Should you change to one-length irons? Here’s why Cobra think so

“It would have been easy to walk away from one-length irons when we parted ways with Bryson DeChambeau,” Jose Miraflor, Cobra’s vice president of marketing, admits.

It’s a subject that Miraflor, the charismatic face of the brand, is passionate about – and when you look at the numbers behind Cobra’s one-length irons, it’s no wonder.

They’re a phenomenon that were made popular by DeChambeau after he burst onto the scene using a home-built set nearly a decade ago. Nowadays, The Scientist is plying his trade on the LIV Golf League and, although he isn’t gaming Cobra clubs anymore, he’s still using a set of one-length irons.

While some might think they’re a gimmick, Cobra are adamant that, for the everyday golfer like you and I, they can improve your game.

Why?

“If you think about it, we don’t really need someone like Bryson,” Miraflor told bunkered at the launch of Cobra’s new Darkspeed range. “As long as the players are still saying that it works for them, then we want to support them.

“People who bought one-length back in 2017 or 2018, we can see that they’re re-buying one length in 2022 and 2023. When they come back and they want to replace the one-length, it’s nice to know that we have something there for them too. The most important thing is that it really works.”

How does the one-length irons concept help golfers?

As you’ll have worked out, all the irons in your set are the same length, but there’s more to it than that.

In the Cobra Darkspeed irons, which are the latest product from the brand to feature the one-length option, every club is the same length you would expect in a standard – or ‘variable length’, as Cobra call them – 7-iron.

In the longer irons, you’ll find a slightly weaker loft than standard to get the ball in the air more easily.

The core of the idea is the fewer adjustments you need to make throughout your swing, the better you’re likely to hit your irons, particularly in the stronger lofts. In a standard set, your 9-iron swing will look different to your 4-iron swing. Not the case with these.

“Most golfers we saw, when they play the one-length, we can see through data that’s being captured that they’re hitting a lot more greens on average,” Miraflor explained.

“It doesn’t matter if you change from a muscle-back to a cavity-back or to a game-improvement iron, it still doesn’t mean you’re hitting more greens. There is proof to show that they’re hitting more greens with the one-length iron.

“It’s very powerful. How do you not at least give it a shot? There’s a lot of engineering that goes into it to ensure that it works well. We’ve got varying lie angles, we use different ways to widen the sole, we put the CG further back, things like that. We work hard to make sure these perform.”

On top of that, Cobra’s figures show that in pro shops, customers who purchase one-length clubs are generally more satisfied than those who purchase traditional length clubs.

Some retailers are even at the point where one-length irons are rivalling the numbers being sold by variable length. Since 2017, nearly 50,000 sets of Cobra one-length irons have been sold and according to the brand’s data, these customers are the happiest with their clubs, mainly because they’re performing better on the course with them.

The Bryson effect? Possibly, but despite the former US Open champ no longer gaming Cobra gear, the one-length concept so often associated with him continues to thrive. Have you given it a try?

Want to know more about the Cobra Darkspeed range? make sure you head over to the bunkered YouTube channel for much more! 

Lewis Fraser As bunkered’s Performance Editor, Lewis oversees the content that’s designed to make you a better player. From the latest gear to tuition, nutrition, strategy and more, he’s the man. A graduate of the University of Stirling, Lewis joined bunkered in 2021. Formerly a caddie at Castle Stuart Golf Links, he is a member of Bathgate Golf Club where he plays off four.

Performance Editor