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Official Forged Tec Irons Review - GB13 Player’s distance is one of the fastest growing irons categories. The Forged Tec are Cobra’s first serious offering to compete with clubs like the P790 and I500. How do they compare? Let’s find out!! I was lucky enough to receive a Forged Tec set in 4-PW with Stiff KBS $Taper Lites. I was originally fit into Modus3 105s, however these were unavailable at the time and Cobra advised me that these were the next closest shaft option. Previously, I gamed PING I200 irons which are more player’s irons as opposed to player’s distance. I was looking for more forgiveness without compromising workability. Looks - 5/5 Stars These irons are drop dead gorgeous. They maintain a classic look, with not too much offset, and a reasonably thin top line. The matte and chrome color play is simply perfect. For a company known to be a bit flashy these will absolutely appeal to any traditionalist. There isn’t a whole lot to say here, which is a testament to the classic appearance of these clubs. Sound and Feel - 3/5 Stars Solid strikes offer a pretty good thwack, and feel pretty much like a player’s distance iron. Minor mishits sound and feel pretty good as well, but major toe shots sound and feel terrible. Even though the Forged Tec faces are forged (obviously), I still prefer the sound and feel of my cast PINGs. Don’t get me wrong, these are still quite satisfying, they just don’t offer the same crunch my PINGs did. Basic Characteristics - 4/5 Stars I usually need a lot of creativity to recover from my tee shots, so having an iron that is workable is very important to me. The Forged Tec irons certainly are workable left and right, however it takes some effort. For the most part, these things was to fly straight, and it’ll take something significant to stop them from doing that. That said, I’ve not had any trouble hitting the shots I need to. My biggest complaint about the Forged Tec so far is the inability to take a decent divot. I know @B.Boston has referenced this as helping fat shots, however I feel my fat shots are almost just as bad, and I’m unsure if my good swings are actually good. I like seeing a decent sized divot, especially with the scoring irons, and the lack of divots keeps making me question if the strike was descending or not. Hopefully I’ll get used to this, because the results have been pretty good. On-Course Performace - 5/5 Stars Performance wise, these have been outstanding. They are forgiving, easy to hit, workable, and pretty darn long. Well struck shots stop on a dime, and while you shouldn’t expect muscleback spin rates, and 7 iron seems to get about 6000RPM of backspin, which is very respectable for a player’s distance iron. I do recall some complaints of “hotspots” with other players distance irons like the P790, and I’m happy to report, that I haven’t found them. And trust me, I’ve tested every square millimeter of the club face. My scoring seems to have gotten more consistently low since changing to the Forged Tec. I’ve posted my lowest round of the season, and my irons only round was quite spectacular. These are long off the tee, and precise with approaches. I couldn’t be happier with the on course results. Play it or Trade it - 5/5 Stars I miss the sound and feel of my PINGs, I really do, but I couldn’t justify putting them back into play with the way the Forged Tec have performed. I would like to see some divots start flying, but overall the performance has just been amazing, so they’re in the bag! Overall - 5/5 Stars Overall, these irons perform wonderfully. If you’re in the market for players distance irons, or even just players irons, you’d be remiss to not try these. I’m looking forward to putting more time in with my new sticks as the challenge progresses, and hopefully they can keep dropping my approach handicap further. (Spoiler )

First off let me start with WOW...Irons only was both frustrating, fun and of course challenging. Paired up with 3 folks, Graham, John and his son...John (will get into my total round thoughts on How'd you play) all very nice, different styles and skills but all had the same dumb founded look when I rolled up with this: (Note wedges were only in here so I could toss some around the green and greenside bunkers as I am swapping over from my CBX2's to the SM7's) First few holes they probably thought in their head "this jamoke has no idea what hes doing" and they were right I got eaten up not realizing that I should probably game plan the hole and not be left with 80-100 yard PW shots... It wasn't until one of the guys (Graham) said "just relax man if we were that good we would be out in San Francisco right now" on hole 4...The round completely turned around there. I also found this sucker on hole 6 and proceeded to get my full Ricky on: Long story short I had a fantastic day shooting 79 and my handicap on this course is a 9 (also helped that my putting was on fire) which is A) my best score for this course ever and B) My lowest round this year

So I guess none of you will be leaning on your SZ drivers from now on?

