Cobra King Forged Irons Preview

[shaner]

I played the Forged Tec's last year. And they still hold the low round of the year for me for 2016. I switched out of them because I have an equipment buying problem . I'm working on that this year. Toning it back big time. But the FT's are legit!
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Thanks X-Man - I saw your positive comments about these in this thread. I'm really trying not to succumb to that "problem" you mention above but its hard I have a set of King Pro Forged CBs (the black ones) that I enjoy from time to time but my swing speed can't produce decent distances with those tiny heads. Love the C-Taper Lites in them though. I'm not a Cobra homer but the I hit the Forged Tecs w/ the CT Lites pretty dang well at the store.

 

[obedt]

Will work on a longer post later but for now - YEAY!

 

[ozzman]

Will work on a longer post later but for now - YEAY!

Hit em well! I loved hitting these at ambition.

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[obedt]

I want to offer some quick thoughts after 2 range lessons with these as well as 2 rounds.

First of all, the finish and overall package is very sharp. It's a good looking club. They fall right in that mix between a player's club and a GI club - for example, W/S would catalog them in the crossover segment. As such, while they are compact heel to toe there is a bit of a topline. It's still a little less than the AP1s I was coming from but, say closer to AP1 than AP2. Doesn't bother me in the least.

My ball striking has been fairly horrendous - misses thins and toed, but I definitely don't consider this club to be overly penal. Thin strikes with short irons are about 7 yards short. Toed shots tend to take off with a lower trajectory, but because of the low spin I'm getting total distance is probably right on line to max 1 club distance loss. Sensation and feel certainly change from pured strikes. Hit in the center these clubs tend to feel a bit more dense than my past cavity-backs. Definitely not clicky, in fact the opposite. It's a good sensation and one that I'm not quite getting consistently. Thin strikes definitely still give a bit of harsh feedback, depending on just how thin the strike is.

I have seen an increase on workability, especially left to right on short irons with this set. Nothing crazy, but the opportunity is there where it was difficult with clubs with more perimeter weighting, etc. Also flighting the ball down is quite a bit easier. The irons default to a high launch on good strikes, but keeping it low when desired is easy to execute. One of my drills as I aim to change my swing are some chip 8-irons (9-6 or shorter shots, although a 9-6 for me is a big change from my 2pm-1am swing) and I'm getting piercing shots that cut through the air.

In general, results have not been any worse than with my previous less demanding irons. I think this is a segment a wide array of golfers can put in play (similar to CF16s) and still enjoy a bit better feel without real penal results on misses. I hope to continue dialing in my iron game, but it feels good to know that I can still game these without losing out on much of any forgiveness.

 

[LordByron]

Nice, love those irons. So much forgiveness in such a handsome package.

 

[obedt]

I hit a small bucket today exclusively with the set gap wedge. It had been a personal struggle dialing this particular club in, when compared to the other more GI gap wedges I had previously gamed. I'm used to mid-high, straight and 100 yards - no thought involved, just automatic. The Cobra Forged Tec likes to be flighted though. I don't make a full turn w/ a wide arc, the launch automatically decreases much more than more GI irons. 9 to 3 shots are met with a piercing flight and above average (for me) spin. Full, wide turns and flight popped up in line with what I am accustomed to.

There is still a bit of extra help through the set, so poor strikes still get a decent amount of forgiveness (I've found time and again), but you definitely know it was a missed shot.

Plan on repeating the same exercise from today with the 8 iron tomorrow as I try to dial the Forged Tec in.

 

[jim54]

I am really curious about those irons, going to try the shaft experiment with the T MB and maybe try the Srixon's again. But I do like my irons and woods to match for some odd reason and the Cobra woods are not going anywhere for the time being.

If I can find an outside demo day to hit these off some turf, it could push me the right way.

 

[Good Stuff]

I wish my Forged Tec's would hurry up and get here.

 

[obedt]

I am really curious about those irons, going to try the shaft experiment with the T MB and maybe try the Srixon's again. But I do like my irons and woods to match for some odd reason and the Cobra woods are not going anywhere for the time being.

If I can find an outside demo day to hit these off some turf, it could push me the right way.

Will try and snap a pic tomorrow, these are boxier imo than both the T-MB and Srixons. I think X.Man also posted some pics earlier in the thread. My guess, having not hit the other 2, is that in forgiveness they fall between the T-MB and Srixon, closer to the Srixons.

