Cobra pushes 3D printing to new frontiers with two new 3DP irons

For a while, it's felt as if Cobra has needed something to make the golf world really sit up and say 'wow'. 

This isn't to say Cobra doesn't consistently make good clubs. Their DS-ADAPT drivers and irons, which we loved, were critically acclaimed. However with the brand's presence on tour flagging somewhat amid the mixed fortunes of headline players Max Homa and Rickie Fowler, Cobra is finding itself in the headlines less and less.

Cobra undoubtedly sees embracing bold tech as its way to stand out from the four other major manufacturers in the industry, even if it means occasionally straying from its longtime ethos of undercutting the competition on price. Proof of this came early with the launch of the 3DP Tour irons, the brand's first mass-market 3D-printed iron which have since been adopted by the aforementioned Homa.

Now, Cobra is doubling down further on establishing itself as the chief innovator in 3D-printed clubs, unveiling two new 3D-printed iron models to join the Tour. Both are made using the same 3D-printed process, which fuses thousands of layers of powdered 316 stainless steel with lasers in lieu of traditional forging or casting methods. 

While this may seem like a bit of a gimmick at first glance, 3D printing does offer some benefits over traditional methods. Building clubs layer upon layer allows Cobra not just to achieve a greater level of consistency with its clubs, but experiment with more radical shapes and internal lattice structures to unlock new levels of feel and forgiveness. 

The result is a family of three distinct iron models that, theoretically at least, pack far more forgiveness and distance into a more compact profile. In short, it's allowed them to create a blade iron with Players Distance levels of forgiveness, and a players distance iron that plays like a game-improvement club.

Joining the 3DP Tour are two new models, each aimed at very different levels of golfer. The first, the 3DP MB, is something of a do-it-all iron for better players, with a traditional muscle back profile hiding internal latticing that gives it the forgiveness more akin to a modern hollow-body players model. The result is a blade Cobra calls the most forgiving on the market, and one that could be comfortably played by anyone up to a 10 handicap.

The 3DPX is the second new entry to the line-up, and one that leaves us a little more perplexed. Shaped in more of a players distance iron profile, Cobra says the 3DPX's internal structure and added tungsten weights in the toe and hosel have allowed its engineers to push the CG further back and increase the MOI of the club even more. The result is forgiveness and performance Cobra says akin to that of the DS-ADAPT Max (read: a super game improvement iron) in a smaller profile that'll appeal to a range of golfers between 10 and 20 handicaps.

All three irons share a similar visual profile, defined by super clean edges and a smart lattice pattern that runs along the midline of the club alluding to the tech that lies beneath. This allows not just for a super premium look across the bag and better integration with the similar-looking King wedges, but makes for a more consistent aesthetic package if the irons are worked into a combo set – a trend many brands seem to be favouring of late.

Have Cobra really kickstarted a brand new era in irons, then? It's too early to say, as we're yet to properly review them (watch this space). One immediate drawback, however, is the price. A set of any of these irons will retail at £1899 (around £500 more than a set of forged irons from Titleist or Mizuno). Even for a players iron, this is a lot of money. In the case of the 3DPX, a club that can reasonably be called a game improvement iron, it's an even bigger outlay. 

Will they justify the price tag, and even if they do, will anyone be willing to stump up the cash and buy them? Only time will tell.