Are Cobra One Length irons the real deal? A mid-season report

I think I totally underestimated the difficulty in going from variable to single-length golf clubs.

You may remember I was fitted into a full bag of Cobra clubs at the start of the season including the One Length irons and wedges.

I’ve been tracking my stats using the built-in Cobra Connect system powered by Arccos.

I switched from variable length irons to the Cobra Forged One irons and I’ve had mixed results so far.

One length irons

It was always going to be a tricky transition. There have been some positive early signs but I feel like there is definitely a lot of room for improvement.

I haven’t been able to play as many 18-hole rounds as I can but as you can see from my rounds most of my stats come from 9 hole knocks that I’ve been getting in after work.

There’s been some good stuff, but also some bad stuff, resulting in a slight tweak to my equipment. We’ll come to that later.

Lets have a bit of a run through the last six weeks to show you how I’ve performed…

A steady opening round

I went straight in at the deep end. I signed up for the monthly medal. As you can see I was ready to chuck the clubs in the car after 9 holes when I was 12 over par. I blamed everything except myself. I managed to calm myself down and play the back nine in 2 over par.

It was my first-ever competitive round with the one length irons.

As you can see from the Arccos stats my chipping was abysmal with 1/11 up and downs.

But it also suggests that I need to hit more greens. My iron play, despite feeling like I was striking the ball OK, was nowhere near where I need it to be.

Just 4/18 greens in regulation is something that I need to work on. More greens, will mean lower scores.

The back nine was clearly a lot better. I slowed the swing speed down and tried to think a little bit more about my shots. I was striking the irons a lot better which I think was due to the fact that I wasn’t swinging as hard.

First competitive round with the @cobragolf One Length clubs. Tough going but the highlight was the tap in birdie at the last. Nice punchy 7 iron into the wind. @NCGmagazine #cobraconnect pic.twitter.com/JGDMaIEPov

— Craig Middleton (@Craig_NCG) May 5, 2018

Wedge struggles

One thing I was really struggling with was the One Length wedges. My stats around the greens were way lower than what I’d expect. So after a chat with the Cobra guys they sent me some new variable length KING Pur wedges in my normal spec.

I dropped the gap wedge, 56 and 60 degree one length and put the 50, 54 and 58 degree wedges in their place.

My first round with them I managed 4/6 up and downs which was a nice way to start!

Thanks to @cobragolf for my new King PUR wedges. Can’t wait to watch my stats improve with @ArccosGolf over the next few months⛳️ pic.twitter.com/HEcYlR3fMO

— Craig Middleton (@Craig_NCG) June 25, 2018

I like the idea of One Length wedges but for me personally, I have a very unique technique that has worked really well for me and sticking with variable length wedges was something I feel I had to do.

Hopefully now the stats will back up my decision.

Signs of progress

I played nine holes with my new set up and it’s fair to say that I was more than happy with my 2 over par front nine of 38 at Moor Allerton.

You can see the 4/6 up and downs there and my 306 yard drive on the par 5 5th hole, which resulted in a two-putt birdie.

First round with the @cobragolf KING PUR wedges and straight away the signs are good. 4/6 up and downs. Already managed to get my @ArccosGolf handicap down. Particularly enjoyed my 306 yard drive and 2 putt birdie on the 5th⛳️The putter was on fire aswell! pic.twitter.com/F0MCu6kVje

— Craig Middleton (@Craig_NCG) June 26, 2018

The driver is on fire

In my first blog I said I was initially worried about changing drivers. But after getting used to the Cobra KING F8+ those worries are long gone.

Best golf drivers 2018

Since my first blog I’ve won two long drive competitions, hit a couple of 300+ yard drives and feel really confident with the big stick.

The @cobragolf King F8+ driver has been a real positive over the last few weeks. Even won me a longest drive contest at @SeatonCarewGC pic.twitter.com/BpjNq44qep

— Craig Middleton (@Craig_NCG) June 22, 2018

Of course there’s the occasional wide but that’s to be expected from a mid-handicap golfer. Along with the putter it’s the most confident club in the bag. Long may it continue.

This is where I currently stand with my Arccos handicap. The approach stats are 8.5 above my overall, we need to get that down quickly.

Targets for the next few weeks

My plan for the next few weeks is to get a bit more on course practice in. I’m not a lover of the range and feel like I’m better out on the course putting myself into different scenarios.

I’ve set myself three goals to achieve within the next 6 weeks.

1. Drop approach handicap from 20.9 t0 16.

2. Drop chipping handicap from 13.8 to single figures.

3. Hit 50% G.I.R in one round.

So lets get going!