Cobra King Forged Tec 2020 Irons
When I first saw the 2020 Cobra King Forged Tec irons, I thought, “these are some of the best looking modern irons I’ve seen!” Now that I’ve had the chance to test the 2020 Forged Tec irons, I’ve learned they’re about much more than just good looks. Though they have somewhat of a traditional player’s club look, Cobra packed key technologies under the hood to enhance distance, feel, and playability for the better modern golfer. If that isn’t enough, Cobra is once again featuring Cobra Connect powered by Arccos as a stock option.
The Looks
Though definitely more on the player’s side, the Cobra King Forged Tec irons will not be mistaken for a blade. The topline is a touch thicker than you’d find on a blade, though still on the player-friendly “small” end of the spectrum. I also wouldn’t consider the head size notably small, but rather a comfortable medium footprint. There is some offset, but it’s minimal and in line with other irons of its class. Cobra does a good job of cleanly blending the offset into the hosel for a better look at address.
But I’m going to be honest – I think the overall look of the 2020 Forged Tec iron is amazing. Cobra delivered classic style with perfect lines that give you a feel of elegance mixed with modern engineering. I think it will be tough for any other iron in the player’s/distance category to look this good in 2020.
How Does it Feel?
The 2020 Cobra King Forged Tec irons are easily some of the hottest and most forgiving irons I’ve ever felt. A player’s iron rarely has the life and forgiveness that this King Forged Tec has. Cobra went through a lot of effort to tune this feel. First, it’s important to remember that the Forged Tec is a hollow head. The hollow cavity is then “infused with foam” to both fine tune its sound and its feel. Add in the forged PWRSHELL face and you have a forgiving face with tons of speed.
It’s also worth noting that Cobra really dialed in the center of gravity (CG) with the Forged Tec irons, especially in the longer irons. You’ll notice that each iron has a tungsten screw in the toe. This weighting pulls the sweet spot more toward the center of the face. Additionally, Cobra put tungsten weight bars in the bottom of the face to lower the CG in the long irons. This helps get a higher launch angle for more carry, but also makes the longer irons feel much more forgiving.
One last point I want to cover in the Feel section is the turf interaction. The way the Forged Tec cut through the turf – 4 iron through pitching wedge – really stood out to me. Between the wrap-around PWRSHELL face and the highly-tuned CG, the soles made nice crisp divots through the turf without digging every time. It felt almost as if I eliminated fat shots altogether. Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll find a way this Spring! Also, the expanded sweet spot means that if you catch the ball higher on the face, you won’t be punished. Shots where you may dig a little deeper in the turf are still catching a sweet part of the face and flying.
How Does it Sound?
Normally I’d expect a hollow iron head, even with foam in it, to sound slappy, and…well…hollow. That said, as more modern clubs have gone down this route, they’ve made great strides to improve this sound and give better players a more preferable tone. The Cobra King Forged Tec is one of those clubs. Its face may be hollow aside from foam microspheres used to tune the sound and feel, but you wouldn’t guess it based on what you hear at impact. As long as you make a reasonable strike, the sound is a solid “thwack.” Due to the larger sweet spot, there is quite a bit of liberty in maintaining this sound across the face.
Referring back to that turf interaction, the Forged Tec makes a nice crisp “rip” sound through the turf. There isn’t much deviation from this sensation all the way through the set. You might get a little more “thump” in the 9 iron or pitching wedge depending on your swing.
On-Course Performance
Cobra’s primary goal for the 2020 Forged Tec was to blend “distance and playability in a compact muscle back shape preferred by better players.” First, let’s start by being perfectly open and transparent about the lofts. Yes, the lofts are about 3º stronger throughout most of the set. However, this has been a common trend with “player’s distance” irons in recent history. I will tell you this though – the 2020 Cobra King Forged Tec irons are LONG!
Where Cobra is helping you get extra distance in the Forged Tec is with the hotter face and the lower and wider center of gravity. This translated to consistently higher ball speeds as well as a higher launch for more carry in my testing. The higher launch was especially beneficial in the longer irons making them easier to get flying but also in holding greens with a more vertical drop as opposed to a flatter landing with more roll out.
At first you may find that the shorter irons fly a little high as well. By no means is it a balloon, but I know good strikers like that flat flight sometimes. Fortunately, the King Forged Tec is also designed to be plenty workable as demanded by better ball strikers. Throughout the set, I was able to shape the ball and adjust trajectories on command. I will be honest and admit that it took me a little time to be able to flight the short irons down, but it was no problem as I got used to the clubs. Of course, installing a lower-launching shaft would help if you prefer to play a bit of a lower flight as your stock shot.
COBRA CONNECT – Powered by Arccos
Cobra continues to implement its COBRA CONNECT technology in stock grips across its club lineup. This technology gives you seamless integration with Arccos platforms throughout the entire bag to automatically track your stats on a mobile device during a round of golf. With this data, you’ll be able to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of your game making your practice sessions more efficient. Not only that, the same data will help you make better decisions when it comes to equipment selection or setup. I’ve found COBRA CONNECT to be very useful and a nice added bonus to Cobra equipment since they’ve rolled it out across the board.
If you want to learn more details about COBRA CONNECT, you can check it out here on Cobra’s website.
Final Thoughts – Cobra King Forged Tec 2020 Irons
Look, I’ll openly admit that I’ve been a big Cobra Golf supporter for quite some time. I genuinely think the equipment has deserved lots of credit for the past six or seven years. But I’ll tell you what – the 2020 King Forged Tec irons have impressed me more than almost anything they’ve made in that time frame. That’s saying something if you read some of my older Cobra iron reviews. The longer distances were nice and all, but the forgiveness and playability were as good as anything I’ve ever hit. Also, let’s not forget how good these irons look. Cobra managed to put together quite the total package in the 2020 King Forged Tec irons and I won’t be surprised to see these end up in a lot of bags this season. They’re certainly contending for a spot in my bag.
