Master "Forged vs. Cast" or "Blade vs. Game-Improvement" Iron Thread

[LeftyInRochester]

I had a 3-ball putter... Poor control. I had a blade putter... Too light, didn't feel firm. I got a Odyssey Rossie, small mallet putter... works like a charm.

[Primate]

The pic above didn't take:

[Leftygolfer]

good looking mizuno irons. I think those are mine

[Primate]

My MP-52's showed up yesterday. They are sweet! I hit a bucket of balls and I played 18 wihtout any issues. They seem to hit a bit longer than my old clubs but if I toe it the ball goes about 5 feet lol. I would make the purchase again in a second!

[shades9323]

Just curious...

[anthonykim3]

no absolutely not
no it depends when it comes to clubs example like the vokey spin milled is cast and spins more than the mizuno forged wedge but x forged callaway wedges with mack daddy grooves spin more then the vokey

[buttuh]

Also, you can have grooves the size of the nile river and still not spin the ball if you don't hit it correctly.

[anthonykim3]

^^^ true that if your looking for more spin go practice not buy new wedges

[shades9323]

I need to buy a whole new set of clubs. Maybe my grooves are worn bad on my DCI pw. I was out chipping with my DCI OS+ Gold(bought in 96) pw and a TM rac mb pw. With the TM, the ball spun considerably more. I have never messed with a forged club before, so I was curious.

[GaijinGolfer]

Cast vs forged has nothing to do with spin. The grooves are what spins the ball.

[iacas]

Cast vs forged has nothing to do with spin. The grooves are what spins the ball.

Hope I'm not being too pedantic, but grooves don't spin the ball. Grooves simply allow stuff (water, grass, etc.) that prevents or minimizes spin from getting in the way of the clubface meeting the ball. The clubface is what spins the ball. (See the various studies about grooveless clubs from clean lies and the USGA study on grooves from the fairway for the proof there.)

Clean contact, a good angle of attack, etc. can also be said to cause spin. But it's the clubface. Grooves just allow you to get more metal-urethane contact rather than metal-water-urethane or metal-grass-urethane. But yeah, forged versus cast really has nothing to do with it.

[shankapotamus]

I know nothing on this subject really, but what are the advantages/disadvantages between forged and cast?

Has been discussed before. Please do a search. That's not the topic here.

Geesh, my bad.

[iacas]

I know nothing on this subject really, but what are the advantages/disadvantages between forged and cast?

Has been discussed before. Please do a search. That's not the topic here.

[NotAStick]

Hope I'm not being too pedantic, but grooves don't spin the ball. Grooves simply allow stuff (water, grass, etc.) that prevents or minimizes spin from getting in the way of the clubface meeting the ball. The clubface is what spins the ball. (See the various studies about grooveless clubs from clean lies and the USGA study on grooves from the fairway for the proof there.)

Really?

I've just picked up some new wedges and have noticed with lots of range balls (less common with softer Nike Tour balls I play with), that the grooves actually tear at the surface of the balls. When I hit it extremely crisp (the times I know it would back up 10 feet), the club actually has ball-surface residue INSIDE the grooves. I was shocked to see this with my new wedges as I'd never seen it before, but I'd always had "used" clubs and these were brand new square-grooves. How is it that my club grooves are TEARING the surface of the balls, and not affecting the spin? Or is that just an effect of the crappy range balls I'm hitting? I agree, forged-cast has nothing to do with spin. To answer the other question, from what I know, forged clubs tend to have a harder face, (apparently, as a result of the forging process aligning the molecules). I notice the forged clubs to have more "feel". That's about all I can say. I hit about a dozen different irons one time and picked 3 sets that I liked best (according to "feel" on center shots) and they happened to be the 3 sets that were forged out of the dozen. That sold me. Unfortunately, "forged" sets can't have as much creativity about the shape. They have to be more flat than some of the cast clubs (therefore less forgiving). that doesn't matter as much to me as I almost always hit the center on short-mid iron shots (I've thought of going to more perimeter weighted irons for my 3i-5i) I use Mizuno T-Zoid Pro Forged irons. I love them. I also love the Hogan Apex forged irons. Titleist also makes some killer forged irons.

[Mizzy57]

Just some personal advice for those 15+ handicappers that wish to switch to blades that I went thru when looking to buy new irons last year with my Pro.

Are you really a 15 handicapper? You consistantly hit GIR's? Be honest with yourself, no Epeens.

Your game WILL suffer, no matter how much you want it or how much practice you put in.

How solid is your ballstriking? Your lil draws and fades will be accentuated. You'd be surprised how often you DON'T hit the sweet spot on your SGI's and GI's.

Do you stick 120-180yd shots (Par-3's) or are you chipping?

It all comes down to what everyone has said, your ballstriking. If you're getting blades so you can tell you're mishitting 5/10 time's, the're cheaper and less frustrating methods.

I was in love with the allure of blades but after looking deep into myself and my game, went with the MP-57's and havent looked back. They'll take me well into the next level handicap and beyond.

But, if you're set on blades, get them by all means. Buyer's remorse sucks as everyone knows. Just don't be THAT guy at the course with $4000 in equipment sporting blades in the bag who sh@nks, duffs, slices, or hooks on the first hole. You're sure to be the butt of a few jokes for the turn...

[powerfader]

The pic above didn't take:

What on earth is 119? Its concave like a spoon!

[Marinemike]

Is this advisable? Would they grow on the player or just frustrate? I ask because I can get a sweet deal on MP-32s right now.

FYI, my ball striking has come a long way and my bad shots are almost exclusively fat or thin vice toed or healed. I can't even remember the last time a toed a full shot.

[Lefty39]

I would say go for it, because they would be a lot better than your no name clubs.