Cobra Darkspeed Irons Review – Are They Forgiving & Good for High Handicappers?

The Darkspeed irons take over from the Aerojet irons as Cobra’s flasgship irons. The lofts are slightly weaker but they are still offering maximum distance and ball speed.

That has typically appealed to faster swingers with more experience under their belts. But when I tested the new Cobra Darkspeed irons, I wanted to see if there was anything new that these clubs brought to the table, as the lofts have slightly weakened from the popular Aerojet irons from 2023.

I also wanted to see how viable these irons would be for high handicappers. So how did the Cobra Darkspeed irons fare? Read on to find out.

Cobra Darkspeed Irons Overview

The Cobra Darkspeed irons feature a hollow-body construction, AI-designed HOT face, suspended PWR-BRIDGE weighting system and soft polymer filling.

I won’t mince words. The Cobra Darkspeed irons played long right away. With the 7-iron, I averaged a carry distance of 187.5 yards. But Cobra clubs have always played long. What I wanted to see is if Cobra did anything to address the low spin that can be a hurdle for higher handicappers.

And I was pleased with what I saw. The spin rates lived between 4500 and 4700 RPs with the 7-iron which is definitely an improvement over the Aerojet irons. The launch was also a bit higher than the Aerojet which is a good sign for high handicappers.

Are the Darkspeed Irons Good For High Handicappers?

“The Cobra Darkspeed irons feature a hollow-body construction, AI-designed HOT face, suspended PWR-BRIDGE weighting system and soft polymer filling.”

I won’t mince words. The Cobra Darkspeed irons played long right away. With the 7-iron, I averaged a carry distance of 187.5 yards. But Cobra clubs have always played long. What I wanted to see is if Cobra did anything to address the low spin that can be a hurdle for higher handicappers.

And I was pleased with what I saw. The spin rates lived between 4500 and 4700 RPs with the 7-iron which is definitely an improvement over the Aerojet irons. The launch was also a bit higher than the Aerojet which is a good sign for high handicappers.

Are The Darkspeed Irons Forgiving?

“Even with a slightly smaller face profile than the Aerojet irons, I had no problem getting straight flight out of the Cobra Darkspeeds.”

And this was a big surprise to me because not only is the face profile smaller overall, the sole is also thinner. So you have a more compact head than the Aerojet. But the HOT face design does a great job of reducing that cut spin that can plague high handicappers.

And without altering my swing at all, I was getting higher than average height out of these irons – 102 feet on average. The only caveat is that these irons are so forgiving that they are not workable.

I can hit a draw at will but my draw was muted quite a bit with the Cobra Darkspeed irons. However, that probably won’t be a significant concern for high handicappers.

How Do the Cobra Darkspeed Irons Look?

In a word? Fantastic. I love the matte, gunmetal finish. It’s a refreshing departure from the chrome irons that have dominated the market as of late.

And as I reported earlier, the overall size of the sole has been shrunk down a bit so you don’t see it jutting out of the back of the head.

Should You Buy the Cobra Darkspeed or the Cobra Darkspeed One Length Irons?

The Cobra Darkspeed One Length irons feature all the same technologies as the standard Cobra Darkspeeds but, as the name suggests, are all one length: 37.25”, average 7-iron length.

Whether you should buy them or not will depend on whether you prefer to use the same setup and swing for all your irons.