CAD Designing and Prototyping my personal golf irons

[JacobMMC]

For the past two or so years I have been designing, developing and prototyping my own personal set of irons. I took on the project because my grandfather introduced me to golf and got me hooked. I always loved designing things in CAD, from wooden puzzles to keyboards. I originally wanted to make a putter that could replace his old odyssey two-ball but my design ambition only grew from there. I started by inspecting my own Titleist 710 AP1 irons and from there I created hundreds of sketches for iron faces alone. I wanted to be able to compare my Titleist irons with the ones I designed so after a google search I used the spec sheet Titleist provided for the AP1 710 irons on their website. Over the course of these two years I learned how to incorporate loft, lie, offset, camber, sole width, blade length and numerous other variables that make up golf clubs. 

After finally becoming satisfied with the design I began prototyping, I sent two designs over to a CNC milling factory: a 7 iron and a Pitching Wedge. They looked beautiful although they didn't have a typical muscle cavity. They exceeded my expectations and I achieved more distance with these prototypes and I had people I met on the driving range along with some people at a PGA TOUR Superstore test these irons as well and somewhat to my surprise they loved them. After about 6+ months of learning how to incorporate forgiveness into my cavity I finally had another design that resembled a more traditional blade. It came out beautiful but I was only able to produce a single 7 iron. During that time I continued to work on designs, at the request of some friends. I made a Phantom X style putter but with my design input rather than copy an existing design, a driving iron and a CB Iron set but they haven't been prototyped or produced yet.

I want to be able to experiment with more materials and unique construction cavities that use tungsten to move the CG over to the toe, however prototyping alone is pretty expensive and I can’t afford to keep experimenting. So now you’re all caught up, I guess my future plans with this project is to keep developing these irons and hope some people approach me with interest to test these irons themselves or possibly have their own set design. I have also designed a couple wedge sets but I don’t think they are quite ready for prototyping yet because I want them to be able to compete with name brand wedges. Right now I have basically a finalized design, however I still want to remove a couple more grams to get it within my target weight. I have also made a handful of putters but I haven’t decided to prototype them yet simply because these irons take priority. 

 

The link attached is a showcase of CAD images, the prototypes and the experimental designs like wedges and putters:

Misc golf CAD Designs, Prototypes & 3D Prints

Lob Wedge:

Lob Wedge Design

Edited June 2 by JacobMMC
Add photos

[GolfSpy_APH]

Those look pretty incredible!

[Rob Person]

Wow!  Those look amazing!  Welcome to MGS !

That is surely quite the undertaking and quite the outcome!

Is the screw in the back for weight changes or the face attachment?

Edited June 2 by Rob Person

[JacobMMC]

6 hours ago, Rob Person said:

Wow!  Those look amazing!  Welcome to MGS !

That is surely quite the undertaking and quite the outcome!

Is the screw in the back for weight changes or the face attachment?

Thank you! The weight is a tungsten insert not for the face. Although a separate face part was something I’ve wanted to test using a more malleable material like aluminum and have a carbon steel or stainless steel body.

[release]

On 6/1/2024 at 9:05 PM, JacobMMC said:

You are very fortunate to have both the time and the resources to enjoy doing this.  Might be a good idea to involve a couple of professional golfers for feed back.  At least involve someone who are in the industry for awhile for more practical opinions.

 

[JacobMMC]

23 minutes ago, release said:

 

I agree however I don’t know how or who to message about feedback. Thanks for the interest in this project!

[Albatross Leather]

Wow, these are seriously impressive! You can tell how much effort and skill went into the design. It might be worth exploring a kick-starter to see what kind of response there is. A lot of smaller DTC brands are getting popular now which is great. 

[release]

On 6/3/2024 at 6:28 AM, JacobMMC said:

I agree however I don’t know how or who to message about feedback. Thanks for the interest in this project!

Can't help you in that regard, trust and sphere of influence are earned through time trial.  Most the retired professional won't have the time nor interest to get involved unless they have a piece of stake in this.   Check with your local regional circle.  You might find a mentor.

Edited June 10 by release

[Hoyoymac]

@JacobMMC 

Have you considered trying to find a job with any of the golf equipment manufacturers to further your ambitions?

Those two club heads and your design portfolio look like they would help bolster a resume.