Longest game improvement iron of 2024, Batman would certainly approve of the looks, hot from across the face
Cons
Noticeable wear in the finish after only a few rounds, low spin and flight may not suit players who like to launch it high
Cobra Darkspeed Irons Key Features:
Hollow body construction: creates a thinner and more responsive clubhead structure for improved distance and faster ball speeds
Foam microspheres: injected into the clubhead to provide vibration-dampening, soft feel and a pleasing sound
Progressive TECFLO construction: transitions from a full hollow design with PWR-BRIDGE and PWRSHELL in the 4-7 irons, to full hollow body with no face insert in the 8-PW, to a half hollow design in the GW-SW.
PWRSHELL H.O.T Face: designed using artificial intelligence for a faster, more efficient clubface
Across Cobra's range of Darkspeed clubs, one thing has become very apparent: when it comes to distance, nobody is doing it better right now.
The Darkspeed irons feature a whole host of new distance and feel-improving tech, including a hollow body construction, a PWRSEHLL H.O.T face and PWR-BRIDGE weighting.
One of the most interesting innovations Cobra has utilised for these irons is the TECFLO construction. What TECFLO does is transition the internal construction of each club in order to provide optimal performance throughout the set.
It's laid out like this:
Full hollow design with PWR-BRIDGE and PWRSHELL: 4-7 irons
Full hollow body with no face insert: 8-PW
Half hollow design: GW-SW
What does this equate to? Well, much like varied CG, which we have seen from various brands throughout the years, this changes the profile of each club in order for the spin rates and feel to be suited for different types of shots.
The long irons are designed to provide maximum distance while lower down the bag, workability and feel are the main priority.
Altering the internal construction has allowed Cobra to customise the shot and feel profile of each club. Very smart indeed.
To see how all this new tech would perform, we took the Darkspeed irons out to the wonderful La Hacienda Heathland course in Spain before getting them back to cold and wet England for some data crunching on the GC Quad at Custom Golf Works in Woking.
Let's get into it.
Player Level
The Cobra Darkspeed irons are ideally suited to high handicap or beginner golfers looking to gain distance and forgiveness throughout the bag.
Cobra Darkspeed Irons
Cobra Darkspeed Irons: Looks and Feel
Staying consistent with not only the name of the range but also the entire Darkspeed family of clubs, these irons feature a much darker colour palette than previous iron sets from Cobra.
The main body of the irons features a gunmetal grey finish, with a chrome panel and a hairpin of textured black detailing that surrounds the Cobra branding.
Much like the woods and hybrids in the Darkspeed family, there is definitely a Batman vibe to these irons, and while we weren't blown away by the overall look, we can see this more muted design approach appealing to a vast range of golfers.
From the top down, these clubs have a suitably large profile at address, with a healthy amount of offset and thick topline.
While this address won't suit the eye of the more experienced golfer, it's a look that provides ample reassurance that you will be able to get plenty of head behind the ball in order to launch the ball with ease.
As is the case with a lot of hollow body irons on the market, the sound and feel at impact can be quite clicky, and that is certainly the case with these irons.
On strikes from across the face, there was a suitable amount of feedback, and when struck from the middle, you can really feel how powerful these irons are.
Cobra Darkspeed Irons
Cobra Darkspeed Irons: Performance and Forgiveness
Cobra Darkspeed Irons
As previously mentioned, these clubs are long, very long. In hand, they unleash formidable force, translating to an impressive overall yardage.
As you can see from the above figures, we were able to achieve exceptional distance with these irons, and they have claimed the top spot for the longest game improvement iron of 2024.
Due to the strong lofts of these clubs, they produced a very piercing ball flight, which was quite a bit lower than other models in the category, like the Taylormade Qi Irons.
This translated to a slightly shorter carry distance but a longer total. While those looking to gain yardage will understandably appreciate this added distance, it does come with a trade-off, and that is stopping power.
These irons are low spinning and low launching, which means they aren't optimal for getting your ball to stop on the green.
If we were being picky, we would have liked to see these irons launch a little higher with a bit more spin, thus providing a bit more control when the ball does touchdown.
Having said that, if getting the ball to the green is your main aim, and you sometimes struggle to achieve enough ball speed to do so, these irons will come in very handy.
When we got these irons back to Custom Golf Works, one of the key areas of performance we were keen to dig a little deeper into was forgiveness.
In order to do so, we stacked them up against other models in the category to fully test out ball speeds from across the face combined with offline dispersion.
In terms of speed, these irons were right up there with the best of the best, even from strikes from across the face. The H.O.T. face does do a fantastic job of retaining ball speeds, and the minimal drop off in distance we experienced, especially from strikes high of the heel, was very pleasing to see.
In terms of direction, these irons were also some of the straightest we tested. Our miss was slightly right of target, but when compared to other models in the category, our right miss was five to six yards straighter than its competitors.
There are straighter models out there, but these irons were certainly finishing near the top of the table.
As we've come to expect from Cobra in recent years, its game improvement irons are one of its strongest categories, and this year is no different. The Cobra Darkspeeds are low-launching, low-spinning bullets that produce great speed and a suitable level of forgiveness.
Should you buy the Cobra Darkspeed Irons?
If you are looking to gain distance from your iron setup, then look no further. The Cobra Darkspeed irons excel in the long game, offering golfers the advantage of substantial distance gains with every swing.
While there may be more forgiving and better-looking irons in this category, the Darkspeeds are certainly right up there with the best performers in the category and well worth considering if you are looking to upgrade your bag this year.
Johnny joined GolfMagic as Reviews Editor in 2023 having worked for Sports Impact for two years as Head of Social Media, working alongside prominent golf brands including Galvin Green, Motocaddy and Wilson.
