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Bryson DeChambeau unveils Cobra One-Length prototype irons

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When Bryson DeChambeau turned professional earlier this year, he signed an equipment contract with Cobra-Puma, but wasn’t quick to make the switch to Cobra irons. That’s because his previous set, made by Edel Golf, was a specially engineered set of single-length irons — a rare setup in which every iron has the same length and lie angles, but different lofts.

After spending more than a week at Cobra’s Headquarters in Carlsbad just a few weeks ago, however, DeChambeau finally found irons from the company that he’s comfortable bagging.

A look at the prototypes before the tape was removed.

A look at the prototypes before the duct tape was removed.

DeChambeau put new Cobra prototype irons in the bag at the RBC Canadian Open, but since they were covered in duct tape to guard against photographers from nosey equipment sites (such as, say… GolfWRX) we weren’t able to see much of the technology. At this week’s Travelers Championship, however, the tape came off and we were able to catch a glimpse at his new, single-length Cobra “Forged One-Length” irons.

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Specs

The swing weight for each of DeChambeau’s irons is C7.5, and their lengths are 37.5 inches. Below are his lofts:

  • 3 iron: 20 degrees
  • 5 iron: 25 degrees
  • 6 iron: 30 degrees
  • 7 iron: 34 degrees
  • 8 iron: 38 degrees
  • 9 iron: 42 degrees
  • PW:     46 degrees

Related: In-hand photos of all of Bryson DeChambeau’s clubs

To learn more, we spoke to the Vice President of Research and Development at Cobra, Tom Olsavsky, about the switch, and discussed what makes fitting DeChambeau so difficult.

“He’s not into the feel of a club,” Olsavsky says. “He has a method and setup to make a repeatable motion. The mechanical swing allows him to just let the club do the work.”

With his repeatable, physics-based swing, it’s imperative that each of DeChambeau’s irons perform exactly to his needs. And the changes DeChambeau requires due to his unique swing don’t necessarily come off the rack. For example, he needs his irons to have 73-degree lie angles. That’s astoundingly more upright than standard irons, which generally range between 60-64 degrees in an iron set.

“Each set takes about a week to build,” Olsavsky says. “He has upright lie angles… so we have to bend them very up and grind the soles. We use a lot of the same technologies that we do in our new irons, but the milling and cutting are set to the way he likes it.”

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Based on his long-time work with swing coach Mike Schy, DeChambeau developed an unconventional approach to the game based around a single-plane swing. His motion and his club heads aren’t the only thing different, though; he also has tremendously large grips on his clubs, too.

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According to Olsavsky, Bryson’s theory is that in no other sport do athletes use sticks that have a grip as small as a golf club, so why should golf clubs have small grips when no other sport does? He also holds the grip of a club more in the palm of his hands than golfers with conventional swings, so using his extra-large grips provides more control.

“He’s not tied to convention,” Olsavsky says. “He wants to know how we can make [clubs] better.”

While DeChambeau was on the 9-to-10-day trip to Cobra headquarters, he was given full access to the facilities, and he spent most of his time hitting balls on the range, sitting down with Cobra’s R&D team to learn from the engineers, but also teaching them things, according to Olsavsky. As a physics major at Southern Methodist University, he’s a sponge for scientific knowledge, especially about golf club design. He “studies stats like a hawk,” Olsavsky says, and is very interested in performance stats. Plus, he studies the biomechanics of the golf swing, which he wants to “take it to the next level.”

Every golfer on the PGA Tour strives to be better; it’s just that DeChambeau does things a bit differently. Surely that’s not a problem with the 2015 U.S. Amateur and NCAA Men’s Individual Champion, because like Oslavsky says, he’s not tied to convention.

Related: See what GolfWRX members are saying about DeChambeau’s irons in our forums.

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He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

61 Comments

61 Comments

  1. Pingback: Cobra One Length Irons – Billy Bondaruk on Golf

  2. 300 Yard Pro

    Aug 7, 2016 at 1:47 am

    100% total headcase. Needs to quit worrying about stats and just play golf or else he is going to end up on the Iranian Golf Tour.

