I don’t know how you feel about this, but this early season proves to me that the golf industry is changing. The bigger shift is also more undeniable.
OEMs are changing the way they design, manufacture and market game-enhancing and super-game-enhancing irons. And for what it’s worth, we couldn’t be happier.
Presented for your approval are the following factoids:
- While distance is still important, TaylorMade, Callaway and now COBRA are focusing on the playability of how far the ball goes.
- All three OEMs acknowledge the roll, launch angle and sag issue (this has been going on for a while).
- The distance through the strongest attics is PASS. The new message is consistent distance across the face.
- Everyone in this category is focusing more than ever on sentiment.
- The annual release cycles associated with the annual driver/metal wood releases have ended. All (except Callaway, at least for this year) are now on a two-year life cycle for GI and SGI irons.
Friends, these are some seismic shifts, especially this last one.
And these changes are what make the new COBRA KING and KING MAX irons so interesting. I was expecting something related to the OPTM metalwood family because that’s what COBRA has been doing for at least the last two decades. Instead, COBRA is adding its GI and SGI irons to its KING golf family and moving to a two-year product cycle.
Yes, something is going on here. What it is may not be exactly clear, but it is coming into sharp focus.
COBRA KING and KING MAX irons: Why the difference?
COBRA, along with other OEMs we’ve spoken to this launch season, recognizes that market trends are changing. Consumers, they told us, are somewhat jaded and over all the distance and speed stories they’re hearing year after year.
The focus is on hitting more greens which means controlled accuracy and distance. of TOit would seem, have reached up to how far.
Make no mistake. COBRA is not saving on how far with the new KING and KING MAX irons. However, all speed and distance technology is joined at the hip with speed and distance consistency.
If any of this sounds familiar, it should. TaylorMade says much the same about the new Qi MAX game improvement irons as Callaway did about the new Quantum irons.
When the universe rotates, all its participants rotate with it.
3D printing and catapults
COBRA is using its emerging 3D printing technology with the new KING and KING MAX irons, not in the way you think. Unlike the glamorous new 3DP MB and 3DP X irons (fully 3D printed using advanced metal jet printing technology), COBRA is using 3D printing for just one part of the new KINGs, a new grille-shaped rear medallion.
Instead of metal, the new medallion is made of ABS plastic and is designed to save up to five grams of weight. Five grams may not sound like a lot, but in an iron where there isn’t that much room to move the weight around, it’s a pretty significant amount.
This weight savings allowed COBRA to move the KING’s center of gravity two millimeters lower than it was on last year’s DS-ADAPT irons. Again, this may not sound like much, but COBRA says the small displacement resulted in a 1.18 mph increase in ball speed (maybe two meters more bart) without strengthening the attic. It also resulted in a slight increase in launch angle with minimal impact on roll. Usually, you will pay for that combination of spin and ball release by giving up spin.
COBRA is also redesigning its internal weighing system with what it calls Catapult Weight. It’s a free-floating 80-gram steel weight housed in a polymer sleeve behind the face. Prevents metal-to-metal contact when the iron face bends on impact.
Its job is to free up the face, sole and back of the iron to bend together and give more speed to the ball at impact. In the DS-ADAPT, that weight was fixed to the iron body, which limited the flex of the face and toe.
She sells SPEEDSHELLS from Skid Soles…
While COBRA is leaving the DS-ADAPT in the dust, it is keeping at least some of the technology. Specifically, we’re talking about its 360 SPEEDSHELL face design, which is COBRA’s take on a variable-thickness cup face.
Why keep it? Well, because it works. According to COBRA, the SPEEDSHELL unlocks 23 percent more face flex than the older PWRSHELL face used before the DS-ADAPT. I, for one, am grateful that COBRA has chosen to use all vowels for SPEEDSHELL, even though she still insists on using EVERYTHING.
Another blast from the past is something COBRA is calling its Skid Sole. In 2002, Phil Rodgers of COBRA designed the original Skid sole for his wedges. It’s actually a precursor to Srixon’s VT Sole, and COBRA later used a variation on the soles of its Amp and Amp Cell irons in 2011 and 2012.
The Skid Sole has been slightly reimagined for the COBRA KING and KING MAX 2026 irons. It features more edge bounce along with a flatter sole and reduced camber. The idea is that a stronger leading edge reduces dig for players with a steeper angle of attack, while the flatter sole and reduced camber allow the iron to sit closer to the ground. This should, in theory, help shallow angle of attack “pickers” make clearer and more consistent contact.
COBRA KING and the changing world of game improvement
COBRA, like any good OEM, asked its 11 to 20 disabled customers what they wanted. The answer wasn’t much different from what TaylorMade learned in its customer survey. Both distance and forgiveness were on the leaderboard, but, according to COBRA, its players rated accuracy, distance control and feel just as much.
I swear, we’ve heard more OEMs stressing greens in regulations than in the last 10 years combined. It’s almost like actually playing golf it has become as important as hitting the ever-beloved fiddle off the ball.
The first two-year product cycles and now this? What in the name of old Tom Morris is going on here?
For its part, COBRA isn’t touting monumental long-distance gains or even small long-distance gains. It’s looking for 1.18 miles per hour of extra ball speed that can worth a couple of meters. However, COBRA says the new KINGs are offering all the accuracy and distance control.
Using test players in the 11 to 20 handicap range, COBRA tested the new KING head-to-head from 160 yards. He found that players not only hit 10 percent more greens with the KING, but there was a noticeable drop in the longer to shorter distribution. The score was 1.35 hits earned.
Additionally, COBRA found that the new Skid sole actually helped players with a shallower angle of attack in terms of club speed more than it helped steeper players. Because the Skid Sole allows the club to sit closer to the ground, COBRA says golfers hit the ball higher on the clubface, closer to the sweet spot. This would obviously make for a more consistent ball speed.
COBRA KING and KING MAX Handcuffs: Specifications, Price and Availability
COBRA, like Callaway, is bucking the HL (High Launch) model trend. KING stays strong with a 7-iron 27. It’s designed for mid- and high-handicappers who have enough swing speed to activate those stronger lofts.
KING MAX is the super game upgrade model and is the weakest raised by two ranks across the board. It’s just a little bigger than the KING, but it’s built to be more forgiving and a little more traction-biased. When combined with higher lofts, it not only serves as the SGI model in the family, but will do an acceptable job of serving the needs of a slower swing speed player who also needs higher release.
Both irons will be available in left- and right-handed models. KING will be offered in a 4-iron through a gap wedge. KING MAX will come in a 5 iron wedge.
The KBS Tour Lite is the stock steel shaft while the lightweight KBS PGI is the stock graphite. The new SuperStroke Crossline STD is the stock catch.
A women’s KING Max model, in Earl Grey, will also be available. It features an even lighter weight KBS PGI shaft in the women’s flex along with a SuperStroke Crossline small handle.
The COBRA KING and KING MAX irons will come in seven-piece sets for $999 in steel and $1,099 in graphite. The women’s KING MAX is a six piece and will cost $942.
All three kits will be available for assembly and pre-sale on February 3rd. They will be available at retail and online starting February 6th.
If you’re looking for a deal, last year’s COBRA DS-ADAPT irons are on sale now, starting at $799.98.
For more information, visit www.cobragolf.com.
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