Cobra KING F6 Irons Review – Forgiving Control

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Cobra KING F6 Irons - 4 Types

Here I’ll be reviewing the Cobra KING F6 irons, intended to deliver forgiveness, feel and control through a progressive design construction and in a classic head profile.

The KING F6 earned gold medal honours on the Golf Digest Hot List for 2016.

How does the King F6 really perform when push comes to shove? Is it a viable option for higher handicaps? Is it lacking in any areas?

Read on to find out what you need to know before putting these in your bag.

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 KING F6 iron has been received extremely well with an average customer rating of 4.9/5 on Global Golf, 5/5 on RBG, very positive reviews on the official Cobra website, and positive verdicts from most of the professional critics.

What People Like

  • superb mis-hit forgiveness (both directional and distance-wise)
  • great accuracy
  • easy to hit
  • high launch
  • solid distance
  • great durability

What People Don’t Like

  • some people feel the long irons are overly thick and others are put off by their impact feel

What are the features?

Cobra calls the KING F6 the “king of progressive iron sets”.

Under Tecflo construction, where multiple construction technologies are employed, each club in the set is designed to perform differently but optimally so that golfers can hit more greens and improve their proximity.

Here’s a run-through of the set:

3-5 Irons

These have a full-hollow design with face inserts that result in a low/deep center of gravity (CG), higher launch, responsive face and easy hit.

These long irons are made out of 17-4 stainless steel and have an enclosed cavity back.

6-7 Irons

These have a half-hollow design with a very thin face and added discretionary weight for optimal CG positioning.

These mid irons are designed to be easy to hit and accurate.

8-PW

These have a traditional cavity-back design with a low and deeper CG, enabling more spin, accuracy and control into the greens.

GW-SW

These have a specialty wedge design for optimal precision and versatility around the greens including in the rough and bunkers.

These clubs have a traditional blade-style muscleback head with wider grooves for more spin potential.

Other features and technologies include:

  • a Speed Channel, an engineered channel positioned on the sole close to the leading edge and around the perimeter of the upper back cavity, increases face flexion at impact for more ball speed across the face.
  • a new nickel chrome plating and a gunmetal PVD coating that enhance durability as well as the aesthetic.
  • T.O.P. technology consisting of an engineered aluminum cap (in place of steel on dual-cavity hollow irons) which frees up 5 grams of discretionary weight and allows for the low/deep CG position mentioned above.
  • a progressive groove design: V-Grooves on the 4-6 irons for reduced spin, U-Grooves on the 7-PW for more spin, and wedge-spaced grooves on the GW-SW for touch and high spin.
  • deep perimeter undercutting that creates an unsupported face and contributes to more face flex and ball speed at impact.
  • CNC Milled Grooves for more control, workability and spin.

Stock Info

A hybrid/iron combo set is available for the KING F6. The stock set consists of 8 clubs (4-PW, GW) with FST Steel and Matrix Red Tie 65Q4 graphite stock shafts.

Full information on shafts, grips and their specs can be found on the Cobra website. The specs of the KING F6 irons are below for those interested:

ModelLoftLieOffset (mm)Length (steel)Length (graphite)Swing Weight (steel)Swing Weight (graphite)RH/LH
318°60°5.540"40.25"D1D0RH/LH
420°61°5.539.25"39.5"D1D0RH/LH
523°61.5°5.038.5"38.75"D1D0RH/LH
626°62°4.537.75"38"D1D0RH/LH
730°62.5°4.037.25"37.5"D1D0RH/LH
835°63°3.536.75"37"D1D0RH/LH
940°63.5°3.036.25"36.5"D1D0RH/LH
PW45°64°2.536"36.25"D2D1RH/LH
GW50°64°1.035.75"36"D2D1RH/LH
SW55°64°0.835.5"35.75"D3D2RH/LH

How do these irons perform?

