Forged vs. Cast Irons: Which One Best Suits Your Game?

There has always been a heated debate when it comes to forged irons vs. cast irons. Which of the two are more playable? Which offers the best feel? Is one better than the other for high handicappers? Low handicappers?

The most comprehensive answer is that it varies from player to player. But let’s explore in detail by first understanding the differences between forged and cast irons, some of the common myths associated with each, and then figure out how you can know which type of iron is better for your game.

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Forged vs. Cast Irons: How Each Are Created

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Forged Irons

Simply stated, forged irons are created from start to finish out of a solid piece of metal and stamped into the appropriate shape and loft. Mizuno, for example, uses a process called “Grain Flow” forging to ensure the grains of the metal flow continuously from heel to toe of the club.

As Mizuno’s Chris Voshall explains in their forging process video, some benefits of forged irons include enhanced consistency from club to club and a truer vibrational feeling when hit – or in other words, better “feel” in the clubhead.

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Cast Irons

In contrast, cast irons are created from molten metal poured into a premade mold. Some benefits of cast irons include the ability to add extra components of technology like perimeter weighting, channels, and cavities because the pliable molten metal can be more easily poured into a wide variety of premolded designs compared to forged irons.

Ping Golf is famous for the “Investment Casting” process used to make the majority of their irons. This process involves pouring molten metal into iron molds, as illustrated in their production process images.

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Forged vs. Cast Irons: Common Myths

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1. Forged Clubs Are for Better Players

The general perception is that forged clubs are for better players, and cast clubs are for higher handicappers. While this is generally true, it’s not always the case, especially with continued technology advancements that merge positive performance benefits on both sides. This myth originated from the fact that forged irons generally don’t have the same flexibility in shaping and weight distribution as cast irons, which limits performance-enhancing benefits in many cast iron designs.

Forged irons often have weight closer to the area where the ball is hit on a solid shot, which makes it stay more true and makes mishits feel and perform worse. Cast clubs, on the other hand, often have their weighting spread more throughout the club to improve the result on mishits, while limiting some of the trueness on a solid shot.

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The takeaway: Unless you’re a true beginner, try not to get too caught up in whether the club is forged or cast. Instead, focus on what kind of weighting characteristics best suit the forgiveness vs. workability needs your game requires.

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2. Forged Clubs Feel Softer

Another common myth is that forged clubs feel “softer.” It’s challenging to quantify feel, making it hard to dispute this statement. However, it has been proven that feel comes almost exclusively from the geometry of the club, not the material. The perception that a forged club feels softer is often primarily a function of the club’s shape.

Forged irons typically offer a compact, “muscle back” or small cavity design, placing the majority of material and weight more behind the golf ball. Castings usually have a game improvement design, placing more weight on the perimeters away from the center of the face. This geometric difference is responsible for differing feels. Several manufacturers have tested similarly shaped and designed clubs in forged and cast models with top players, who often couldn’t tell the difference in a blind test.

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The takeaway: Just because a club is forged doesn’t mean it will “feel” better – it’s often because the shaping of the forged club automatically lends itself to feel that way.

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3. Forged Clubs Make It Easier to Shape Ball Flight

It’s often said that a golfer can feel the ball “stay on the face longer” with forged irons, providing more shot control and workability. While this is generally the case, the reason the ball stays on the face longer is a misconception. Typically, a forged golf club, with its head shape and weighting characteristics, has a center of gravity closer to the face, benefiting solid shots and hurting on mishits. Cast clubs tend to have a game improvement design with a lower, deeper center of gravity, helping get the ball up in the air and aiding mishits.

If we look at this from a technical standpoint, the closer the center of gravity (CG) gets to the face, the greater the vertical gear effect at impact. Vertical gear effect in an iron creates a de-lofting effect at impact, where the sensation of the ball “sticking” to the face originates from.

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The takeaway: This feeling comes from the geometry of the clubhead, not the method in which the club was constructed. If a cast blade club were designed with a CG closer to the face and the majority of its mass directly behind the impact area, the same general “feel” would result.

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Forged vs. Cast Irons: Which Are Best for You?

The moral of the story is that everyone plays the game differently and has different needs for their golf equipment. Don’t get too caught up in whether a club is forged or cast. Instead, focus on getting properly fitted for a head and weighting design that best suits your game. Once you find the proper design offering the appropriate combination of feel, forgiveness, and workability maximized for you, you won’t care how the clubs were made and instead just be thankful you’ve got them in your bag.

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