I just checked my Cobra King Speedzone OL irons. The 7i off-the-rack was 27.5 degrees. So, agreed that these are insanely more aggressive than historical norms, but it sounds like these are consistent with what Cobra has been putting out there in the 2020s. Good review and callout on spin rates.
I'd be curious to see Rick do a comparison between his own irons and a super game improvement/distance iron like this when it comes to accuracy at certain distances. For example, what would he actually hit more greens at from 200 yards? His own 5 iron or a distance 7 iron? What about from 170 yards? His own 7 iron or a distance 9 iron? I can't help but wonder if the shorter shaft and more forgiving head would actually lead to better dispersion when compared for distance (not club number).
I agree do good players actually golf better these days in normal courses with blades than with more “game improvement irons? Does a scratch to 10 handicapper actually hit more greens with blades?
Couldn't agree more... the ONLY reason a club level golfer should play a forged blade, is if they want to work the ball with shape and have the ability to. If you just hit it straight at the pin each time..play more cavity. These club feel and sound amazing, nothing like the hollow game improvement irons of the past
These clubs are designed for people with 7 iron Swing.speeds around 75 MPH. At that speed, they probably go around 155-160 yards. That would be a "normal" distance for a 7 iron.
Yes, but at that swing speed and that loft, you are hitting it the distance of a 7-iron with the spin of a 3-iron. So good luck getting that to stop on a firm green.
@@Iamwrongbutmost people using these clubs are likely adding loft at impact let’s be honest. You’re not going for these if you actually compress the ball
I hit my ping eye 2s on a simulator last week. 7 iron is 36 degrees of loft regular ProV1 ball club speed - 95 mph ball speed - 111 mph spin - 6372 rpm apex - 125 ft. smash - 1.17 total distance - 155 yards The closest club in that set to this is the 5 iron with 28.5 degrees of loft. So a new 7 iron is like an old 5 iron.
height more than makes up for spin. In his own video he hits a 7 iron 200 in the air and it stops 204. What club in any make or model is going to stop quickr than that from 200 yards.
You hit these clubs perfectly. They did exactly what they are suppose to do. Height can stop balls as well. The average golfer doesn't hit a lot of backspin anyways. These clubs will help so many golfers. It was clear you were going to find things to hate at start of the video. You could tell without hitting them youd hate on them Lol
@ my favorite on the driver review he didn’t even hit the draw bias driver. It’s suppose to be a review 90% of golfers watching need the draw bias club but since it didn’t suit ricks game he didn’t review it. Who are his “reviews” for the golfer watching or him? I use to enjoy Rick but over time he’s gotten this god complex like he’s better than everyone. He’s like a kid with a defiance disorder that will always do the opposite. It’s why he can’t break 80 anymore. He won’t take advice and refuses to use clubs to fit his game.
It’s not about the number stamped on the club. It’s about the distance it delivers. Whether it’s a 7-iron, 6-iron, or whatever the loft suggests, we play the yardage, not the label. Let’s focus on the performance, not the number.
Performance is interesting. On the Adapt (non max) irons the spin rates were about what I would expect given the loft, the launch angles were marginally higher than the loft would suggest, but that might be more about Rick's delivery, so the 7i has the loft of my 5i but launches the same as my 6i. Gapping though looks to be a problem: 13 yards per club between 5i & 7i but 15 yards per club between 7i & PW is a bit bigger than I would like. However, given the likely swing speed of the target market this is probably not the biggest issue. If anything the performance of the max irons is better. The gapping is still a problem but spin rates and launch angles are pretty good given the lofts. It would have been a better video if Rick had shown the peak height and descent angles for the clubs compared to his normal clubs
I love Cobra products, use a King F6 driver and F max superlite irons at the moment. The irons are really light so I'd love something like these when they are cheaper
I play the Corba King MIM Tour irons from 2021 and the 7 iron is 33 degrees and carry on a full swing 180 yards on a normal 75 degree no wind day. Love cobra clubs, LTD x driver, MIM Wedges and Supernova putter. LTD 4 Hybrid.
Sad but too true. But anyone any good playing with someone shooting 97 knows they don’t hit a real 7 iron 190. Those same people claiming that would hit a 3 wood 200….useless for gapping
@@charlieg9559 I’m also in my 50s, but I still prefer nearly standard lofts. These sets always fail on one end or the other. You either end up with 11 wedges, or 11 hybrids
People keep refering tk traditional lofts like it matters. As drivers and 3 woods go further, irons have to go further to fill in the gaps. Due to new technology they are able to lower the lofts of irons while still making them easy to hit.
Never haven’t watched till the end of a Rick video before. But when half the video is about loft and distance, it’s not helpful. Hit your gamer iron from 150 yards. Then hit whatever iron in this set goes 150 yards. Doesn’t matter what the static loft or number on the irons is. Which one performed better? Would a beginner do better hitting a traditional 7 iron from 150 or a modern 9 iron? That’s all that matters. Comparing and talking about traditional 7 iron vs modern 7 iron is pointless in my opinion.
Same loft at the Cobra Forge Tec-X. I just got a set this year and love the added distance. Was hitting my 7iron 190+ in the simulators which gave the ego a boost but the launch angle is sometimes a concern, depending on the course.
Them new lofts are the resultant of rolling back the ball's flying distance. Same deal happened before to the ball's spin (increased) when they went from square to v grooves on the wedges. BTW 27 degs is the 6 hybrid iron in my bag
I'm still using my 30+ year old Wilson Staff irons. My 7-iron loft is 37 degrees. Every time I demo newer designs with stronger lofts I always come back to my old irons. I've yet to find anything as consistent or as a much feel as my old Wilson blades. One exception was a set of Mizuno irons, but the cost was way out of my budget. I tried playing with strong lofted irons for a year and my scores got noticeably worse. I think hitting a 7-iron 200 yards satisfies egos but necessarily better scores.
Funny thing in the video that you were hitting them here they weren’t rolling out and having problems stopping. They were performing absolutely awesome, you would likely benefit from having the regular adapt set in your own bag. Can’t be anything wrong with the club if it’s so easy as you say to hit, and does the job without any effort let’s make this game easier rather than trying to be a hero hitting hard to hit clubs and getting miracle shots I mean disappointed when they don’t work out. Golf is hard enough as it is.
