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In this review, I’ll be taking a look at the Cobra LIMIT3D irons.
After releasing their first 3D-printed putter in 2020, Cobra has now brought their first commercially available 3D-printed iron to market: the LIMIT3D.
This iron has been created entirely through additive manufacturing, which purportedly has allowed it to surpass the capabilities of traditional cast and forged processes. It’s designed to deliver the forgiveness of a game-improvement iron while enjoying the slim, compact profile of a player’s iron.
How do the LIMIT3D irons actually perform when put to the test? Who are they best suited for? Are they worth putting in the bag?
Here’s what will be covered in the review:
Read on to learn what you need to know to make an informed purchase.
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 LIMIT3D iron enjoys stellar ratings from both critics and consumers. The iron currently has a 5/5 average rating on the Cobra store.
Players are generally blown away by how it seems to do everything well, delivering both player’s and game-improvement performance to a high degree.
What People Like
- luxurious, futuristic looks
- buttery soft feel
- very impressive forgiveness considering the blade size
- fantastic sound and feel
- workable
What People Don’t Like
- availability is limited
- painfully steep price tag
The Features
The LIMIT3D iron has a fully 3D-printed 316 stainless steel build with a compact player’s shape that resembles Cobra’s KING TOUR iron. The 3D-printed nature of the iron has allowed for more design freedom, leading to new performance breakthroughs.
The signature feature of the LIMIT3D iron is an internal lattice structure developed using nTop’s advanced topology optimization software. This innovative and unique structure:
- reduces the weight of the club by 33%
- creates weight savings that are redistributed for optimal MOI, CG placement, and feel
- allows up to 100g of tungsten to be placed low in the heel and toe; this results in a lower CG and higher MOI comparable to a game-improvement iron
- fine-tunes the acoustics of the iron for improved sound and feel
In addition, the purchase of Cobra golf equipment like the LIMIT3D irons immediately makes you eligible to receive free Arccos Smart Sensors and a 45-day free trial to the Arccos Caddie app.
Stock Info
The LIMIT3D irons are available in 4-PW. They are fully custom irons and there are no stock shafts or grips, although many of the shafts and grips that can be ordered with the irons come at no additional cost.
More information on shafts, grips and other customizations can be found here.
Below are the specs. Click or zoom to enlarge.
The Performance
Distance
Of all the performance categories that the LIMIT3D iron can be evaluated for, distance probably gets the lowest marks.
That’s certainly not to say that distance is poor. Ball speeds are high, but not as high as something like the DARKSPEED. The result is that carry distance tends to be lower, although the difference between a strong-lofted distance iron and the LIMIT3D is quite small — maybe 5-10 yards.
Having said this, raw distance has never been as desirable in irons as it is in drivers, so it’s not that important when you consider the overall performance profile of this iron.
Forgiveness
The forgiveness of the LIMIT3D iron really impressed me during my field test.
Mis-hit performance is as good as any modern game-improvement iron, and is even as good as some irons that would be classified as super game-improvement.
The small amount of offset won’t do much to help a slice. However, ball speeds are remarkably well-preserved in all but the most extreme strikes around the perimeter of the face, and dispersion patterns are on a clear game-improvement level.
Playability/Trajectory
Trajectories with the LIMIT3D irons tend to be mid-high with mid-high spin. I didn’t notice a particular flight bias during my field test.
Launch is good, and the potential for high spin sets the stage for superb stopping power into greens. Capable golfers shouldn’t have much trouble sticking their approach landings with the short and even mid irons, while the long irons aren’t difficult to get airborne.
The irons are very playable, with good control, accuracy, and workability that I would say is comparable to something like the Callaway Apex Pro 24.
The Look
Taking a look at this iron, it quickly becomes apparent why the price tag is so high. The chrome finish is luxuriously premium, and the internal lattice structure visible through a strip on the back of the iron is unlike anything that has been done in an iron before.
This lattice gives the iron a futuristic flair which punctuates a classic, streamlined aesthetic.
While the LIMIT3D iron definitely has a player’s shape, it’s not as slim as a true blade or muscleback would be. Nevertheless, the blade length is fairly compact, the top line is fairly thin, the sole isn’t too wide, and the offset is minimal, so from the address perspective, you certainly get the feeling that the stick you have in your hand is built for better players.
The Sound & Feel
The feel of the LIMIT3D irons is really the best of both worlds. On the one hand, you get the premium softness normally associated with blades, and on the other hand, you get the responsiveness of a game-improvement iron.
I have never played an iron with a feel quite like this before. Typically, there’s a tradeoff between responsiveness across the face and softness, but the LIMIT3D manages to pull off both to an extent.
Turf interaction is great. Feel on mis-hits behaves more like a GI iron but there is still plenty of feedback for diagnosing your poor strikes.
These irons also produce a very nice sound at impact that can be described as crisp and muted. As you move into mis-hit regions, the sound stays quite muted but loses some of the crispness.
Where To Buy These Irons Online
The best place to get new LIMIT3D irons is the Cobra store, where you can customize loft, lie, or length, as well as choose custom shafts and grips. Financing is available.
Note that availability of these custom-only irons is limited and purchasing is restrictive. When buying from the Cobra store, you may only buy one 4-PW set.
For potential discounts on new or used LIMIT3D irons, I highly recommend checking out the listings on eBay.
Final Thoughts
Anyone who is familiar with golf tech knows how difficult it is to achieve an iron that’s not only highly forgiving, but also controllable and workable with a slim player’s look and fantastic forged feel. Cobra’s LIMIT3D iron manages to achieve all of that.
From length to forgiveness, playability, high-end premium looks, and a feel that is both soft and responsive, there’s no area in which this iron comes up short.
A full set of these beauties is going to set you back at least $3000, so it will be out of reach of many budgets. Those that do have the budget or can finance them, however, will reap big rewards.
Interested in the Cobra LIMIT3D irons? Have you played them? What’s your experience? Let us know in the comments below.