  3. Messico Smizzle

    Aug 6, 2016 at 9:34 pm

    prego

  4. Shallowface

    Aug 5, 2016 at 9:04 am

    One nice thing about the Armour EQLs that should be in included on any new efforts for single length irons is extra long grips in the 7 iron through the wedges. I have an EQL 7 iron with its original grip and it is 12.25 inches long as opposed to the standard of that time which was 10.75 inches (and many grips today are shorter than that). Longer grips allow one to choke down to a more familiar position for short game shots, and would be best if they were designed with reduced taper under the trail hand as some grips are being made today.

  5. Shallowface

    Aug 4, 2016 at 5:36 pm

    If this method was truly revolutionary, shouldn’t we be seeing dominance from Bryson with multiple wins and high finishes by this point? Fact is, his record to date has no wins and is as spotty as a hundred other guys. I like him and hope he is successful, but there’s nothing about this to indicate that it is a better way to play. The results speak for themselves.

    • tzed

      Aug 9, 2016 at 11:37 am

      The US Amateur and NCAA Individual are not wins? Golf is hard, no matter how you swing.

  6. jgpl001

    Aug 4, 2016 at 3:37 pm

    Cobra can’t even sell their std line of clubs, these would be a total flop….????

    After Nike your next Cobra

    What’s that I hear -walking the mile, walking the green mile…..

    Best of luck to Bryson though, he’s a good guy and a real good player

  7. Kevin

    Aug 3, 2016 at 2:39 pm

    Hi, What about Tom Wishon Golf and the SL clubs he has designed? Kevin

  8. sean

    Aug 3, 2016 at 1:28 pm

    I like the idea of single length long irons, 3,4,5,6,7 but not in the short irons and wedges.

  9. talljohn777

    Aug 3, 2016 at 12:58 pm

    Hear the Crowd ROAR!!!

  10. todd the golf guy

    Aug 3, 2016 at 12:53 pm

    I spent several months looking into SL irons. Then several months building my PinHawl set. I have spent most of the summer refining my understanding of how to controll distances given differing elevation and temperature. I have limited time to practice and believe that once you have learned the set up SL irons allow you to practice and play more consistantly. There are a lot of posts on this topic, but I would like to try to answer a few of the issues mentioned. I could not see playing my set with the swing weight that the head produces. So I had to weight the but of the shaft with 22gm plugs. I doubt that a fat grip would do it alone. I alsothink that for SO to take off Cobra would need Bryson to win a few events and develop an educational program to help the public transition into SL irons. The gaps on my PinHawks were very frustrating at first until I learned how to make ball placement and limited backswing adjustments. Now that I have those figured out I have 3 yard gaps from 185 yards down to 40 yards. One reason I lake the SO irons is that with only 1variable (loft) I can calculate other variables without hours on the range. ( temperature and ball carry, and because some clubs overlap with limited backswing or ball placement I can pick my distance and trajectory.)

  11. Tommy Lejund

    Aug 3, 2016 at 12:33 pm

    Now maybe he’ll stop tinkering and start competing.

  12. Howard Garson

    Aug 3, 2016 at 12:30 pm

    Golfers are really funny in how they think. The vast majority think that if they play the same equipment as someone who is many orders of magnitude better than they are, it will be the right clubs for them. Every golfer is different, and there is nothing in golf that works for everyone. The key is to go to someone who has been trained to get you into the right clubs. For the irons, it could be single length, or it could be variable length. A forged blade or max game improvement. Graphite shaft or steel. 45 gram shaft, 130 gram shaft or something in between. Length, flex profile, grip size and many more things to see what is right for you. If Bryson never makes another cut or becomes the #1 player in the world will not change what is the right iron for a single golfer. The right iron, driver, etc. is the one the player hits the best.

  13. Mike Honcho

    Aug 3, 2016 at 12:03 pm

    Proof will be in the performance pudding. I say he’s on the Web for 3 years, takes him another 3 after that to win on the Tour and that’ll be in Puerto Rico or Lake Tahoe.

