how good do you have to be to used forged?

[sasquatcho69]

how good do you have to be in order to play some forged ironss?
i have been looking at the cobra pro cb's but im worried i might not be good enough to play them
are there any other forged irons that a a little more forgiving but still very workable?
thanks

[geezer]

How the club is made has little to no effect on how forgiving the club is. More important is the style of clubhead. That is to say, you can play a forged cavity back which will be as forgiving as a cast, similar styled model. Or you can play a cast blade which will be just as forgiving as a forged, similarly bladed model.

Whatever gives you the most confidence to hit it close is the right model for you, whatever way it is made, or whatever style of clubhead it is. Try the irons and if you like them, fair enough, forget about whether other people think that they are "too good" for you as a player or not.

Just my 2 cents.

[sam004]

I've got forged wedges and they feel good. I may be wrong but I've never seen a forged iron, that wasn't more like a blade than GI club. I need all the help I can get. I admit they look great, but I wouldn't want to sacrifice what little game I have.

[grantc79]

Forged has no bearing at all on feel, workability, or playability.

Cast has no bearing at all on feel, workability, or playability.


The size of the head, where weight is positioned on the head, where on the head the sweet spot is located, and how offset the head is or isn't effects playability.

If anyone thinks that forged feels different than cast they are crazy. One head feels different than another due to the shape, size, weight positioning, and general design of the club. What process is used to make the actual head doesn't matter.

You could take two heads made out of the same materials to the exact same specifications and forge one and cast another to make it and you couldn't tell the difference.

The only bonus to using forged clubs is they are more pliable and thus easier to bend upright, flatter, stronger, or weaker. That is good for people like me who are 4+ degrees upright (I'm 6 degrees up).

Aside from that, play a cast club they last a lot longer.


These irons are cast:



These irons are forged:




Which do you think is more of a players club?

[sasquatcho69]

so whats the point in even getting forged because its no different is what you guys are pretty much saying?
it seems like there are more forged irons that have a smaller cavity and therefore more workable right?

[geezer]

Forged has no bearing at all on feel, workability, or playability.

If there were absolutley no difference whatsoever, then the companies wouldn't be making forged (more expensive to manufacture) clubs instead of cast (cheaper to manufacture) clubs, would they?

Some would argue that a forged club has more consistency in the structure of the grain than a cast club, which leaves small pockets of air in the clubhead. Personally, I think that the material of construction has more to do with it, but I would definately debate the assumption that there is absolutley no difference between a forged and a cast club. I agree with all the rest of what you said, though ;)

so whats the point in even getting forged because its no different is what you guys are pretty much saying?

Some will tell you that forged clubs offer a softer, more consistent feel.

In general, the smaller the cavity, tha lesser the forgiveness and the greater the workability

[grantc79]

so whats the point in even getting forged because its no different is what you guys are pretty much saying?

It really just depends on the manufacturer to be honest.

The big point of forged clubs is as I said they can be bent heavily upright or flat without risk of them breaking. Better players will often have very specific requirements on their clubs. I for example am 5-6 degrees upright on all my clubs. A cast club just won't bend that much without breaking. Most beginners won't care about lie angle or want their clubs built 3-4 degrees strong or weak. Also beginners clubs are much larger and they are simply easier and cheaper to make a cast club.

[grantc79]

If there were absolutley no difference whatsoever, then the companies wouldn't be making forged (more expensive to manufacture) clubs instead of cast (cheaper to manufacture) clubs, would they?

Sure they would, because people are convinced that they play better.

Why do you think Taylormade releases a new driver ever 2 months?

Some would argue that a forged club has more consistency in the structure of the grain than a cast club, which leaves small pockets of air in the clubhead. Personally, I think that the material of construction has more to do with it, but I would definately debate the assumption that there is absolutley no difference between a forged and a cast club.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...0/ai_54378712/ http://golf.about.com/od/faqs/f/cast_forged.htm How Do Cast Irons and Forged Irons Compare? From Tom Wishon Question: How Do Cast Irons and Forged Irons Compare? Answer: The terms "cast" and "forged" simply refer to the manufacturing process used to form the shape of the iron head. Casting always involves turning the metal from which the ironhead is to be made into its molten, liquid state, after which it is poured into a mold to form the ironhead design. Forging involves literally pounding or compressing the metal, in its solid form, from which the ironhead is made into the designed shape of the ironhead, after which a number of other machining and drilling steps are necessary to complete the production of the ironhead. If you have a cast iron and a forged iron of exactly the same shape and weight distribution design, the same loft, the same center of gravity position in the two heads, and the heads are built with the same shaft, same length, same grip and same swingweight/MOI, hitting the same ball, the shots will fly identical distances and 99-percent of all golfers will never know which was forged and which was cast. Most of the remaining 1-percent want to believe that the forged iron would be softer in feel because the carbon steel of a typical forging is a softer metal, but scientific research has shown that the hardness difference in a metal alone is not enough to create a difference in impact feel. All of the other factors listed above are the reason for differences in the feel of shots hit with one club vs. another. About the Author Tom Wishon is one of the most highly respected members of the golf equipment industry. He specializes in clubhead design, shaft analysis, and clubfitting research and development, and is the owner of his own golf equipment company, Tom Wishon Golf Technology. Tom is a member of the Golf Digest Technical Panel, and is the Technical Advisor to PGA.com, the website of the PGA of America.

[sasquatcho69]

okay thanks to all you guys that have replied i really appreciate it
so what are some good clubs that are more workable but still offer some forgiveness?

[geezer]

Most of the remaining 1-percent want to believe that the forged iron would be softer in feel because the carbon steel of a typical forging is a softer metal, but scientific research has shown that the hardness difference in a metal alone is not enough to create a difference in impact feel. All of the other factors listed above are the reason for differences in the feel of shots hit with one club vs. another.

How do you scientifically test 'feel', then?

I'm not saying you're wrong or right (nor am I), but my understanding is that feel is something different for each person.

[RocketSauce]

okay thanks to all you guys that have replied i really appreciate it

there are literally TONS of them out there. it just depends on what style YOU prefer. Bridgestone J36 Cavity Backs or Pocket Cavity's, TaylorMade TP's, Nike Split Cavity's, Nickent 4DX Pro's, Titleist Ap2's, etc, etc, etc

[iacas]

How do you scientifically test 'feel', then?

Something like 3/4 of "feel" is sound.

I've long maintained that the feel of forged clubs is the same as the feel of cast clubs. Forged clubs "tend" to feel better because they also tend to be musclebacks. Unless you built two sets of clubs exactly the same (dimensions, etc.) using the two different processes, you can't compare the "feel" of the processes. Vokey wedges are cast and they're the #1 wedge (I believe) on the PGA Tour because he says they can't tell the difference and casting lets him build clubs faster. So in the end, this turns into either a non-issue question or a question that's better phrased as "how good do you have to be to use a muscleback with limited GI features?"

[grantc79]

How do you scientifically test 'feel', then?

You don't scientifically test feel.

Thole point is that clubs feel different because of their size, shape, sole, and weight positioning. In short, that Mizuno feel that everyone loves has nothing to do with how they are made be they cast or forged. They prefer that feel because of the Mizuno design.

[grantc79]

Something like 3/4 of "feel" is sound.

Exactly.

[Doctorfro]

I'm playing forged GI. I'm not that good. I'm striking 'em well.

[danieldsuh]

Are forged irons typically more expensive then cast?

[wedge player]

Are forged irons typically more expensive then cast?

yes typically they are

[grantc79]

Are forged irons typically more expensive then cast?

They cost quite a bit more to make so yup.