Cobra Air-X Irons Review

Cobra Air-X Irons Review

In a world of A.I.-designed faces and never-ending talk of tungsten, golfers may feel somewhat overwhelmed by technical jargon when all they want is a set of irons that is easier to hit. While these innovations certainly have their place and undoubtedly enhance performance, the concept of the new Cobra Air-X irons is simple to grasp. Lightweight and forgiving, these irons should help average golfers swing the club faster for longer carries, assisted by increased perimeter weighting of the heads themselves.

Watch Joel Tadman hit the lightweight Cobra Air-X irons in this video review

My on-course testing more than backed this up. They were an absolute pleasure to hit and despite not being aimed at ‘stronger’ players, it didn’t mean I wasn’t able to hit long and accurate approach shots. In fact, the consistency of the ball flight got me thinking whether the shafts in my current irons are too heavy for my dwindling swing speed.

Looks-wise, this iron impresses. The back of the head has lots of design elements and flashes of red that will pop off the shelf while down at address the thick topline and wide sole make it look inviting to hit. There’s a generous amount of offset in the seven iron to compliment the draw bias in the head to help serial slicers overcome their most common miss and I like how the amount of offset is progressive, so the short irons have less of it and therefore look better in the playing position. The satin finish oozes class thanks to the nickel, two-tone chrome plating and should be more durable over time.

You might worry about losing control or awareness of where the clubhead is in space when switching to a lightweight design but I got on with this iron straight away. Cobra has saved 2g in the head and 6g in the grip, pairing these with a 97g FST Ultralite shaft. While you notice the lighter overall feel, it didn’t take long to get used to. This is partly because the club felt very well balanced and seemed to square up naturally through impact.

The other thing I noticed, and inconsistent golfers will really appreciate, is the stable feel off the face and the resulting ball flight. A soft draw seemed easy to replicate and the feel off the face was lively and consistent off what felt like a large area. Even shots struck quite low on the face had ample launch thanks to the deep undercut design and the fact the lofts aren’t super strong here. The 7-iron comes in at 31.5°, which is weaker than most players distance irons and therefore means that slower swingers should still be able to launch the ball sufficiently and maximise carry distance. My average carries with Air-X was similar to the 2022 Forged Tec irons because I was able to increase my speed and the larger head helped provide more ball speed.

Not only are these irons easy to hit but they’re affordable too. Coming in a £599/$700 for a 7-piece set (5-SW) in my opinion, is exceptional value for money. They don’t come in One Length but they are available in graphite (£699) and I think senior golfers, beginners and high handicappers will really enjoy the hitting experience with the Cobra Air-X irons as well as the resulting shots.