Golfers have many choices when it comes to club head materials. It can also be confusing for new players why one material would be chosen over another. As a specialist at golf club head material, the Albatross Sports would like to share some knowledge about it.
Titanium
The titanium used in golf clubs stems from technology applied in the aerospace industry. The first golf clubs made with titanium date back to the early 1990s, and it soon became the material of choice for kick-off club (golf driver) heads due to its strength. Titanium is lighter than stainless steel, allowing designers to create larger club heads to meet the weight specifications of regular clubs. The strength of this material increases durability and allows it to be used by even the strongest golfers on the earth.
There are various titanium alloys (materials added to the original titanium) that can change the weight and strength requirements. Driver club heads can be up to 460 cubic centimeters in volume, and the most frequently used alloy is 6/4 titanium, where 90% of the material is titanium, 6% is aluminum, and 4% is vanadium. There are many other alloys or grades of titanium (also called Beta titanium) that club designers can use, such as 10-2-3, 15-3-3-3, SP700, and others. If higher grades of titanium are used, they are usually only used for the face, not the entire club head.
The United States Golf Association (USGA) and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews (R&A), golf's two governing bodies, have rules for how fast the ball can fly off the face of a driver. Most manufacturers build drivers to that limit, but not beyond, so one material doesn't really have an advantage over another. Normally, smaller drivers (under 400cc) use the more expensive Beta titanium to increase the speed of the ball flying off the face. But for clubs in the 460cc range, standard 6/4 titanium is more than enough to meet the maximum allowable ball speed.
Titanium can also be used in other clubs, but you generally don't see it very often for a few reasons. First, titanium is much more expensive than the stainless steel used in fairway woods, hybrids, and irons. Secondly, titanium is used for its strength and light weight. If a fairway wood is made of titanium, it is usually made larger to achieve the normal weight. Doing so makes the club head taller, making it harder to hit the ball from the fairway. Another way is to use a dense metal or fix a heavier weight to the sole of the club. The same is true for titanium irons. However, you may have seen some irons with titanium inserts to increase the speed when hitting the ball instead of using a full stainless steel club head.
Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is the most commonly used material in golf. This material is generally inexpensive, easy to cast into various shapes of golf clubs, and durable enough for daily use. There are two main types of stainless steel used in golf club heads. One is 17-4 stainless steel (carbon content does not exceed 0.07%, chromium content is between 15% and 17%, nickel content is 4%, copper content is 2.75%, iron and trace elements content is 75%). 17-4 is mainly used in metal woods, hybrids, and some irons. Another stainless steel is 431 (no more than 0.2% carbon, 15% to 17% chromium, 1.25% to 2.5% nickel, and the rest is iron and some trace elements). This grade of stainless steel is used for irons and putters, but is also strong enough for fairway woods and hybrids.
Today, most fairway woods are made from 17-4 stainless steel. 17-4 woods can also be made from 17-4, but due to the high density of the material, the size limit is about 250cc, otherwise there is a risk of cracking during normal play. Few 17-4 woods are made from stainless steel today, as golfers prefer the larger, easier-to-hit 17-4 woods. Precision cast iron can be made from either 431 or 17-4 grades. 17-4 grade is slightly harder than 431 grade. This allows 431 grade to be adjusted for loft or face angle more easily, but other than that, there is no greater advantage between the two than the other.
Specialty Stainless Steels (Martening Steels)
Another new material used in golf club head manufacturing is maraging steel, which is an alloy or family of steels with unique properties. Generally, maraging steels are harder than non-maraging steels such as 431 or 17-4 and are used primarily for face inserts rather than entire club heads. Driver heads can be made entirely of maraging steel, but there are still limits to the size of driver heads (approximately under 300cc). Also, the cost of a driver head will not be much cheaper than a titanium driver head.
Because maraging steel is harder, the clubface insert can be made thinner than the common stainless steel used in golf. As a result, the ball flying off the clubface will have a slightly higher ball speed at impact. Maraging steel is more expensive to produce, so it will cost more, which is the price of high performance.
Aluminum
Aluminum is a much lighter material than stainless steel. Early metal woods made from aluminum in the 1970s and 1980s were not very strong or durable. This led to these low-cost clubheads being notorious for scratching and denting easily, a reputation that still exists today. However, today's aluminum alloys are much better than those used in the past, and clubhead sizes can be up to the maximum size for drivers specified by the Rules of Golf (460cc) and even larger.
Clubheads made from aluminum cost even less than stainless steel, making these clubs more affordable and ideal for beginner or junior sets. The only downside to aluminum is that the walls must be made thicker to avoid cracking or collapse. As a result, the ball speed flying off the clubface will be lower than that of a comparable titanium driver.
Carbon Graphite
Carbon graphite is an extremely light material that is used in the manufacture of wood clubs (usually with some sort of metal base plate to increase durability and weight). Today, very few clubs are made primarily of carbon graphite; however, there are many clubs that have carbon graphite materials incorporated into their design.
Carbon graphite has a lower density than any other material used in golf, making it a perfect choice to replace the topshell (or crown, or top of the club head). Adding carbon graphite to the crown reduces weight, allowing the extra weight to be relocated elsewhere in the club head to improve the design. Club heads made of or partially made of carbon graphite are expensive and are used not only in drivers, but also in fairway woods and hybrids.
Carbon Steel
Carbon steel is used in irons, wedges, and putters and has been used in golf clubs for centuries. Most people associate carbon steel irons and wedges with forging, as this is the primary method of manufacturing these clubs. However, some carbon steel alloys can also be cast (8620 carbon steel) to produce club heads. Regardless, carbon steel is a soft, malleable material that will rust without some sort of protective chrome plating.
More skilled golfers tend to prefer models made from carbon steel because some say there is a difference in feel between carbon steel and harder stainless steel. More importantly, club heads made from softer carbon steel tend to be less suitable for game improvement designs and more suitable for golfers with lower handicaps.
Some of them are intentionally left unchrome plated so that they can rust with normal use. The idea behind unplated carbon steel wedges is a softer feel and more spin. Irons, wedges, and putters made from carbon steel are more expensive than stainless steel.
Zinc
Club heads made from zinc are the cheapest of all the materials. Zinc club heads are mainly used in irons, wedges, and putters in starter and youth sets and are not as durable as stainless steel club heads. Zinc club heads are characterized by being non-magnetic and having a larger hosel diameter than a normal club head diameter.
Woods
Wood club heads are rarely used as a club head material anymore, as titanium drivers and stainless steel fairway woods are more popular with golfers.