Had an absolutely spectacular afternoon at Spanish Bay today. From tee to green, I had a close to record round, but on the greens I couldn’t make a putt for my life (that dang poa grass). I finished the day with a 75, hitting 13/18 greens and 10/14 fairways. Have a 6:50 tee time at Pebble Beach tomorrow followed by an afternoon round at Spyglass Hill. See below for photos from today at Spanish Bay. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Okay, so my irons only attempt is in! Ended up shooting a 72 (+3), on a course of 68.6/128. This round very closely mimicked last week’s fairways and greens challenge. My biggest takeaway was how much I missed my wedges. I short sided myself a few times and failed to get up and down each time. Here are a few highlights, and then my total round breakdown.

So, I’ll admit that I’m a spoiled golfer with my usual 6:30am rounds during the weekdays and weekends. We’re generally the 2nd group out and the pace of play is wonderful. Since the start of COVID-19, I’ve played only 2 afternoon rounds with today’s being the 3rd ... albeit, an abbreviated round. The pace of play is BRUTAL. I’m happy to see so many golfers out on the course and likely helping the course’s bottom-line, but oh my goodness it’s just way too long. Can’t ever remember the courses being this packed pre-COVID. Started the first 4 holes at +6 and finished the remaining 5 at -1. And unfortunately, we had to skip the group in front of us at 13 and again at 15 ... didn’t get back into the door of our home until 8:45pm. But MGS and Cobra, what a fun and great idea. Seriously. I really enjoyed myself out there and it’s refreshing to play each hole (except the par 3s) with an entirely different approach and thought process. Most proud of my birdie at the 5th, a sandy-par with a pitching wedge out of a green side bunker at the #11, and a par at the 8th, #1 handicap. And honestly, I think my mental aspect to the game needed a refreshing and fun round of golf. Next round is Sunday at 630am with my usual group and I may give this another run ... don’t celebrate just yet @B.Boston! And holy heck, guys!!! Impressive rounds across the board! Enjoyed catch your updates.

Took the day off today, but only had enough time with other plans to get in a quick nine holes this morning. On the way out the door, I decided it was time to do a forum mashup, combining this week's iron only challenge with the Hard Rock Challenge put on by @JohnSmalls. I played the back nine at my course with a Nitro Ultimate Distance rock. And I played OK! Putter was ice cold for the first five holes, totaling 13 putts (ouch...), before I got it together and had only five putts over the last four holes, including a 24 foot breaker on No. 18 for birdie to close out the round. Nice quick "practice" round for hopefully two more cracks at besting Tuesday's 84 with the irons only.

Wow that was a lot of work today!!!!!!! Hot and muggy , scorching 95 plus with little breeze and 85% humidity Thank goodness for a few clouds to cast a little shade. I did not have my best swing today but my putter was pretty damn good for me. Based on my results I'm kind of like others on doing the irons only...why do we have so many clubs? Played with the same ball all day ( I rarely do that), learned to hit my hybrid (20 shots), Pw (16 shots), and putter (31 putts). Here is your target y'all! I'm a 12 handicap at Bay Forest slope/course 71.0/130 6274 yards on the white tees.

If I was in that situation I stand at the center of the green and spin a tee, then use a random number generator to get a distance in feet, in that direction, where I would place my ball marker and use that as the cup to finish the hole. Alternatively, just give yourself your putting average for the day on that hole.

Nice shooting! Amazing how we all can still score OK without so many clubs.

Okay Forum Members, Cobra Connect Challengers & Moderators I need a ruling here in order to complete today's round. I was first off the tee this morning at my course, when I got to hole #1 there was no flag so I hit to the center of the green and of course the whole was cut on the far left. No biggie! Hole #2 was 187 yds straight up hill to a blind green, again no pin. However, when I got the green there was no hole cut yet! So, how should I score this hole? Pretty sure people would object to me leaving it as an Ace in Arccos?

Put in a little work at the range with my new wedge. Not quite dime sized, but I was finding the center!

League round tonight: first time playing an "ordinary" round with my 699 Pro irons. And I accomplished something that I don't think I've ever done before: I left zero approach shots short. Still gotta increase the GIRs (the greens on my course are tiny) but the distance control was so good!

Fu*k no! We put sh*t in the way! that whole HBO special never gets old for me.

Alright @daviddvm you got me! It was definitely a mistake playing a new course for this challenge. I was struggling on the greens. The ball went where I wanted it to go, but my reads were just off. I'm also going to never take my SW and LW for granted as I short sided myself multiple times leaving me to basically flop a PW. Luckily, no sand!!! My overall strategy was to take whatever I could off the tee to have a full 9i or PW into the green (130-145 yards). There were a few times I got in trouble and had to finesse a PW from 100 yards. Overall, the weather was perfect and this was a great challenge!!! I shot 86 being a 14 handicap. Course rating/slope = 67.9/120

+2 on the polos. Have two now, and will be getting at least one more.