If you consider that a 7-iron has approximately the loft of a 5-iron in more traditional clubs, a spin rate of 4915 is not bad, especially with Rick's draw. Many golfers would have to end their set with a 6 iron. Most would not get along with a 21-degree 5 iron.
I've just done this with my new Callaway AI smoke HL irons. My old 7i was 35⁰ and my new 7i is 30⁰. Works out that my new clubs a are nearly exactly 1 club stronger. I used to go from 5-PW now I have 6-AW. Still the same amount of irons just the number on the bottom has changed 1 club.
My Callaway Epic Forged 7 iron is 27°, they stop on a dime and are the best irons I've ever played and I've had em all, trust me lol. Technology with current flight patterns negates the iron number on the club anymore. We've come a long ways...
I was in a big box store and was hitting a Srixon zx5 mk2. I was carrying the 7 iron 192/195 rolling out to 205/212. The sales guy said look at that. I smiled and told him that's not what I'm looking for in an iron. Told him to have a great day and walked out.
OMG same but i was hitting the pw 189 Carry,told him to stick them where the sun don't shine i hit my traditional lofted pw 195(carry, total distance 225!!!) We are something else aren't we?
Thanks for the review, Rick. These clubs are designed for a certain type of golfer-slow swing speed, golfers who need some help with elevation and distance and perhaps geared towards a beginner or a more senior golfer. These clubs make the game easier for a large part of the golfing world. Nothing wrong with that.
You've given Cobra a bit of a beating this last few days Rick! The thing is, if you want to hit further, decrease the loft, or have muscles like Rory and Bryson. I struggle to keep higher lofted clubs on the straight and narrow sometimes and won't look at these as a future option. Looking forward to hearing what you have to say about the other new ones coming on the market. Keep them coming. 👏👏
I fail to see what the issue is. 199 yards carry with a 4 yard roll out. The loft and number on the bottom doesn't mean anything. Can you stop any of your current clubs in less distance at 200 yards? The real test is to pick the club from his bag that he can carry 200 yards and compare the accuracy, height, trajectory and stopping distance with the Cobra 7 iron. Then find the club from each set that carries 210, 220 and 230. Lets see what happens then. Stop focusing on loft.
The problem with your statement is you’re the exception and not the norm. The majority of golfers play less than once a month. They need irons like these for 2 reasons, 1st these launch a lot easier due to the lower center of gravity and the mass of the iron. Second they are ultra forgiving. You have to think the quality of your strike vs the typical monthly golf is absurdly massive! People shouldn’t take the game so seriously. We’re all different and no reason why we all need to play the same equipment. Signed a 9 handicapper playing Game Improvement 30 degree 7 iron loft! I don’t ever compete nor do I intend too. Golf is a relaxation method for me, and I play twice a week.
@@DMKFACTOR it’s just a ego thing playing these irons either means more wedges or big gaps at the bottom of the bag they strong lofts are just a marketing tactic to make said golfer who doesn’t play as much to think the club goes miles when really its because that 7 iron isn’t 6-5 with 7 stamped on it
Rick, Despite all of the modern advances in iron design (low and deep sole weighing, tungsten weights strategically placed in clubheads, etc.), I never want to see a 7-iron loft stronger than 30 degrees in MY 7-iron! In fact, the 7-iron loft in my “player’s distance” iron set is 33 degrees. Otherwise, the lofts get so crazy in my 5 and 6 irons that I don’t feel comfortable even gaming the 5-iron. In addition, I am forced to have too many wedges in my bag. As an “older guy”, I am fine with my 7-iron shots carrying about 150 yards and grabbing a hybrid club if I need 175+ yards!
Thing is, a set like this isn't really designed for a player in the single figures. Put this in the hands of a slower swing-speed player who struggles to hit their 7i 140yds and it'll be perfect for them! Might get them up to 150yds instead.
A better comparison would be the spin rate of a particular distance for each club. For example the spin rate of a 180 yard 7 iron with the cobra and the spin rate of another club that goes 180 yards. I would expect the spin rates wouldn’t be much different.
Love the reviews! Absolutely shocking that the 7 iron is 25 degrees. Soon the 7 iron is going to be a driving iron 🤦♂️ I have been looking to upgrade my irons that are 15 years old, but it’s a 34 deg 7 iron. Really hard to gauge a 7 iron when that’s my 5 iron 🤷🏻♂️
I'd really like to see somone do a video with some of these new strong lofted irons and how it impacts the bottom of their bag ( wedges etc...) with distances from 150 to 100 yards.
Coming from a certified fitter.. these feel amazing and get a ton of distance. But they don’t get a ton of spin.. so it’s hard to keep them on the greens
@ when you hit a shot with a 7 iron, if the shaft and head specs are correctly fitted to you that ball should hit the green and roll no more than 2 yards forward. Ideally If it can hit then just stop that’s what we want. Rpm’s off spin is what does that for us UNLESS we have an extremely high peak height, or crazy decent angle. It looks like Rick can hit a ball pretty high so he’s sort of able to hold the greens but even he is getting about 5 yards of rollout which is way too much (in my opinion) for a 7 to roll out. You just can’t be as accurate with that much.
@ you are worrying too much about the arbitrary number stamped on the club. Ignore that. To say a ball rolling out 5 yards on a 200+ yard shot is “too much” is just ridiculous and far from reality for most. The real comparison is what club of his does he hit that distance and what rollout does that club get? The number 7 should be irrelevant. It’s at this point just to have a reference to the other clubs in your set
@@pipedown7969 now I totally get what you’re saying with the distances relative to his clubs. But if you give someone a blade, they’re going to hit that ball 40 yards shorter than a super game improvement iron. These Cobras are for someone who only purely wants distance(the older crowd that just runs the ball up to the green).
the point here is that the clubs are designed for a specific swing speed and player to replicate distances achieved by those hitting traditional loft clubs well. its the feel good for that type of player on a par 3 using a similar numbered iron to the same yardage. I had a set of Honma TW Irons when I was struggling, the 7 iron went 200, and PW 150. I needed 4 wedges to balance the gap at the bottom end so was pointless as I could only carry up to 5 iron in the bag. went back to T100`s after this.
