How soft are some forged irons?

[razaar]

I recently had all my forged irons sets adjusted to the same lie angles as my old set of Diawa's which are perect for my swing. The feedback I got was the Cally's were much softer to move than the Mizzies. I always considered the Mizzies to be easy to move. Now I have 3 sets set up identical which will allow me to only use the Cally's under soft conditions. I wonder how other forged irons register on the scale of softness. I am assuming the easier a clubhead will adjust to a certain point the easier it is to disturb the setting of the lie. Have any of you clubfitters any knowledge about this issue?

[AGCP_GolfDoctor]

There is a bit of variance between forged irons on themarket today as you can cast an iron into is basic shape and then have the laststep forged to complete the head and still call this forged.

You can also have different mix’s of carbon. I just bent aset of Titleist’s and was able to bend them 6° without cracking the chrome, buta set of Adams & Nike’s I did on Friday was more difficult to get 3°.

But yes you are correct, if they are very easy to bend for loft and lie, they will bend out of your desired position. Just remember it isvery important to get them hand measured on a loft/lie gauge before you everput them into a loft/lie machine.

[MegaWatty]

There is a bit of variance between forged irons on themarket today as you can cast an iron into is basic shape and then have the laststep forged to complete the head and still call this forged.

You can also have different mix’s of carbon. I just bent aset of Titleist’s and was able to bend them 6° without cracking the chrome, buta set of Adams & Nike’s I did on Friday was more difficult to get 3°.

But yes you are correct, if they are very easy to bend for loft and lie, they will bend out of your desired position. Just remember it isvery important to get them hand measured on a loft/lie gauge before you everput them into a loft/lie machine.



Colour edited for those using Lights On. ;)

[gazgolf1]

I think you will find that the phrase "easy to move" has different meanings amongst Ozgolfers, specifically big suitcase chucking Ho ones

[peter_rs]

My callys are that soft I had them adjusted and two months later they were back to stock. Same fitter and machine to.

[markTHEblake]

I wonder how other forged irons register on the scale of softness.

From Dave Tutelman's design notes (http://www.tutelman.com/golf/design/head2.php)


Adjustability What happens when you need to adjust the loft or lie of the club? I have no knowledge of titanium in this regard. But if you're thinking of adjusting a graphite or wooden head, stop thinking about it. As for the various kinds of steel:


Carbon steel (as used in forged irons) is very bendable.
18-8 and 304 stainless steel (used in a small and decreasing number of cast iron heads) is similarly bendable.
431 stainless steel (the most common material for casting iron heads) can be bent a limited amount. The usual rule of thumb is no more than 2 degrees of bend.
17-4 stainless steel (used in almost all metalwoods and a few iron heads) shouldn't be bent without "special equipment", according to the 1995 Golfsmith catalog. (I have been successful myself on one occasion at bending a 17-4 clubhead 2.5 degrees. I have also seen broken 17-4 clubheads after an attempted bend of only 1 degree.)
15-5 stainless steel I have only seen in metalwood heads, and have never heard of its being successfully bent.

The reason for this is the hardness of the material. The less sure you are of your loft/lie, the higher on this list you want to be. By the same token, harder clubheads will not nick as easily and will probably last longer; if you ARE sure of your loft/lie, move toward the bottom of this list for a club that will look better longer.