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2011 Cobra S3 Irons Preview

SuperStroke
A couple things to think about.... the S3s came out in November at the latest, because they were a part of the Golf Digest Hot list testing that happened in November. We first saw the Burners in September. I don't think they could possibly turn around an imitation that quickly.

BUT I do think there are some design elements that definitely look like the original Burners, especially the sole of the club. I think the black color is just more to do with the trend for irons in general. To me, the style of the club head definitely looks like it was inspired by the original Burner design, at least in part. But the proof is in the pudding. If they play at the level of the 2.0s, that's all that matters.
 
those are the answers I was looking for. I would try them, heck I would game them and not care for a second. I'm sure they wouldn't be as long as the Burner 2.0's, but I am just basing that on some of the clubs that have strong lofts and I think a little extra length. OEM you are right, we are golf nuts and we inspect things a little bit more.
 
Just a quick note here:

I apologize for stepping on toes by making harsh statements earlier in this thread. There is no fricking club out there worth ruining a THP relationship over. I would especially like to apologize to TC. I no doubt made some insinuating remarks in regards to his comparing the 2.0 irons to the S3's that were not justified. My bad and hopefully in the future, anyone who debates over what they feel or think is the better equipment, will keep their friends in proper prospective. Friends not equipment, are the higest priority!
 
Knowing TC, I know he knows this already. But still great for you to come out and say it. Good on ya Ole Gray.
Ole Gray said:
Just a quick note here:

I apologize for stepping on toes by making harsh statements earlier in this thread. There is no fricking club out there worth ruining a THP relationship over. I would especially like to apologize to TC. I no doubt made some insinuating remarks in regards to his comparing the 2.0 irons to the S3's that were not justified. My bad and hopefully in the future, anyone who debates over what they feel or think is the better equipment, will keep their friends in proper prospective. Friends not equipment, are the higest priority!
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Just finished hitting these for over an hour ... Wow, I'm impressed! More to come when I get home

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk
 
golf4life said:
Just finished hitting these for over an hour ... Wow, I'm impressed! More to come when I get home

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Looking forward to it!!
 
OK, I had a lesson at golftec today, and stayed and practiced for about 75 minutes afterwards. Pured shots feel wonderful with these clubs. Toe hits don't kill your hands, but still produce very good distance.

All statistics below are from the monitor in the golftec hitting bay. I think the SS and ball speed are accurate, I think the carry distance can be less accurate according to the golftec instructor. And the golftec monitors do not show you launch angle or spin rates.

Starting with the 6 iron, with pured center contact shots I was getting around 190-195 yards of carry, with an avg Swing speed of about 94 mph and ball speed around 130-135. I was consistently seeing a smash factor of over 1.4, which I think is pretty darn good with a 6 iron. But even more impressive, I had a couple 60% toe hits that still carried out there about 187-190 yards. This forgiveness in the toe area is huge for me, as that's my regular miss if anything. I then pulled the 4 iron for about 10-15 shots. Again, well struck, center of the clubface shots just felt perfect, and I was getting carry in the 215ish range. Not sure I've ever hit a 4iron that felt this great.
Next I played about 25 pitching wedge shots. Again, toe hits were only costing me about 2 to 5 yards of distance loss. I was averaging about 150 yards of carry with the PW. If those carry numbers are accurate, then this thing just bombs the ball.

My golftec instructor took a half dozen swings with the 6 iron. He was really impressed with the feel. For context, he's built like a gorilla and was in the world long drive championships in Nevada a couple months ago. He said he liked the look at address, and was suprised by how good the irons felt on contact. He also really liked the DG tour issue shafts in there too. He liked the look of the club at address better than he thought he would, as he regularly games the R9 TPs.

Overall, at least from my initial impressions, I think these clubs are as forgiving as any I've hit. I really have to get to a range and hit them to see ball flight, workability and overall distance with my own eyes. Next week I'm in Palo Alto for business and plan to get 2 rounds in between meetings. If the TM Forged aren't here this week, I'll bring the S3s along for the ride.
 
Great stuff g4l!! These really seem like winners. What would you say the distance is over your current irons? Big increases?
 
9-Iron Man said:
Great stuff g4l!! These really seem like winners. What would you say the distance is over your current irons? Big increases?
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Tough to say in the golftec bay. I think for sure they are giving me more on toe hits. Next time I'm in there, I'm going to try and get on the vector monitor in the fitting bay for a few swings with both my old R7s and the S3s.

My guess is that on well struck shots, they may be about 5 to 10 yards longer than what I usually get with the R7s.... but I'm most happy about the distance on my mis hits. THat's what'll really save strokes during a round.
 
golf4life said:
OK, I had a lesson at golftec today, and stayed and practiced for about 75 minutes afterwards. Pured shots feel wonderful with these clubs. Toe hits don't kill your hands, but still produce very good distance.

All statistics below are from the monitor in the golftec hitting bay. I think the SS and ball speed are accurate, I think the carry distance can be less accurate according to the golftec instructor. And the golftec monitors do not show you launch angle or spin rates.