Hey Rick, remember when you used to cut golf balls in half, to see the tech, what about doing it with clubs... Go on, you know you want to... We'd absolutely love it... ;)
Strange saying they are very strong. Bear in mind the Cobra King SpeedZone irons were also strong lofted. 4i 19°, 5i 21°, 6i 24°, 7i 27.5° so roughly the same. I use the SpeedZone irons and love them. If I was in the market for new ones I might consider these Adapt maybe.
I wonder if they factored in that higher handicap players tend to deloft during their swing. Like dynamically, I’d like to see what kind of numbers a high handicapper gets.
It makes total sense to have a stronger loft iron. Most amatures when they hit 6 or 5 iron struggle. Have a 5 iron the length of a 7 iron, you will probably rip it. Might not be for ever but they make a lot of sense.
What happened to the best drivers of 2024? I just watched it and it’s gone! I wanted to share this with my uncle so he could send it to his buddies and their golf business
It would be interesting to see you (and other testers) bring a mid or high handicapper in when testing forgiveness irons. But that would be a lot more work as you'd need to run through a lot more shots to get a real average from us guys.
My 7 is at 28.5. And 8 32.5. So I’m not really concerned with loft as much as gaping with 6 clubs in the bag going shorter. Back in the day the 6 was my confidence club. Now has been moved to 7 is all.
It's now apparent that these new clubs are for the poorer ball striker that needs help, not the Rick Shiels of the world. My first "complaint" of the Callaway Rogue X's I got a few years ago was that they were too long. I still feel that way, as I now carry a 50, 56, and 58 degree wedge. I rarely use that 6 or 7 iron. I'm 77 with a 15 handicap.
Yes it's gone too far and it's all about marketing in my opinion plus the fact that modern golf retailers now have launch monitors in their showroom. A lot of casual golfers especially beginners looking for game improvement clubs test mid irons usually a 7 or 6 and get impressed by how far they go without realising why. Back in the day 3 irons were the norm in a set and pitching wedges were 50-51 degrees that were actually used for pitch shots that are now the domain of gap and 'approach' wedges. I myself felt confused when I tested a game improvement 7 iron and averaged 165 meters which was 20 meters longer than I was used to but the set stopped at the 5 iron, and later a clubfitter later explained to me that the lofts were completely different. That was back in 2017, needless to say I bought a traditionally lofted set of irons from him. Now in 2024 the lofts are even stronger! My current 7 iron is 34, 4 iron is 23 and pitiching is 47 degrees and I'm not buying a strong lofted set anytime soon despite being in my 60s.
Depends on what "traditional" refers to, back in the nineties/early 2000's almost all 7 irons had 36 degrees of loft, 8 irons were 40 and so forth. Go back further and and we'd find even more loft per iron. Having played numerous sets back in the 90's those lofts matched up well, also considering the limited shaft options compared to today. I could never see bending my '97 taylormade burner tour 7 iron down much lower than 36° as the trajectory was already "penetrating ", helped by stiff Precision rifle shaft. The 5 iron in that set had nearly 29 degrees of loft and could be a handful of trouble on an off day, lol! Thirty eight inches of "flush it or else!" New irons with strong lofts are a different design altogether, with the so called traditional lofts you'd be hitting that 7 iron a mile up in the air. These hollow head low center of gravity and even more tech irons actually require less loft. Fun video, Rick!
27° for a seven iron is not old news. A lot of club manufacturers are still doing similar lofts. The biggest problem with this model is the heads they wear quickly and that lovely black finish ends.
I think strong lofted clubs have had these lofts for quite some time. I know my son´s Callaway Mavrik 22 have the same lofts. 7i is 27, PW 41. But it really does not matter as long as you have the clubs that cover each distance you need, I guess.
Can you play the Max Irons on a course vlog? Maybe 9 holes and see what you shoot? Get the distances before hand, but I'd be curious what you do with them.
Also think something you are missing, given the price of clubs people will be able to carry 6 iron -wedge plus a hybrid/fairway and driver and basically have all yardages covered.
These are game/super game improvement irons designed for beginners and 20+ hcp that need all the help they can get. But these lofts are getting out of hand. I’m a 9 hcp and play 718 AP2s where the 7 iron is 34 deg. I’m looking to upgrade to T150s which are 2 deg stronger through the bag. The big issue with stronger lifts is gapping down the bottom end of the bag. If a PW is 43 deg you really start needing 5 wedges to have consistent gapping. That and you have to redo all your yardages. I know my 7 iron is a 150m carry and I’m +/- 10m through my irons.
I think it is time to drop iron numbers and time to name clubs like wedges and just put the loft on the club. I currently have the Aerojet irons 5-GW and just think of them as 4-PW. I’m the target player for these irons with a 20hcp and hit my 7- iron 150m (164 yds). Which is close to the average distance for an LPGA pro 6 iron. I also get about 6k spin
The lack of knowledge here about how modern irons work is unbelievable. These lower lofted irons fly higher than older 7 irons that are higher lofted due to weighting, design and faster ball speeds. If todays lower lofted iron goes further and higher than older irons then to replicate the same distance of the older 7 irons you would hit an 8 or a 9 in todays irons. The test is to use both older and newer irons to hit a specific distance. Once you have that specific distance look at flight of each ball not the loft.
@colinbrown1321 however many it takes to give you what you need. Same amount of clubs. As the newer irons are so much longer you don't need as many on the other end. Companies aren't going to restrict technology just because someone doesn't want to reconfigure their wedges. Nothing has changed. You still have a bag of clubs that hits balls specific distances. You just pull the club you need for that distance. The benefit is that you can now cover longer distances with greater height that helps stop the ball.
Those irons are not made for someone with your club head speed but of course you know that. Those will be perfect for a golfer that has a slower swing speed and needs help getting the ball in the air.