Stock Cobra King Forged Tec 2020 Irons Specs
| Club # | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | PW | GW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loft º | 19º | 21º | 23º | 26º | 29.5º | 34º | 39º | 44º | 49º |
| Lie º | 60.5º | 61.5º | 62º | 62.5º | 63º | 63.5º | 64º | 64.5º | 64.5º |
| Length | 39.25″ | 38.75″ | 38.25″ | 37.75″ | 37.25″ | 36.75″ | 36.25″ | 36″ | 35.75″ |
Hey Bill,
thanks for the great review. I find the loft gapping a little strange, how did they gap for you on the course/range?
I am especially concerned about the bunched up lofts in the longer irons vs the larger gaps at the shorter end.
Thanks in advance
Moritz
I haven’t noticed any issues personally. I just had to get used to getting more length and height out of the irons and then dial in from there.
How do you compare the Cobra forged tech irons to the Tailor-made P790?
Pretty similar, but I’d say the Cobea has a little more response and a smoother feel.
Did you notice a considerable amount of offset? Their website lists quite a bit of offset compared to say the Ping I500 and TM P790. Was wondering if it looked as much as what’s listed on the specs. Looking at these or something similar but don’t want to be looking down at a lot of offset.
I can’t really compare to the other brands. What I will say is that I Legitimately think they did an incredible job blending the offset into these irons. I won’t try and tell you it’s not there, but the transition is smooth.
Hey Bill.
Currently play 716 AP2. Some days I hit them great, other days, not so much. I know most of it is my swing but I cant help but wonder if I should be playing something that allows me to swing a bit easier. 7i goes 165 with a very high ball flight. Stops within a foot or so.
Big on feel and don’t want something too big behind the ball. I never seem to get as crisp as a stike. Thinking about these or maybe the 919 Forged. Any opinion on feel/forgiveness between them all?
REALLY appreciate any help you can give. No real fitters within 3 hours of me!
I’d say the Forged Tec is more forgiving than an AP2. I can’t tell you I really have a great memory of what the 716 AP2 looked like behind the ball, but I would say in terms of looks, it’s really going to come down to your eye. The AP2 might be a little slimmer, but the offsets should be relatable. I would almost better compare a Forged Tec to like a P790 in terms of setup.
I like the Forged Tec a lot. I’d say if you don’t a high ball flight, the $-Taper Lite they come with is borderline. You might want to go with a different shaft. I have no idea what you hit in the AP2 or what your swing is like that could be causing a higher flight regardless of shaft. That’s a little more to consider.
In terms of 919 Forged, I’d say it’s more comparable to the AP2, less forgiving than the Forged Tec.
Switched to these from Apex Pros and a big jump in feel and control. Not getting the distance of the lower loft degrees. but the shaft is 1/5 inch shorter. Don’t hesitate!
Is there a bounce spec for these irons? Their website is abominable.
Just did a bunch of googling, sorry, can’t find bounce measurements anywhere.
What hanciap are these aimed at?
I’ve always understood them to be geared toward single digit to low double digits. I would say it’s less about handicap and more about style of iron game. They are built for distance and some forgiveness for a player that wants to shape/flight shots and can find the center of the face.
I just bout the Cobra King Forged Tec irons. Went & got fitted & had a few nice shots & they felt great. Got em in & hit the driving range & had a lot of trouble. I’m a beginner golfer & my friend that was with me thinks I got clubs that are too advanced for me. Seeing that I’ve already spent the money on them do you think they’re forgiving enough to learn with? I didn’t want to buy beginner irons then have to spend more money to upgrade, figured I could learn & “grow” into them as I get better.
That’s a tough one really. They are a more advanced club for a beginner player. Technically, yes, you could grow into them, but it would make more sense to get comfortable playing the game with a more game improvement or super game improvement iron. That doesn’t necessarily mean “cheap box sets”, but an iron more geared toward where you are in abilities. It will make the game more fun for you and less discouraging which could possibly make you walk away from playing for good.
It’s easy for me to say given I have this website, but I’m a big supporter of playing the right equipment for your game and make changes when it’s the right time.
I find my the Forged Tec iron heads to be a bit too heavy with graphite shafts installed. Are there lighter tungsten weights/screws available for purchase and are they even replaceable?
Not that I’m aware of, no.
Bill I was on the fence between the tmp790 and the kings after your excellent review I went with the kings and can not be happier after testing the two I found the cobras to be the better clubs thanks for going in depth with your experiences to help my choice
I purchased these around the start of summer and I find that my distances are all over the place.
There is a hole at my local course that I will leave a 9 iron short 85% of the time and other times I’ll take a PW and it will either be pin high or long.
I do find the mishits don’t miss much left to right but just wondering where I am going wrong on the distance. Did you find your mishits were a full clubs difference at times?
Appreciate you taking the time!
I don’t think that sounds like an issue with the club in terms of “product design”. I’d get your loft and lies checked. And did you get fit for these clubs? Are you sure the shafts are right for your swing?
Still love my 2020 king Tec irons.
As I am older now (78), I am starting to change the shafts from kbs $-taper lite S to kbs s-taper R.
I am finding the R shafts a little less rigid.
I used to hit 7i 150yds but down to 140dys now (S or R).
PW was 105yds, now 95yks.
Can you comment on a better shaft for my age?
Sorry, age isn’t really a useful factor here. You’re comparing apples to oranges with those two shafts really. You’re changing profile, flex, weight, etc. There’s a lot going on there.
The real answer is you need to get fit or do some thorough testing. If you’re looking to make a blind choice based on paper, it’s going to be tough.