Forged vs. Cast: Which Construction is Best For You?

Having the right golf equipment provides golfers with the confidence they need to play their best and reach their goals on the course. Choosing the proper set of golf irons to put in your bag is an incredibly important decision. Irons make up the majority of your set and you use them on every hole, often more than once per hole.

The clubs that makeup such a large percentage of your game deserve careful consideration. One of those choices is picking between cast irons or forged irons. Each is made in their own unique process that offers different benefits for different types of golfers. In the TGW guide to golf iron construction, we will break down how cast and forged irons are made and provide the benefits of each.

Cast Irons

How They’re Made

Cast golf irons are made through a molding process known as casting. In casting, a mold is made of the club head design the manufacturer is producing. The metal is then heated until it becomes a liquid and poured into the clubhead mold. Once the mold has set, the club head can be removed and finished, including adding the shaft to complete the club. Casting is a process that can be repeated quickly and easily to produce a high quantity of clubheads in a relatively short amount of time. This process is also incredibly consistent as each head comes from a pre-made mold.

Benefits

The casting process allows golf club makers to experiment with more game improvement-style shapes and features. Cast irons are often cavity back to feature more perimeter weighting. They also often include wider soles and weighting that allows manufacturers to move the center of gravity around. Cast irons can be made into a massive variety of shapes and designs to boost performance and allow golfers to hit the shots they need from anywhere on the course. These designs generally produce faster ball speed for more distance, more forgiveness, and higher, easier launch from all types of turf.

Who They’re For

Because cast irons make up approximately 90% of all golf irons on the market, they are for every golfer. Since these irons are so closely associated with cavity back, game improvement shapes there is a belief that they are for game improvement golfers. That is not the case. The casting process is so versatile that golf club manufacturers can produce shapes and performance that fit all levels of golfers.

Forged Irons

How They’re Made

Forged irons are created using a single piece, or billet, of steel. Heat still plays an important part in this process, but instead of heating the steel up until it is liquid to be poured into a mold, the billet of steel is heated up until it is malleable. Once it is hot enough, the billet is placed in a press where it is pressed out into the desired shape of the clubhead. Whereas cast irons are pretty well finished once they are set up in their mold, forged irons still have to undergo more work before they are ready to be shafted. A forged clubhead still needs to be buffed, ground, and detailed by hand to meet the exact specifications of the iron’s design. Forging is a much more personal and time-consuming process.

Benefits

Forged irons are famous for being great-feeling golf clubs. They are made with softer steel that usually has more carbon in order to make them more workable, keeping the grain of the steel packed in tight. This is what gives forged irons that signature feel and feedback golfers who love them often cite as to why they prefer this construction. These irons are also works of art. Forged irons frequently feature blade or muscle back shapes, sleek lines, and a compact size. Also, because of the softer material used to make forged clubheads, they are easy to bend and adjust loft angle and lie angle, making them an excellent choice for golfers who want to custom build and fit their iron set. They are known for the feel, responsiveness and feedback, great looks in the bag, and the ability to control the ball with their smaller club head size.

Who They’re For

Forged irons are for the more discerning and experienced golfer. Golfers who are looking for control, shot-shaping ability, and maximum feedback will want to play forged irons. While many modern forged golf clubs are still forgiving, you can feel where you mis-hit a ball on the club face and off-center contact is punished a little bit more than with a cast iron. For players with a consistent, repeatable swing who make crisp contact and want more control over their ball flight, forged irons are a great option for your iron set.

These two ways of making golf irons provide the perfect set for every player. Cast and forged irons both bring certain strengths to the golf course and can make a difference in your game when you know which one is right for you. Now that you know how each is made, what the benefits are, and what type of golfer they are a good fit for, head over to TGW.com and shop our selection of golf irons from the top brands today. Whether you are looking for cast iron or forged golf clubs, you are sure to find the perfect iron set for your game.