 

[obedt]

Another range session today, mostly dialing in my 8 iron but did wander a bit to the lower lofted irons. Through the 7 iron I think I'm getting similar trajectories than I'm used to despite this being a smaller club head. Mid-high on well struck shot. Overall forgiveness is better than I expected given blade length and sole width.

Once I get down in loft the sensation upon impact is much more dense. You expect the ball to come out hot, and it does jsut that. I'm seeing low trajectories with little spin on 4 and 5 irons. Really question if I'd be able to hold greens with them. I'm not a particularly high ball-flight player, but don't think the set 4 iron here would be considered high launching by most despite the C-Taper Lite pairing. I do enjoy the ball flight 6 iron on up, and distances are in line with what I'd expect given the strong lofts.

 

[OITW]

Another range session today, mostly dialing in my 8 iron but did wander a bit to the lower lofted irons. Through the 7 iron I think I'm getting similar trajectories than I'm used to despite this being a smaller club head. Mid-high on well struck shot. Overall forgiveness is better than I expected given blade length and sole width.

Once I get down in loft the sensation upon impact is much more dense. You expect the ball to come out hot, and it does jsut that. I'm seeing low trajectories with little spin on 4 and 5 irons. Really question if I'd be able to hold greens with them. I'm not a particularly high ball-flight player, but don't think the set 4 iron here would be considered high launching by most despite the C-Taper Lite pairing. I do enjoy the ball flight 6 iron on up, and distances are in line with what I'd expect given the strong lofts.

I love that the stock pairing in these are CTLs. Such a great set.

 

[obedt]

Hit these well off the tee today. I'm starting to get an idea of their distance, but don't yet have that dialed in.

For reference, my old set (Titleist 712 Ap1) distances were:

AW -> 100
PW -> 110-115
9i -> 115-125
8i -> 130-138
7i -> 140-145
6i -> 150-155
5i -> 160-165
4i -> 170

Today I airmailed a 170 yard green with the 6i. Also had a slightly misshit 5i travel 182 (w/ a helping breeze). Some of it is the lofts, but I'm seeing some impressive distance off the mid and low irons. Comfortably hit my 7i just past a 155y flag. Still have to dial in my short irons but think the PW and 9i may be about 5 yards longer than previous averages.

Turf interaction - well my miss is thin usually and haven't chunked these yet. Good strikes seem to cut through the turf. Feels like they may have a bit of a sharp leading edge. Doesn't bother me due to my miss but something to look out for.

Tried a few different shots with the set Gap wedge. Fun little club - can be easily flighted and produces a good amount of spin. I had a 95 yard shot w wind helping and tried high, intermediate and low shots in. Distance control was very good which is the main thing from a gap wedge imo. The low shot was tracking right on line, took 2 hops and rolled minimally despite a helping wind. Some of that was the Truvis but the club can generate some good spin. The thin sole also allows for opening up the face and hitting high shots that land soft (tried it sitting up on the rough from about 70 y).

So far so good - just got to groove something closer to a good swing.

 

[X.Man]

Nice thoughts there Obed!

 

[obedt]

Nice thoughts there Obed!

Thanks X! You rocked this thread while you gamed them; just trying to add a bit from my experience w/ the Forged Tec. These 3 models might be available for Morgan Cuppers so hopefully it's useful info for someone.

 

[bmongi1]

Great information and review on your irons, Obedt. It sounds like you're really starting to get the feel fire them. The 20 or so swings I had with these were fantastic and they are firmly on my radar.

 

[KEV]

Great stuff man!

 

[obedt]

Great information and review on your irons, Obedt. It sounds like you're really starting to get the feel fire them. The 20 or so swings I had with these were fantastic and they are firmly on my radar.

Glad you liked them bmongi1! Your iron game is more consistent than mine - hope you get to take a few more swings with them. One thing that drew me to the Forged Tecs was the stock shafts. KBS online shaft fitting had recommended CTLs and they are working nicely for my game. UST Recoil 660/680 are the stock graphite shafts. A pair of really strong options.

 

[bmongi1]

Glad you liked them bmongi1! Your iron game is more consistent than mine - hope you get to take a few more swings with them. One thing that drew me to the Forged Tecs was the stock shafts. KBS online shaft fitting had recommended CTLs and they are working nicely for my game. UST Recoil 660/680 are the stock graphite shafts. A pair of really strong options.

I'm not positive on the CTLs. I need to do a little more research and testing...I do over think these things! What shafts were in your previous irons?

 

[obedt]

I'm not positive on the CTLs. I need to do a little more research and testing...I do over think these things! What shafts were in your previous irons?

I had stiff Dynalite Gold SL. Weight is similar, maybe 5g lighter now, but I feel like I get a tiny bit more piercing trajectory with the CTL. They launch high, but I think these have a bit stiffer tip section.

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[X.Man]

Thanks X! You rocked this thread while you gamed them; just trying to add a bit from my experience w/ the Forged Tec. These 3 models might be available for Morgan Cuppers so hopefully it's useful info for someone.

Not going got to lie to this day my career low round was with the king forged tec irons. So i definitely still have a soft spot for Cobra Irons

 

[obedt]

This post probably belongs in the "Shot of the day" thread, but it's going here for now. I've been struggling with my iron contact (off the toe) for the entire year and the end of last year. Made a small adjustment at the range yesterday that helped and played in our church's annual charity scramble today.

On a short but hazard-filled par 5 I had a 165 yard, ever so slightly uphill second shot in (the F7 is working nicely) with the pin tucked to the back left of a very small green. Carry over water was about 150-155. The ball was sitting up and it was a green light scenario. Struck my 6 iron and it wasn't the greatest of swings, but contact was in the middle of the face. I came down steeply and pinched the ball nicely. Ball took off on a mid trajectory and stayed dead on it's line, a couple feet left of the flag. It landed on the up-slope right before the green and settled maybe 2 yards short of the flag on the fringe to the left of the green for an easy 2 putt birdie. There is no way I could get that type of distance from such a steep swing from my old clubs...would definitely have had to club up one regardless of the swing anyways. Roll out was minimal, but it did hit the upslope so I'll be paying attention to that as I hit more mid irons into greens.

There were a few other nice iron shots, the majority of them actually were struck decently. It's weird missing greens long but that's a small adjustment to have to make. Few things in golf are more rewarding than the feel of a well struck iron shot.

 

[Puttin4Bird]

I went to a "Cobra Fitting" today at my local golf shop and while it couldn't have been further from a fitting I did get a chance to get a hold of a KING Forged 7 iron and the Trackman bay for 45 minutes of uninterrupted testing time. I had a KBS Tour FLT shaft in stiff flex. Right away I liked the profile of the iron at address, nice looking shape and top line that fit right in line with other forged players irons I've used in the past. I haven't looked at any side by side comparisons, but the King Forged appears to be a little longer toe to heel from what I'm used to (J15 cb). Nothing bad at all, just something I noticed and if anything it should equate to more forgiveness.

After loosening up with some 3/4 shots I began taking full swings and could not have been more impressed with the feel of these. Nice and soft feeling/sounding on shots that were struck in the center of the clubface. I was seeing some solid distances, normally I hit my 7 iron around 165 and on well struck shots today I was averaging around 171. Trackman was showing me a nice high and tight shot pattern, never hitting anything much more than a couple yards left or right of the center line. One thing that really stood out to me was the forgiveness, the tungsten weight on the toe really helped and it was noticeable on shots in the simulator today. I had a couple shots that I knew weren't flushed and still saw them going about 160-163 yards.

These irons certainly deliver on everything I hoped for and they look super sweet in hand. This is the iron I put down for my Morgan Cup submission, MAN I really hope I get the nod. Even if I don't get in I still see myself getting a hold of these for some outside demoing real soon. They definitely got it right with these irons, well done Cobra!

 

[OITW]

@obedt how are the forged tec treating you?

 

[obedt]

@obedt how are the forged tec treating you?

I'll pm you in a few. While I think they're friendlier than their blade length will let on, not sure my swing is consistent enough for them. Think it's solid, more forgiving than I would have expected. Overall distance retention is a strength, but misses fly lower than a more gi set.

It's my first forged iron set and do enjoy that feeling when you put the right swing on them. The feedback is definitely there. For me, though, that sense of a pured iron shot isn't happening often enough.

Still very much like the shaft pairing for my swing.



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[OITW]

I'll pm you in a few. While I think they're friendlier than their blade length will let on, not sure my swing is consistent enough for them. Think it's solid, more forgiving than I would have expected. Overall distance retention is a strength, but misses fly lower than a more gi set.

It's my first forged iron set and do enjoy that feeling when you put the right swing on them. The feedback is definitely there. For me, though, that sense of a pured iron shot isn't happening often enough.

Still very much like the shaft pairing for my swing.



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Ah, I see, thanks.

I'm leaning towards these or Forged Tour if I pull the trigger this fall... Or since it's Sept, I could always wait and see the offerings the next few months and make a decision in December /January