A white truck will be delivering... wait, maybe a yellow truck, FedEx leases some Penske trucks here... anyways, the 46° ZipCore that I have decided to call Dr. Evil will be here today. Hopefully they have the Delorean today so I can get out on the practice area with it.

I love the videos It’s very interesting that you are consistently 10 mph faster than I am across the board. Our handicaps are around the same - you might be a year or two younger than me though. :) Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

+5 (41) 3/7 FiR 3/9 GiR 17 putts yikes Driver was bad, blocked everything except the first tee shot strangely. Couldn't recover and hit greens. Almost made eagle from the wrong fairway tho, so that's exciting I guess.

Here are some photos from yesterday at pasatiempo and this afternoon at Spanish Bay. I’ll be posting all my updates in the ‘How’d you play’ spychat thread. Look out for tomorrow where I’ll post updates from Pebble Beach and Spyglass. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Shot 100 today, but should have broke 100. There was a hole that took me 4 shots to get out of the bunker. None of the shots were particularly challenging, but I found a way to screw it up. Rather than learn how to hit a proper bunker shot, i'm going to buy a specialty bunker club lol. On a positive note, I got rid of hooks and pulls off the tee that started to appear. Luckily, it was purely a setup issue. The hooks occur when my right hand starts getting too strong. From there, my reaction during transition causes opening of the face and then comes the last second flip to try to square it up but ends up usually going left. I'm now close to being back to a one way miss off the tee, which is block right. When my grip is correct, I need to trust that I can swing hard left.

SPOILER ALERT! Speedzone driver will be back next week.

Huge thanks to @mr.hicksta for grabbing one of these for me and mailing it out to Hawaii. Couldn't find it locally, or online, anywhere that wasn't going to cost me a fortune. I can finally hold more than a baby bottles worth of water! #fullyrealizedcupholder

How's that for a click-bait tile? But it's true. My MGS Anniversary and story. Four years ago this week, I was browsing my Twitter timeline, when I saw a Tweet thread by MyGolfSpy and it got pretty heated. It wasn't your typical forged vs cast debate---shameless plug for this weeks NPG episode. It was deeper than that. While I can't recall exactly what everyone was so worked up about, they were definitely piling on MGS for a story or take it had put out. Like most times when we witness a car crash, we slow down to take a look...we know we shouldn't and we probably say we don't, but we all know we do. Anyway, I digress, I logged onto the site to see what all the fuss was about. As I said, I honestly don't recall the topic, but what I found was a very well written story with tons of inside information that I had not seen the likes of from the current forum I was on, even though it had contacts with all the companies as well, they had never written a true piece of journalism like this. So I was hooked, I read several past articles, and not once did I find anything that I thought was false, untrue or inflammatory as the twitter trolls were calling it. Again all I found were great articles, by Tony Covey, John Barba, Dave Wolfe and Chris Nickel And four years later, they are all still pumping out the best golf writing in the business. Then I found my way to the forum, and what I found really hit home. A very welcoming and friendly place. It seemed to be led by guys like @revkev @hckymeyer ( who was the Forum Director along with @GolfSpy Barbajo ) @fozcycle @Kenny B@Jmikecpa@chisag @jlukes @DawgDaddy and of course @BIG STU Each one of these members and the others set a tone, I had never seen on a discussion board before, and I was part of the two other big ones as well. It was a friendly, non confrontational tone. I felt welcomed and at home right from the start. In all honestly the forum wasn't near as big those four short years ago, and content was not as plentiful as it is now. True story, I told someone just this week, that I could log on and read all new posts and threads in less than 30 minutes or an hour. And that's not a testament to my speed reading skills...ha Over the next few months, I started noticing some names from the other forums coming on board, some I had interacted with for several years such as @ole gray @cnosil and @PMookie and a few I 'recruited" Going back to the lack of new threads. During those early months, I would often go back and find a thread from a year or several years ago and comment on it just to stoke new conversation. Sometimes it did, sometimes it didn't In a ironic twist, @GolfSpy STUDque who joined about a year later, kind of did the same thing, but in a more weekly time theme of for #ThowBackThursday, and had fun reading the responses to old threads that some didn't notice the original date on. I was fortunate that in December 2017, the site posted an opening for a couple Moderators. I applied like I'm sure many of you did. After a several stage application and virtual interview process, I and Studque got the email, to start picking out our @Golfspy_names I was stoked! Then just a year later came the opportunity to be Forum Director, again Studque and I both got to split the duties of running the forum. The opportunity to really have a direct hand in the things the forum does from Forum Testing. contests and other cool content is something we both enjoy and are appreciative of. We had to bring on a moderator to help us and we sorted through dozen and dozens of applications. It was impossible to choose just one, and we had a true half dozen finalist that all would have been great. But @GolfSpy Stroker and @GolfSpy MPR stood out and I can honestly say, the forum would't be doing nearly as well and have so many cool things going on without these two. Most of you have no idea the amount of time and effort they put in behind the scenes to keep things functioning and running well here. Thanks guys, I'm truly lucky to get to work with three talented and dedicated guys as you all are. So I promise this isn't a "phase 1" of a long drawn out post...ha It's already long enough. I'll just end by saying this place has been my internet home for the past four years, and I've enjoyed every single moment of it. In away everyone that contributes here whether it's 20 posts a year or 3,000 posts a year....looking at you @Shankster is like another family to me. And I truly appreciate you all!

