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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Whats in the Bag

Kevin Tway WITB 2024 (May)

Published

2 days ago

May 10, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.

Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX

Check out more in-hand photos of Kevin Tway’s clubs here.

5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX

Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)

Check out more in-hand photos of Kevin Tway’s clubs here.

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)

Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: Scotty Cameron Black Baby T

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4

More photos of Kevin Tway’s WITB in the forums.

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Equipment

Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?

Published

2 days ago

May 10, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.

The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?

Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.

When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.

To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.

Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.

“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.

“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”

Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.

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Equipment

Webb Simpson equipment Q&A: Titleist’s new 2-wood, 680 blade irons, and switching to a broomstick Jailbird

Published

2 days ago

May 10, 2024

Andrew Tursky

With seven career wins on the PGA Tour, including a U.S. Open victory, Webb Simpson is a certified veteran on the course. But he’s also a certified veteran in the equipment world, too. He’s a gearhead who truly knows his stuff, and he’s even worked closely with Titleist on making his own custom 682.WS irons.

On Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, I caught up with Simpson to hear about his experience with Titleist’s new prototype 2-wood, how Titleist’s 680 Forged irons from 2003 ended up back in his bag, and why he’s switching into an Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Cruiser broomstick putter this week for the first time.

Click here to read our full story about Simpson’s putter switch on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, or continue reading below for my full Q&A with Simpson at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday.

See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here

GolfWRX: It seems like you’ve been a little all over the place with your irons in the past six months or so, and now going back to the 680’s. Is that just a comfort thing? What’s been going on with the irons?

Webb Simpson: Titleist has been so great at working with me, and R&D, on trying to get an iron that kind of modernizes the 680. And so the 682.WS took the T100 grooves, but kinda took the look and the bulk and the build of the 680’s into one club. They’re beautiful, and awesome looking. I just never hit them that well for a consistent period of time. It was probably me, but then I went to T100’s and loved them. I loved the spin, the trajectory, the yardage, but again, I never went on good runs. Going through the ground, I couldn’t feel the club as well as with the blade. So last week, I’m like, ‘Alright. I’m gonna go back more for…comfort, and see if I can get on a nice little run of ball striking.’

So that’s why I went back.

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OK, that makes sense. I know you had done some 2-wood testing recently. Is that in the bag right now?

It’s like day-by-day. I used it at Hilton Head every day. Valero, I used it one round. And this week, me and my caddie will do the book every morning, and if it’s a day where we think we need it, we’ll just put it in and take the 3-wood out. I love it because it’s a super simple swap. Like, it doesn’t really change much.

Yeah, can you tell me about that club? I mean, we don’t really know anything about it yet. You know? I haven’t hit it or anything, obviously.

It has grooves like a 3-wood. Spin is perfect. And it’s honestly, like, everything is in the middle of a 3-wood and driver number. Trajectory, spin, carry, all of it. So, a Hilton Head golf course is almost too easy to talk about because, you know, there, so many holes are driver 3-wood.

Valero, our thinking was we had two par-5’s into the wind, and we knew that it would take two great shots to get there in two. So instead of hitting driver-driver, we just put it in. And I used it on those holes.

Hilton was a little easier because it was off-the-tee kind of questions. But Colonial will be a golf course where, you know, there’s a lot of driver or 3-woods. It’s kind of like a backup putter or driver for me now. I’ll bring it to every tournament.

So it’s, like, in your locker right now, probably?

Well, it would be. It’s in my house [because Webb lives near by Quail Hollow Club, and is a member at the course.] It’s in the garage.

Oh, yeah, that’s right. Do you know what holes you might use it out here if it goes in play?

Potentially 15, depending on the wind. Second shot on 10. Could be 14 off the tee. The chances here are pretty low (that he’ll use the 2-wood). But, like, Greensboro would be an awesome club all day. I’m trying to think of any other golf courses.

There’s plenty that it’ll be a nice weapon to have.

It’s interesting, the wave of 2-woods and mini drivers. Like, it’s just really taken off on Tour, and all the companies have seemed to embrace it.

Yeah. The thing I had to learn, it took me, like, at least a week to learn about it is you gotta tee it up lower than you think. I kept teeing it up too high. You need it low, like barely higher than a 3-wood. And that was where I got optimal spin and carry. If you tee it up too high, you just don’t get as much spin and lose distance, I don’t know if that’s just a mini driver thing.

And you obviously have a Jailbird putter this week. What spurred that on?

Inconsistent putting. I’m stubborn in a lot of ways when it comes to my equipment, but I have to be open minded – I just hadn’t putted consistently well in a while. And I’m like, ‘Man, I feel my ball-striking coming along. Like I feel better; for real, better.’

If I can just get something in my hands that I’m consistent with. Being on Tour, you see it every year, guys get on little runs. I can put together four to five tournaments where I’m all the sudden back in the majors, or in the FedExCup Playoffs. You can turn things around quick out here. I’m like, ‘Man, whatever’s going to get me there, great.’

My caddie, David Cook, caddied for Akshay at the Houston Open and he putted beautifully. Then, I watched Akshay on TV at Valero, and he putted beautifully. And, I’m like, ‘I’m just going to try it.’

I’ve never tried it for more than a putt or two, and I just ordered what Akshay uses. It was pretty awkward at first, but the more I used it, the more I’m like, ‘Man, it’s pretty easy.’ And a buddy of mine who’s a rep out here, John Tyler Griffin, he helped me with some setup stuff. And he said at Hilton Head, he wasn’t putting well, then tried it, and now he makes everything. He was very confident. So I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll try it.’”

And you’re going with it this week?

Hundred percent.

Alright, I love it. Thank you, I always love talking gear with you. Play well this week.

Thanks, man.

See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here

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