Gear: Cobra LTDx irons
Price: $899 with KBS Tour 90 steel shafts or PGI graphite shafts and Lamkin Crossline grips
Specs: 421 stainless steel body with internal steel weight and vibration-dampening polymer.
Available: February 11
Game-improvement irons are the category where many golf equipment manufacturers show off their latest technologies. In recent years Cobra has been as innovative as any brand. Carbon fiber in the topline of an iron, check. Back pieces that are 3D printed, check. For 2022, Cobra has a new weighting system at the heart of the LTDx irons, which along with other features is meant to bring more distance and forgiveness to a large segment of the market.
PWR-COR is a feature that has been added to Cobra’s woods for 2022, but it means something different in the LTDx irons. Here, it’s a multi-material weighting system. Inside each head, Cobra added a steel bar that extends through the hosel, down into the bottom of the club and to the toe area. It is suspended in a polymer injected into the head.
The PWR COR bar extends from the hosel into the heel and then to the tow area. (Cobra)
The PWR-COR does two things that can improve performance, Cobra said. First, it lowers the center of gravity to encourage higher-flying shots. Second, it positions more mass behind the area where golfers strike the ball, which in muscleback blades for accomplished players enhances feel and helps generate power. It does these things, however, without the bar touching the face.
That last part is important because Cobra designers gave the 4-iron through 7-iron a PWRSHELL face design that is extremely thin and L-shaped. It wraps under the leading edge and into the sole. The PWRSHELL face is designed to flex more efficiently to boost ball speed and distance.
The PWRSHELL face extends below the leading edge and into the sole. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
With the updated face working in tandem with the new internal weight system, the LTDx irons should help golfers achieve more distance and hit shots high more easily, which is precisely what most mid- and higher-handicap golfers want to see.
An added benefit of the polymer that encases the steel bar is it absorbs excessive vibrations, which improves sound and feel.
Like many other previously released Cobra irons, the LTDx is available in variable lengths (like most irons) and a One-Length version, with each club being 37.25 inches in length.