Are Cobra 2020 Forged Tec irons too much club for a high handicapper?

[lc6591]

I play f9's currently but the huge boxy look and feel of them doesn't inspire a ton of confidence at address and I get very little feedback. I love the look of them and the slimmer profile but I have nowhere to test these since Cobra isn't prevalent in pro shops (also I'm lefty). The off set seems in line with f9 and other SGI clubs except for the long irons. That said I shoot high 80's to mid 90's so feel like they may not offer the forgiveness my game needs. Any other high index guys play these and have feedback to offer? 

[tommc23]

These are what I play and I am not a low handicap guy. I love the feel of forged clubs and I score in the high 90s most rounds. 

[heavygolffeels]

The previous model, the Forged Tec Blacks, targeted 0 to 15 handicaps per Cobra's own marketing materials. The 2020 Forged Tec have a bit less offset, so I imagine they may be better suited for 0-12 or so. But thats just a reference point. Are you losing strokes from poor iron play, or off the tee and greens? Are you an improving player? Do a smaller sole help with turn interaction and consistent impact? Are you intimidated by a thinner topline and smaller clubhead, or does that inspire confidence?  

[lc6591]

20 minutes ago, scooterhd2 said:

The previous model, the Forged Tec Blacks, targeted 0 to 15 handicaps per Cobra's own marketing materials. The 2020 Forged Tec have a bit less offset, so I imagine they may be better suited for 0-12 or so. But thats just a reference point. Are you losing strokes from poor iron play, or off the tee and greens? Are you an improving player? Do a smaller sole help with turn interaction and consistent impact? Are you intimidated by a thinner topline and smaller clubhead, or does that inspire confidence?  

I lose strokes off the tee, I am improving, a small top line doesn't bother me at all, decent consistency at impact.

[aerospace_ray]

I have hit these irons and see no reason why you could not game these provided the length, shaft flex and lofts/lie angles fit you. I am a firm believer that a good looking iron or any club for that matter contributes to setting up correctly to the ball for example.  I hope you get to test these somewhere. Good luck. 

[Golfspy_CG2]

I just got my set in last week.  Here's a thread where I posted the initial pictures.

Also attached are a couple pics compared to my T300 both 7 irons.  I see very little difference between the two in top line or offset. The offset may look a bit more in the T300.  I think that is more the angle the clubs are laying. They are pretty close to identical to me. 

I have only played about 13 holes with the Forged Tec, and that was coming off not having played for 3 weeks and a pretty big illness where I didn't have full strength back.  However, I would say I handled the irons fine for the most part, but will hopefully get some range time and another round in with them this week for more info.

 

 

[lc6591]

On 6/15/2020 at 5:06 PM, Golfspy_CG2 said:

I just got my set in last week.  Here's a thread where I posted the initial pictures.

Also attached are a couple pics compared to my T300 both 7 irons.  I see very little difference between the two in top line or offset. The offset may look a bit more in the T300.  I think that is more the angle the clubs are laying. They are pretty close to identical to me. 

I have only played about 13 holes with the Forged Tec, and that was coming off not having played for 3 weeks and a pretty big illness where I didn't have full strength back.  However, I would say I handled the irons fine for the most part, but will hopefully get some range time and another round in with them this week for more info.

 

 

Have you played any more with these since this post?

[Golfspy_CG2]

I have played another 9 holes with them and did OK.  But took them on the range along with m T300 and for me there was a noticeable difference in the ease and forgiveness that the T300 provided.  Which is to be expected given their profiles.   The state of my gme right now, basically I'm in what would normally be my early spring getting ready mode, as I've played one 18 hole round, and a couple 9 holes, I'll be sticking with the T300 for now, and maybe give these another look if I feel my swing become less like a squirrel running around in a shoe box 

[IrishMace]

I don't see why you wouldn't be able to game the Forged Tec. I have a similarly high handicap (but improving) and in my recent fitting I hit both the Callaway Apex and the Forged Tec noticeably better than any of the game-improvement models I tried (T300, 919 Hot Metal, Z585, SIM Max, G410, Mavrik). The Apex was just marginally better for me, but the gap between Apex and Forged Tec was smaller than the gap to whichever one was 3rd place.

A slightly smaller head and less offset doesn't mean the club can't still be quite forgiving on off-center strikes. One advantage to a forged iron that might be worth considering is that if your swing changes as you improve, it's easier to adjust loft and lie than for a cast iron.

[bacchus]

Head size doesn't always imply how forgiving an iron is.  The chart below is something I used (found it on WRX and had a fitter confirm with Mizuno it was legit) when I was getting fitted because I thought I wasn't good enough for the JPX 900 Tour despite hitting them better than the JPX 900 Forged and the AP2s (Y-axis is sweet spot and X-axis is blade length I believe).  Go test them a few times and see if there are other "forged cavity back" options that are a thinner profile. 

 

[Keeper905]

Wanted to revive this thread since I am in the same boat.  Just placed my order for some custom 2020 Forged Tec.  I'm a higher handicap, usually shooting in the low 90's.  But haven't been putting the effort into it.  My kids are older now, so last year got back into golf.  Decided to upgrade my irons and got these.   I was fitted at Modern Golf for them and I hit them so well.  The feel was incredible and the mis hits were still playable.  As well the feedback was better and I knew exactly where I hit it wrong.

So just wanted to see if OP has been able to use the clubs and what his thoughts were after a season.

[vandyland]

I am also curious on this. I have the F9 one lengths but I am gradually working those out of my set (basically I think I want variable length up to the 7 iron and then one length for the 6i and 5i. I play off a 6 HDCP right now and hit the ball pretty well but I also have always assumed I just want the clubs that go high and straight. The test may be to buy a PW in the forged tec and see how I get along with it. Interestingly enough, on the cobra site there is no savings from buying a whole set vs a single club ($157 per club either way). Ultimately I may have a blended set of variable length forged tec PW, 9i, 8i and then keep my one length 7i and 6i (i have one length hybrids that I LOVE). My coach is a fitter and I think he has some forged tec heads so maybe he can make me a 7i and PW and I can demo them during the lesson or even for a few weeks. I typically think of my misses and worst shots when I plan my bag rather than my "potential" or good shots. That is why I have always gravitated towards game improvement irons but I did find it interesting that the forged TEC irons have slightly more offset in the short irons than the F9 speedback irons but things shift around the mid irons:

Forged TEC specs:

vs the F9 specs below:

[JDHolmes]

I have an older set of forged tec irons so this response may be a little off what the newest forged tec irons can do. They are in the running as a possible new set of irons next season.

First, I'm a 12 cap. I've played this set for three seasons and have had good success with them.

They look good and they feel good when struck properly. They will let you know when you hit high on face or on the toe. They are not particularly forgiving;i.e. if mishit, I'm losing distance and its going offline. Once I got them bent appropriately and extended, quality strikes improved.

These dont have the look or feel of GI irons and certainly not SGI irons. They are not quite players irons either. The new ones Ive seen seem to be thicker.