Back in January, we got a look at the new Cobra KING Tour irons with MIM technology at the PGA Show. Then a couple of months later, a pandemic happened that changed the landscape of the golf industry. Today, these irons that have been often discussed, but not available, become official.
Metal Injection Molding (MIM) technology is not brand new, but we are seeing it more and more due to the precision that it creates. Most recently for Cobra, their wedge designs have been gaining in popularity in part due to the precision shaping and overall performance. Unlike traditional forging or casting, MIM manufacturing utilizes few steps to create.
In the case of the Cobra KING Tour irons, a mixture of 304 stainless steel powder is heated and injected into a mold. Heating to even a higher temperature than most forgings, the result, according to Cobra, is a very tight grain structure providing an incredibly soft feel. The MIM process requires only moderate polishing compared to forgings to ensure the shaping is completely consistent.
“We’ve used our MIM process over the past two years to deliver softer and more precisely-shaped designs in our wedges,” said Tom Olsavsky, Vice President of R&D for COBRA Golf.
“Now, in response to demand from better players and our Tour staffers, seeking the same benefits in a full set of irons, our R&D team delivered the KING TOUR Irons. These irons are softer than any forged offerings on the market, and like their wedge counterparts, offer better consistency in shaping for more precision shot-making on the course. While soft feel and consistency are important in the short-game, optimizing these attributes throughout an entire iron set will give golfers better performance across a wider range of shot selections.”
A tungsten weight is positioned in the toe of the club to perfect the center of gravity (CG) directly behind the impact zone. The ability to manufacture this way allows for precision, but also stability. Moving from the toe to the small cavity, a TPU Insert is directly behind the sweet spot to dampen vibrations a bit and enhance the feel even more.
Cobra Connect is still in place and might just be the best value add in golf. Powered by Arccos, the system utilizes smart grips to track your data through the round. Each set comes with a 90 day trial of the Caddie App as well. For the loft peepers spec fans out there, here is a look at the specs.
The Details
In Stores: October 30th, 2020
Shafts: KBS $-Taper (many options are available through custom)
Set Makeup: 4-PW (3 iron and GW are available through custom)
Cost: $1299
I ordered my set one degree flat and I am glad I did. I think you have nailed what these are after your session. They should satisfy the traditionalist. They have some tech, but they are going to play to the same number with a repeatable swing. Good launch and spin. If you want the distance of a players distance iron, these are not your profile. If you want something that will reward a good pass at the ball and gap well, this is a great candidate.
Not the best day, couple of solid tee shots in the fairway, left the approach shots lacking. Head definitely spins more than the FTs and launch is a nice high flight for me. Think I may fill out the set, but for my skill level right now the forgiveness in the Forged Tecs suit me better
@mpeterson took a couple of swings as well
Speak of what you know! (I hate waiting )
I’m probably in the same boat – I think I want a bit more forgiveness than these provide, though the swing I took with them I feel like I made contact with. Grips were much bigger than I play, so left it a bit open. Definitely got some height on the ball. Too bad that ball hit cart path, so hard to know how the distance compared.
These definitely will not give the same ball speed as the other two offerings you mentioned.
I understand that. The excess spin was my biggest concern.
Were you hitting the stock $ Taper shafts?
At first yes. I tried a few shafts and strangely the KBS Tour 90 seemed to fit best on spin. It was around 7k and distance was leveling out. May bend them a degree strong or do a DG 105 (playing it now and spinning to much as well)
Yeah, their videos are getting better. Solid source for more data and opinions.
They have gotten a lot better. But wow is he a low spin player.
For the MIM irons i think the only negative I have on them right now is the price. I get that it is a new process, but these are not priced slightly under their competitors like most Cobra products in the past. I think right now this is the best combination of feel and performance for the compact players tech cavity.
I’m def eyeing these for my bag next year. I wish they offered the $taper in S+ flex.
T100S are very good, so it will be tough to bump them out at this point.
They offer most of the KBS S+ lineup. Would be surprised if they didn’t have them. Might be black only or chrome only.
Just checked. The have them $-taper S+. They are under the stiff steel category. Currently on backorder though. They carry both the black and chrome skus
Give them a call and you should be able to put in an order even though they are on backorder.
??Nice! I really like the shaping of the head on these irons. Limited offset and really easy on the eyes, behind the ball. Blade length is very confidence inspiring. ? did a nice job on these.
My season is basically over, but will def consider next year. I’m curious what Cally does with the Apex Pro 20s and Ping does with the iblade 2.0.
I was just going to vote for the 115’s but knowing how much u like the elevates that is probably the right decision
The 115’s aren’t leaving the Miura’s, which are still firmly the front runners for my bag in 2021
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We have a very quiet tie
Mmmmmmmnnnnoooooo
It was really good.
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2nd from the right is ?, but they would all look good
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Shorty on the far left
Thanks in advance.
I hope the Pro’s in extremely high regard to this day for sure.
I think that there are a lot of similarities for me. The feel is there, and then some. The ease of launch and work is there. Distance is solid for a players CB. I do see less offset in the MIM and I love that.
Short version, they both be real good.
That is what draws me to these. The head shaping and minimal offset with a head size that doesn’t seem too small or too large. Graily…
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You are identifying exactly why these are such a good fit for me. Very little offset with a blade length that gives me some comfort. It is an ideal combo for me.
Am I correct you have/had the MP-20 irons? If so, how do you compare these to those?
I posted some comparison pics in the thread above. The obvious direct comparison would be with the MMCs. Personally, I do not believe that there is much difference between the two, in terms of numbers and playability. They both feel absolutely great to me. I would describe the Cobras as feeling a bit more dense and the MMCs a bit softer, but it is so much splitting hairs because they both are among the best feeling irons I have hit. They both have some tungsten weighting in the 7 and longer irons.
I honestly think I get the same performance out of either. I am going with the Cobras because Cobra has a special place for me. I love Arccos and the Cobra Connect is my favorite way of using Arccos (meaning I like the sensor in the grips) and I have an account through Cobra that is grandfathered in terms of no annual fee. Finally, the Cobras have a graphite shaft (Recoil 110) that is a bit easier on my body.
I have played it multiple times. It’s a bit too up and down for my taste, but it is sure fun to play once in a while.
And with the Elevate Tour X100’s? Sheeeeeeesh….
I’m with you…. surely Cobra will continue its HOT streak and come out with sexy MIM Black cavity backs soon and find themselves with an all-time best-seller. If they don’t I’ll just have to buy all of the options in the fantastic-feeling black wedges and bend them to ridiculous lofts.
Biggest thing, they feel insanely good, but that freaking minimal offset look just makes me all sorts of
And the durability with MIM is proving to be the surprising thing so far as I’ve still got no bag chatter.