Equipment

Cobra Fly Z, Fly Z+ and Fly Z Pro Irons

Published

9 years ago

Jan 28, 2015

What do golfers really want from a new set of irons? More distance? More forgiveness? Better looks? Awesome feel? Before Cobra went about designing its new family of irons, its leadership wanted the answers from real golfers.

The consensus? Easy-to-hit irons were important, but feel also scored high in the minds of golfers. With that in mind, Cobra built the Fly-Z family of irons with a focus on feel.

Fly-Z Pro Irons

The Rickie Fowler’s.

If the Fly-Z Pro’s look like the AMP Cell Pro’s to you with a “Fly-Z” badge on them, that observation isn’t terribly far off. According to Cobra, Fowler loves his irons, and doesn’t want to change too much.

[quote_box_center]”Other irons feel crisp, ours feel soft,” Fowler says.[/quote_box_center]

There is one major difference between the AMP Cell Pro irons and the Fly-Z Pro’s, however, which better golfers will notice and tour professionals have had in their irons for years. The Fly-Z Pro’s have a tungsten screw in the toe, a trick that Rickie Fowler uses in his irons to move the center of gravity toward the center of the face, away from the heel.

To improve feel, Cobra uses a five-press forging process, giving the 1020 Carbon Steel forged irons consistent weight, texture and smooth feel throughout the set. They also have milled faces for spin control and small blade lengths with minimal offset — exactly what you’d expect from a tour-caliber iron.

The Fly-Z Pro’s employ a progressive flow-set design — from full muscle (9-PW), to single cavity in the 7-8 irons, to dual cavity in the 3-6 irons. A full set of muscleback irons can be ordered through Cobra’s custom department.

The Fly-Z Pro’s ($899, 3-PW) will be available March 1 and come stock with True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts.

Fly-Z+ Irons

If the thought of blades scares you, but you’re a better player looking for a forged feel, the Fly-Z+ irons are a good iron to test.

The majority of complaints about last year’s Bio Cell+ irons were that they were clanky, clunky and clicky. Cobra took note, and decided to make some changes that will benefit feel players and add a bit more distance and forgiveness as well.

Cobra uses the same 5-press forging process in the Fly-Z+ irons — as well as the same 1020 Carbon Steel — to give them a softer, blade-like feel. There’s also an array of engineering improvements throughout the set for more forgiveness and control where golfers need it.

The mid-to-long irons (3-8) have milled undercuts behind the face to increase perimeter weighting, which leads to more forgiveness on off-center hits. The 3-7 irons have three tungsten weights in the toe and one in the heel to further improve forgiveness on mishits. The tungsten weights also move the center of gravity closer to the center of the face, which improves feel and energy transfer. To further improve feel, each iron has a thermoplastic urethane (TPU) insert with an aluminum backplate that reduces vibrations.

Fly-Z+ irons ($899, 3-PW) will be in stores March 1 and come stock with KBS’ Tour shaft.

Fly-Z Irons

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Cobra’s Fly-Z irons have deep undercuts behind their face, creating a hollow-back design that improves ball speed (for more distance) and adds forgiveness.

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The irons also have Cobra’s new Speed Channels on their soles and faces — you might recall them from the company’s Fly-Z driver and woods line — which help the club faces flex more at impact for more distance.

In order to dampen the sound and feel from the hollow-body construction, Cobra used a harmonic insert in the cavity behind the face.

The Fly-Z irons have the wide soles that are typical of game-improvement irons, but use thinner top lines, medium offset and a more compact shape than previous models for a better look at address.

Cobra also used what it calls progressive spin technology in the irons. The long irons (3-6) have V-grooves for more distance, while the shorter irons (7-PW) have U-shaped grooves for more spin.

The Fly-Z irons ($699, 4-PW) are available in Black, Blue, Orange, Red and White, and will be in retail stores on March 1. Combo sets that include Cobra’s Fly-Z hybrids are also available.

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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

8 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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