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Cast vs Forged - The Master Debate

SuperStroke
blugold said:
I am not trying to be a smart _ss with this. But what do you mean by that?
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Mr. Blu, I didn't mean to be a smart _ass with my comment either. If you are always in the fairway then you will never know what I am talking about. Forged irons don't take to rocks, sand, hardpan, roots etc. as well as cast. I had a brand spankin' new set of forged in Scottsdale to kick off the year, by the end of the week they looked 5 years old. However, my old Ping i3's have been all over the place, my son has played them for 3 years, and there is hardly a mark on them.
 
Raygoose said:
Mr. Blu, I didn't mean to be a smart _ass with my comment either. If you are always in the fairway then you will never know what I am talking about. Forged irons don't take to rocks, sand, hardpan, roots etc. as well as cast. I had a brand spankin' new set of forged in Scottsdale to kick off the year, by the end of the week they looked 5 years old. However, my old Ping i3's have been all over the place, my son has played them for 3 years, and there is hardly a mark on them.
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I see what you mean. We have that here as well.

But I will also ask this question, if a club was cast and another club was forged from the same metal, they would both have trouble not getting knicked up right?
 
Raygoose said:
Mr. Blu, I didn't mean to be a smart _ass with my comment either. If you are always in the fairway then you will never know what I am talking about. Forged irons don't take to rocks, sand, hardpan, roots etc. as well as cast.
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Actually softer metal does not take to rocks and hardpan, not the forging or casting. There are some wedges that are cast with very soft metals and they ding up just like forged irons in my opinion.
 
blugold said:
I see what you mean. We have that here as well.

But I will also ask this question, if a club was cast and another club was forged from the same metal, they would both have trouble not getting knicked up right?
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My pings are cast and are probably 20 years old and don't have any marks on them except for having a shiny spot in the hitting area on the face. My forged clubs I have had for about 4 years and they look at least twice as old as the pings and look like someone took a ball peen hammer and tapped them all over the soles. This marking doesn't really have any effect on how they play but once in a while I will take a file and smooth them off a little. I will do that with the soles on my wedges also to keep them smooth and clean.
 
HoosierGolfer said:
Just to keep the debate alive, I found this article in the May 2 edition of GolfWorld to be a interesting read. I know many have a strong opinion on this subject and I can honestly say that I don't think I can "feel" the difference between forged and cast, but this article more less points out the fact the tour pro's are leaning towards forged these days.

Towards the end of the article, this really stood out to me and I had never seen the difference pointed out this way....

And what about the science? Katsuhiro Miura gave Golf Digest a telling analogy in 2007 when he described the difference between casting and forging. "It's like if you have two glass jars," he said. "One is filled with marbles and the other is filled with sand. There are a lot of voids in the jar filled with marbles, but not with the jar of sand. The jar of sand is a forged iron.
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Here is the full artical; http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/2011-05/golf-johnson-equipment-0502
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Quite honestly that is like an article from the CEO of Ford stating that Ford cars are better than Toyota's. Of course Mr. Muira is going to say that forged is better. That is what he sells.
 
pjcedog said:
My pings are cast and are probably 20 years old and don't have any marks on them except for having a shiny spot in the hitting area on the face. My forged clubs I have had for about 4 years and they look at least twice as old as the pings and look like someone took a ball peen hammer and tapped them all over the soles. This marking doesn't really have any effect on how they play but once in a while I will take a file and smooth them off a little. I will do that with the soles on my wedges also to keep them smooth and clean.
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Id be willing to bet they are made of different metal, which is what blugold was asking I believe.
 
pjcedog said:
My pings are cast and are probably 20 years old and don't have any marks on them except for having a shiny spot in the hitting area on the face. My forged clubs I have had for about 4 years and they look at least twice as old as the pings and look like someone took a ball peen hammer and tapped them all over the soles. This marking doesn't really have any effect on how they play but once in a while I will take a file and smooth them off a little. I will do that with the soles on my wedges also to keep them smooth and clean.
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JB said:
Id be willing to bet they are made of different metal, which is what blugold was asking I believe.
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Yes it is.
 
blugold said:
Yes it is.
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Sorry my mistake, I misread that the first time, doing two things at once here. Yes the cast clubs I have are most likely stainless steel and the forged are a much softer iron alloy, as completely different from each other as two club heads could be and still both be called irons.
 
