Cobra Fly-Z XL Irons Review – High-Flying Distance

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Cobra Fly-Z XL Irons - 3 Perspectives

This is a review of the Cobra Fly-Z XL iron, a game-improvement iron intended to deliver consistently higher trajectories and increased distance.

The Fly-Z line serves as the successor to the previous BiO CELL.

How do these irons perform, and are they worthy of being compared with similar offerings in the game-improvement category? Read on to find the answers.

Note: Unless otherwise stated, stock shafts and stock grips are used when evaluating this club. In most cases, the golf clubs reviewed on Golfstead are acquired temporarily for testing purposes and are not purchased. The review that follows is based on the personal experience and research of the author. Because everyone’s swing and body are different, results with a particular club may differ from person to person.


What are the reviews like?

The Cobra Fly-Z XL irons are viewed very positively. They have a 4.9/5 rating on Global Golf, for example.

What People Like

  • excellent playability (best for hitting a draw, but can be shaped any way)
  • great forgiveness and accuracy
  • great look and feel

The Fly-Z XL nearly everything one would look for in a good iron.

What People Don’t Like

  • since these irons were designed to produce a higher trajectory on shots, it can be a little difficult for some golfers to engineer a lower trajectory
  • some have been dissatisfied with the carry distance of the irons
  • feedback on mishits isn’t terribly distinct

What are the features?

The Fly-Z XL irons are meant for golfers who want to hit it high and straight.

The characteristics of the Fly-Z XL irons can be split into 3 components:

Dual-Cavity Design

This design consists of a hollow bottom half section in the long and mid irons (4-8).

According to Cobra, this moves the center of gravity (CG) deeper and lower and allows you to get the ball up in the air easily and forgivingly.

Deep Perimeter Undercut

There is a deep perimeter undercut in the short irons and wedges (9-SW) behind the front of the face.

This leaves the clubface mostly unsupported, and Cobra asserts that this provides additional accuracy and forgiveness.

Speed Channel Face

The “Speed Channel Face” is a cavity or trench behind the face that helps to decrease face thickness and increase the flexion of the face.

This effectively enlarges the sweet spot and increases ball speeds across the face, including in mis-hit areas.

Stock Info

Some specifications of the irons are below. Full specs for the irons, stock steel shafts and graphite shafts can be found on the official Cobra website.

Note that the lofts are higher than what you might typically find on other irons.

NameLoftLieLength (steel)Offset (mm)
422°59.5°39.5"6.1
525°60.5°38.75"5.6
628°61.5°38"5.1
731.5°62°37.5"4.3
835.5°62.5°37"3.6
940°63°36.5"2.8
PW45°63.5°36.25"2.0
GW50°64°36"1.5
SW55°64°35.75"1.5

How do these irons perform?

Forgiveness

In the event you miss the sweet spot, you will still get a very solid directional result (minimally off line), and the loss in distance will be relatively small.

Of course, the bigger your miss, the worse your shot will be, but a typical slight to moderate mis-hit will still yield very decent results.

Distance

Mis-hits still go a good distance, but in terms of absolutes, the Fly-Z XL irons are about average in terms of length compared to other irons.

Nothing remarkable. Those purely concerned about getting more distance may want to look elsewhere.

Carry distance on solid strikes is very consistent.

Playability

These irons tend to hit a draw shape (right to left for a right-handed golfer), and hence they’re great for golfers who have a natural fade or a slice.

Lofts and trajectories are on the high side, and you can get the ball up in the air from almost any lie.


What about look, sound & feel?

The Look

As is expected with a game-improvement iron, the Fly-Z XL irons feature an oversized face, but it still manages to maintain a traditional shape and look quite nice.

The top line is acceptably thick, and the offset, which increases with length of the iron, is reasonable.

The design and the black-white-blue colour scheme gives the back of the face a slick and cool look that’s definitely more conservative than the design on the previous BiO CELL irons.

The Sound & Feel

The Speed Channel Face feature, mentioned above, changes the feel and sound of the club over something like a muscleback.

One would think that the relatively thin face would produce a hollow sound similar to that of a driver, but the sound is actually dampened/muffled and not bad at all. Cobra did an excellent job in this respect.

During my testing of these irons, I found the feel at impact to be both “poppy” and explosive — quite satisfying.

Mis-hits felt decent, and feedback was distinct enough that I could usually tell whether I mis-hit close to the toe, heel, or near the top/bottom of the face.

These irons certainly don’t produce the most distinct feedback in the world, but it is sufficient enough for correcting your mistakes.


Where should you buy these irons online?

The best place to find new and used Fly-Z XL irons in all sorts of configurations at the lowest prices is eBay.

They can also be purchased on Global Golf, but this opportunity may disappear soon. Check their current coupon codes to see what you can knock off the price.

Note that the Fly-Z XL irons can often be found as part of a combo set with hybrids.


Conclusion

Pros

  • easy to get height on your shots
  • versatile
  • great accuracy/forgiveness
  • nice feel
  • solid shots fly a consistent distance and direction

Cons

  • can be difficult to hit low-trajectory shots
  • mis-hit feedback could be a bit better
  • not crazy long

The Cobra Fly-Z XL irons are outstanding irons that really don’t have any glaring weaknesses. They do a wonderful job of addressing the needs of just about every golfer, from a high handicap all the way to a professional.

They pack a ton of value for the price, and anyone who is looking for a good solid set of irons and doesn’t want to pay for top-of-the-line models should seriously consider these.

The best thing to do is try them out for yourself and see how they perform for you. There’s a good chance that you’ll love them.


If you have any thoughts, opinions or questions about the Fly-Z XL irons, be sure to drop a comment below!

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9 Comments

  1. Bryan October 7, 2015
    • Paul October 8, 2015
  2. Daniella March 8, 2016
    • Paul March 14, 2016
  3. Jeff June 26, 2016
    • Paul June 26, 2016
  4. Gabriel sanz October 4, 2017
    • Paul October 4, 2017
  5. Norrie January 27, 2023

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