Yeah, I hit that Rickie ball there for you. All 686,930.5 yards of it. You’re welcome. Nice shooting.

Was beautiful to get to the course to see this: Woke up at 5 to head out and get to the course for 605 tee time...my wife said "why the hell are you up its dark out"....Golf thats why. Had the round of the year today 79. Participated in the CCC4 irons only challenge and I don't know if it was the chiropractor i went to yesterday (1st time felt like a million bucks today, little sore but no stiffness) or if after the first few holes I just got into the zone and really planned my shots out (probably both) but I shot +2 on the back with 4 bogeys and 2 birds. I had several great holes where I just made a shot and drained the putt (no 3 putts today). Good example was hole 9 (par 5) very long. Hit 4 Iron and had to take a drop off the tee. My 3rd shot though (net 4) was a perfect low flyer that stuck and I made the putt. Just usually doesn't go that way. I used my 4 Iron today 21 times. Multiple times I just had to look and see if I could either reach, or if it was going to have to be a 9i/9i situation which most of the par 5's were. That is the round there but in the CCC4 thread I talked about the group I was with. John and John were father and son, and then Graham who was a big guy and absolutely smashed the ball. They all looked at me like I was crazy walking up with only irons and a putter but Graham was a great guy, was awesome to talk golf with him. The son John was Probably my age but little hot headed (club slammer, WTF was that!...loud type of player after every shot) well it felt pretty good to be off the tee and longer than his drive on several holes. I usually wouldn't but the club slamming and loud stuff on everything (none of us are on tour man just hit the ball, youre doing the same thing every time) just irks me on the golf course.

Shot an 81 yesterday. On the 9th I was short of the green on a severe uphill slope w a tight lie. Maybe 25-30 yards to the hole. Been in this spot too often to count. Reach for my 56* wedge. BUT... last week I put Cobra ForgedTec Black irons into the bag (love em) and I mistook the PW for my sandy... previously only my sand and lob had the black finish, now they all do (again, still love em). I’m focused on the hole and where I want the ball to land. Not paying attention to what’s in my hand. Needless to say the PW flys a lot farther and rolls a lot more - like off the back of the green. Double. I take solace that it was a mental miscue rather than a skills breakdown. Sorta. Maybe... Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

It has been fun and , dare I say enlightening to follow this challenge. Though I wonder how done if you find that much time to be on line. The all iron challenge would really be fun to participate in but I’ve got a guys trip this weekend and (since this is Cobra sponsored) the Kraken must be unleashed. But it reminded me of an exercise my pro put me through a several years ago when I was struggling. He took away everything longer than my six iron - adjusted par giving me a new target to shoot for and once I reached it I could have my longer clubs back. Good luck to you all. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Well done sir!!

I have a 6:30 call every weekday. Color me jealous.

Yowsers! Found a nerve Don’t worry, I turn 63 on Sunday. Not a young limber-y pup but a grey headed, arthritis ridden bogey golfer. The altitude does help though. I did get out today and practice chipping with my PW. Not as hard to pick up as I thought it would be. I think we’ll be okay

The weather here is killing me. A thunder storm with rain have rolled in every day after I get home from work. I cant wait to get out on the course for more testing. Hopefully tomorrow.

Yes sir. Just a starter laughing thinking about it. Oh, like pool...

Looks like you shot a pretty nice round! I learned a lot from an irons only round...I will do it more often. I did not include the slope on my post ( but I did go back and edit it in) Bay Forest white tees 6274 yards slope/course 71.0/130.

I’d say record your most likely # of putts. So probably two putts and move on. great shot BTW!