This is not the place to come for club reviews. Low spin isn’t an issue if the decent angle is steep. Talk more about that. And the first 2 shots perfectly explained why the lofts are strong, to help get distance on mis hits
I love my Cobra F9 irons...I wont even try these. I dont like all the strong loft changes either. PXG seems to do this too but not to this extreme. Getting ridiculous !
Be interesting to see this type of club with proper lofts. Put the 7 iron to 34 degrees and I'm sure it will go normal distance and spin around 7000rpm just like any other 34 degree 7 iron. In theory it they would go normal distances with normal spin but be easy to hit . Worth a try.
Rick does this same 'bit' every single year when he reviews cobra irons. Like he's pretending to be shocked at the loft of a 7, but that's been the same case for cobra (and honestly most game improvement irons) for years. Playing dumb to have a talking point that the actual audience for clubs like this and then beating it into the ground is a waste of everyone's time.
What I would like to see Rick is a strong lofted 7 vs a standard 5. I have relatively strong lofted irons with a 31 degree 7 and I honestly feel more confident over top of a 180-190 yard shot with a 7 in my hands then the 5. I don’t know if it is actually shown to be more accurate or not.
To add to that…I know you like technology that makes golf easier…to a new golfer, does a strong lofted club like this make it easier? My son plays even stronger lofted clubs than mine and I honestly love hitting them too! Just nice and easy to get the extra distance.
Again, I’ve seen this in your videos about spin rate vs other 7 irons…I think you are comparing apples to oranges…please do a comparison video of strong lofted clubs vs standard (7 vs 5…spin, accuracy and feel). It seemed as though you hit them well…I have the same feeling with mine.
In the Ds adapt max set the PW has 11.5 degrees difference to the SW, to put that into perspective that difference is the same as my 9 iron to my 56 degree wedge, all this loft jacking means you will have to buy lots of specialty wedges for gapping and beginners players will definitely not do that. Just start putting lofts on the club problem solved
I have a set of 2021 Tommy Armour 45 irons and the front and back profiles look very similar. I agree with you that the lofts are out of hand. I love Cobra clubs but 27 degrees? Why not take the numbers off the irons and just put the lofts?
High handicapper: “yeah, i hit my 7 about 190”. Steps up with 3 wood and hits it 190 as well
Guilty.
Never seen anything more true
I don't know why you people care so much it's not like any of you have to play these irons. You can play Whatever you WANT, you do have a choice
This is so fake.... high handicappers do not hit 3 woods.
Probably don’t need to be hitting 3 wood anyways. 5 or 7 woods would work better!
I just checked my Cobra King Speedzone OL irons. The 7i off-the-rack was 27.5 degrees.
So, agreed that these are insanely more aggressive than historical norms, but it sounds like these are consistent with what Cobra has been putting out there in the 2020s.
Good review and callout on spin rates.
Yeah Cobra LTDx 7 iron is 26.5 degrees and that's from 2022, so not like they're doing anything out of character.
I bought the Cobra F-Max Superlite 2022 and mine is 31.5. So, not quite
I'd be curious to see Rick do a comparison between his own irons and a super game improvement/distance iron like this when it comes to accuracy at certain distances. For example, what would he actually hit more greens at from 200 yards? His own 5 iron or a distance 7 iron? What about from 170 yards? His own 7 iron or a distance 9 iron? I can't help but wonder if the shorter shaft and more forgiving head would actually lead to better dispersion when compared for distance (not club number).
I agree do good players actually golf better these days in normal courses with blades than with more “game improvement irons? Does a scratch to 10 handicapper actually hit more greens with blades?
I bet he would hit more greens from the longer yardages these clubs provide. Shorter length clubs are always easier to hit. 😅
Definitely agree…I have more confidence over my 7!
Brilliant analogy! I am guessing Rick may not test that. But there are other more progressive UA-camrs who might? I love your thinking!
Couldn't agree more... the ONLY reason a club level golfer should play a forged blade, is if they want to work the ball with shape and have the ability to. If you just hit it straight at the pin each time..play more cavity. These club feel and sound amazing, nothing like the hollow game improvement irons of the past
These clubs are designed for people with 7 iron Swing.speeds around 75 MPH. At that speed, they probably go around 155-160 yards. That would be a "normal" distance for a 7 iron.
🙏🏼
Yes, but at that swing speed and that loft, you are hitting it the distance of a 7-iron with the spin of a 3-iron. So good luck getting that to stop on a firm green.
@@Iamwrongbutmost people using these clubs are likely adding loft at impact let’s be honest. You’re not going for these if you actually compress the ball
@@pipedown7969 if you are adding loft dynamically then you are getting even less spin on the ball which makes the problem even worse haha
But someone with a 75mph swing speed will only hit a sand wedge 70-80 yards. Not great for gapping if you can hit your set pitching wedge 130 yards
I miss the high-mid handicap guy you use to have test clubs. It was even fun hearing his handicap go down.
Video idea. How does a 27 degree iron from today compare to a 27 degree iron from 27 years ago?
I hit my ping eye 2s on a simulator last week.
7 iron is 36 degrees of loft
regular ProV1 ball
club speed - 95 mph
ball speed - 111 mph
spin - 6372 rpm
apex - 125 ft.
smash - 1.17
total distance - 155 yards
The closest club in that set to this is the 5 iron with 28.5 degrees of loft. So a new 7 iron is like an old 5 iron.
@BenjaminBrown-o8r That's interesting but your numbers compare an old 36 degree club to a new 27 degree club.
But what was the descent angle for each club? If a descent angle is high enough it can compensate for lower spin.
height more than makes up for spin. In his own video he hits a 7 iron 200 in the air and it stops 204. What club in any make or model is going to stop quickr than that from 200 yards.
Absolutely...and most players that need these types of clubs, swing over the top with an open clubface and add dynamic loft.
@@adamclarke1607this is sooooo true!
Also, Cobra dark speed irons from last year (that you reviewed) were the same lofts.. why are you surprised Rick?
