Alternative One Length Idea? Makes Sense to Me...

Brons · March 4, 2019

So I’ve been geeking out on my new SkyTrak and looking at a mountain of data that I’ve never had access to before. I’m interested in the One Length concept but like some I am not sold on the idea of a wedge with a 7i shaft.

That being said my distances and dispersion with my PW-7i are like a Swiss train as far a reliability and repeatability. 6i-4i is a different story. My gaping is about 3* (Callaway Steelhead XR) in all these long clubs but they more or less (10-15 yards) have the same total distance with ball flight and roll being the biggest difference. What do I gain by having these nuanced clubs with not-so-great dispersion from 180-210 yards which I imagine aside from long par 3’s are not a considerable dispersion/distance equation advantage? Also, would trade tighter dispersion for distance any day from that range.

So here is what i am thinking, a standard set of Cobra Forged Tec 7-GW; Cobra One Length Forged Tec 6-4 (maybe throw in an OL F9 4i like Rickie) to see if I gain any control and consistency from those OL long irons that seems to me to be the one thing that most OL fans are hyped about. I would do this in a legit fitting to make sure the shafts are correct and to see if this holds up. Also, the idea of gaining a bit more reliability out of 6i-4i is far more interesting to me than being able to bust a 220 yard 4i on a pure strike. Top end of the bag would have to be sorted out after testing, I’m thinking a 18*/19* hybrid and my 3W would cover that 210-240 gap.

Any help form current OL players would be most welcome, and if Cobra picks up this idea I want a free set!!!

Pack7483 · March 4, 2019

Just my opinion, That will probably work great, BUT for me the wedges and short irons are where I like my OL clubs the most. Took me a few rounds to get comfortable with them, but after a year now with my f7 OL 5-LW I tried to hit a rogue pro PW, and it felt ridiculously short. I topped it like crazy. Grabbed my 7i length PW and it was back to great shots. The beauty of OL is once you dial in the setup it is basically the same from 4-LW. With that said do what works for you! Cobra sells their irons individually so you can make any combo.

dmeeksDC · March 4, 2019

Many golfers doing this already. I just started and I like it so far, still getting distances down. But it is really no big adjustment because it is easier. For a lot of amateurs, 4-6 irons are the weakness. I play an OL 5 and 6 iron, and variable length the rest of the way ( though the regular 7 iron is also the same length as the 5 and 6.) I don’t think I could play OL in my short irons. I like my game there. Am toying with an OL at the 4 iron spot if I can get past how it felt like a toy in my hands.

All Cobra Forged Tec Black for me, with the $ Taper shafts. My first spin with these shafts and they are excellent.

rawdog · March 4, 2019

Just my opinion, That will probably work great, BUT for me the wedges and short irons are where I like my OL clubs the most. Took me a few rounds to get comfortable with them, but after a year now with my f7 OL 5-LW I tried to hit a rogue pro PW, and it felt ridiculously short. I topped it like crazy. Grabbed my 7i length PW and it was back to great shots. The beauty of OL is once you dial in the setup it is basically the same from 4-LW. With that said do what works for you! Cobra sells their irons individually so you can make any combo.

I second everything written here. The biggest benefit to me was greatly reducing my tendency to pull wedge shots or thin them. Sure, I can get chunky still, but my L-R dispersion has been terrific so far.

pappaf2 · March 4, 2019

I just started doing something very similar to dmeeks. Got a F7 OL 5 and 6 iron to go in with my VL set. Only gotten 1 round in with the set but I felt much more confident/comfortable with the OL 5/6 irons. I think it’s worth trying and probably an easier adjustment for most people than the longer short irons

rjr25 · March 5, 2019

After playing a full OL set last year, I will be doing something similar to this this coming season.

I found the greatest benefit from OL in the 5 and 6 irons personally and my short game actually suffered. So ordered a full set of Variable Forged Tec's for this year and I'll either swap in my 5 and 6 from my F7 set or Ill look into grabbing some OL 5&6 in the Forged Tecs. I love the 5 in the F7 though so thinking it might stay. Just hate having mixed set between the black/silver. I added a OL hybrid at the end of the season and think I will give that a try for the year as well. Crazy easy to hit.

Yieeman · March 5, 2019

I chopped down my 4-6 irons, added a ton of lead tape, and adjusted the lie angles earlier this year. The clubs are a tad wonky, but it has worked well enough that I just ordered a mixed set of F9s. 4-7 OL and 8-PW normal. My feeling is that unless you are an amazing long iron player, it can really only help going single length in your long and mid irons.

Perrkka · March 5, 2019

This only works if you have a high swingspeed. I have 85 Mph with the 7 iron and carry the Cobra Forged One 7 iron 145 m, I carry the 6 iron 150 m. The 5 and 4 iron I do not carry longer then the 6 iron. I have a 22 degree Hybrid OL that I carry 160 m. After that I use VL hybrids.

pappaf2 · March 5, 2019

This only works if you have a high swingspeed. I have 85 Mph with the 7 iron and carry the Cobra Forged One 7 iron 145 m, I carry the 6 iron 150 m. The 5 and 4 iron I do not carry longer then the 6 iron. I have a 22 degree Hybrid OL that I carry 160 m. After that I use VL hybrids.

True statement. Tom Wishon said something to the effect of if you don’t swing 7i fast enough it’s diminishing returns and you can’t carry the low lofted clubs far enough

dmeeksDC · March 5, 2019

This only works if you have a high swingspeed. I have 85 Mph with the 7 iron and carry the Cobra Forged One 7 iron 145 m, I carry the 6 iron 150 m. The 5 and 4 iron I do not carry longer then the 6 iron. I have a 22 degree Hybrid OL that I carry 160 m. After that I use VL hybrids.

True statement. Tom Wishon said something to the effect of if you don’t swing 7i fast enough it’s diminishing returns and you can’t carry the low lofted clubs far enough

They have continually worked on the OL designs to tweak loft and carry. An 85 mph 7 iron would seem adequate to me. Certainly not slow. I am swinging a 7 iron 88-90 and have not noticed any issue. If anything, I hit the OL 5 iron longer than the standard one because I am more consistent with the shorter shaft length. I am using the Forged Tec Black heads. Like I said, still dialing in. I also think lofts can be tweaked a bit either way if needed. But I am hitting the 6 longer than the 7 and it looks like the usual gap. Want to get them on course if the constant cold and rain will let up.