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

[jamo]

Originally Posted by LBlack14

I find it funny that alot of people say they'll never play anything but forged irons then look in their bags and there sit Vokeys. The clubs most associated with feel in there bag are wedges IMO and they play cast.

For me, wedges are different. I use my 60* so much that the forged Mizuno wedge in my bag wore down in a few months. To be honest, I'm never buying a forged 60* again because a) Vokeys already use carbon steel, so the softness is there, and b) cast wedges won't wear as fast.

For wedges, cast carbon steel is really the best of both worlds.

[Blades4me]

Originally Posted by LBlack14

I find it funny that alot of people say they'll never play anything but forged irons then look in their bags and there sit Vokeys. The clubs most associated with feel in there bag are wedges IMO and they play cast.

I believe that Vokeys go through a different casting process than other brands. Having hit both Vokeys & Edilons that were both shafted with 5.5 rifle spinner shafts and both cast heads there was diffenitely a differnce in feel between the 2. The Vokeys felt more solid, that isn't to say that the Edilons were inferior, just a different feel.

I prefer a forged club. I now play Nike Vr wedges that are forged with 5.5 spinner wedge shafts and they feel different from the Vokeys or Edilons and I like the feel better, but thats just me. Again, that isn't to say Vokeys or Edilons are inferior b/c they are not, just a different feel. IMO the one of the best feelings in golf is a pured long iron.

[tweaky]

my three piece, milled titanium faced Wishon 770CFEs are the cat's pajamas!  love the *click* off the face; forgiveness on off-centered hits; and shot shaping playability that so many have said can't be done with clubs that are cavity backed like these.  the only reason i don't switch to the 870Ti is that these are working so why switch?

oh, and i couldn't build them for less than $85 each and still pay the bills.  does that put them on par with OEMs?  I think it puts them ABOVE the rest in cavity backs.

just my worthless .02

[dbwood]

A small correction if I may, the 770CFE's aren't titanium faced, the 3-7 are carpenter steel and the 8-pw are 17-7 stainless faces.  The 870ti's are titanium faced.

Originally Posted by tweaky

my three piece, milled titanium faced Wishon 770CFEs are the cat's pajamas!  love the *click* off the face; forgiveness on off-centered hits; and shot shaping playability that so many have said can't be done with clubs that are cavity backed like these.  the only reason i don't switch to the 870Ti is that these are working so why switch?

oh, and i couldn't build them for less than $85 each and still pay the bills.  does that put them on par with OEMs?  I think it puts them ABOVE the rest in cavity backs.

just my worthless .02

[clombardi]

Originally Posted by Blades4me

IMO the one of the best feelings in golf is a pured long iron.

Agree, nothing like hitting a solid 3,4, or 5 iron onto a long par 5.

[sean_miller]

Either way, they sound horrible.

Originally Posted by dbwood

A small correction if I may, the 770CFE's aren't titanium faced, the 3-7 are carpenter steel and the 8-pw are 17-7 stainless faces.  The 870ti's are titanium faced.

[tweaky]

Originally Posted by dbwood

A small correction if I may, the 770CFE's aren't titanium faced, the 3-7 are carpenter steel and the 8-pw are 17-7 stainless faces.  The 870ti's are titanium faced.

a smaller correction- the 3 and 4 irons are Carpenter 455 HS Steel, the 5,6, and 7 are 17-7 Stainless and the 8 - SW are 304 Soft Stainless.  my bad!  still love the feel1

[Pinger]

A small correction.  Retief plays the R9 TP "B" irons which are smaller and thinner than the R9 TP irons.  I tried them in our local store and liked the look of them but not the performance. They played like blades and where years ago, I could hit blades easily, now I need a little help and the Pings are better for me.  I'm sure pros are asked to play certain clubs to boost sales and as long as the clubs are not a liability, being paid to play a club is always a bonus.  I was at a PGA event where one of the pros lost his clubs on the flight and had to play his amateur partner's clubs in the pro-am.  After hitting a drive straight up in the air, I asked him how close that driver was to his own driver and he laughed and said "not close at all" so we know their clubs are manufactured differently with different centres of gravity and weighting.

[dduval08]

The way that cast clubs are now being produced they are getting close to the feel of forged clubs. Just look at the s56 from PING they have to be one of the softest irons I have ever hit and they sound just as good.

[visiondr]

What you say makes sense, but... forged clubs are generally made from softer steel - so they can be forged, i.e. pounded/compressed into the desired shape. Cast clubs are generally made from a harder steel that, when melted, is less viscous and forms fewer voids or bubbles when poured into a mold. The final products are: forged; softer metal and some say softer feel (subjective), vs cast; harder metal, harder feel (again, subjective).

[Shorty]

Once again we have people imagining a difference in feel between forged and cast clubs. The differences are attributable to design. The manufacturing process has nothing to do with feel. That won't stop a thousand people saying otherwise, unfortunately.

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by elchene

I really like Vokeys. Even though they are cast wedges, they almost feel like they're forged.

Sorry, but this is totally not true. IN fact, it's a ludicrous proposition.

You have deluded yourself.

There is no difference in feel due to forging or casting. The MIzuno is a different design.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by CJL

What do you find to be the biggest difference between these two types of wedges? Forget and Cast

I've played 8620 Steel and Forged Wedges -- no difference in feel on half to full shots. On delicate shots, you might feel a slight difference.

But don't select a wedge in that way -- pick a wedge based on reputation, easy on your eye and bounce-grind (the work on the bottom of the sole). Almost any OEM is good - and lots of great specialty wedge makers.

[LankyLefty]

Hate to break it to yall, but forging vs casting is a really dumb debate the only difference is in the Hardness of the metal. However hardness never comes into play when your hitting a golf ball that is significantly softer then both. In real world testing the amount of vibration produced when club meets ball of 100% identical irons, one forged and one cast was less then 1%.

A lot of the "softest" feeling head designs are more players irons without intricate cavities or weighting systems that necessitate casting so they happen to be forged however even if they were cast they would feel the same.

[xxsoultonesxx]

To me the biggest difference is in the weight of the clubhead. I play quite a few different cast wedges and the forged heads tend to work better for me out of thicker grass in part due to the extra weight. The cast wedges seem to work better off tight lies for me.

[NuclearMike]

There may be more "feel" in a forged wedge but I don't think that there is much difference in performance.  I have cast irons and wedges now and am perfectly happy with the feel when I hit them right.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by NuclearMike

There may be more "feel" in a forged wedge but I don't think that there is much difference in performance.  I have cast irons and wedges now and am perfectly happy with the feel when I hit them right.

Agree -- I think once you find the correct sole grind -- accuracy and distance are about selecting the right shaft for you.

[The Tin Man]

Cast, forged, copper, BeNi - they all feel different to me but not significantly different. What I would really like to see is a smoother transition from the scoring irons into the wedges.  SCOR golf (used to be Eidolon) has made a set this way, but I haven't read any feedback on them yet.