You hit these clubs perfectly. They did exactly what they are suppose to do. Height can stop balls as well. The average golfer doesn't hit a lot of backspin anyways. These clubs will help so many golfers. It was clear you were going to find things to hate at start of the video. You could tell without hitting them youd hate on them Lol
He hates anything that would help his game 😂
@ my favorite on the driver review he didn’t even hit the draw bias driver. It’s suppose to be a review 90% of golfers watching need the draw bias club but since it didn’t suit ricks game he didn’t review it. Who are his “reviews” for the golfer watching or him? I use to enjoy Rick but over time he’s gotten this god complex like he’s better than everyone. He’s like a kid with a defiance disorder that will always do the opposite. It’s why he can’t break 80 anymore. He won’t take advice and refuses to use clubs to fit his game.
I posted a similar comment essentially. A lot of the comments are roasting him for the same.
It’s not about the number stamped on the club. It’s about the distance it delivers. Whether it’s a 7-iron, 6-iron, or whatever the loft suggests, we play the yardage, not the label. Let’s focus on the performance, not the number.
Agreed. Take the numbers off. We'll figure out how to differentiate the clubs.
That's true, you just have to carry 8 wedges to make up the gaps in the bottom end of the bag lol
Hear hear
Just put the loft on them. Hell the dark speed 4 iron has a lower loft than the 3 hybrid
Performance is interesting.
On the Adapt (non max) irons the spin rates were about what I would expect given the loft, the launch angles were marginally higher than the loft would suggest, but that might be more about Rick's delivery, so the 7i has the loft of my 5i but launches the same as my 6i. Gapping though looks to be a problem: 13 yards per club between 5i & 7i but 15 yards per club between 7i & PW is a bit bigger than I would like. However, given the likely swing speed of the target market this is probably not the biggest issue.
If anything the performance of the max irons is better. The gapping is still a problem but spin rates and launch angles are pretty good given the lofts.
It would have been a better video if Rick had shown the peak height and descent angles for the clubs compared to his normal clubs
I love Cobra products, use a King F6 driver and F max superlite irons at the moment. The irons are really light so I'd love something like these when they are cheaper
2016 F6 had cobra going straight to the top. Ever since the F9 peaked as the greatest ever , it’s been mediocre jacked lofted irons
Going back even as far as the 'Radspeed' irons, the 7 iron was 27.5 degrees. So i'm not sure why you act shocked every single year?!
100% , same lofts as ltdx and original darkspeed, why so shocked this year
UA-cam life yo! It's about likes and views. Keep people watching, or something.
I play the Corba King MIM Tour irons from 2021 and the 7 iron is 33 degrees and carry on a full swing 180 yards on a normal 75 degree no wind day. Love cobra clubs, LTD x driver, MIM Wedges and Supernova putter. LTD 4 Hybrid.
It’s the norm because guys out there shooting 97 wanna say they hit their 7i 190 yards. It markets to ego and it works.
Sad but too true. But anyone any good playing with someone shooting 97 knows they don’t hit a real 7 iron 190. Those same people claiming that would hit a 3 wood 200….useless for gapping
It’s not ego for me. It’s that shorter irons are generally easier to hit so I can bag more “hittable” clubs
I’m in my 50s and my swing speed is slowing daily. So I would likely hit that 7i about the same as I hit my old school 7i.
@@charlieg9559 I’m also in my 50s, but I still prefer nearly standard lofts. These sets always fail on one end or the other. You either end up with 11 wedges, or 11 hybrids
I feel attacked haha. I used to be that guy, but I went back to a traditionally lofted 7 and am much more consistent.
People keep refering tk traditional lofts like it matters. As drivers and 3 woods go further, irons have to go further to fill in the gaps. Due to new technology they are able to lower the lofts of irons while still making them easy to hit.
you got it. Too bad so many people are stuck on the loft # and not the ball flight.
Never haven’t watched till the end of a Rick video before. But when half the video is about loft and distance, it’s not helpful. Hit your gamer iron from 150 yards. Then hit whatever iron in this set goes 150 yards. Doesn’t matter what the static loft or number on the irons is. Which one performed better?
Would a beginner do better hitting a traditional 7 iron from 150 or a modern 9 iron?
That’s all that matters. Comparing and talking about traditional 7 iron vs modern 7 iron is pointless in my opinion.
Rick, please play a full round with these clubs, including the Cobra drivers. That would be cool.
Same loft at the Cobra Forge Tec-X. I just got a set this year and love the added distance. Was hitting my 7iron 190+ in the simulators which gave the ego a boost but the launch angle is sometimes a concern, depending on the course.
Them new lofts are the resultant of rolling back the ball's flying distance. Same deal happened before to the ball's spin (increased) when they went from square to v grooves on the wedges. BTW 27 degs is the 6 hybrid iron in my bag
I'm still using my 30+ year old Wilson Staff irons. My 7-iron loft is 37 degrees. Every time I demo newer designs with stronger lofts I always come back to my old irons. I've yet to find anything as consistent or as a much feel as my old Wilson blades. One exception was a set of Mizuno irons, but the cost was way out of my budget. I tried playing with strong lofted irons for a year and my scores got noticeably worse. I think hitting a 7-iron 200 yards satisfies egos but necessarily better scores.
Funny thing in the video that you were hitting them here they weren’t rolling out and having problems stopping. They were performing absolutely awesome, you would likely benefit from having the regular adapt set in your own bag. Can’t be anything wrong with the club if it’s so easy as you say to hit, and does the job without any effort let’s make this game easier rather than trying to be a hero hitting hard to hit clubs and getting miracle shots I mean disappointed when they don’t work out. Golf is hard enough as it is.
very interesting..... also just watched the cobra driver vid (massive cobra fan), will be interesting to see what goes in the bag for next season
If you consider that a 7-iron has approximately the loft of a 5-iron in more traditional clubs, a spin rate of 4915 is not bad, especially with Rick's draw. Many golfers would have to end their set with a 6 iron. Most would not get along with a 21-degree 5 iron.
My 3 iron is 23 degrees...
I've just done this with my new Callaway AI smoke HL irons. My old 7i was 35⁰ and my new 7i is 30⁰. Works out that my new clubs a are nearly exactly 1 club stronger. I used to go from 5-PW now I have 6-AW. Still the same amount of irons just the number on the bottom has changed 1 club.
