When it comes to irons, you would be hard pressed to find a company innovating as much as Cobra Golf. Constantly on the quest of increasing playability, distance, and forgiveness through any means necessary, they are creators in the segment as opposed to followers. While the RADSpeed irons last year checked a lot of boxes, there were some areas that needed to be addressed, and Cobra believes they have done just that.
For the first time, the LTD namesake becomes a full lineup with the addition of irons under the umbrella, and not just any irons. When designing the LTDx, the company wanted to engineer to improve four main areas: Distance, feel, speed, and accuracy. To do this, they brought four innovations to the table, which we will get into momentarily.
First, the LTDx are not going to be mistaken for any type of “players” irons, Cobra has other lines for that, these are the meat and potatoes release, the one that serves to hit the broadest segment of golfers. To do that, there have been some immediate changes aesthetically. There is a slightly thicker and more squared off topline as well as decent offset, but compared to a lot of other GI irons the look is quite streamlined, something Cobra has been gradually improving every single year.
When you look at the pictures, the first thing most will notice is the carbon fiber topline is no more, this isn’t because it didn’t work, but rather twofold. One, it posed an issue when it came to being able to adjust/bend the RAD irons, and second, they found a better way to accomplish their design goals. The overall aesthetic here is modern, it looks fast, but it avoids being too gaudy or abstract.
At the root of the LTDx irons, is PWR-COR. This is taking Radial Weighting to a different level, and Cobra is excited about its potential as they have been about any tech they have developed. This is a multi-layer weighting system inside and out that allows for a more flexible body, face, and sole. Add into that a lower overall CG than ever before, as well as a new elastic rebound effect, and there is a lot to wrap ones head around.
Internally, there is actually a free-floating steel bar within the undercut of the clubhead, this is suspended by using an injected polymer. The polymer helps with feel and dampening, while the steel bar not only takes the CG lower than ever for Cobra, but it centers it within the clubhead. Putting that much mass here and suspending it means you get the weighting benefits while also allowing the face to flex more than ever, and that means distance.
We cannot forget about PWRSHELL, however. Cobra was the first to use the L-Cup face that is PWRSHELL and they have implemented it across their other lines and into hybrids as well. Present in the 4-7 of the LTDx irons, using variable thickness they now have a 23% larger thin area in the L-Cup which means more speed and more consistency across the face. Overall, they are seeing a 5% increase in overall face deflection, which means more speed, and more distance. All this really shines high on the face and Cobra is reporting up to 7 yards more compared to RADSpeed.
The LTDx irons are finished off with dully CNC Milled faces and grooves, making for a premium look in combination with the rest of the design flexing its technological muscles. Yes, they are playing off a stronger than last year 41.5° PW and they absolutely know that will send the anti-loft-jacking army into a dither, but they don’t care. Fact is, with this much weight low in the head producing what the company believes is one of the absolute lowest CG’s in any GI iron on the market, the loft had to come down. What you get is a mix of pure distance, with an iron that can still elevate easily and remain playable into greens, no matter the number on the loft.
The LTDx will come in a chrome finish with “Gold Fusion” accents and are available in 4-PW with option set GW and SW. Additionally, Cobra is offering a combo set that is 5H, 6-GW. Stock steel is the KBS Tour 90, with graphite the KBS PGI.
Now to the big question, will there be ONE Length? Absolutely. The LTDx ONE Length irons have the same chrome finish as the variable length, but with Blue/Red accents instead. The ONE Length are available in 4-PW with an optional GW. Like the variable set, there is also a combo set option consisting of a ONE Length 5H accompanied by 6-GW irons. The steel option is a variable setup with KBS Tour 80 4-6, Tour 90 7-9, and Tour 120 in the wedges. Graphite option is the KBS PGI.
TESTED
If you have made it this far in the technology conversation, you are ready to hear how they perform. We jumped into the THP Tech Studio and put them to the test and in this video, you will see the swings and then we breakdown the data.
The Details
The new Cobra Golf LTDx and LTDx ONE Length irons will be available 2/11/22. Steel shafted setups will be priced at $899 with combo sets and graphite sets coming in at $1,099.
What do you think about the new LTDx irons from Cobra? Is this the kind of design you plan on giving a try when it’s time for new irons? Let us know what you think either in the comments below or on the THP Community, home to thousands of golfers just like you!