    • leo vincent

      Aug 4, 2016 at 1:41 am

      Totally disagree if he is forced to the Web.com tour he will be a stand out player easily getting his tour card for next year where he will make a ton of money for many years even if he doesn’t win a lot of tourneys.His swing method is very easy on the body and he will be able to play with out the injuries that other players deal with.I see him being a Matt Kuchar type player consistent but not dominant.Time will tell who is correct but based on his wins in the NCAA and U S Am. his Masters showing and a top 5 on tour this yr the odds seem to be in his favor.

    • Al Pena

      Sep 28, 2016 at 6:45 am

      Well, he got his card alright. I guess you were mistaken.

  14. Rachel

    Aug 3, 2016 at 11:54 am

    Awesome! No doubt they are coming to market and I love the “ForgedOne”name. Interesting too that in his long irons he has 5 degree gapping, and in the short irons 4 degree gapping which makes more sense in a single length set. The Pinhawk SL’s have this correct gapping and for some reason the Sterling Irons don’t. Love my Pinhawks and can’t wait to see the price on these Cobra Forged Ones!

    • joejoeJ

      Aug 26, 2016 at 7:20 am

      The sterling irons are forged in the 8-sw. The 5-7 are not forged and have higher cor (springy faces) so the lofts gaps didn’t need to be increased.

  15. cody

    Aug 3, 2016 at 10:36 am

    while i think this interesting, i am still not convinced that this works for the general masses, or that Bryson is the mad genius that everyone thinks he is.

    • 300 Yard Pro

      Aug 7, 2016 at 1:50 am

      Try it before you knock it. The Pinhawk irons are garbage. The Wishon SLs are outstanding. They are not for everyone though.

  16. Tom

    Aug 3, 2016 at 10:25 am

    Bazinga!

  17. AB

    Aug 2, 2016 at 9:18 pm

    Tommy Armour did this YEARS ago – in the 80s(?) . No one bought them – they were called EQL

    • Bobtrumpet

      Aug 3, 2016 at 11:20 am

      Wrong, wrong, wrong. Not even close. SMH …

      • Locode

        Aug 3, 2016 at 12:07 pm

        No, actually that is correct.

        • Brian

          Aug 3, 2016 at 12:16 pm

          No, actually that is wrong. All the EQL’s did was place their current iron heads on the same length shafts. Modern day SL clubs make all the iron heads weigh the same. HUGE difference. Plus, if I recall correctly, golf clubs have made a minor jump in technology since the 80’s?????

          • Shallowface

            Aug 4, 2016 at 5:14 pm

            No, actually that is wrong. All of the EQLs were the same length AND weight as a six iron of that day. And while they never sold in huge numbers, they were available from 1989 through 1994. Six years is a pretty good run. And, regarding technology, while hybrids have been a major advancement in equipment and the driver has gone from the most difficult club in the bag to hit to the easiest, there really has been very little advancement in irons. It just isn’t possible while trying to retain something close to a conventional appearance, and putting a “9” on a 7 iron isn’t technological advancement. I know facts aren’t all that popular around here, but those are the facts.

          • Shallowface

            Aug 4, 2016 at 5:49 pm

            The EQLs all weighed the same, based on the length and weight of a six iron of that day. And, while they never sold in huge numbers, they were available for six years.

            • Shallowface

              Aug 5, 2016 at 5:07 am

              I wouldn’t have posted twice if posts showed up the second you click the post comment button. It’s a problem this site has, at least occasionally.

    • Christopher

      Aug 4, 2016 at 10:20 am

      The single length set idea has been knocking around for years, but it’s been reinvigorated by Bryson and a few others. The problem with the older sets were that you just couldn’t get the same performance out of a three-iron with an eight-iron shaft, you’d just hit low bullets (try hitting a junior club from a few years back). As technology has progressed we’ve gotten to a point where we can build long irons which produce higher launch angles and have the shorter shafts. The idea has always been around, but the performance has been lacking.

