"Forged feel", blech....

[farmer]

I have a feeling this won't end well...

 

It never does.

 

It’s been discussed dozens of times. I’m not even going to inject my opinion. It’s like smacking your forehead into a wall.

No, what I do is flip a coin. Heads, forged blades are the ultimate, everyone should play them, tails, forged blades suck no one should play them. Or, you can do the same with gi irons.

[tobiasjd]

Forged feeling softer than cast = BS (myth)

 

Mupscle back (mb) blade clubs feel soft/pure on center strikes because the mass is directly behind the sweet spot.

 

Exactly. So as long as you can hit that dime size center of mass every time they will feel like solid bliss. The other 9/10 times will feel much worse.

[TexasCarlos]

How many times will this be discussed? It’s still shocking folks convince themselves cast feels batter than forged. No need to trash forged irons just because you can’t hit them properly.

[Chuck905]

I concur.

 

Some of us grew up playing persimmons and blades, meaning the blades nowadays are so easy to hit.

 

I consider the 900 Tours as my GI...lol

 

How many times will this be discussed? It’s still shocking folks convince themselves cast feels batter than forged. No need to trash forged irons just because you can’t hit them properly.

[tatertot]

Forged VS Cast Part Deux?

 

More like a million and deux ... Or something French.

[tatertot]

Forged feeling softer than cast = BS (myth)

 

Muscle back (mb) blade clubs feel soft/pure on center strikes because the mass is directly behind the sweet spot.

 

People refuse to accept this.

[gbartko]

If you don’t love the “feel” of forged you’re just ignorant. You probably like bounce, hybrids and offset too.

[WidespreadPanic]

Sooo you say forged blades feel like rocks, but then say you never flushed them. Interesting post.

[gbartko]

A perfectly struck 4/5 iron Mizuno blade, AKA MP-4, MP-32, MP-33, etc. is a feeling like no other. You will know when you flushed it, and it is like a drug - you will want way more of it...

 

That’s just, like, your opinion, man.

[wmblake2000]

I disagree.

 

I know where this is going so we will agree to disagree but I'm basing my poll on my experience and engineering background.

 

It's not so much the manufacturing process (forged vs cast) but rather the design of the head, quality of strike, and audio feedback that changes my 'perception' of feel.

 

A week ago I played a round in 30 - 45+ kmh winds. At times the howling of the wind made it difficult to hear the strike. Every shot felt different than normal. Almost a hollow sensation at impact. Good shots and not so good shots felt eerily similar. Only the thin stingers were really noticeable as I felt the shot in my hands.

 

Makes me wonder what I would think if I wore ear plugs during a round.

 

Not sure what you disagree with and I certainly have no clue where I'm heading.

 

I do agree that the shaft plays a role in the feel of a club head.

 

I've put 12 sets of irons into play this year (blades/CBS/forged/cast/graphite/steel/different manufacturers) but am fully aware that my experiences may be different from the player in the next stall at the range.

 

12! We are not worthy! We are not worthy!

[FmaxTurboSi]

forged hit flush > cast hit flush > cast off-center > forged off-center

[PenetratingWedgeStinger]

If you don't love the "feel" of forged you're just ignorant. You probably like bounce, hybrids and offset too.

 

[dpb5031]

Forged feeling softer than cast = BS (myth)

 

Muscle back (mb) blade clubs feel soft/pure on center strikes because the mass is directly behind the sweet spot.

 

People refuse to accept this.

 

I know, and it amazes me because it's incredibly obvious.

 

If the forged metal were by itself so much "softer" shouldn't it still feel at least comparatively soft when hit thin, on the heel/toe, or high on the face? But it doesn't. Fact is, forged blades sting your hands and rattle your teeth something awful when you miss the sweet spot. Some believe this "feedback" can help you to become a better ball striker, but that's an entirely different discussion...

 

When mass is pushed out to the club's edges in a perimeter weighted/cavity back design, the majority of the mass is no longer directly behind the sweetspot, so you lose the pure feel and acoustics of a true muscle back blade design on a perfect strike, but you gain forgiveness (larger effective hitting area) and get less harsh feedback on your mishits.

 

Why do you think even Mizuno is using elastomer, titanium, and other badges in the cavities of their perimeter-weighted designs? It's to dampen/improve acoustics and feel, same as Ping and others do with their cast designs.

 

BTW, I love the feel of Mizuno blades when pured, and I practice at times with MP33s and 67s. I love the feel of the old Wilson fluid feel blades and Ram Tour grinds as well...but...it's because the mass is directly behind the sweetspot that they provide that blissful feeling, not the fact that the iron was forged rather than cast.

 

Heck, the type of ball you use has more of an impact on feel than forged v. cast by itself.

[TexasCarlos]

I concur.

 

Some of us grew up playing persimmons and blades, meaning the blades nowadays are so easy to hit.

 

I consider the 900 Tours as my GI...lol

 

How many times will this be discussed? It's still shocking folks convince themselves cast feels batter than forged. No need to trash forged irons just because you can't hit them properly.

 

Love my 900 T's as well!!! Still need to snag some MP18's tho! Nice sticks!

[bullsfan]

This topic always makes me laugh at all the responses. Play what you want and swing your swing. It's all marketing hype and hearsay!

[Konklifer]

Seems like a thread started simply to get rises out of people over a topic that has been beaten to death and reincarnated ad nauseum.

[stk123]

It's not so much the manufacturing process (forged vs cast) but rather the design of the head, quality of strike, and audio feedback that changes my 'perception' of feel.

 

A week ago I played a round in 30 - 45+ kmh winds. At times the howling of the wind made it difficult to hear the strike. Every shot felt different than normal. Almost a hollow sensation at impact. Good shots and not so good shots felt eerily similar. Only the thin stingers were really noticeable as I felt the shot in my hands.

 

Makes me wonder what I would think if I wore ear plugs during a round.

 

Funny you write this, as I just made a post in the most recent "forged vs. Cast" thread, and I wrote: "put headphones on and you will never be able to tell difference between forged and cast". I mean think about it, sound is feel. It is not like a perfectly struck forged club sends vibrations down the shaft differently than a cast club would. It is all feedback via sound, and sound only on flushed shots (the mishits will send more vibration when playing a blade, but I am not sure if cast blade wouldn't send the same vibration anyway if there were any).

[2putttom]

From what I gather, a small double blind test was done once where the exact same head was cast and forged and nobody could tell which was which. Maybe somebody with a better memory could fill in the details or correct me if I'm wrong about the result.

we actually have done this@ my club with same results

[sdandrea]

Forged VS Cast Part Deux?

 

More like a million and deux ... Or something French.

 

Deux million!

 

[Jagpilotohio]

I disagree.

 

I know where this is going so we will agree to disagree but I’m basing my poll on my experience and engineering background.

 

It's not so much the manufacturing process (forged vs cast) but rather the design of the head, quality of strike, and audio feedback that changes my 'perception' of feel.

 

A week ago I played a round in 30 - 45+ kmh winds. At times the howling of the wind made it difficult to hear the strike. Every shot felt different than normal. Almost a hollow sensation at impact. Good shots and not so good shots felt eerily similar. Only the thin stingers were really noticeable as I felt the shot in my hands.

 

Makes me wonder what I would think if I wore ear plugs during a round.

 

Not sure what you disagree with and I certainly have no clue where I'm heading.

 

I do agree that the shaft plays a role in the feel of a club head.

 

I've put 12 sets of irons into play this year (blades/CBS/forged/cast/graphite/steel/different manufacturers) but am fully aware that my experiences may be different from the player in the next stall at the range.

 

12 sets?..... this year?? Holy macaroni!! I think I may have played 7 or 8 in my entire 30 years of golf.

[driveandputtmachine]

I'm selling off all my forged sets, going back to cast....

 

Never really experienced any "butter soft" feel that so many say is there. Owned plenty of Mizzy, Titleist, exotic Japanese forgings, they all felt hard as rocks to me.

 

Admittedly, my ballstriking is not optimal, and I am back to using my old Cally X20 Pros, but they feel better to me, softer.

 

Am I alone?

 

Feel is sooooo subjective. Personally I love the feel of the golf ball landing and stopping closer to the hole and lowering my handicap because I have hit it closer to the hole on average. I played Mizuno MP-14's and Bridgestone irons as well. I played collegiate golf and tried some professional stuff too, so I have a pretty good idea of how to hit a ball, but the super buttery feeling of(insert brand here) has NEVER been more important that hitting more shots closer to the hole for me. Your wallet or handicap doesn't care about the clubs you used, only the score you had on the hole.

 

Play what you like or what feels good to you, but in the end golf is about score.

[liveagua]

I think you should play whatever equipment performs the best for you. What brand/model of forged irons have you tried and didn't like the feel?

 

As far as forged vs cast and playability, there are plenty of forged, game-improvement irons that have great feel and forgiveness. If you are looking for something more modern and similar to the playability of your X-18s, I would suggest the XR Steelhead. It has cup face technology, which is an improvement in forgiveness over the X-18 with better feel and feedback.

 

If you are still interested in playing a forged club, I would suggest the following models:

•Taylormade P790

•Mizuno JPX 919 Forged

•Mizuno JPX 900 Forged

•Mizuno MP-64 (older model)

•Mizuno MP-18 MMC

•Callaway Apex and Apex CF16

•Cobra Forged Tec

•Ping i500

 

If you are looking for some different cast models to try, I would suggest the following:

•Titleist TM-B

•Titleist AP3

•Mizuno JPX 900 Hot Metal

•Mizuno MPH5

•Callaway Rogue X

•Ping i200/i210

 

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to DM me

[SnapHooker_307]

I respectfully disagree on sweet spot hits. However, on my ole diablo forged, if you hit out on the toe on a chilly morning it can make you wonder whether the sweet feel on a center strike is worth it.

[nsxguy]

How many times will this be discussed? It's still shocking folks convince themselves cast feels batter than forged. No need to trash forged irons just because you can't hit them properly.

 

Nobody's "trashing" forged irons.

 

And this isn't about blades vs. CBs. I about a manufacturing process.

 

I've said it before but the "feel" of a flush shot with EITHER process is simply the "lack" of feel. No twisting of the club head OR the shaft along with no vibration.

 

Flushed hits with either process feel exactly the same to me. :dntknw: