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Today, I’ll be taking a close look at the Cobra LTDx irons.
The LTDx iron is engineered for distance, forgiveness and launch. It does this through PWR-COR technology which maximizes face speed, additional heel and toe mass for high MOI, and PWRSHELL technology that increases face flex in mis-hit areas.
The LTDx is a versatile iron meant to appeal to a wide range of players. But how does it actually perform when put to the test? How does it compare with previous Cobra offerings like the KING RADSPEED? Is it worth putting a set in the bag?
Read on to find out 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 LTDx iron earned a gold medal on the Golf Digest 2022 Hot List. It has been received very well by customers, but critics have been less friendly towards it.
The iron has an average player rating of 4.9/5 on the Cobra store, 5/5 on Global Golf, and 5/5 on PGA TOUR Superstore.
What People Like
- long and powerful
- very forgiving and easy to hit
- relatively affordable
- strong impact feel
What People Don’t Like
- low trajectory combined with low spin means poor stopping power into greens
- a little too chunky for some people’s tastes
The Features
PWR-COR Technology
PWR-COR is all about maximizing the coefficient of restitution (COR), which maximizes face flex at impact and hence ball speed.
This face flexibility is achieved with a steel core bar that is suspended within a casing injected with a soft polymer. It is separated from the other parts of the iron and shifts the CG right behind the hitting zone.
The result is maximum deformation at impact, creating a powerful elastic rebound effect in the face and sole.
PWRSHELL Technology
The PWRSHELL face design consists of an L-cup forged from a strong and thin stainless steel. It is designed to increase the zone of maximum ball speed, with a 23% larger thin area and 17% more flex compared to the previous RADSPEED irons.
PWRSHELL wraps over the sole of the iron, supposedly to help increase launch. This technology results in Cobra’s fastest iron face that increases ball speed forgiveness away from the sweet spot.
Heel & Toe Stability
With the LTDx irons, additional mass is positioned in the heel and toe regions.
This enhances the moment of inertia (MOI) of the irons, improving their ability to resist twisting at impact (particularly in mis-hit areas) and thus improving forgiveness and stability.
CNC-Milled Face
The grooves of the LTDx iron are shaped to high accuracy with CNC milling. This is intended to improve control and accuracy, optimize spin, and increase stopping power into the greens.
Arccos Sensors
The purchase of Cobra golf equipment like the LTDx irons immediately makes you eligible to receive free Arccos Smart Sensors and a one-year free trial to the Arccos Caddie app.
Arccos sensors are attached to the clubs in your bag and enable automatic shot tracking, real-time GPS yardage information adjusted for environmental conditions, caddie advice, and post-round strokes gained analytics.
Arccos features can be accessed through a smartphone, smart watch, or Arccos Link device. It is said that Cobra players improve by five strokes on average after their first year using the Arccos Caddie system.
Stock Info
The LTDx irons are available from the 4-iron all the way to the sand wedge. The stock sets are 4-PW and 5-GW. Custom sets and individual selections are possible.
The stock steel shaft is the KBS TOUR 90, and the stock graphite shaft (progessive weighting) is the KBS PGI (65, 75, 85). The stock grip is the Lamkin Crossline 58R.
There are a ton of different grips to choose from and many custom shafts. You can also customize your lie angles and lofts.
Also available are the:
- LTDx Combo Set, which consists of the 6-GW along with a 5H LTDx Hybrid designed for easy launch
- LTDx ONE Length irons which are all the length of the 7-iron at 37.25″
- Women’s LTDx irons which offer club lengths, shafts and grips that are tailored to women to maximize their performance
If you’re interested, more information on shafts, grips and other customizations can be found here.
Below are the specs of the LTDx irons. Click or zoom to enlarge.
The Performance
Distance
The one word I can use to describe my experience with the LTDx iron is “power”. This thing is a speed machine, with high ball speed and long carry. For example, I was hitting my 7-iron 190+ yards and my 5-iron 210+ yards with relative ease.
That, however, comes at a notable cost: launch.
The launch angle is low, so you’re essentially sacrificing trajectory and stopping power in exchange for more distance. And the spin rate is too low to mitigate the reduced stopping power to any meaningful degree.
Forgiveness
The same technologies that make the LTDx irons extremely long also make them very forgiving. They certainly have a game-improvement level of forgiveness, and beyond.
In particular, the LTDx irons are extremely stable in mis-hit areas. Nearly all of its inner technologies contribute to this, including PWR-COR, PWRSHELL, and the additional heel and toe mass that increases MOI.
When it comes down to it, the LTDx irons provide exceptional ball speed preservation and tight dispersions (only a few yards in either direction) — you can’t ask for much more than this.
Playability/Trajectory
Trajectories with the LTDx irons tend to be low with a neutral flight bias. Launch is on the low side throughout the set, while shots tend to be very penetrating and hold up well in the wind.
Many modern irons in recent years have done a great job minimizing the tradeoff between distance and stopping power. Unfortunately, I don’t think the LTDx does a very good job in this regard, and the fact that the lofts are extremely strong doesn’t help. The lofts are even stronger than Callaway’s Rogue ST MAX.
Having said that, the LTDx irons are easy to hit out of a variety of lies. They handle rough nicely, and turf interaction is very clean and pleasant.
When it comes to workability, this is not a shotmaker’s iron. Competent golfers can work the ball to a limited extent, but it certainly doesn’t afford the precise control that many professionals demand.
The Look
The LTDx iron has plenty of bag appeal, with a cool badge design, chrome finish, and tasteful orange and yellow accents.
It has a thick top line and looks very bulky at address, particularly with the longer irons where you can see some of the cavity sticking out of the back. This can inspire a lot of confidence when set up over the ball but will not appeal to everyone.
Having said that, despite its game-improvement qualities, the LTDx iron has a relatively small amount of offset. This means that there is less help for golfers who struggle with unwanted fades or slices.
The Sound & Feel
The feel of the LTDx iron at impact is very solid and strong — reminiscent of a forged club. There is also an element of hotness there.
This premium feel holds up very well as you move from the sweet spot to the heel and toe regions of the face. Feel is especially maintained low on the face.
The sound at impact is a fairly sharp “clap” that is higher-pitched and less muted than other game-improvement irons such as the Callaway Rogue ST MAX.
In my experience, there is barely enough feedback to discern the general area of the strike, but the upside is that the sound & feel of mis-hits aren’t very punishing. Even though this is a game-improvement iron, I would have liked to see just a little more distinctness in the feedback.
Where To Buy These Irons Online
You can buy the LTDx irons directly from the Cobra store. Financing is available. The Cobra store also currently offers LTDx combo sets and ONE Length irons.
The LTDx is not a current-season model, so ordering it custom is difficult.
A fantastic place to snatch up these irons at low prices (new or used) is eBay. You can often get irons there for prices that can’t be beat anywhere else.
Another great place is Global Golf, which sells the regular LTDx irons along with the Combo Set and ONE Length irons. They can accommodate custom requests and offer performance guarantees and a club trade-in program (UTry) to help you minimize the financial hit.
Also look at what’s available at Rock Bottom Golf and PGA TOUR Superstore.
Conclusion
The Cobra LTDx iron is in a bit of a tough spot. Yes, it’s remarkably long and exceptionally forgiving, but most golfers who would benefit the most from this will be put off by the low trajectories.
On the other hand, players who have high enough swing speeds will likely not need the added distance that the LTDx provides.
At the end of the day, the LTDx iron is best suited for mid-high handicappers who put a premium on distance and mis-hit forgiveness over control, spin and stopping power.
Personally, irons that have super strong lofts and focus on maximum distance aren’t my cup of tea. But many players have gotten fantastic results from the LTDx, and they are certainly worth a try.
Are you interested in the LTDx irons? Have you tried them yet? What’s your experience? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
I think the criticism of low trajectory is misplaced. Yes, if you have a scratch/pro level swing with shaft ahead of ball & descending ball-turf strike the trajectory will be low but for the target market high handicapper with a typical turf-ball flick (like me) the trajectory is just fine. And low spin is not such an issue either as I/we don’t get a lot with any other iron anyway.
It depends on the golfer. A lot of high handicappers struggle with low trajectories and want to launch the ball higher than they are currently launching it. The strong lofts here just won’t help with that.
These irons hit the ball as high as any other irons on the market. Have them in the bag since last summer. Hit the ball nice and high.
Glad to hear it!