Cobra King TEC-X, King TEC-X One-Length irons

Gear: Cobra King TEC-X, King TEC-X One-Length irons
Price: $1,299 with KBS Tour Lite steel shafts and Lamkin Crossline grips; $1,399 with KBS TGI graphite shafts
Specs: Cast 431 stainless steel heads with hollow-body design, forged 17-4 stainless steel face, internal tungsten weight, and urethane microspheres
Available: Nov. 8

Who it’s for: Golfers with a handicap between 10 and 20 who want more forgiveness and distance with a softer feel.

What you should know: The King TEC-X is a hollow-body, game-improvement iron that is slightly larger than the standard King TEC and delivers greater stability with enhanced distance for mid- and higher-handicap golfers.

The deep dive: There was a time, not too long ago, when you could spot game-improvement irons all the way across the range. They were big, loaded with offset, and looked nothing like the elegant and refined irons low-handicap players had in their bags.

The King TEC-X irons demonstrate how much times have changed. While they are designed to be forgiving on mishits and provide golfers who routinely shoot in the high 80s and 90s with more distance, they look like a better-player’s distance iron. Compared to the 2022 TEC-X irons, the 2024 model has a slimmer topline and less visual offset.

The variable-thickness PWRShell face broadens the sweet spot, especially low in the hitting area. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The King TEC-X irons feature a cast 431 stainless steel body attached to a thin, forged 17-4 stainless steel face. The face features Cobra’s PWRShell H.O.T. design, which is thicker in the center and thinner around the edges to enlarge the sweet spot. The face, shaped like an L, wraps under the leading edge to help enhance performance on thin-struck shots.

While the standard King TEC irons feature a 20-gram internal weight in the 4-7 irons, the King TEC-X has a 70-gram tungsten weight in those clubs that drives the center of gravity (CG) location even further down, encouraging a higher launch angle and better energy transfer. The 8-iron through gap wedge do not contain tungsten, so the CG location naturally rises. Many players prefer to flight their scoring clubs down and keep the trajectory low for better distance control, and the elevated CG location encourages that.

Urethane microspheres are injected in each head to enhance sound and feel. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Some golfers find hollow-body irons tend to sound off-putting, so Cobra added an updated foam material that contains urethane microspheres inside each King TEC-X head to soak up excessive vibrations created at impact. The material is injected into the heads after they are cast, then sealed inside by a screw in the toe. The key is the foam does not inhibit the face from flexing, so golfers can expect shots to feel better and sound better without sacrificing speed and distance.

Compared to the standard King TEC, the 2024 King TEC-X will fly higher thanks to its lower CG location, but it will produce less spin. For golfers who need a game-improvement iron, less spin tends to mean more distance, which they want, while more-accomplished golfers who prefer the standard King TEC’s size will be more likely to want extra spin so they can shape draws and fades around the course.

A 70-gram internal tungsten weight drives the CG location downward. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

In addition to offering King TEC-X in traditional, variable-length sets, Cobra is offering a King TEC-X One Length set, with each iron being the length of a typical 7-iron (37.25 inches).

To make the set work without creating significant distance gaps, the lofts in the 4-, 5-, and 6-irons have been weakened to make it easier to get the long irons in the air at slightly lower swing speeds. They also have a slightly wider sole and increased offset to compensate for the slightly lower speed golfers will generate with a shorter shaft.

Below are several close-up images of the Cobra King TEC-X irons: