3D printing has officially gone mainstream in golf. On the heels of the recently launched 3D-printed King SuperSport-35 putter, Cobra is introducing the new 2021 Cobra RadSpeed irons with golf’s first-ever 3D-printed nylon medallion designed to save weight, increase forgiveness, and fine-tune acoustics. All of this while being built into a sportier-looking iron.

2021 Cobra RadSpeed irons: The package

If you talk to golfers who are the target market for technology-packed irons there are generally a few requests:

• I want them as forgiving as possible
• I want them to feel good
• I want them to be compact because “I don’t want to play a shovel.”

To these golfers, the engineers at Cobra have heard your requests and they are here to deliver.

The lead of this story, for good reason, is the large 3D-printed medallion designed to enhance the feel of the irons while also saving weight and increasing the MOI, but the real star of the show for golfers and fitters is the new Radial Weighting system around the head—and specifically in the toe of club.

The whole package creates a set of irons that can be built to exacting specs like never before, and just like the 3D-printed medallion, Cobra is demonstrating that precision in the design and build process leads to better performance for the end-user.

2021 Cobra RadSpeed irons: The technology

3D printing

Let’s start with the medallion. Unlike traditional badges used in irons, which are made using various injection molding processes, the 3D-printed medallion is comprised of nylon and uses an intricate structure of intertwined lattice to increase strength while also reducing weight.

3D-printed titanium skateboard truck

The backbone of this technology is the ability to create shapes that maximize strength while also reducing both material use and weight. In the case of golf clubs, this saves engineers precious grams of mass, which can be repositioned around the head. This is a crucial element of golf club design since the final mass of each part is defined by its position in the set (i.e. the final 7-iron mass on a standard set of clubs is roughly 268g, no more and no less.)

3D-printing has been used for years to prototype clubs, but thanks to the evolution of the technology, which in turn has helped drive down the cost, Cobra can effectively bring this to market while offering an advantage over previous and not having to pass enormous costs on to the consumer.

Radial Weighting

Much like the RadSpeed driver, the irons derive their name from newly positioned weights around the radius of the iron head designed to increase stability. By placing weight on the extreme perimeter of the head (away from the center of gravity), Cobra can both lower the CG and make the club slightly more compact while not sacrificing forgiveness. The screw-in weights are 10g in the toe and 3g in the heel (in a stock-configured club) but can be reconfigured for custom builds depending on the specs.

This allows the engineers to keep the center of gravity directly behind the middle of the face, which is especially important when tip weights might be involved to adjust any custom orders. Let me explain in a little more detail: Basically, every iron on the market utilizes a tip weight, either inserted into the shaft or into a port in the bottom of the hosel. OEMs use them all the time, and there is 100 percent nothing wrong with using tip weights to achieve the desired swing weight, but when you use them, you move the CG closer to the hosel/heel side of the club. It’s not moved on a humanly noticeable level but from an engineering perspective, it occurs.

According to Cobra, this weight may be adjusted +/- 6g during custom builds to dial in proper swing weight based on length, shaft weight, and grip specs.

PWRShell Technology

Besides the perimeter of the club, where the forgiveness is created, the most important single “part” of any club is the face. Cobra has worked long and hard to maximize speed and increase launch with PWRShell technology, which has once again been refined to improve performance.

Forged from high-strength 17-4 stainless steel, the thin face has a longer and deeper internal channel to increase compliance—a fancy physics term for an object’s ability to flex, which in turn increases the ball speed retention around the face to create a larger area of maximum energy transfer. The forged PWRShell faces are found in the 4-7 irons, while the 8-SW use a one-piece construction. NOTE: The term “area of maximum energy return” is a way to define the face area where a player is going to see great results versus the traditional “sweet spot.” Even as irons, and clubs in general, get more forgiving, there is still only a tiny single defined sweet spot.

The other component of the face puzzle is control, and that means talking grooves. The variable-length RadSpeed irons feature progressive groove shapes—V grooves in the longer irons for reduced spin, and U grooves in the shorter irons (8-SW) for added spin and control.

Carbon Fiber Topline

Just like the previous SpeedsZone irons, the RadSpeed irons have a unique carbon fiber topline that saves two grams to be moved around the head—remember, every gram counts! The insert has been tweaked to an all-black cosmetic to offer a slimmer and more compact look from address.

One Length is growing

We can’t talk Cobra irons without talking One Length. And yes, the RadSpeed irons are offered in a one-length package to promote repeatability at address for improved consistency shot after shot. The stock configuration is built around matching lengths of 37.5” (custom single lengths are available), along with consistent head weights and swing weights in every iron. 

There are some progressive aspects of the RadSpeed One Length irons and that is their lie angles and shaft weighting to promote higher launch in the lower-lofted clubs and more control in the scoring clubs.

Sole comparison: RadSpeed variable-length (left ) One Length (right)

Last but not least, when you look at the soles of the RadSpeed One Length irons, you will notice the soles get wider from the 6-iron up to the 4-iron. Once again, this progression is thanks to some well thought-out engineering.

The wider soles create a lower and deeper CG to make it easier for golfers to increase peak height and land/descent angle to help hold greens from longer distances and improve gapping. 

With constantly improving fitting techniques, alongside evolving technology, you can expect to see more golfers either switch to or take up the game with single-length clubs. Cobra is leading the way in the consumer market, and thanks to greater education, at this point One Length makes up over 30 percent of their irons sales with it expecting to continue to grow. When you consider how many new golfers have been created in 2020, and how One Length clubs help create greater consistency, it should be no surprise to see more of these sets in golf bags moving into 2021.

Price, specs, and availability

The Cobra RadSpeed irons, along with the entire RadSpeed product line, will be available at retail and online starting January 29, 2021.

The RadSpeed variable length irons will be available in a Nickel Chrome finish and come stock 5-gap wedge (7 piece set) in both right and left-handed or 4-PW in right hand only for $899. There is also a graphite combo set which includes a 5 hybrid and goes 6 iron to gap wedge in right hand only for $999.

The stock shafts are KBS Tour 90 in steel and UST Recoil ESX 460 in graphite, along with Lamkin Crossline Connect black grips.

There is also a black PVD finish option available through custom order only for an additional $100 upcharge.

The Cobra RadSpeed ONE Length irons also come in a Nickel Chrome finish and can be differentiated by their black, silver, and blue medallion. They will come stock in a 5-gap wedge (7 piece set) in both right and left-handed for $899, with a graphite combo set which includes 5 hybrid, 6 iron to gap wedge for $999 right-handed.

The ONE Length stock steel shafts are progressive and are made up of KBS Tour 80 (4-6i), KBS Tour 90 (7-9i), and Tour 120 (PW, SW). The graphite stock shafts are also progressive with UST Recoil ESX 460 (4-9i) and the UST Recoil ESX 480 (PW, SW).  The One length grips are the Lamkin Crossline Connect in blue.

Lofts

The 2021 Cobra RadSpeed irons, along with the entire RadSpeed line, will continue to employ Cobra Connect powered by Arccos. Every club comes with an embedded electronic sensor in the grip to automatically record the distance and accuracy of every shot so golfers can track their improvements round-to-round.

For more information, visit www.cobragolf.com.