Cobra Darkspeed, Darkspeed One-Length irons

Gear: Cobra Darkspeed, Darkspeed One-Length irons
Price: $999 (4-PW or 5-GW) with KBS Tour Lite steel shafts and Lamkin Crossline grips.
Specs: Hollow-bodied long and mid-irons with 17-4 stainless steel faces, 431 stainless steel chassis, CNC-milled grooves and internal weights.
Available: Jan. 11 presale, Jan. 19 in stores

Who They’re For: Mid- and higher-handicap golfers who struggle with inconsistent contact, need more distance and want more height on their shots.

The Skinny: The hollow-body design, low center of gravity and vibration-dampening foam combine to give the Darkspeed irons more ball speed, greater height and a softer feel at impact.

The Deep Dive: Rickie Fowler and Justin Rose broke through and won again on the PGA Tour in 2023, and both players used Cobra irons. In Fowler’s case, it was Cobra King Forged Tour irons, while Rose used a blended set of a Cobra King Tour (4), King CB (5-6) and  King MB (7-PW). As might be expected, all those clubs are designed for accomplished ballstrikers with powerful, repeatable swings.

Conversely, most amateur players likely would benefit from a game-improvement iron that delivers more distance and more forgiveness on mis-hit shots. That is the type of iron Cobra set out to make with the new Darkspeed and Darkspeed One-Length.

The Darkspeed irons have a reassuringly thick topline and some offset to help mid-handicap golfers square the face more effectively on the downswing.

Shop Cobra Darkspeed One-Length irons

The PWR Shell face wraps into the sole, while the PWR Bridge lowers the center of gravity. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

Inside the heads of the 4-iron through pitching wedge, the Darkspeed irons are hollow to allow the thin 17-4 stainless steel faces to flex more efficiently at impact. The sand wedge and gap wedge are half-hollow, with an open chamber behind the hitting area. 

Cobra gave the 4-iron through 7-iron a PWRShell face, which is 21 percent thinner than the face of last season’s AeroJet iron and wraps under the leading edge of the club and into the sole to broaden the sweet spot. 

These irons also were designed with a single post in the head that supports a weight that designers call a PWR-Bridge. It extends from the heel to the toe, lowers the center of gravity and helps golfers hit higher-flying, faster-stopping shots.

The H.O.T. Face is designed to protect ball speed on mis-hits. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

The hitting area and grooves have been CNC-milled to ensure the…