A 'Hole' Lot of Precision Engineering

Posted in Reflections on 11th April 2010

As all eyes were drawn to Augusta, Florida earlier this month in preparation for the commencement of the golfing season, it provided the team at William Rowland with the perfect excuse to watch the tournament and cast a curious eye on the golf clubs being paraded by the professionals, checking out both the design and metals they incorporate.

Modern day golf clubs are the result of many years of engineering evolution. Over the years, golf club materials have changed and new golf club design and manufacturing techniques have been developed and refined to maximise performance. The biggest change has been the evolution of shafts from wood to steel to graphite.

With each golf bag carrying up to 14 clubs, each one is designed to achieve a specific result. Despite the difference in performance and appearance though, all clubs are manufactured using similar processes.

Iron Manufacturing & Materials

Once the design for the club has been confirmed, there are two ways to manufacture the iron: casting and forging.

All cast clubs are made from stainless steel which combines iron with nickel and chromium, as well as other trace materials. Most good quality cast irons are made from either 17-4 or 431 grade stainless steel. Cast club heads made from 17-4 grade steel are a little harder than those clubs cast in 431.

Once the grade of steel has been decided, the casting process then produces clubs from moulds that can be formed into very intricate shapes. Compared to the alternative method of forging, casting is relatively inexpensive.

Forging uses large machines that hammer the raw material into the required shape for the club. The steel used in this process is predominantly carbon steel which may limit the variations of club design. With a tendency to rust, carbon steel (made from a combination of iron and carbon) can be electroplated with chromium and nickel in order to protect it.

Drivers Materials & Manufacturing

When producing drivers and fairway woods, casting is once again the dominant process due to its flexibility and cost.

Typically, driver faces are made from titanium whereas fairway woods are put together using steel. The remainder of the clubs head (the crown) is made from a more lightweight carbon fibre that allows a smoother follow through and ultimately a greater striking distance.

William Rowland Ltd are ferro alloys suppliers, high purity metals suppliers, metal powders suppliers, nickel powder suppliers, nickel alloy suppliers and tin suppliers. If you would like to find out how we can meet your requirements, please contact us using the Quick Enquiry Form on the right-hand side of this website.

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