I agree it’s not a fair comparison. Take your club and hit it 190 to a green and I am sure your not getting any higher
My Callaway Epic Forged 7 iron is 27°, they stop on a dime and are the best irons I've ever played and I've had em all, trust me lol. Technology with current flight patterns negates the iron number on the club anymore. We've come a long ways...
I was in a big box store and was hitting a Srixon zx5 mk2. I was carrying the 7 iron 192/195 rolling out to 205/212. The sales guy said look at that. I smiled and told him that's not what I'm looking for in an iron. Told him to have a great day and walked out.
Cool story
OMG same but i was hitting the pw 189 Carry,told him to stick them where the sun don't shine i hit my traditional lofted pw 195(carry, total distance 225!!!)
We are something else aren't we?
And then you had to tell the world. Congrats
Can you sign my glove please
What was the spin, launch and drop angle ?
Thanks for the review, Rick. These clubs are designed for a certain type of golfer-slow swing speed, golfers who need some help with elevation and distance and perhaps geared towards a beginner or a more senior golfer. These clubs make the game easier for a large part of the golfing world. Nothing wrong with that.
It’s not a 7 iron! It’s a 5 iron!
Funny to hear people saying now…because that 5 iron you’re likely comparing it to is actually a 2 iron
No incorrect
@@paulmcgee1867 7 iron is like the 5 iron I used to play.
@ only in loft
@@paulmcgee1867very similar in length to my 90’s 5 iron too!
I bought some cobra Aerojet irons last year, the 7 iron is 26.5 degrees, it seemed like a good idea at the time but it’s hard work
You've given Cobra a bit of a beating this last few days Rick! The thing is, if you want to hit further, decrease the loft, or have muscles like Rory and Bryson. I struggle to keep higher lofted clubs on the straight and narrow sometimes and won't look at these as a future option. Looking forward to hearing what you have to say about the other new ones coming on the market. Keep them coming. 👏👏
I fail to see what the issue is. 199 yards carry with a 4 yard roll out. The loft and number on the bottom doesn't mean anything. Can you stop any of your current clubs in less distance at 200 yards? The real test is to pick the club from his bag that he can carry 200 yards and compare the accuracy, height, trajectory and stopping distance with the Cobra 7 iron. Then find the club from each set that carries 210, 220 and 230. Lets see what happens then. Stop focusing on loft.
I play a 35 degree 7 this is my 5 iron that’s nuts!
35 is the other extreme. I'd say 30-32 is normal
The problem with your statement is you’re the exception and not the norm. The majority of golfers play less than once a month. They need irons like these for 2 reasons, 1st these launch a lot easier due to the lower center of gravity and the mass of the iron. Second they are ultra forgiving. You have to think the quality of your strike vs the typical monthly golf is absurdly massive! People shouldn’t take the game so seriously. We’re all different and no reason why we all need to play the same equipment. Signed a 9 handicapper playing Game Improvement 30 degree 7 iron loft! I don’t ever compete nor do I intend too. Golf is a relaxation method for me, and I play twice a week.
@@DMKFACTOR it’s just a ego thing playing these irons either means more wedges or big gaps at the bottom of the bag they strong lofts are just a marketing tactic to make said golfer who doesn’t play as much to think the club goes miles when really its because that 7 iron isn’t 6-5 with 7 stamped on it
@ Exactly! Who cares, just know how far you hit each club, and make the game as fun and easy as possible!
The problem is that the more it goes, the less options some of us have for standard loft irons without having to go to pure blades....
If I have a 175 yard shot I use a 175 yard club what’s written
On the club is irrelevant
Correct
Rick, Despite all of the modern advances in iron design (low and deep sole weighing, tungsten weights strategically placed in clubheads, etc.), I never want to see a 7-iron loft stronger than 30 degrees in MY 7-iron! In fact, the 7-iron loft in my “player’s distance” iron set is 33 degrees. Otherwise, the lofts get so crazy in my 5 and 6 irons that I don’t feel comfortable even gaming the 5-iron. In addition, I am forced to have too many wedges in my bag. As an “older guy”, I am fine with my 7-iron shots carrying about 150 yards and grabbing a hybrid club if I need 175+ yards!
Good looking irons .
Thing is, a set like this isn't really designed for a player in the single figures. Put this in the hands of a slower swing-speed player who struggles to hit their 7i 140yds and it'll be perfect for them! Might get them up to 150yds instead.
Have u seen brysons lofts??
Them rons look ridiculous 😂😂
Very thorough analysis
I might combo some of these in to mix with my Miura CB301 😂 This 7-iron looks like it can be a good replacement for my 5-iron
Visually very like the Wilson Dynapower
A better comparison would be the spin rate of a particular distance for each club. For example the spin rate of a 180 yard 7 iron with the cobra and the spin rate of another club that goes 180 yards. I would expect the spin rates wouldn’t be much different.
Love the reviews!
Absolutely shocking that the 7 iron is 25 degrees. Soon the 7 iron is going to be a driving iron 🤦♂️
I have been looking to upgrade my irons that are 15 years old, but it’s a 34 deg 7 iron. Really hard to gauge a 7 iron when that’s my 5 iron 🤷🏻♂️
I think we need a 16 degree 7 iron! My old 2 iron was that, problem with these lofts is the wedge gapping, I already use an pw, aw, 50, 54, 58 combo!
I'd really like to see somone do a video with some of these new strong lofted irons and how it impacts the bottom of their bag ( wedges etc...) with distances from 150 to 100 yards.
Coming from a certified fitter.. these feel amazing and get a ton of distance. But they don’t get a ton of spin.. so it’s hard to keep them on the greens
But he was holding a green pretty easily at 200? What are launch and decent angles like?
@ when you hit a shot with a 7 iron, if the shaft and head specs are correctly fitted to you that ball should hit the green and roll no more than 2 yards forward. Ideally If it can hit then just stop that’s what we want. Rpm’s off spin is what does that for us UNLESS we have an extremely high peak height, or crazy decent angle. It looks like Rick can hit a ball pretty high so he’s sort of able to hold the greens but even he is getting about 5 yards of rollout which is way too much (in my opinion) for a 7 to roll out. You just can’t be as accurate with that much.