Anybody that has an interest in golf clubs and likes to debate this topic, wait until you hear tomorrow's THP Radio show with one of the best club makers of all time. I ask him point blank and he gives a very detailed answer on the topic.
 
JB said:
Anybody that has an interest in golf clubs and likes to debate this topic, wait until you hear tomorrow's THP Radio show with one of the best club makers of all time. I ask him point blank and he gives a very detailed answer on the topic.
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awesome!

I must say I used Cast clubs yesterday and I missed the buttery softness of the forged MC's. Has to be the way they are made:alien:
 
I too am anxious to catch that radio show JB. This spring I decided to buy new irons as mine were several years old. I figured why not take advantage of advances in technology. I went for a fitting and ended up having Mizuno JPX800s made. I went from a used set of approx. 15 year-old forged Hogan Apex Edge irons to the Mizzies and I couldn't believe the difference in feel. The Mizzies are well-crafted, beautiful irons, but after 2 months of hitting them I sold them this week. Compared to the Hogans they had a muted feel about them. I felt like I was wearing winter gloves when hitting them. My skill level is bogey golf so I most likely don't get the full benefit of the forged Hogans but they sure feel better to me. Regards. KCM
 
knox co mike said:
I too am anxious to catch that radio show JB. This spring I decided to buy new irons as mine were several years old. I figured why not take advantage of advances in technology. I went for a fitting and ended up having Mizuno JPX800s made. I went from a used set of approx. 15 year-old forged Hogan Apex Edge irons to the Mizzies and I couldn't believe the difference in feel. The Mizzies are well-crafted, beautiful irons, but after 2 months of hitting them I sold them this week. Compared to the Hogans they had a muted feel about them. I felt like I was wearing winter gloves when hitting them. My skill level is bogey golf so I most likely don't get the full benefit of the forged Hogans but they sure feel better to me. Regards. KCM
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Are the metals used to make both clubs the same? The process of casting or forging does not make the iron softer. It is the metal used to make the clubs.
 
JB said:
Anybody that has an interest in golf clubs and likes to debate this topic, wait until you hear tomorrow's THP Radio show with one of the best club makers of all time. I ask him point blank and he gives a very detailed answer on the topic.
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Great teaser JB! I've always been interested in the debate but have never been confident in my knowledge about both processes... I can't wait for the show!
 
Blugold, I'm quite certain they were made from different materials if for no other reason than the age of the Hogans vs. the Mizzies. Unless they were made from the same lot/batch of materials there would be molecular inconsistencies. There are many factors that go into the "feel" of the club from what I understand, even down to ensuring you are playing identical models of balls with each brand of iron. My project is now to try and find upgraded technology, in a like or similar feeling iron to my Hogans, without spending more than my skill level warrants. No small task. Regards. KCM
 
biggsy said:
That was over quickly into the radio show. Can we close this thread now?
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That's kind of what I'm thinking. You and I both know that some noob will come in here and talk about the buttery softness of forged and the supreme workability. I'll just be sure to keep that link handy, eh?
 
My favorite part was him saying that even the best players in the world got it wrong more than 50% of the time. Heck just guessing would give you a 50% shot. Love hearing it from someone with no ulterior motives. He made cast and forged clubs for 40 years.
 
JB said:
My favorite part was him saying that even the best players in the world got it wrong more than 50% of the time. Heck just guessing would give you a 50% shot. Love hearing it from someone with no ulterior motives. He made cast and forged clubs for 40 years.
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Yup, best thing is, he has absolutely no reason to lie, just spitting the truth.

His bag make up his fascinating.
 
50% of the time I can tell every time.
 
How can you argue what he said? Even the best feel players EVER have a hard time telling the difference. You think us hacks can tell? It's laughable.

Thanks for asking him that question JB.
 
biggsy said:
How can you argue what he said? Even the best feel players EVER have a hard time telling the difference. You think us hacks can tell? It's laughable.

Thanks for asking him that question JB.
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It had to be done...hehe

The interesting part to me was him talking about how all of the OEMs have tested this.
Marketing truly is an incredible thing isnt it?
 
I will admit that I used to think I could tell the difference
 
I think that's the biggest thing that I took out of the interview JB, that OEM's know this but just play off of what the public thinks and turns that into $$$$$$
 
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