Katsuhiro Miura, forged iron visionary and founder of Miura Golf, dies at 82

It’s not that Katsuhiro Miura invented the idea of forging irons—or even perfected it. (Truly, he never stopped rethinking the way forged steel could become a work of art and a golf club at the same time). Miura, the founder and chief designer of Miura Golf, went about his work with a distinct passion and diligence. He notably always had a place at the first grinding wheel on the company assembly line, and the way he talked about it, he made his clubs sought after by every kind of player in the game, including the best that ever was.

Miura died May 14 in Japan at 82. Although he had been involved in clubmaking since the late 1950s, he started Miura Golf in 1977 in Hemiji, in the Hyogo region, which is historically known for its precision in forging “Katana” swords for centuries. Miura brought that sense of technique along with distinct innovations along the way to make his forged irons in ways that gained favor for their attention to the sometimes mystical performance characteristic of feel. Most notable at the time was his “spin-welding” approach that joined the hosel to the head through high-speed friction and heat, but he often explored more organic ways of improving performance. Notable again was using a forgiving sole design on the game-improvement PI-401 irons to help players return the face to square at impact.

“The pathway to creating a legacy is loving what you do,” said Bill Holowaty, Miura’s COO. “Miura-san never sought the spotlight—his passion was the quiet, relentless pursuit of perfection. For over 30 years, he was a guiding presence in my life, both personally and professionally. What mattered most to him was not recognition but knowing that the legacy he built was in the trusted hands of his sons, Yoshitaka and Shinei, and now his grandson, Kokuse. We remain deeply honored to be the guardians of his brand and his life’s work.”

Indeed, Miura’s skill in finding the look that attracted the attention of all kinds of keen golfers with a penchant for forged muscleback blades led to the Japanese golf media referring to him as having “the hands of God.” The Miura way became so enthralling to Holowaty, a Canadian who played professional hockey in Japan in the 1980s, that he’s been with the company for three decades. “They say once you’ve hit Miura clubs, you’re ready to drink the Kool-Aid,” he says. “But once you’ve been to the factory, you’re ready to help them make it.”

"In one of our earliest conversations, Miura-san said to me, again, roughly translated, 'the good golfer will find me,'" Holowaty remembers. "That statement didn’t mean you had to be a good golfer, but rather, if the Miura factory focused on designing and manufacturing forged irons and wedges to the best of their ability, irons that prioritized performance over sales, golfers would eventually come to know his clubs. Katsuhiro Miura was able to translate the 'art of steel' to the crafting of superior forged clubs, combining sophisticated technology and a mature sensitivity to the craft."

Miura forgings, both those bearing the company’s logo and those reportedly forged for other companies, have been played and won on tours around the world, as well as by the winners of at least two Masters and a U.S. Open. In the last decade, he even designed a set for Jack Nicklaus, built with Nicklaus looking over his shoulder at the plant in Hemiji. In fact, those Nickalus shapes became a heavy influence on a set Miura produced for Adam Scott.

Forging irons was a way to create a more unified metal, Miura once told Golf Digest, something that cannot be achieved with other techniques.

“It’s like if you have two glass jars,” he said. “One is filled with marbles and the other is filled with sand. There are a lot of voids in the jar with marbles, but not with the jar of sand. The jar of sand is a forged iron.

“The marbles will vibrate at impact and that results in some of the energy transfer being lost and a vibration within the hands of the golfer. The sand produces no vibration, and no loss of energy. Both a good and an average player will feel that difference.”