Back in 2016 Cobra introduced their first ever adjustable iron, and as a golfer who has a love hate relationship with all woods and graphite shafts, I knew I had to give this a shot. The adjustability allows for the club to go from 18* up to 21*, with other options in between. I have had this club in the bag for about 2 years now and it is one of, if not my favorite club in the bag. However, it did not necessarily start out as a loving relationship.
A couple of years ago, I had a 19* Taylormade SLDR hybrid in the bag with the stock X-stiff graphite shaft. I was able to hit this club pretty well, but was not as accurate as I would have liked to be. Since this was a club I was using off the tee for safety I wanted to have more control. I decided to order the adjustable Cobra King Utility Iron. My thoughts were, the adjustability would allow me to find the correct setting for me, and since my iron play was the best part of my game, I should be able to control this a lot better than my hybrid.
I ordered the Cobra King Utility Iron with the KBS C-Taper Lite 110 Steel X shaft.
My Initial Thoughts
- Why does this club make a whistling noise when I swing it?
- Since this club has the screw in the bottom of the club to make it adjustable, it also has a hole to get to the screw. The air seems to get into this hole while swinging which creates a light whistling sound. At some points almost felt like I was fighting against this air when swinging the club.
- This shaft is extremely stiff and I can barely get the ball off of the ground
- For a player who swings a driver around 112 MPH, why am I having trouble loading this shaft?
- With the shaft being so stiff, the mishits left my hands ringing!
- I thought I had just wasted $200 on a club that I HATED, but that all changed!!
How Did This Club Become My Favorite and Most Trusted?
- Shaft Change
- I realized that for some reason the shaft it came with was just way too stiff. I decided to install the same exact shaft I use in my iron set. Why would I want a different shaft in my utility iron vs. my standard irons? If I want to be as consistent as possible I should keep the shaft consistent. I installed a Dynamic Gold X100 and right away I felt the difference. It felt like I was swinging one of my irons, but the ball was flying off the face, and felt so pure.
- Whistling Noise Fix
- Now that I had fit the shaft and club to my swing, I needed to figure out how to get rid of this annoying whistling from the screw hole.
- My fix was pretty simple. I set the club at 18* which was my preferred setting and then added silicone to the hole (waited a day to let it dry). This removed the ability to adjust the club, but completely removed the whistling and air issues with the screw hole. Once I had figured out where I wanted it set, there is really no need for me to adjust it, so that wasn’t a problem. (If you need to adjust the club, you can still scrape out the silicone and adjust it.)
Should you give the Cobra- King Utility Iron A Try?
YES! If you are a player who has confidence with your irons, but struggles with a hybrid or 5 wood, I would suggest putting this in the bag. Make sure to match the shaft to your swing, and plug the hole with silicone or something equivalent to avoid the annoying whistle. Nothing feels better than standing on a short par 4, knowing that your second shot will be coming from the short grass!