    • 300 Yard Pro

      Aug 7, 2016 at 1:53 am

      I laugh everytime someone tries to compare the EQL to the Wishons. That’s like comparing a homebuilt SL set to the Wishons.

  18. Tom

    Aug 2, 2016 at 7:59 pm

    TAAA DAAAA! Two set of single length irons on the market now.

    • db

      Aug 3, 2016 at 2:29 am

      Who said Cobra are going to sell them? Duh dumb

  19. Uncle Buck

    Aug 2, 2016 at 7:27 pm

    @D.Querehote’, Uh yeah you got it pall. EARN THE HYPE, then you can hang out in the van down by the river! I’m up to here with the next world dominator. And some alleged genius, check my spelling Q, with taped and stitched together one length clubs ain’t earned IT yet! And just because 14 22″ clubs work ‘allegedly’ great for him, doesn’t mean I have to buy into the nonsense. As I’ve said 23 times before, win a significant professional tournament, THEN bring your hype truck down my street. Why not promote someone that really deserves the hype, someone that has several wins and a host of majors to their credit……………like Sergio “Oh No” Garcia!! Oops! Forgot, he’s still not good enough to win a major. Well, at least that’s what he thinks! Serve him up a set of one lengths, maybe they’ll work for the Spaniard. Idn’t his driver 39″ or somethin’? Hahaha!! Love this wacky site!

    • Donald Quiote

      Aug 3, 2016 at 12:05 am

      @UncleBuck I will reply here since I believe your response here was directed at my message below but for some reason you did not actually reply to that. First of all I will admit I find Bryson interesting and quirky. If he manages to get it going he will be an interesting individual on the PGA tour. I think that is a good thing. Secondly…I think you are forgetting he is a popular person coming out on tour because of the success he had as an Am. He is only the 5th person every to hold the US Am and the NCAA DI title in the same year. 4 of those people are huge names… you may recognize them Jack, Phil, Tiger..the last is Ryan Moore (not as big a name but still you get the point…the others just needed the first name to recognize). He got to compete in 2 majors this year: Masters 21st (and was competitive a good chunk of the weekend) and US open T15th. That is a pretty solid start to a career. This site has posted many articles about his clubs because that is what this site does. It is about posting new equipment and things people are trying. If you don’t want to read about him or his clubs then quit going into links that say things like Bryson DeChambeau unveils Cobra One-Length prototype irons”

    • birdy

      Aug 3, 2016 at 9:00 am

      are you on crack. sometimes i think people forget how good these guys on pga really are. they are top 125 in their profession….in a profession played by millions worldwide.

      • Donald Quiote

        Aug 3, 2016 at 10:13 am

        Nailed it! The world of professional golf is a tough one. So many great players trying to get those few spots available on the PGA tour each year.

    • Charlie

      Aug 4, 2016 at 1:48 am

      He’said using the same length woods, wedges and putter?

  20. EagleM.

    Aug 2, 2016 at 5:32 pm

    OH I need to buy that set. Here is my money..

  21. Donald Quiote

    Aug 2, 2016 at 4:53 pm

    Wait did Bryson take that epoxy he was using to make these irons super ugly in the post from 2 weeks ago on here? Ohhhhhh wait you mean it was just tape to conceal the irons from the public at the time? I thought the crazies on here were right and it was all his mad scientist approach and uglying up irons and changing swing weights and all that jazz?!?!?! Geez it was just tape… who would have thought that…

    • JR

      Aug 2, 2016 at 8:42 pm

      What do you expect? Commenters here are a red hair above commenters on a political website.

  22. Philip

    Aug 2, 2016 at 4:36 pm

    I would think any swing is based on physics and every pro needs clubs performing exactly to their needs to play on tour.

    • Donald Quiote

      Aug 2, 2016 at 4:54 pm

      You would think by peoples reactions to him on this site that every tour player was playing irons at standard L/L/L and it was all off the rack equipment…

    • BD57

      Aug 2, 2016 at 7:53 pm

      suspect that swingweight is a function of the weight of the Jumbomax grips, that the heads are “standard weight.”

