Cobra King RADSPEED Iron Review
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Cobra Golf’s King RADSPEED irons have radical perimeter weighting and a new 3D-printed cavity badge. Cobra say they’re a great looking, super-forgiving iron option for mid-handicappers.
When Cobra’s top engineers have put everything they’ve got into creating a brilliant new radial weighting story for RADSPEED drivers then it doesn’t take a marketing genius to spot how the storyline plays out perfectly for the irons, too.
In case you missed it, radial weighting is all about the strategic placement of weight relative to the centre of gravity to optimise speed and forgiveness. The further mass is positioned from the centre of gravity, the better performance you get.
But while the challenge with woods is how to free up mass to let you position it more efficiently, the challenge with irons is much more about creating a head shape that a majority of golfers want to use, and then working out how to improve its looks while also improving forgiveness.
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Bearing in mind both Bryson DeChambeau and Rickie Fowler have played Cobra’s game-improving King SZ long irons in 2020, the brand knew they they’ve been doing something right when it comes to the look of game-improver irons.
They reckoned if they could increase forgiveness without changing the shape, they’d be on to a winner with a RADSPEED iron for 2021. What their boffins have come up with is a new toe screw that comes up trumps in terms of more than just forgiveness.
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What you need to know about the Cobra King RADSPEED Iron
3D Printed
Cobra have never shied away from pushing boundaries with new products; you only need to look at the 48-inch Long Tom driver and Space Station-inspired Space Port that let you look inside the King LTD driver to see that.
This time there’s a brand-new collaboration with printing experts HP (Hewlett Packard). The pair have created a new 3D printed nylon polymer cavity badge that saves weight and fine-tunes feel over conventional materials.
Cobra say they’ve only just scratched the surface of 3D printing tech, so expect a range of 3D printed putters in 2021, too.
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Extreme weighting
In much the same way as Cobra’s RADSPEED drivers, weight on the iron has been removed from the centre and moved to the extremities to have maximum impact on performance. A 10g toe screw and 3g heel weight improve stability, but also mean the centre of gravity is dragged closer to the centre of the hitting zone, which improves speed, feel and consistency.
New shaping
As good as the previous King SZ iron has been (both Bryson DeChambeau and Rickie Fowler have played the long irons in 2020) Cobra haven’t missed the opportunity to refine the RADSPEED’s sole geometry and back shape, as well as giving the topline some new shaping so it appears a little more like a players’ model.
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Overall, the head’s sleeker and cleaner. There’s also a thin, flexible, fast and forged 17-4 steel face which has been specifically designed to take on extra flex.
Very different One Length
Thanks to all they’ve learned from Bryson DeChambeau, the One Length RADSPEED irons now have a very different set-up to the regular length set. The centre of gravity, hosel offset and weighting configurations are all slightly different and optimised for playing irons all the same length as a 7-iron.
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Arccos Connected
All the RADSPEED clubs come with Arccos shot-tracking sensors built in. Cobra say it’s the best “pay to get better” solution in the game, as even at $99 a year (after the initial free period expires) it’s cheaper than lessons. On average gofers who use the tech see their scores improve by four shots.
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New fitting options
The benefits of the RAD Speed’s new toe screw are two-fold. Cobra have also created lightweight aluminium, mid-weight steel and heavy tungsten toe screws which means they can now more accurately fit their irons for different shaft lengths, weights and swingweights.
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Verdict: Cobra King RAD Speed iron
If your game needs the forgiveness and power of a mid-handicap iron, but your
fancy isn’t tickled by going forged, the RAD Speed are a very solid choice in 2021. The lofts are strong (27.5°), but our Iron Test data has the model down as being capable
of launching, peaking out and dropping them onto the green at very sensible levels.
See how the Cobra King RAD Speed compares to other mid-handicap irons here.
Cobra King RADSPEED iron specs
Where does the King RADSPEED iron fit in Cobra’s iron line up?
READ NEXT: Our full review of Cobra’s King RADSPEED drivers
Review written by: Simon Daddow
Job title: Today’s Golfer – Equipment Editor
