Compared to the Hot Metal series, the JPX 923 Forged irons should have a better feeling. The club head is a little smaller with less forgiveness, trusting that players will find the center of the face on most strikes. In those cases, the irons should feel better, but outside of the face striked may be punished. , The Mizuno JPX 923 Forged irons will have a slightly better feel than the JPX923 Hot Metal. This is because it is a forged head. This means the iron is created from one block of metal rather than casting a head, as is done in the JPX923 Hot Metal irons. With the increase in feel, a player will have a greater idea of how a ball is hit off the face of the club. , The Mizuno line up this year is very interesting in their similarities. Even with both these clubs pertaining to the JPX line there are a few differences regarding feel.
JPX 923 Hot Metal are built for the purpose of distance and forgiveness. With this being said they are very very impressive when it comes to feel. They are built with a very thin face this year which improves feel. This club is a cast build however so they are pieced together.
JPX Forged is built for feel first and forgiveness second. Being "forged" means they are literally forged out of pure metal. Chromoly to be exact. This improves feel tremendously. The feel is almost a 'soft' feeling. A couple of added goodies for the forged is the sound and the consistency. Still forgiving but not as much as the hot metal.
All in all, if you are looking for feel first over everything then you cant go wrong with the JPX forged. If you want good distance and still a good feel the Hot Metals will make you happy as well.
Hope this helps.