One Length Irons Thread: Join the Revolution

[Templet0n]

Is cobra missing out at all with no MIM one length? I know there is the forged tech and maybe that is the answer. But for someone like my self, I am not as interested in a hollow body distance oriented club or the speedzone or RAD speed irons.

If there was a MIM OL. I would be a bit more curious into this method of play.

 

[JB]

Is cobra missing out at all with no MIM one length? I know there is the forged tech and maybe that is the answer. But for someone like my self, I am not as interested in a hollow body distance oriented club or the speedzone or RAD speed irons.

If there was a MIM OL. I would be a bit more curious into this method of play.

Could be, but with the story still growing on top of an already much smaller pool in players irons, it would be tough to redesign that head.

 

[Jman]

So, the more I spend time with the RAD 7i, the more this OL thing intrigues me.

 

[Templet0n]

Could be, but with the story still growing on top of an already much smaller pool in players irons, it would be tough to redesign that head.

Cobra has not really had a OL players head since their first offering right? The iron that Bryson is still playing. I guess even that is just the forged tech from a few years ago if I remember correct..

EDIT*** King forged. Not forged tech.

 

[JB]

Cobra has not really had a OL players head since their first offering right? The iron that Bryson is still playing. I guess even that is just the forged tech from a few years ago if I remember correct..

That is correct and when asked about it, the explanation makes sense. Typically that player is pretty set in their ways to explore a removal of variables. I think earlier in the other thread kind of showed that

My gut feeling says it gets their pretty quickly though. Sales have been rock solid for them recently and the RADSPEED and Forged TEC sets give a lot of options already.

 

[Nerdy]

I'm going to have to re read this entire thread. I don't want to think about it but starting to toy with the idea....IF I can see some better numbers than I have in the past

 

[formula8]

I've read the whole thread, I've read previous OL threads, I've hit OL irons in the store and recommended them to a high cap friend. I have a pretty good understanding of the concept, tech, advantages and disadvantages.

That being said, I've never had a serious thought about actually playing a set... until now. Something about OL is really jiving with me right now. Maybe I'm off base but I think I'd have almost zero adjustment period, just like I have with VL sets. It either clicks and you hit it well or you don't. Similar to testing clubs during a fitting.

 

[Thrillbilly Jim]

How hard would it be to distance gap a set of Cobra RADSPEED OL irons? One of the negatives you read about One Length irons is distance gapping issues.

 

[JB]

How hard would it be to distance gap a set of Cobra RADSPEED OL irons? One of the negatives you read about One Length irons is distance gapping issues.

Read through this thread my friend. I have multiple posts with different tests on gapping

 

[Thrillbilly Jim]

Read through this thread my friend. I have multiple posts with different tests on gapping

I just read through all 17 pages! Jeez...what a great thread. Tons of information! If this doesn't make everyone take a 2nd look at One Length, nothing will!

 

[GraniteRoost]

I played this round with him (@JB won 81.5 to 82 with drama on the 18th hole). He was able to hit knock down shots with both the OL PW & GW.

We played from 6100 yards only using OL from 4H to GW. I switched to variable length CBX2 52° & 60° around the greens (that feedback is for another thread).

The OL 4 hybrid is a game changer, I saw distances from 200-215 consistently. The launch angle, spin, carry yardage, & ball speed was basically identical to what I have seen from my Srixon H85 4 hybrid when I’ve hit it in the Tech Studio. I was hitting some shots that were blocked to the right due to an open face, but this was because I kept wanting to move the ball more forward in my stance. Can’t do that, the ball position needs to stay the same.

The RAD Speed OL irons continue to be mashers and preform extremely well.

Wait. How does does someone win 81.5 to 82? Is this some kind of SIM golf thing I am not current on? What exactly is going on here?

 

[JB]

Wait. How does does someone win 81.5 to 82? Is this some kind of SIM golf thing I am not current on? What exactly is going on here?

If you use auto putt it’s always a percentage. It’s based on data on how often people make putts from different areas. So 5 ft could be 1.20, etc

 

[GraniteRoost]

If you use auto putt it’s always a percentage. It’s based on data on how often people make putts from different areas. So 5 ft could be 1.20, etc

Thanks for the explanation. I need a SIM setup (and a house with higher ceilings to accomodate while I am at it). I would literally double my playing season!

 

[GraniteRoost]

Time to share some information. Getting a lot of questions about gapping and distances and to be honest, I have not struggled there at all. The gapping still seems to be maintaining at about what I posted earlier. 10-12 yard gaps from 5-GW and overall have not seen any large fluctuations. The 4 hybrid is a bit of a mystery to me, because I am not seeing as large a gap there, but an easy fix by dropping it down to a 3 and covering everything I really need. Overall the hybrid in and of itself appears to be a weapon that I am really enjoying.

People were asking about spin and while I will have a lot coming on that, these are not as low spin as some might believe. These are a couple of screen shots yesterday of the GCQuad with the 6 iron. I seem to range from about 5150 to 5800 based on strike, which is fairly normal for me (variance) and higher spin than I had with the SpeedZone irons by a few hundred RPM. This is with a pretty low spin ball as well, in the Callaway Chrome Soft.

