Forged vs Cast

[thegolfclubdoc]

Can anyone "feel" the difference between cast and forged irons? I can't. I am told forged irons feel so much sweeter and softer when you hit the sweet spot than when you use cast irons. I'm not feeling the difference.

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[limpalong]

Nothing more ancient than Christmas itself than the cast vs. forged argument.

 

[MCDavis]

First time I hit a set of Mizuno MX-23, I felt the difference. Forged is a little softer feeling, if they're good forged irons.

 

[thegolfclubdoc]

First time I hit a set of Mizuno MX-23, I felt the difference. Forged is a little softer feeling, if they're good forged irons.

I just got a set of Macgregor JNP forged cavity irons in the mail today. Im going to test them against my Ping Eye 2s. I hit with the Ben Hogan Edge irons which are forged and didn't feel the difference.

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[MCDavis]

I just got a set of Macgregor JNP forged cavity irons in the mail today. Im going to test them against my Ping Eye 2s. I hit with the Ben Hogan Edge irons which are forged and didn't feel the difference.

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I've played 2 sets of forged irons: Mizuno and Bridgestone. To me, I could feel a difference. I love my Pings, and I rarely play now. but I still say you can feel good forged irons.

 

[thegolfclubdoc]

I've played 2 sets of forged irons: Mizuno and Bridgestone. To me, I could feel a difference. I love my Pings, and I rarely play now. but I still say you can feel good forged irons.

So, they feel softer to you. Is this on both good hits and mishits?

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[ualtim]

Forged sound softer. Apparently, sound plays a large role in what we think we “feel”.

Guess that’s why the Nike SQ played like garbage, it sounded like a golf ball hitting a garbage can.

 

[MCDavis]

So, they feel softer to you. Is this on both good hits and mishits?

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Yes, softer on both. But I agree with that Pats fan...sound affects feel in my opinion.

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[thegolfclubdoc]

I can understand sound influencing the feel of a golf club. I wonder what else would make the club feel softer?

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[PaPaD]

I can understand sound influencing the feel of a golf club. I wonder what else would make the club feel softer?

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The shaft and the grip.

 

[thegolfclubdoc]

I have heard things like forged irons provide more consistent ball flight, feel softer, are easier to shape, launch the ball lower, and can lose their initial lie angle and loft over time. I don't know if any of this is true. But, in regards to feel, the two best feeling irons I have ever hit a golfball with were the Macgregor V-Foil 1025C irons and Callaway Big Bertha irons circa 2004. One set is forged, the other cast. Both had steel shafts and regular tour velvet style grips.

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[thegolfclubdoc]

BTW, Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates Christmas!

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[eclark53520]

I don't have a ton of experience with irons in general. I've only hit a few different sets over the years, but the ones I liked were always forged. Yes, they feel softer to me. Flushed shots you basically feel nothing at all, I never got that feeling with a cast club. Casts were always clicky to me.

First iron I ever hit a ball and was like 'wow, that felt like nothing' was a set of Mizzys (can't remember model anymore...) at Nevada Bobs before I even knew forged/cast was a thing....I thought they were all the same. I learned later they were forged.

 

[PaPaD]

I have heard things like forged irons provide more consistent ball flight, feel softer, are easier to shape, launch the ball lower, and can lose their initial lie angle and loft over time. I don't know if any of this is true. But, in regards to feel, the two best feeling irons I have ever hit a golfball with were the Macgregor V-Foil 1025C irons and Callaway Big Bertha irons circa 2004. One set is forged, the other cast. Both had steel shafts and regular tour velvet style grips.

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Ball flight and shape (draw, fade) is more affected by the shape of the head and the shaft. The material it's made of has little effect on that. Blade vs cavity back is the flight and shape discussion.

 

[limpalong]

1.) Forged irons of different manufacturers have different "feel". There is a difference in both sound and feel between a Mizuno forged and a Titleist forged. I've played both. Had my second ace with a Titleist 690mb forged iron.
2.) There are cast irons that feel and sound very close to forged irons. Depends on the casting material. You will find 17-4 SST used in some cast irons while others use 431 SST. The 431 is a softer alloy than the 17-4. Karsten used a heat treatment of his irons that was utilized in the aerospace industry. Traditional Ping irons may have had that "clicky" feeling. Yet, the later castings... iBlade, S Series, etc. have a very soft and solid feel. When I flush a ball off one of my iBlades you can't feel it leave the clubface... similar to the Titleist forged feel.
3.) The "big boys"... the WRXers… always assumed PGA players only played forged and so that was what every wannabe should be playing. You will find a pretty solid mix on Tour between forged and cast, with neither having a huge lead of the other.
4.) As PaPaD said, being able to shape a ball has more to do with the club design and the player's ability than forged vs. cast. A perimeter weighted iron can be more difficult to shape due to the design wanting to make the ball go straight. Yet, I can hook the snot out of my Eye 2's all day long. And, I can fade them. It just takes a little more concentration to do so than with the iBlades.
5.) You need to have an intimate knowledge of your irons and the confidence of your distances with each iron... whether forged or cast. Find a set you can be consistent with, not worrying as much about the material of manufacture.
6.) Some years ago, Golf Digest did a "blind" test with a number of players with varying handicaps. They took a mix of forged and cast irons, all blade design, and had the players his a number of balls with each. Then they asked the players to identify which were forged and which were cast. Only a very few of the most skilled players could accurately tell one from the other.