@ you are worrying too much about the arbitrary number stamped on the club. Ignore that. To say a ball rolling out 5 yards on a 200+ yard shot is “too much” is just ridiculous and far from reality for most. The real comparison is what club of his does he hit that distance and what rollout does that club get? The number 7 should be irrelevant. It’s at this point just to have a reference to the other clubs in your set
@@pipedown7969 now I totally get what you’re saying with the distances relative to his clubs. But if you give someone a blade, they’re going to hit that ball 40 yards shorter than a super game improvement iron. These Cobras are for someone who only purely wants distance(the older crowd that just runs the ball up to the green).
the point here is that the clubs are designed for a specific swing speed and player to replicate distances achieved by those hitting traditional loft clubs well. its the feel good for that type of player on a par 3 using a similar numbered iron to the same yardage. I had a set of Honma TW Irons when I was struggling, the 7 iron went 200, and PW 150. I needed 4 wedges to balance the gap at the bottom end so was pointless as I could only carry up to 5 iron in the bag. went back to T100`s after this.
Also keep an eye on launch angles
Hey Rick, remember when you used to cut golf balls in half, to see the tech, what about doing it with clubs...
Go on, you know you want to... We'd absolutely love it... ;)
Would be good to see you swing at a lower club head speed as that’s who the clubs will be aimed at.
My Wilson Staff blades from the 70's had a 38* 7 iron. PW was 50*. 3 iron was 24*.
In 1993 Taylormade Burner Plus irons were foam filled , its been around for a long time
How does it compare to your current 200 yard club?
I remember when I bought the TaylorMade sim irons. The 7 iron on that was 27degrees
Rick you should take a set of these on course, play 18 and see how they go...
Strange saying they are very strong. Bear in mind the Cobra King SpeedZone irons were also strong lofted. 4i 19°, 5i 21°, 6i 24°, 7i 27.5° so roughly the same. I use the SpeedZone irons and love them. If I was in the market for new ones I might consider these Adapt maybe.
I think irons should go the way of wedges. Forget stamping the '7' or whatever. Just put the loft on the bottom.
I wonder if they factored in that higher handicap players tend to deloft during their swing. Like dynamically, I’d like to see what kind of numbers a high handicapper gets.
They 100% did. Rick 100% did not
It makes total sense to have a stronger loft iron. Most amatures when they hit 6 or 5 iron struggle. Have a 5 iron the length of a 7 iron, you will probably rip it. Might not be for ever but they make a lot of sense.
What happened to the best drivers of 2024? I just watched it and it’s gone! I wanted to share this with my uncle so he could send it to his buddies and their golf business
With those strong lofts and fairly reasonable price sound like these are classified as game improvement irons.
Peak height? Descent angle?
With the Max club and all the offset. It would seem if you use that club with a larger grip. it would help you hit the ball much straighter
27ish degrees is industry standard for game improvement at this point.
It would be interesting to see you (and other testers) bring a mid or high handicapper in when testing forgiveness irons. But that would be a lot more work as you'd need to run through a lot more shots to get a real average from us guys.
My 7 is at 28.5. And 8 32.5. So I’m not really concerned with loft as much as gaping with 6 clubs in the bag going shorter. Back in the day the 6 was my confidence club. Now has been moved to 7 is all.
The LTDx irons were 26.5° at the 7 iron
You hit those so well I dont know why there not going straight in your bag
How is this unique?
My 3 year old Wilson D9 7-iron is 27°
My three year old Callaway Mavrik seven iron is 27 degrees also???
My Wilson Dynapower 7i also 27°
the callaway rogue x 7-iron from 2018 has 27 degrees of loft
My stealth 7 iron is 28 degrees
It's now apparent that these new clubs are for the poorer ball striker that needs help, not the Rick Shiels of the world. My first "complaint" of the Callaway Rogue X's I got a few years ago was that they were too long. I still feel that way, as I now carry a 50, 56, and 58 degree wedge. I rarely use that 6 or 7 iron. I'm 77 with a 15 handicap.
Yes it's gone too far and it's all about marketing in my opinion plus the fact that modern golf retailers now have launch monitors in their showroom. A lot of casual golfers especially beginners looking for game improvement clubs test mid irons usually a 7 or 6 and get impressed by how far they go without realising why. Back in the day 3 irons were the norm in a set and pitching wedges were 50-51 degrees that were actually used for pitch shots that are now the domain of gap and 'approach' wedges.
I myself felt confused when I tested a game improvement 7 iron and averaged 165 meters which was 20 meters longer than I was used to but the set stopped at the 5 iron, and later a clubfitter later explained to me that the lofts were completely different. That was back in 2017, needless to say I bought a traditionally lofted set of irons from him. Now in 2024 the lofts are even stronger! My current 7 iron is 34, 4 iron is 23 and pitiching is 47 degrees and I'm not buying a strong lofted set anytime soon despite being in my 60s.
The loft is irrelevant and you dont half bang on about it in every video.
Peak height, descent angles, stopping power far more important.
Depends on what "traditional" refers to, back in the nineties/early 2000's almost all 7 irons had 36 degrees of loft, 8 irons were 40 and so forth. Go back further and and we'd find even more loft per iron. Having played numerous sets back in the 90's those lofts matched up well, also considering the limited shaft options compared to today. I could never see bending my '97 taylormade burner tour
7 iron down much lower than 36° as the trajectory was already "penetrating ", helped by stiff Precision rifle shaft. The 5 iron in that set had nearly 29 degrees of loft and could be a handful of trouble on an off day, lol! Thirty eight inches of "flush it or else!"
New irons with strong lofts are a different design altogether, with the so called traditional lofts you'd be hitting that 7 iron a mile up in the air. These hollow head low center of gravity and even more tech irons actually require less loft. Fun video, Rick!
27° for a seven iron is not old news. A lot of club manufacturers are still doing similar lofts.
The biggest problem with this model is the heads they wear quickly and that lovely black finish ends.