Starting with the 6 iron, with pured center contact shots I was getting around 190-195 yards of carry, with an avg Swing speed of about 94 mph and ball speed around 130-135. I was consistently seeing a smash factor of over 1.4, which I think is pretty darn good with a 6 iron. But even more impressive, I had a couple 60% toe hits that still carried out there about 187-190 yards. This forgiveness in the toe area is huge for me, as that's my regular miss if anything. I then pulled the 4 iron for about 10-15 shots. Again, well struck, center of the clubface shots just felt perfect, and I was getting carry in the 215ish range. Not sure I've ever hit a 4iron that felt this great.
Next I played about 25 pitching wedge shots. Again, toe hits were only costing me about 2 to 5 yards of distance loss. I was averaging about 150 yards of carry with the PW. If those carry numbers are accurate, then this thing just bombs the ball.

My golftec instructor took a half dozen swings with the 6 iron. He was really impressed with the feel. For context, he's built like a gorilla and was in the world long drive championships in Nevada a couple months ago. He said he liked the look at address, and was suprised by how good the irons felt on contact. He also really liked the DG tour issue shafts in there too. He liked the look of the club at address better than he thought he would, as he regularly games the R9 TPs.

Overall, at least from my initial impressions, I think these clubs are as forgiving as any I've hit. I really have to get to a range and hit them to see ball flight, workability and overall distance with my own eyes. Next week I'm in Palo Alto for business and plan to get 2 rounds in between meetings. If the TM Forged aren't here this week, I'll bring the S3s along for the ride.
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Good review Golf4Life! Wow you can almost hit your 6 iron as far as my 9 iron dude :D hehe.

I suppose hitting them indoors will not show the wear factor? It will be interesting to see how the black shiney finish holds up, not that it would be a show stopper. Do you know what the stock swingweight for these irons are? I am also curious as to what type of graphite shafts come stock in these irons.
 
Ole Gray said:
Good review Golf4Life! Wow you can almost hit your 6 iron as far as my 9 iron dude :D hehe.

I suppose hitting them indoors will not show the wear factor? It will be interesting to see how the black shiney finish holds up, not that it would be a show stopper. Do you know what the stock swingweight for these irons are? I am also curious as to what type of graphite shafts come stock in these irons.
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It's all right here Gray:

http://www.cobragolf.com/golf-clubs/2011-cobra-s3-irons
 
golf4life said:
Tough to say in the golftec bay. I think for sure they are giving me more on toe hits. Next time I'm in there, I'm going to try and get on the vector monitor in the fitting bay for a few swings with both my old R7s and the S3s.

My guess is that on well struck shots, they may be about 5 to 10 yards longer than what I usually get with the R7s.... but I'm most happy about the distance on my mis hits. THat's what'll really save strokes during a round.
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Cool, thanks. Forgiveness really seems good with these, which is always a good thing! Looking forward to more!
 
Ole Gray said:
Good review Golf4Life! Wow you can almost hit your 6 iron as far as my 9 iron dude :D hehe.

I suppose hitting them indoors will not show the wear factor? It will be interesting to see how the black shiney finish holds up, not that it would be a show stopper. Do you know what the stock swingweight for these irons are? I am also curious as to what type of graphite shafts come stock in these irons.
Click to expand...

I think the finish will hold up pretty well.... I hit 2 toe hits so badly today they contacted the club on the black shiny part. I was able to wipe off the ball mark without any scratches or blemishes left behind, thank goodness.
 
sounds like you made a great choice in these irons g4l. Those numbers are scary good. Hope you get them out on the course next week.
 
These should on my doorstop this evening. They will be getting a range session tomorrow night and over the weekend. Sadly, I can tell you my numbers won't be anything close to G4L's, but that won't matter.
 
Hawk said:
These should on my doorstop this evening. They will be getting a range session tomorrow night and over the weekend. Sadly, I can tell you my numbers won't be anything close to G4L's, but that won't matter.
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I look forward to hearing about your impressions of these. So far I'm enjoying them quite a lot.
 
Saw these in action today. Nice sounding club and looks great in-hand


Tapatalk, it's not for everyone
 
Hanks said:
Saw these in action today. Nice sounding club and looks great in-hand


Tapatalk, it's not for everyone
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And you did not give em a personal swing test? :confused2: hehe just kidding Hanks....
 
Hawk said:
These should on my doorstop this evening. They will be getting a range session tomorrow night and over the weekend. Sadly, I can tell you my numbers won't be anything close to G4L's, but that won't matter.
Click to expand...

Great news, can't wait to hear your thoughts on them!
 
Hawk said:
These should on my doorstop this evening. They will be getting a range session tomorrow night and over the weekend. Sadly, I can tell you my numbers won't be anything close to G4L's, but that won't matter.
Click to expand...

Hawk -- Looking forward to your take on these buddy. If ya want, you can fly down to Georgia for some show nuff good testing and I will be glad to assist :D!
 
Unboxed the S3's a bit ago. To say they are attractive would be a massive understatement. The dark finish could be described as almost a 'piano black'. It's very glossy. At address, they look mean; like they want to hit the ball far. They feel pretty light in hand and I was pleasantly surprised at the stock grip. It's much better than I expected. Not too much offset at all and the topline is pretty nice to look at imo. The Nippon shafts feel a little soft at the tip and are stepped. I can post pics if you all would like. I know there are quite a bit here already, but just let me know.
 
I think Hawk pics would be a nice thing!
 
Alrighty. I have to do some daddy work for a bit, but I will get some up in a bit.
 
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