50 Words or Less
The Cobra Fly-Z XL irons are one of the smoother looking game improvement irons on the market and they pack some game to make them a definite “must hit” if you’re the player these clubs are geared toward.
Introduction
Continuing our dive into the Cobra Fly-Z XL family, we take a look at the new game improvement Fly-Z XL irons. For a game improvement iron, the Fly-Z XL is a strong club with forgiving performance, solid distance, and more traditional looks than commonly seen in a GI club. This review will take a look at why Cobra’s latest game improvement iron should be more appealing to a wider range of golfers and potentially lead to improved scores out on the course.
Looks
The Cobra Fly-Z XL irons are an over-sized game improvement iron, but they easily have one of the most traditional shapes I’ve seen in a GI club. This is a significant added bonus considering how many people complain they can’t play a GI iron because of the appearance. Well, this excuse is no more with the Fly-Z XL iron. The thinner topline and medium soles make for a more conservative, and very appealing, look at address and the offset is progressive through the set so only the longer irons have a significant amount of offset. The silver, black, blue, and white badging in the cavity is nice and modern giving the club a pretty slick aesthetic. For those that remember the space-age look of the previous BiO CELL irons and felt they were a bit too futuristic, the Fly-Z XL is going to take a away a lot of the sharp lines and boxes to give you more of a smooth and rounded look.
Sound & Feel
One of the common traits across the entire Cobra Fly-Z XL family is the Speed Face Channel – a trench around the face to minimize face thickness which leads to increased ball speeds. As mentioned in our previous Fly-Z XL reviews, this has a direct impact on the sound and feel of the clubs. Credit to Cobra, they took this into consideration and made significant efforts to dampen the metallic, almost driver-esque, sound that comes from the thin face. Many other current game improvement irons on the market have not done such a great job with this, but Cobra has managed to create more of a typical, muffled, iron sound.
The thinner face of the Fly-Z XL does lead to an explosive feel at impact and is very forgiving across the face. It’s an interesting contrast in that mishits don’t really feel like all that bad of a shot, but I definitely knew when I found the heel or toe. I’m not telling you it felt responsive in the typical sense, but I was certainly aware of where I was hitting the ball.
Performance
One thing I can say about the Cobra Fly-Z XL family is the whole line is very consistent and the irons fall right into their place in the lineup. The Fly-Z XL irons are designed to make it easier for slower swing speeds to get the club square at impact with their offset, get the ball launching in the air with a lower and deeper center of gravity, and deliver less punishment on mishits. With a dual cavity design in irons 4-8, the bottom cavity is a hollow chamber that lowers the center of gravity which makes the club more forgiving across the face, but also gets the ball launching in the air more quickly. This higher launch, paired with the faster ball speeds from the thin face, ends up giving the golfer some pretty solid distance. I found myself hitting each club about ten yards longer than my normal irons, and they were pretty easy to control. That said, I found these clubs to be a bit of a one trick pony, albeit a good trick: I was hitting nice high launching straight shots with that additional ten yards. If I were a player in the game improvement market, the Fly-Z XL is pretty tough to argue with and definitely makes golf seem easy.
Conclusion
The skill level in golf is so wide ranging that it’s nearly impossible for equipment manufacturers to address the needs of every player. The best a brand can do is cover as wide of skill ranges as possible with their various product lines. In my experience, I’ve felt that most companies do a good job addressing the needs of the medium to low-handicap golfers, but the high to medium-handicappers get neglected. Sometimes the high-handicappers are addressed, but that bridge from high to low is still missing. The Cobra Fly-Z XL irons do a tremendous job giving the high-handicap player an option to properly learn the game with and still progress with.
Watch the Video
Bill plays Scott Readman Concepts putters and accessories.
- Puma Ignite PWRADAPT Golf Shoes Review - March 22, 2018
- TaylorMade M3 Driver Review - March 14, 2018
- TaylorMade M4 Driver Review - March 5, 2018
For forgiveness how would these compare to the Ping Karstens?
Hi Nick,
Thanks for the comment. I can’t honestly answer that question as I didn’t really spend too much time with the Karstens (Matt reviewed them). What I can say is that the Fly-Z XL irons are extremely forgiving and hold up with all of the standard big players in Game Improvement irons. I know that answer may not be the most helpful, but as we always mention, it is always best to hit both clubs individually and see what works best for you with real world with actual results.
-Bill
Is there is a huge difference in forgiveness and lunch between the S9 and the fly z xl?
I still play the S9, I like cobra products.
Sam,
I’ve never played or hit the S9’s, but I know they are highly regarded as a solid set of clubs. One could argue that if isn’t broke, don’t fix it. As far as the comparison you’re looking for, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. The best comparison I can give is that the Fly-Z XL irons are fairly similar in performance to the BiO CELL irons from last season. Maybe a little more forgiving.
Best,
Bill
Can you still shape shots with these irons?
You can shape a ball with any iron: ball flight lesson.
I would argue that a player looking to put these clubs in their bag should not be concerned about shaping shots, but rather hitting the ball solid and straight. I think too many players focus on working the ball rather than being consistent with standard shots.
For a new player which one would you recommend this one (cobra fly-z xl) or Wilson staff d200?
I’ve never hit the Wilson so the best I can suggest is to try them both and see which you hit best. In the event you can’t demo either of them somewhere, whichever looks best to your eye and you can get the best deal on.
That said, I would strongly encourage getting professional in-person guidance on something fit for you if you’re just starting out.
I’ve been a Cobra fan for many years with 3100s, S2 (five sets) UFI (3 sets), 3400s (3 sets) and tried the FlyZ XL irons. Every shot felt like a mis-hit and the shafts felt too whippy and light. Currently happy with Wilson Ci6 which are even longer than the UFIs and S2.
I currently have a Cobra XL set of irons, and my dad recently got rid of his Cobra XL Fly-Z’s. What would be the biggest different between the two sets of irons? and is it worth making the transition and switching to the Fly-Z’s.
Tyler,
Unfortunately, Bill no longer writes for Plugged In Golf, and I don’t have enough familiarity with this set to answer your question.
Best,
Matt