I think strong lofted clubs have had these lofts for quite some time. I know my son´s Callaway Mavrik 22 have the same lofts. 7i is 27, PW 41. But it really does not matter as long as you have the clubs that cover each distance you need, I guess.
I could see people carrying maybe more 7-PW sets with these stronger lofts, and more fw woods or hybrids.
Can you play the Max Irons on a course vlog? Maybe 9 holes and see what you shoot? Get the distances before hand, but I'd be curious what you do with them.
Also think something you are missing, given the price of clubs people will be able to carry 6 iron -wedge plus a hybrid/fairway and driver and basically have all yardages covered.
These are game/super game improvement irons designed for beginners and 20+ hcp that need all the help they can get. But these lofts are getting out of hand. I’m a 9 hcp and play 718 AP2s where the 7 iron is 34 deg. I’m looking to upgrade to T150s which are 2 deg stronger through the bag. The big issue with stronger lifts is gapping down the bottom end of the bag. If a PW is 43 deg you really start needing 5 wedges to have consistent gapping. That and you have to redo all your yardages. I know my 7 iron is a 150m carry and I’m +/- 10m through my irons.
I think it is time to drop iron numbers and time to name clubs like wedges and just put the loft on the club. I currently have the Aerojet irons 5-GW and just think of them as 4-PW. I’m the target player for these irons with a 20hcp and hit my 7- iron 150m (164 yds). Which is close to the average distance for an LPGA pro 6 iron. I also get about 6k spin
I don't want hybrids. These look very easy to hit and very playable.
The gap between the PW and normal wedges will be crazy. Will need to compensate and get like 6 wedges
Or you just change the gap of the wedges… instead of 52,56,60 you go 50,55,60…, 🤯crazy concept to comprehend I know
The lack of knowledge here about how modern irons work is unbelievable. These lower lofted irons fly higher than older 7 irons that are higher lofted due to weighting, design and faster ball speeds. If todays lower lofted iron goes further and higher than older irons then to replicate the same distance of the older 7 irons you would hit an 8 or a 9 in todays irons. The test is to use both older and newer irons to hit a specific distance. Once you have that specific distance look at flight of each ball not the loft.
Exactly right. I look forward to when Rick and others including fitters finally understand that.
Then how many wedges do you need?
@colinbrown1321 however many it takes to give you what you need. Same amount of clubs. As the newer irons are so much longer you don't need as many on the other end. Companies aren't going to restrict technology just because someone doesn't want to reconfigure their wedges. Nothing has changed. You still have a bag of clubs that hits balls specific distances. You just pull the club you need for that distance. The benefit is that you can now cover longer distances with greater height that helps stop the ball.
My Tec x cobra from 3 years ago have the same loft. 7 iron goes 150 yds for me. #confused here
It's total nonsense, don't drink the cool aid. There are no magic beans 'tech' built in. Its just a 5i with 7i written on it
Those irons are not made for someone with your club head speed but of course you know that. Those will be perfect for a golfer that has a slower swing speed and needs help getting the ball in the air.
It’d be interesting to see these irons paired with a spiny tour ball? ProV1s are pretty low spin in the irons.
This is not the place to come for club reviews. Low spin isn’t an issue if the decent angle is steep. Talk more about that. And the first 2 shots perfectly explained why the lofts are strong, to help get distance on mis hits
I love my Cobra F9 irons...I wont even try these. I dont like all the strong loft changes either. PXG seems to do this too but not to this extreme. Getting ridiculous !
Be interesting to see this type of club with proper lofts. Put the 7 iron to 34 degrees and I'm sure it will go normal distance and spin around 7000rpm just like any other 34 degree 7 iron. In theory it they would go normal distances with normal spin but be easy to hit . Worth a try.
PULL THE PIN!!! BOMBTECH FULL REVIEW!!!
I think Rick would hit a Lazrus 32 degree 7 hybrid over 200 yards without breaking a sweat.
Manufacturers have gone nuts with these type of lofts.
Let me check...... Ha ha love it.
That's so crazy. My 7 iron is 36 degree. I hit it around 170. My 5 iron is the closest to that 7 iron and its 28 degrees
27 degrees, wow. The PING G425 7 iron is 30 degrees and the 6 iron is 26.5 degrees, crazy.
Does the strong launch angle help keep the ball from going too high? If the club increases the launch, it might be too high at 30 degrees or more.
Rick does this same 'bit' every single year when he reviews cobra irons. Like he's pretending to be shocked at the loft of a 7, but that's been the same case for cobra (and honestly most game improvement irons) for years.
Playing dumb to have a talking point that the actual audience for clubs like this and then beating it into the ground is a waste of everyone's time.
What I would like to see Rick is a strong lofted 7 vs a standard 5. I have relatively strong lofted irons with a 31 degree 7 and I honestly feel more confident over top of a 180-190 yard shot with a 7 in my hands then the 5. I don’t know if it is actually shown to be more accurate or not.
To add to that…I know you like technology that makes golf easier…to a new golfer, does a strong lofted club like this make it easier? My son plays even stronger lofted clubs than mine and I honestly love hitting them too! Just nice and easy to get the extra distance.
Again, I’ve seen this in your videos about spin rate vs other 7 irons…I think you are comparing apples to oranges…please do a comparison video of strong lofted clubs vs standard (7 vs 5…spin, accuracy and feel). It seemed as though you hit them well…I have the same feeling with mine.
In the Ds adapt max set the PW has 11.5 degrees difference to the SW, to put that into perspective that difference is the same as my 9 iron to my 56 degree wedge, all this loft jacking means you will have to buy lots of specialty wedges for gapping and beginners players will definitely not do that. Just start putting lofts on the club problem solved
I had foam-filled TaylorMade irons in 1993 or so, PXG was founded in 2013. I don't know if TaylorMade did it first, but PXG sure didn't.
They took the Bryson method on lofts lol
I have a set of 2021 Tommy Armour 45 irons and the front and back profiles look very similar. I agree with you that the lofts are out of hand. I love Cobra clubs but 27 degrees? Why not take the numbers off the irons and just put the lofts?
I have a 20yr set of irons. My 7iron is 33degrees and goes 145-150 yards.
I want a new set but im not interested in having to carry 6 wedges