William L. Coney Blog: First Look: Cobra King Forged CB-MB Irons

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

First Look: Cobra King Forged CB-MB Irons

Forged distance irons may be all the rage as we slide toward the end of 2018, but Cobra’s latest iron release sings a slightly different and darker tune. Created in tandem with Rickie Fowler, Cobra tags the King CB/MB as an integrated combo set, based on tour validated technologies which result in a “buttery soft feel and unrivaled precision.”

When distance isn’t the primary focus, aesthetics and workability take center stage.

Effectively, Cobra pairs cavity back long irons (3-6) with traditional muscle-back shaped scoring irons (7-PW). The slightly revamped muscle-cavity boosts forgiveness while maintaining sufficient trajectory control on long irons while the traditionally blade-shaded scoring irons place a premium on distance control and shot-shaping. Both the CB and MB irons undergo a 5-step forging process, the result of which is a more refined grain structure and signature feel.

Non-Japanese based OEM’s generally struggle to successfully market irons based on a tangible forged feel although Cobra does have a solid resume of such offerings (remember the S3 Pro MBs) and Fowler’s seal of approval.

In addition to the sleek black on black on black aesthetic, Rickie’s influence is most visible in the addition of two tungsten weights, placed in the toe and center of each club. The purpose is to fine-tune CG (center of gravity) in each iron to maximize forgiveness, feel and trajectory.

From a manufacturing standpoint, each head features machined faces and CNC milled grooves – the same grooves which are found in Cobra’s current generation of wedges. The DBM (Diamondized Black Metal) finish is purportedly Cobra’s most durable, and although all finishes will show wear over time, it certainly should fare better than a standard PVD finish.

Additionally, this is the first set of Cobra irons to feature Golf Pride Tour Velvet COBRA CONNECT grips which work in conjunction with the Arccos Caddie app to allow players access to the Arccos stat-tracking platform.

OPTIONS-PRICING-AVAILABILITY

The stock 7-piece set (4-6 CB and 7-P MB) carries an MSRP of $1099 and comes with a PVD black finish KBS S-Taper shaft in regular or stiff flex. A matching 2-iron, 3-iron and gap wedge are also available.

Right-handed players can opt for a full set of either the CB or MB irons and left-handed players can select either a full set of CB irons or the stock flow set with muscle-back short irons. Creating molds for forged irons isn’t a cheap endeavor. As such this set isn’t likely to sell in volume and therefore left-handed players limited access to the MB helps to mitigate the cost to procure a full set of MB molds for right-handed players.

The King Forged CB-MB is a nod to what matters most to better players – consistent performance, tight dispersion, and sticky distance control. It’s an offering for which Cobra faithful have been eagerly anticipating and now that it’s here, we will see if the inspired by Rickie tagline is enough to move the needle in any appreciable manner.

What do you think?