Question about forged heads

brianmillfelt · November 16, 2005

Split from the Tour Champion thread

I am starting to seriously look at forged clubs. My question is about the forging process itself. From what I have found out so far, it looks like Mizuno strikes their clubs twice, not including the one time to put the grooves in the face, Srixon says they strike their clubs 6 times, Bridgestone won't tell me but they did say Endo makes the heads for them (I have an e-mail question into Endo that will probably never be answered), Miura Japan strikes their clubs I think 5 or 6 times??, and Nakashima says they strike their clubs two times (website info). The information I saw this weekend from a local club maker in Los Angeles showed a close up view of the metal itself after the Miura forging process, showing how smooth and uniform it is after it's completed versus being struck less times. Is that really that big of a deal? I know that allot of pros request in their contracts that their irons be forged by Miura. I also know that Miura Japan is different than Miura USA (Canada). Does anyone have any info on the Bridgestone J33B blades? Anyone have any contacts on purchasing Miura Japan heads or clubs? Is Miura Canada/USA really that different than Miura Japan? If I had to purchase something today, it would probably be the Mizuno MP-32's, but now that I know a little about Miura, I'm trying to find a source for those. Many thanks, and for those of us that Jones for the gear, this web site totally rocks!

turbodog · November 17, 2005

where did you hear that pros request in their contracts that their irons be forged by miura...? i have heard of players insisting their grinds be done by don white or miura-san or larry bobka or tom stites... but i've never heard of them caring where it was forged.

jeffy · November 17, 2005

Japanese forgings, like Miura and Ishihara, have better reputations for consistency and quality than the Chinese forging houses, but, unless you're Hogan or Snead, I can't imagine it having any impact whatsoever on your scores or feel.

Quality of the grind and the shaft borings in the hosel are the most important factors, IMO (it was sloppy borings that caused Hogan to junk the first $150,000 of clubs his company built, btw) and Miura claims to be tops in both areas. The U.S. product allegedly has a different sole grind more suitable for U.S. turf conditions, but Chris at TourSpecGolf has hit both models side-by-side and could not tell the difference.

TigerStrong · November 18, 2005

Bobby Jones used wooden shafts didn't he? I just don't think it matters how many times the club has been "struck". Just go play. IMOP

tpariff · November 18, 2005

I am starting to seriously look at forged clubs. My question is about the forging process itself. From what I have found out so far, it looks like Mizuno strikes their clubs twice, not including the one time to put the grooves in the face, Srixon says they strike their clubs 6 times, Bridgestone won't tell me but they did say Endo makes the heads for them (I have an e-mail question into Endo that will probably never be answered), Miura Japan strikes their clubs I think 5 or 6 times??, and Nakashima says they strike their clubs two times (website info). The information I saw this weekend from a local club maker in Los Angeles showed a close up view of the metal itself after the Miura forging process, showing how smooth and uniform it is after it's completed versus being struck less times. Is that really that big of a deal? I know that allot of pros request in their contracts that their irons be forged by Miura. I also know that Miura Japan is different than Miura USA (Canada). Does anyone have any info on the Bridgestone J33B blades? Anyone have any contacts on purchasing Miura Japan heads or clubs? Is Miura Canada/USA really that different than Miura Japan? If I had to purchase something today, it would probably be the Mizuno MP-32's, but now that I know a little about Miura, I'm trying to find a source for those. Many thanks, and for those of us that Jones for the gear, this web site totally rocks!
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Miura irons are sweet. I've played various forged irons including the Mizuno MP30 and MP33. IMO the Miura CB-201 is every bit as good if not better than any Mizuno I've hit.

If you're looking for more info on the Miura, check www.miuragolf.com or call Chip Usher at Usher Golf in Savannah, GA. His number is (912) 695-9420. He's the one who built my Miura CB-201s with Nippon 1150 X shafts. You can also order directly through the Miura website, but I don't think you'll get the personal attention that Chip or any other clubmaker would provide.

Good Luck!

brianmillfelt · November 18, 2005

where did you hear that pros request in their contracts that their irons be forged by miura...? i have heard of players insisting their grinds be done by don white or miura-san or larry bobka or tom stites... but i've never heard of them caring where it was forged.
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I have heard that randomly a couple times in my travels in So. CAL, but most recently last weekend from the guy who builds/used to build K.J. Choi's clubs here in LA. The supposed deal is that the pros indicate that in or on their contract. He said Tiger and most of the big names have their clubs forged there, and as you can imagine it's easy enough to stamp a Nike swoosh on a muscle back blade and call it a Nike blade.