View attachment 8980166

The more testing that takes place, the more comfort begins to set in. What I mean by comfort is setup before swing. No ball position variable to think about or where I am in relation to the ball. Every club sets up the same and each one does it's job in similar fashion. With all aspects of golf, I am a fan of removing variables and the single length ideology seems to fit that well.

Scores have been good, but not sure that is the best indicator. Im hitting more greens than I did previously, while using more clubs, which is a fun aspect to look at it when playing indoors. In fact looking at the statistics of two different sets, one VL and one OL, I am hitting on average just less than 3 more greens per round (2.87), which is pretty substantial. More interesting is how I am doing it with 5s and 6s in my hand rather than shorter irons (due to playing a variety of courses). I'm guessing here, but I would venture a guess that greens hit with a 5 iron out of the two sets is almost 50% higher.

On top of playing, I have done a pretty deep dive into the PW, where it seems there are a number of questions in regards to playing one longer. Not only am I getting consistent distance, it is also really comfortable. But there is a mental aspect at play here that I think is important to note. Previously I end up with a PW in my hand or 9 iron, I think green light, pin hunting, etc. Here I tend to remove all of that because genuinely it doesn't appear to matter what iron is in my hand in regards to attack. They are all the same in terms of setup.

Using auto putting is both fast and a curse as you lose a few birdies and some close ones, you might get penalized, the flip side is its harder to genuinely three putt. So an 8 footer might be 1.55 putts or something along those lines. But I had my first even par round (in the tech studio) using auto putt coming in at 71.9 (its never round numbers in auto putting). Normally there is an odd blow up hole or tough bunker shot, but it was fairways and greens this round and the irons impressed.

Back to the irons and ball striking specifically. The 8 iron length is something I decided on based on a fitting of other irons. It is not something I decided on because it works better universally. I think this is where golfers will want to consider fitting or at the very least trial. I also still feel strongly against the idea of just using these as long iron replacements. My personal belief is that it will muddy the waters quite a bit and lead to some issues. I have attempted to recreate this by playing 4-6 OL and 7-GW in Variable and have not had nearly the same success as the groove it and go OL option that exists.

I will dive into some more data with the next update including launch angle since that seems to be a common question as well (some foreshadowing, its similar to my variable length clubs).

Ha, I was catching up on the thread and just got to this excellent data post and explanation of autoputt on the SIM. I'm really enjoying this thread and everyone's replies. @JB you are posting some really interesting info. The 50% higher greens with 5i is a huge gain. I'm also kind of fascinated by the 8i length choice instead of 7i - if I were to try OL this is something I would strongly consider to get the most out of the club control benefits.

 

[woody_74]

This thread has been great as I am hoping to try OL irons this spring. I plan on giving my son my AP1’s. I really like the idea of taking them to a 8 iron as that’s the club I hit the best. Thanks for all the information JB.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[erock9174]

@JB is the 5OL sole a little wider than the variable length 5i sole ? Thought I read this somewhere to help it launch a little easier.

 

[JB]

@JB is the 5OL sole a little wider than the variable length 5i sole ? Thought I read this somewhere to help it launch a little easier.

I dont have a 5 iron in Variable to check against currently, but they do not appear to be on the Forged TEC or wedges. They very well could be on these.

 

[phoffer]

@JB is the 5OL sole a little wider than the variable length 5i sole ? Thought I read this somewhere to help it launch a little easier.

I dont have a 5 iron in Variable to check against currently, but they do not appear to be on the Forged TEC or wedges. They very well could be on these.

They didn’t on previous sets, but according to @Jman’s article, the 4-6 on these do have slightly wider soles

 

[Jman]

@JB is the 5OL sole a little wider than the variable length 5i sole ? Thought I read this somewhere to help it launch a little easier.

You might have read that in the RADSPEED release article on the homepage

4/5/6 in the OL have a slightly wider sole with the CG in a different location than the variables to help make them easier to elevate.

 

[Jman]

They didn’t on previous sets, but according to @Jman’s article, the 4-6 on these do have slightly wider soles

My guy!

 

[JB]

They didn’t on previous sets, but according to @Jman’s article, the 4-6 on these do have slightly wider soles

That makes sense and despite reading it twice it didn’t stick.

 

[Jman]

So, It’s 12/19/20 and I still really want to go OL next year....

 

[Turtlerancher]

So, It’s 12/19/20 and I still really want to go OL next year....

 

[erock9174]

You might have read that in the RADSPEED release article on the homepage

It's possible. Memory isn't as good as it once was .
My buddy was asking me about the 5 OL and if it had a wide sole. I thought I heard or read that somewhere. Good to know I am not going crazy

 

[Luchnia]

Since I play with a guy that uses Cobra OLs, these really have my interest peaked as I have only golfed about 2 years now should not be hard to adapt. I just wished the guy I golfed with wasn't left handed and I could have tried his clubs out. I do know a fitter that has 5/7/9 Cobra OLs on had to try out.

The entire concept makes sense to me because I can tell there are certain length clubs in my bag that just fit my posture and stance such as the 6 iron length. I rarely miss-hit that club and always feels comfortable. I hate to pop a grand on irons just for the sake of trying something out