Distance Control

Raw distance results are about average for a game-improvement iron. What’s more important, however, is the exceptional above-average distance control even away from the center of the face.

Dispersion is nice and tight and the high launch allows for excellent control and soft landings into greens.

Slow swingers and/or golfers who tend to struggle with a low ball flight will likely gain both distance and accuracy, particularly in the longer irons. Stronger swingers who don’t need help with lift can modify their shaft to keep the flight down.

Forgiveness

A natural consequence of the low, deep positioning of the center of gravity is decreased directional forgiveness and some shot-shaping potential, but this isn’t necessarily bad.

The KING F6 isn’t going to keep your worst slices and hooks in the center of the fairway, but it will take some of the edge off, not to mention preserve a really good amount of ball speed and shot height.

I found these irons to be one of the best I’ve ever tested in terms of mis-hit distance, and that’s a pretty good distinction.

Ball Flight/Playability

I have no complaints. Typical ball flights with the stock shaft are high and straight over a pretty large area of the face.

Competent players can work shots to an extent; this capability increases as you move from the longer to the shorter irons due to the progressive spin design.

This iron is generally very stable through the rough, bunker and other trouble lies. Playability and versatility are impressive for a GI iron.


What about look, sound & feel?

The Look

The KING F6 iron set, being progressive, has top line thicknesses, offsets and sole widths (and hence forgiveness) that increase as you move from short to long in the set.

Relative to other game-improvement irons in its class, I would say that the top lines are a little thicker than what you would typically expect, but the sole widths and offsets are much more modest. The GI Fly-Z XL, for example, has more offset throughout the set.

This is one of the reasons I would say that the KING F6 iron is closer than most to the better-player side of the spectrum even though it is classified as game-improvement.

Shifting focus to the back and badge designs, we have a patterned background with some sharp Cobra labeling in a black/white/orange colour scheme.

I like the look personally and I think it would appeal to the majority of golfers. See the features section above for more details on the material construction and how the look changes through the set.

The Sound & Feel

The full-hollow irons sound less hollow and metallic than you would expect.

For the most part, the KING F6 irons have a more traditional sound at impact. Center strikes feel quite solid and mis-hits feel decent but distinctly different so that you get accurate feedback for troubleshooting.

Consistent with other aspects of the look and performance, the KING F6 sounds and feels more like a players iron than most other GI irons of its class, which is nice. The irons interact well with the turf.


Where should you buy these irons online?

Currently, the best place to find new and used KING F6 irons in all sorts of configurations at the lowest prices is eBay.

At the time of writing, they are almost out of stock on Global Golf, and they may run out in the near future. Check their current coupon codes to see what you can knock off the price.

These irons have dropped substantially in price since their initial release a few years ago. Now is a really great time to pick up a set!


Conclusion

Rating: 4.7/5 (Awesome)

Classification: Game-Improvement

Best suited for: Golfers who want a high-launching GI iron that’s more on the better-player side than most.

Pros

  • high launch can really help out slow swingers and low hitters increase their carry
  • steel and graphite stock shaft options are superb
  • forgiving without totally sacrificing workability
  • outstanding ball speed preservation across the entire face
  • better sound and feel than other similar GI irons
  • nickel plating and gunmetal coating looks and feels premium

Cons

  • aesthetic isn’t everyone’s cup of tea
  • some feel the head profile is too thick in the longer irons
  • not as forgiving as many more extreme GI irons

The Cobra KING F6 is an interesting offering from Cobra. In many ways, it doesn’t deliver what you might expect from a game-improvement iron, and leans a little bit towards the better-player end of the spectrum.

Nevertheless, with great forgiveness, solid distance, true feel, workability potential and a beginner-friendly ball flight, this is a high-quality iron that low and high handicappers could both find very appealing.


Are you interested in Cobra’s KING F6 irons? Have you played them yet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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2 Comments

  1. David June 25, 2016
    • Paul June 25, 2016

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