New Stronger Loft Irons

[Nyrangers1022]

Right now I have a set of One Length Cobra F8s.   I really thought about getting the new Cobra LTDx One Lengths.   The PW of the F8 is 44*.   However the LTDx is 41.5*.   The 5i of the F8 is 22.5*.  The LTDx is 20.5*. 

 

My question is, there will be a bigger gap between a new PW and my standard length 49* AW (yea a 44 to 49 is a solid gap as well but its pretty well gapped yardage wise).   And my current 4h will basically be the same loft as a new 5i.   Will it be a waste of time getting new irons without buying a complete new set of wedges.  Or is technology so far advanced in the shafts that the lofts don't mean as much comparing new and old irons.    

Edited December 4, 2022 by Nyrangers1022

[Denny Bang Bang]

I could be wrong, but I’d put money on you needing to address the wedges as well.

[TourSpoon]

I think we used to call a club with 41.5 degrees of loft an 8 or 9 iron. 

If you buy the new irons with the jacked up lofts, you will most likely need to make adjustments to your wedge game. If you are going to do it, you may find that the F8 PW (with a tweak if needed) is your new gap wedge. Regardless of the clubs you end up with, you have to make sure that you are covered for all your distances with minimal redundancies. A good sand wedge will always be between 54-58 degrees for optimal play so you need to start (or end) there and gap accordingly. 

[ChetlovesMer]

22 hours ago, Nyrangers1022 said:

Right now I have a set of One Length Cobra F8s.   I really thought about getting the new Cobra LTDx One Lengths.   The PW of the F8 is 44*.   However the LTDx is 41.5*.   The 5i of the F8 is 22.5*.  The LTDx is 20.5*. 

 

My question is, there will be a bigger gap between a new PW and my standard length 49* AW (yea a 44 to 49 is a solid gap as well but its pretty well gapped yardage wise).   And my current 4h will basically be the same loft as a new 5i.   Will it be a waste of time getting new irons without buying a complete new set of wedges.  Or is technology so far advanced in the shafts that the lofts don't mean as much comparing new and old irons.    

I'm curious, have you actually hit the LTDx's?

Here's my worry. I like a lot of the idea behind one-length clubs. My concern is that the shaft being shorter on the 5-iron as compared to traditional clubs means you will be giving away some club head speed. Combine that with the lower loft and I'd be worried about the launch characteristics of 5-iron.

I actually think that many clubs, and especially one length clubs could benefit from a bit more loft. I get the idea of lower center of gravity and different face designs and I understand all of that. 
.... BUT ... loft is your friend. 

[Nyrangers1022]

21 hours ago, TourSpoon said:

I think we used to call a club with 41.5 degrees of loft an 8 or 9 iron. 

If you buy the new irons with the jacked up lofts, you will most likely need to make adjustments to your wedge game. If you are going to do it, you may find that the F8 PW (with a tweak if needed) is your new gap wedge. Regardless of the clubs you end up with, you have to make sure that you are covered for all your distances with minimal redundancies. A good sand wedge will always be between 54-58 degrees for optimal play so you need to start (or end) there and gap accordingly. 

Thanks, after this response it don't seem worth it to me

 

21 hours ago, ChetlovesMer said:

I'm curious, have you actually hit the LTDx's?

Here's my worry. I like a lot of the idea behind one-length clubs. My concern is that the shaft being shorter on the 5-iron as compared to traditional clubs means you will be giving away some club head speed. Combine that with the lower loft and I'd be worried about the launch characteristics of 5-iron.

I actually think that many clubs, and especially one length clubs could benefit from a bit more loft. I get the idea of lower center of gravity and different face designs and I understand all of that. 
.... BUT ... loft is your friend. 

Never hit them thought about trying them.  However after a few replies it dont seem worth it.  I don't have any issues getting my current 5i launched.  Its good in the 175-185 yard range. But lower loft like you said could make it more difficult.  

[DrvFrShow]

On 12/4/2022 at 9:56 AM, Nyrangers1022 said:

Right now I have a set of One Length Cobra F8s.   I really thought about getting the new Cobra LTDx One Lengths.   The PW of the F8 is 44*.   However the LTDx is 41.5*.   The 5i of the F8 is 22.5*.  The LTDx is 20.5*. 

 

My question is, there will be a bigger gap between a new PW and my standard length 49* AW (yea a 44 to 49 is a solid gap as well but its pretty well gapped yardage wise).   And my current 4h will basically be the same loft as a new 5i.   Will it be a waste of time getting new irons without buying a complete new set of wedges.  Or is technology so far advanced in the shafts that the lofts don't mean as much comparing new and old irons.    

I currently game the F9 One Lengths. The 5i is 23 degrees and the set GW is 49 degrees. You will need the GW, trust me. The LTDx OL gap wedge is 47.5 deg, so it's 6 deg. If you dropped the set GW and went to specialty wedges, you'd need to go probably Cleveland CBX Zipcore 46, 50, 54, 58 (or change to the RTX Zipcore 58 low depending upon if you hit flop shots). 

Here's the bag I played last season: 

Ping G410 4H (22), 5H (26); Cobra F9 OL - 7i - GW. Notice I dropped the 6i because the 6i is the same loft as the 5H. I used the 5H for the same shots as the 6i and for bump and runs around the green. I did this not because I couldn't hit a 6i - it's one of my favorite clubs - it was that a bump and run was an auto triple bogey. Using a hybrid for them put me in position to save par because it's very difficult to chili dip a hybrid. For wedges I used a Cleveland Zipcore RTX 50, Callaway MD-4 54/10, and Callaway MD-4 58/8. My wedges are pretty shot so next season I'm replacing them with Cleveland CBX2 52, Cobra Snakebite OL 56, Cobra MIM OL 60. I don't hit full shots with my wedges. 

Dropping the 6i allowed me to put a 7W in the bag. I play a 5W & 7W and Driver at the top end.

I'd hit the LTDx OL and see if you like them better. If you do, I'd just get individual irons 6i - PW. There's no discount for buying a "set." The 6 is 23.5 deg. You already have a 4H that's 21 degrees. So you don't need a 5i, and then get the wedges. If you like the irons better than what you're already playing. You might want to compare your current hybrid to the LTDx hybrid or maybe even a Ping G425 425 hybrid (22) and loft it down to 21 degrees.

[David L Yskes]

On 12/4/2022 at 12:56 PM, Nyrangers1022 said:

Right now I have a set of One Length Cobra F8s.   I really thought about getting the new Cobra LTDx One Lengths.   The PW of the F8 is 44*.   However the LTDx is 41.5*.   The 5i of the F8 is 22.5*.  The LTDx is 20.5*. 

 

My question is, there will be a bigger gap between a new PW and my standard length 49* AW (yea a 44 to 49 is a solid gap as well but its pretty well gapped yardage wise).   And my current 4h will basically be the same loft as a new 5i.   Will it be a waste of time getting new irons without buying a complete new set of wedges.  Or is technology so far advanced in the shafts that the lofts don't mean as much comparing new and old irons.    

I bought a full set of the Cobra One length LTDx 5-GW, back in october, and if you don't get the GW, you'll need to pick up another wedge in the 46 to 48* range.  I did have the GW bent 1* strong to make the gapping a bit better..    I also have three of the Cobra snakebite one length wedges 48-52-56, but, i hit the LTDx GW so much better that i'll just keep the 48* wedge on the back burner..   

I will say this, I love being able to take a full swing with the LTDx GW, yes it's just a strong wedge, but the ball flight is so high, that it's like hitting a full SW.