades. Besides the ability to hit on-demand draws and fades, blades have long held a certain cachet as being for the “more serious golfer.”.

When was golf invented?

A golf-like game is, apocryphally, recorded as taking place on February 26, 1297, in Loenen aan de Vecht, where the Dutch played a game with a stick and leather ball. The winner was whoever hit the ball with the fewest strokes into a target several hundred yards away. Some scholars argue that this game of putting a small ball in a hole in ...

Where did golf originate?

The modern game of golf is generally considered to be a Scottish invention. A spokesman for The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, one of the oldest Scottish golf organisations, said "Stick and ball games have been around for many centuries, but golf as we know it today, played over 18 holes, clearly originated in Scotland." The word golf, or in Scots gowf [gʌuf], is usually thought to be a Scots alteration of Dutch " colf " or " colve " meaning " stick, " club ", " bat ", itself related to the Proto-Germanic language *kulth- as found in Old Norse kolfr meaning " bell clapper", and the German Kolben meaning " mace or club". The Dutch term Kolven refers to a related sport where the lowest number of strokes needed to hit a ball with a mallet into a hole determines the winner; according to the "Le grand dictionnaire françois-flamen" printed 1643 is stated the Dutch term to Flemish: "Kolf, zest Kolve; Kolfdrager, Sergeant; Kolf, Kolp, Goulfe."

How did golf evolve?

The evolution of golf can be explained by the development of the equipment used to play the game. Some of the most notable advancements in the game of golf have come from the development of the golf ball. The golf ball took on many different forms before the 1930s when the United States Golf Association (USGA) set standards for weight and size. These standards were later followed by a USGA regulation stating that the initial velocity of any golf ball cannot exceed 250 feet per second. Since this time, the golf ball has continued to develop and impact the way the game is played.

When was the first round of kolf played?

In December 1650, the settlers of Fort Orange (near present-day Albany, New York) played the first recorded round of kolf (golf) in America. The Dutch settlers played kolf year round. During the spring, summer and fall it was played in fields. In the winter it was played on ice with the same rules.

What are the factors that contributed to the evolution of golf?

Another notable factor in the evolution of golf has been the development of golf clubs. The earliest golf clubs were made of wood that was readily available in the area.

What is the oldest golf course in Europe?

The Royal Calcutta Golf Club (1829), the Mauritius Gymkhana Club (1844) and the club at Pau (1856) in south western France are notable reminders of these excursions and are the oldest golf clubs outside of the British Isles. The Pau Golf Club is the oldest in continental Europe.

How many golf courses were built in Japan in 2009?

The 1987 Resort Law that reduced protection on agricultural land and forest preserves created a further boom in course construction and by 2009 there were over 2,400 courses. The popularity of golf in Japan also caused many golf resorts to be created across the Pacific Rim.

The History of Golf Clubs: A Look-Back

Original Club and Ball Designs

Golf Gains in The 20th Century

Metal and The Modern Era

• The history of golf clubs took a turn when the casting method of mass production began in 1963. Metals like steel and iron became cheaper to produce, nearly eliminating individual craftsmen. With industrialization, clubs became more affordable and greatly expanded the popularity of the game. As access to more materials like fiberglass, titanium, an...

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