Shop Talk FAQ

What is the loft of a club and how is it measured?

The loft of a golf club determines the angle of trajectory of the golf ball as it leaves the face of the club.  The loft of an iron is measured differently than the loft of a wood.  The loft of an iron is the angle of the face to the centerline of the hosel hole, whereas the loft of a wood is measured from a line perpendicular to the sole to the angle of the face.  In determining the loft of a golf club, a golf club specifications gauge is used to accurately measure the loft.

What is the lie of a golf club?

The lie of a golf club is the angle made between the centerline of the shaft and the ground line when the golf club is set at address and is measured in degrees.

What are the implications of a golf club with an improper lie?

An improper lie will cause the golf ball to travel left or right of target depending on whether the lie of the golf club is too upright or too flat.  When the lie of the golf club is too upright, the directional plane of the face is pointing left of target while the leading edge of the golf club is still perpendicular to the target.  The opposite is true for a golf club with a lie that is too flat.  The directional plane of the face is pointing right of target even though the leading edge is perpendicular to the target.  With a proper or “correct” lie, the directional plane of the face and the leading edge of the club are both aiming directly at the target.

What is the leading edge of a golf club?

The leading edge is the part of the head nearest to the target when the golf club is in a soled position.

What is the trailing edge of a golf club?

The trailing edge is the part of the sole that is farthest from the face.

What are offset golf clubs?

Offset is the distance from the leading edge of the golf club to the leading edge of the hosel in millimeters or fractions of an inch.  An offset golf club will have its face farther behind the hosel.  An offset golf club allows the hands to get ahead of the club face and the squaring of the club face at impact.  Progressive offset is usually greater in longer irons and less in shorter irons.

What is the difference between forged and cast irons?

Without getting into too much detail, forged golf clubs are manufactured by the compression of red hot round bars of steel in dies with a forge hammer.  The force of the hammer squeezes and hits the hot metal more than once to take the shape of the upper and lower forging dies.  The newly forged head is removed from the die, trimmed, grinded, and touched up before shipped for finishing.

Cast golf clubs are manufactured by pouring molten steel into ceramic shells (investment casting) and then heated in a furnace to ensure a consistent flow of molten steel in the shell.  Once the ceramic shells are allowed to cool, the shell is broken away from the metal leaving an iron head behind.

Forged golf clubs tend to cost more than cast clubs due to the large capital investment in tooling, die, and equipment to finish the iron head.  With lower capital investments, cast clubs can be mass produced and cost less than forged clubs at the retail level.