  23. Uncle Buck

    Aug 2, 2016 at 3:59 pm

    DeSham who? One length? Did he win, place, or show at da PGA? Oh, ok.

    • Donald Quiote

      Aug 2, 2016 at 4:51 pm

      Try not to let the few brain cells you have fall out there Uncle Buck. Bryson was not in the PGA field. I am not sure what peoples expectations are for Bryson at this point. He is a rookie on the PGA tour… Should he have won every tournament since turning pro? He is playing off a few exemptions and sponsors exemptions and he has had some solid performances this year on the big stages. Uncle Buck just does not want Bryson on his yard… “GET OFF MY YARD BOY!”

    • Charlie

      Aug 4, 2016 at 1:50 am

      Did Palmer or Nicklaus?

  24. Adrien Jenot

    Aug 2, 2016 at 3:44 pm

    It goes to show how yardage gaps can be achieved with purely loft. It’s pretty much 4 degree across the short sticks and 5 on the 5 & 3 iron, I wonder what the yardage on these is for him? I would love to have a set made like this for myself at 7 iron length, you would have to get custom fitted and blow half a saturday hitting into a screen but it would be interesting.

  25. AE

    Aug 2, 2016 at 3:44 pm

    is it possible for Cobra to start selling single irons from such setup, like offer a 6 or 7 iron for sale, for tinkers to try out the concept.

    • db

      Aug 3, 2016 at 2:33 am

      Why? What lie angle do you need? Probably the standard one. Which is still flatter than Bryson’s. Cobra isn’t going to custom build different lie angle irons for every golfer that wants a single-length club. Takes too much money to have every lie angle of single length heads ready to go. What part of that don’t you understand from this?
      So just grab a regular 7 iron and swing that, and imagine that every iron will feel about the same with the same length, or whatever length you decide to work.

    • John Muir

      Aug 3, 2016 at 12:09 pm

      AE:

      I think you’d do better trying a 5 iron or PW at the single length standard length (37.5″ in this example). The 7 iron would play like a standard 7 iron. I was kicking around doing this in a component set for folks to try.

      John

    • 300 Yard Pro

      Aug 7, 2016 at 1:59 am

      What do you expect to learn by hitting a single 7 iron? It would be the same as the 7 iron already in your bag.

  26. G.W

    Aug 2, 2016 at 3:03 pm

    Very cool,wonder if they will make a retail version.

    • db

      Aug 3, 2016 at 2:35 am

      NO.
      What lie angle do you need, for you to change your swing to the one-plane, giant grip method that you might employ to copy this method? They are not going to be making heads with lie-angles that cover the angles from 60 thru 73 so that people can just to “try” a new single-length extremely upright swing style.

      • snowexcuse

        Aug 3, 2016 at 10:19 am

        If they do market them then they will make them the standard lie angle of a 6 or 7 iron. You don’t NEED an upright swing to play single length clubs, and they wont come standard with Jumbo grips.

        This set was produced in a factory and then hand customized for Bryson’s weird swing. Have some sense.

      • Donald Quiote

        Aug 3, 2016 at 11:02 am

        I am not interested in playing single length myself but I think the irons look good. Would think they would do ok on the market.

    • Tom

      Aug 3, 2016 at 10:42 am

      This from a prior article. “A proper fitting is important for any club or set of clubs, but with single-length irons it’s especially important since the weight, lie angle, length and shaft will be identical for all of your irons. If something is slightly off, then it will be slightly off for every single iron in your bag. So make sure to get it right”

      • Lou

        Aug 3, 2016 at 2:50 pm

        This isn’t particularly ground breaking. My grandpa had a custom set of single-length irons made for him 40 years ago by Browning because of his upright swing style. It didn’t help his game out much but he considered it a fun experiment. I doubt they’ll be made available to the public given the very small demand there will be for them.

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