Forged Irons vs Modern Irons

Are hand crafted forged irons really better than modern irons? We find out the pros and cons of forged irons and learn why they were so popular.

 

In recent months, there has been a resurgence among keen golfers in looking for “pure forged” or fully forged irons.  Perhaps it’s the sleek “katana” and “crafted” styles that have dominated the marketing in this style of irons, and they’re usually of Japanese origin, which plays to these irons’ cultural and historical origins.

 

But are fully forged irons really better?

 

We spoke to our Master Fitter, Jef Goh about this, and his first reaction was this, “Japanese blades have a very hard cutting edge, but the back of the blade is soft, to prevent the blade from breaking…  but old metals can never beat new metals, like titanium and high tensile carbon steel.”

 

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Then why are keen golfers still drawn to these fully forged irons? The main reason is “feel”.

 

And as a custom golf shop, we’ll be the first to admit that “feel” plays a large part in golf, how a player strikes the ball, and in the enjoyment of the game.

 

Feel is actually feedback, and helps golfers make adjustments based on how they’re striking the ball.

 

In the old days, a badly struck ball will send vibrations up the shaft and into the golfer… ouch!

 

A “softer” feeling club meant that off centre strikes didn’t send as much vibrations up to the golfer.

 

A softer club head also meant a lower frequency sound when striking the ball, and a harder club head will give a higher pitched “click”.

 

And so, we tend to associate a lower frequency sound when using a soft or forged iron, and when we hear a high frequency sound, we associate that with vibrations going up our arm and a harder usually cast iron head.

 

Our experience fitting golfers with extensive experience with forged irons confirms this.

 

TaylorMade’s P790 and P770 irons are extremely soft, in that they send almost no vibrations to the golfer because the heads are designed to absorb so much vibration.  But many golfers experienced with forged irons say they feel hard.  That’s because the emit a high pitched “click” when struck well.

 

So, feeling “hard” is essentially just acoustics.

 

👉 Click here to book your club Demo (15 mins, Free)

👉 Click here to book your fitting session with All Bonuses (includes 1 hour, $125 fitting fee waived upon purchase of any club, and Free 3 Session 12 month Smashing Fits Guarantee) (This link is to our Whatsapp, we will get back to you within a day.)

 

The next reason forged irons were popular is that they were played extensively on tour.  And the main reason for this was that they were bendable for loft and lie and cast irons were not.

 

Again, this is no longer true.  Forged clubs like Titleist’s CB and MB series are bendable up or down 2 degrees at the factory.  As Titleist’s custom shop we can bend them 4 degrees either way.

 

Modern “forge and weld” clubs like Titleist’s T100, T200, T300, TaylorMade’s P790 and P770, can be bent 2 degrees at the factory, and as their custom shop we can do up to 3 degrees.

 

Modern cast clubs like TaylorMade’s SIM Max Irons have a built in soft spot for bending, just like Ping’s notched hosel, and even though they are cast, can be bent a full 4 degrees at the factory, double that of forged clubs.

 

👉 Click here to book your club Demo (15 mins, Free)

👉 Click here to book your fitting session with All Bonuses (includes 1 hour, $125 fitting fee waived upon purchase of any club, and Free 3 Session 12 month Smashing Fits Guarantee) (This link is to our Whatsapp, we will get back to you within a day.)

 

As we have seen, neither of the reasons for preferring forged clubs are still valid.  On the other hand, modern cast and “forge and weld” designs provide many advantageous over cast clubs.

 

For example, with a forged iron, it is very difficult, in fact near impossible to move the centre of gravity to make the club more playable.

 

Once casting became commonplace, cavity backed clubs with more extreme CG placements to the sides and back, made irons more forgiving, launch more easily, etc came onto the scene.  

 

None of this would have been possible with forging.

 

More recently “forge and weld” club heads started becoming the norm. 

 

Forge and weld is a new manufacturing technique that enabled the sealed cavity design. 

 

This not only makes the clubs look a lot cleaner, almost like a blade, but allows club designers to move the CG to places that were impossible with forged or cast irons – right behind the impact zone, for a club that can be even more forgiving than any cavity backed iron.

 

This was the technology that made TaylorMade’s P790 and P770 a huge success, quickly followed by Titleist’s T100-T300 irons.

 

Granted, they're not "forged by craftsmen" from a single piece of metal, but they are able to incorporate all the right materials at the right parts of the club head, from ultra light titanium, to heavier tungsten to give the club the most forgiveness and the best feel.

 

👉 Click here to book your club Demo (15 mins, Free)

👉 Click here to book your fitting session with All Bonuses (includes 1 hour, $125 fitting fee waived upon purchase of any club, and Free 3 Session 12 month Smashing Fits Guarantee) (This link is to our Whatsapp, we will get back to you within a day.)

 

But don't take our word for it, always try your clubs before you buy.

 

At Smashing Drives' Custom Shop, you'll be able to try out any club with any shaft, at our golf simulation room, as well as our full length driving range.

 

 

We’re also the Custom Shop for TaylorMade, Titleist, Mizuno, Srixon, and numerous other brands including a wide range of shafts.  

 

Plus, our Smashing Fits system enables you to try any head with any shaft, so you can find the perfect clubs, perfectly fitted for you

 

 

 

Our Master Fitter, Jef, has fitted Tour Professionals and thousands of amateurs.

 

 

We stand by our fitting with our 12 month Distance & Direction Guarantee.

We will never try to sell you something you don't need.

 

When you purchase from us, you get a 12 month Distance & Direction Guarantee.  Over 3 sessions, we will tune your distance and direction for you.  Pushing you products is counter productive for us.

 

All clubs purchased from us will enjoy a full fitting reimbursement plus the 12 month Distance & Direction Guarantee free.  

 

👉 Click here to book your club Demo (15 mins, Free)

👉 Click here to book your fitting session with All Bonuses (includes 1 hour, $125 fitting fee waived upon purchase of any club, and Free 3 Session 12 month Smashing Fits Guarantee) (This link is to our Whatsapp, we will get back to you within a day.)