Cobra King F8 Irons

Cobra King F8 Irons Review - Thinner faces and new CG positioning should contribute to improved all-round performance but did the King F8 irons deliver?

Cobra King F8 Irons Review

A modern but simple looking club, the King F8 iron is built primarily for distance. Now, the 4-7 iron within the set is hollow like a hybrid, providing faster ball speeds and we certainly experienced that in our testing.

It’s large down by the ball without looking especially game improver. The thick topline and offset inspire confidence for inconsistent ball strikers that help is at hand and clip a few balls away you certainly feel that you haven’t got to strike the sweetspot to achieve good distance.

Much of the distance will come from the lofting, construction and the tweak in CG positioning. The 7-iron has a loft of 29.5˚, which is still strong by modern standards, and the CG has been lowered through a shortening of the hosel.

Out of the middle, the ball flies off like a rocket. The face feels hot like a hybrid, which is great for distance, but sounds more like an iron and it was surprisingly consistent. Our average carry distance on the GC2 was in excess of 183 yards with shots ranging from 181 to 187 yards. The impressive yardage is great for golfers who always seem to come up short of the green on approach shots.

The spin was a touch low at 4800 rpm but not surprising given the low loft and the iron had no trouble in launching the ball, getting it up at nearly 19˚ and peaking at 37 yards. You’ll notice how we also didn’t hit many shots offline, such was the forgiveness of the face on a wide area.

The short irons feel softer and less explosive than the longer irons and the addition of the Versatile Grind on the speciality wedges should appeal to lower handicaps who like to be more creative around the green.

Improvements have also been made in the One Length set through adjustment of the hosel lengths and use of flighted shafts, which means golfers should see more consistent trajectories. The One Length hybrid is a curious addition and while the benefits of a hybrid over a long iron should be obvious, we didn’t get on with it as well as expected as you can see in our King F8 hybrid review.