Played with my Grandaughter’s boyfriend from England today. They report back to college next week as both are on soccer scholarships. So I played from the Whites rather than my usual Gold tees, a difference of 759 yards. I shot a 45/42:87 with a Birdie on the Par 3 #15, playing 163 yards. Overall, it was a lot of fun. Sim played a set I put together for him, leaving driver in the bag he gamed the 5 iron off the tee.....just as long as my Driver. Where he had difficulty was putting. He 3 putted most greens, shooting a 49/48:97. We had a lot of fun, and the next round will be at Celebration! Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

... There is a sweetspot between taking too long in your routine, then actually hitting the shot and just being reckless. I played with a guy yesterday that took f-o-r-e-v-e-r to take 2 practice swings, line up his shot and then stand over the ball for a good 30 seconds only to hit a really bad shot, tdrive his cart 70 yds down the fairway and repeat. He was in his 60's and clearly had been playing a long time so no excuse for that. A few times he hit balls into the water or trees, dropped and hit another bad shot then out of frustration just dropped a ball and hit without taking any time at all. Every one of those "no time at all" shots were better than his taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r routine. ... Of course you don't want to feel rushed which causes tension but figure out a way to stay loose with a practice swing and a waggle, then just hit the shot. Freezing over the ball or going thru a mental checklist takes you away from your goal ... focusing on and trying to hit your target. I certainly understand it can be difficult when you are hitting bad shots, but you will start hitting better shots quicker than you will taking too long and thinking too much as long as your focus is on your target and not your swing.

It's going to be a REALLY good weekend.

Yeah those hats are great. So great, in fact, that my 14yo snags any that show up as soon as they arrive LOL

One of those days (wasnt chipping much today other than the first few holes) just came together. Send some more of those up here....I might be transitioning to those damn things and getting all PUMA gear! (FYI for anyone that does not own a PUMA hat this thing is comfortable as hell, I WILL be buying more of these, bye bye fitted hats).

Just a quick update: I forwarded this thread over to MGS HQ. As many of you have mentioned, I think pre-orders are going to be the key here. I'll let you know if there are any updates. FWIW: I have one on my bag, and so does Kirke.

Hey same here and I can barley poke it out to 250 and I'm the same age as chasing. We have have different strengths. I'm deadly with my wedges and putter. I played with two guys yesterday when were both 10-20 yards longer and even with my approach shots off I was stil getting up and down for par almost every hole where as they were in struggliesville once we got to the green!

Their polos are NICE. I have a few and they feel amazing, especially on a humid day.

+1 on that. I was pretty impressed with their polos. I'm usually an Addidas or Nike shirt guy but I'm thinking of buying more Cobra/Puma shirts. One of my favorites in terms of comfort. MDGolfHacker

So this is an Irons only week? Best of luck to all and spend some great one on one time with the meat of your bag. Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy

Well @edingc here is my entry for this little duel: I was unable to best you: I choked, plain and simple, bogey on 2 of the last 3 and bogey or worse on 4 of the last 5, two of those from the fairway! On the bright side though I hit a lot more fairways than I normally do! Here are the course details: Just under 6500 yards when it is maxed out. Played the tips and they played about 6400. The course rating is 118. NO GIMMES! Much like @GolfSpy MPR I missed my wedges WAAAAAY more than anything else as the distance control on my PW isn't exactly dialed in for less than full shots and it was VERY difficult to chip out of the thick Bermuda rough. But i did learn a valuable lesson, it is OK to not take driver. It didn't hurt my play ability all that badly and I actually found myself avoiding bad spots off the tee. Usually, I never know where my 2nd shot will be from when I pull that driver out. So even though I could not best the 84 I left the course feeling pretty good about my first irons-only round. I will be playing this course differently from now on. I guess I'll settle for the 2nd best pair of calves on MGS Hope you can lower that 84 this weekend! Good luck! Oh and trying to get out of a bunker with a set PW is what will be haunting my dreams for a long time now. That SUCKED!

@Golfspy_CG2 get back to work, setup some golf get togethers, moderate the forum!!!!

Too bad it wasn’t only 18. Robin Williams would have been proud.. no, 18 bleepin times!!

This prompted me to look back at Tuesday's round - 2 Hybrid - 4 Shots 4 Iron - 7 Shots 5 Iron - 10 Shots 6 Iron - 5 Shots 7 Iron - 3 Shots 8 Iron - 3 Shots 9 Iron - 2 Shots PW - 11 Shots Putter - 39 Putts Fun to see the breakdown!