July 8, 2013 – Of all the novelties that Cobra Golf has launched this season within the AMP Cell family, perhaps the irons are the ones that have gone least noticed, up to now. I believe we are seduced by the appealing adjustability of the drivers, wisely passed on to the fairway woods and hybrids, while the irons don’t appear to offer the same attraction as the metalwoods for the golf bag.

The R&D staff of Cobra Golf don’t generally get out of the office much. But when they created the new AMP Cell irons with the legacy of E9 Face Technology, with the face lightened through the mesh in the cavity, and the unique metalwood face-welded construction, they strode out of the CAD design station laboratory to hit a few shots.

The E9 Face makes the face work intelligently, as the spots where mishits usually happen are more forgiving. And fewer mishits mean more precision in your shots. And to help us to go further with the irons, they have ‘plasma welded’ a powerful thin steel face to a softer stainless steel body, in order to increase ball speed at impact. In other words, Cobra engineers have created an iron as a driver! Have these scientists gone mad?

Thanks to the internal cellular structure of the iron, the customizable chassis allows you to adjust the loft and lie to fine tune your accuracy. To complete the creation, the leading edge of the sole is reduced for a smooth interaction with the turf. Well, there’s still more… it comes with one of the highest quality shafts of the moment, the Fujikura Fuel, and is available in four colours. You can choose from silver, orange, blue and red. Ha!, you’d think they can’t be legal for the USGA, but they are.

On the driving range of Terramar GC in Sitges (Barcelona, Spain) we put the irons in the hands of Toni Alcázar, club pro and Director of El Doctor Golf, to analysis them. We hit a couple of buckets of golf balls first with a 7-iron, Regular graphite shaft, and then with a Stiff steel shaft. And he had no doubts at all:

• 

  These irons have greatly surprised me, I’m even wondering if I shouldn’t be playing with them myself.

• I find them easy, complete, with a good piercing ball flight. Sometimes this type of easy golf club makes the ball go very high, but this one doesn’t.

• Without being a forged clubhead, the feeling of impact is really nice. Its head is like that of a soft club, even with the graphite shaft, although with the steel shaft you get more feedback.

• In terms of forgiveness, I hit a couple of shots a little towards the heel, not perfectly, and the balls have reacted pretty straight, with no fade. Then I hit a pair towards the toe and I didn’t get an exaggerated draw. If you mishit with other golf clubs the golf ball moves a lot, but not with this one.

• What I like most is that it has a small cut in the sole, which greatly favours the clubs contact with the ground. Sometimes when clubs have a wide sole, the club bounces when a medium-high handicap makes a bad hit. However, this has the ability to let the club dig in and even lift a divot if necessary, yet the club comes clean out.

• It certainly has a place in lots of players’ golf bags. From handicap 24 to, I’d say, the professional player.

COBRA GOLF AMP CELL IRONS

• Clubs reviewed:  Irons with AMP Cell Regular graphite and Dynamic Gold Stiff steel shafts.
• Tester: Toni Alcázar (33). Pro of El Doctor Golf.

DESIGN	[rating: level=”5″]
DISTANCE	[rating: level=”5″]
ACCURACY	[rating: level=”5″]
FORGIVENESS	[rating: level=”5″]
FEELING	[rating: level=”5″]
OPTIONS	[rating: level=”5″]
VALUE	[rating: level=”5″]
FOR…	Pros, Low and Medium Handicaps
AVERAGE	[rating: level=”5″]

  With their intelligent design, theses are extraordinary irons in distance and accuracy. Easy, forgiving, consistent and reliable if you’re looking to get your maximum potential without worries.

  Nothing against. If you are looking for the feel of forged irons try the Cobra AMP Forged, which offer playability and forgiveness, and if you like blade, the AMP Cell Pro are endorsed by Rickie Fowler.

TECHNICAL FEATURES

Metalwood face-weld construction with E9 Face Technology: Creates a high COR zone and controls weighting with a lighter, high-strength face for explosive distance and forgiveness.

AMP Cell Technology: Distributes weight from the face and body to créate perimeter weighting and positions CG behind the Sweet Zone.

V-Skid Sole Design: Sulpted sole configuration that improves turf interaction for all swing types.

Head material: 3-7 irons, 431SS Body plasma welded to a high strentgh 17-4SS Face; 8-LW, 1-pc 431SS. Grip: Cobra Lamkin REL 3GEN 360. Shaft (swingweight): Graphite Cobra AMP Ceel Iron (D1; PW-GW, D2; SW-LW, D3); Steel True Temper Dynalite 90 (D3; PW-GW, D4; SW-LW, D5). Flex: S, R, Lite, Lady. Colours: Silver, Orange, Blue, Red. Lefthanded: Yes. Lady: Yes.

RRP: 4-PW Steel, 699 €; 5-PW Graphite, 689 €.

Toni Alcázar is a golf profesional at El Doctor Golf.
More information at Hirapesa, tel. 93 475 20 30 and www.cobragolf.com.
Fotos: ©MyGolfWay.

Por REDACCIÓN