Alright, my fellow golf nerds, now is our time to geek out.
Cobra has officially entered the chat with one of the most cutting-edge iron designs we’ve ever seen. The new Cobra 3DP irons aren’t just another twist on forged vs. cast, they’re blowing up the conversation with fully 3D-printed clubheads made from a 316 stainless steel.
Yes, you read that right: fully printed irons. And, no, this isn’t some crazy fluff cooked up by a marketing department. The tech here is legit, the performance is real and Cobra might’ve just created the blueprint for the next generation of iron design.
Let’s start with the headline: every iron in the 3DP line is fully 3D printed, not just a badge or an insert. Cobra uses a 316 stainless steel — printed layer by precise layer — to create a structure that traditional casting or forging simply can’t replicate.
And they’re not printing for fun; they’re printing for performance — to the tune of 2,600 passes per head.
Cobra designed an internal lattice structure that replaces the solid mass inside a typical blade. This lattice design is functional and allowed engineers to redistribute 33% of the total clubhead weight, pushing it low and outward.
Here’s what that means for golfers in simple terms:
You get a “bladey” look paired with game-improvement forgiveness
Vibration control baked into the design — i.e., no need for foam or inserts
So, while this iron looks like a sleek players iron, it performs more like a high-tech hollow-body distance club, with better feel, better launch and more forgiveness.
Cobra 3DP Tour Custom Irons
The KING 3D Printed TOUR irons utilize 3D printing technology to unlock a new realm of performance. Their one of a kind design features the most forgiving blade shape on the market, delivering the forgiveness that aspirational players need, and the sleek looks and soft feel that better players desire.
3D PRINTED STEEL CONSTRUCTION
Each iron is fully 3D printed from 316 stainless steel. 3D printing provides significant advantages over traditional methods of casting and forging, unlocking more design freedom and significant performance improvements.
FORGIVING PLAYERS BLADE SHAPE
3D printing has unlocked new design possibilities, enabling COBRA engineers to create a compact blade shape with the mass properties (high MOI, low CG) of a game improvement iron without sacrificing looks and soft feel that better players demand.
INTERNAL LATTICE STRUCTURE
COBRA took a muscle-back blade shape (similar in size and shape to the KING TOUR iron), and transformed the inside of the blade into a complex internal lattice structure to reduce the weight of the club by 33%. That discretionary weight was repositioned to optimize feel, CG position, and MOI.
Forged vs. Cast vs. 3D Printed: A whole new category
Forged irons are known for their soft, pure feel and are made by hammering a single piece of steel into shape, which delivers that buttery feedback better players love. The downside? They’re not very forgiving, and manufacturers are limited in how much tech they can pack into them. You hit it flush? Great. You miss? Hope you brought an extra sleeve of balls and some CBD for your joints after the round.
Cast irons offer more forgiveness and flexibility in design. Because molten metal is poured into molds, companies can add things like perimeter weighting, deeper cavities and wider soles. That’s great for game improvement, but the feel usually takes a hit. Typically, these irons will be described by players as: “firmer, clickier and not as connected.”
3D-printed irons like Cobra’s rewrite the rules
Because the head is printed layer by layer, Cobra can do things neither forging nor casting allows — like, say, adding an internal lattice, tuning wall thickness to less than a millimeter and redistributing weight with near-perfect precision. The result is a club that feels soft and stable like a forged iron, offers the forgiveness of a cast design and delivers performance that neither can match on its own.
With 3D printing, there’s no trade-off between looks, feel and forgiveness. You get the design freedom of casting, the feel of forging and the kind of internal tech that makes a traditional clubhead feel like a flip phone.
What we leaned from testing the Cobra 3DP irons
We tested the 3DP’s against their non-printed counterparts. Here are a few key takeaways:
—1–2 mph faster ball speeds than comparable lofted hollow-body irons
—Mid-5000s spin with 6-iron testing, enough to hold greens without ballooning
—Launch angles 1–2° higher than most comparable hollow-body irons
—10–15% tighter dispersion compared to the King Tour, thanks to that high-MOI design
These irons are fast, stable and launch-friendly, but they don’t scream “game improvement.” It’s what you would expect from a blend of a blade, hollow-body and game-improvement iron. They just look, sound and feel better.
Who are these irons for?
Let’s be honest, these might not be for your casual player who is still gaming, say, ’90s blades and smoking darts on the tee box. The Cobra 3DP irons are for golfers who want modern performance without giving up looks, feel or workability.
These are ideal for:
—Single-digit handicappers who like to shape shots but still want a safety net
—Mid-handicappers who’ve graduated from shovels and want something sleeker
—Any player who want blade vibes without blade punishment on mishits
—Tech heads who get excited by phrases like “topology optimization” and “weight redistribution”
—Anyone who wants forged feel with forgiveness baked in, not bolted on
Golfers have been swinging forged, cast and everything in between for decades. But Cobra is the first major brand to go all in on full 3D-printed construction — and it’s not just a proof of concept; it really is a better iron.
By combining a compact player’s profile with futuristic materials and game-improvement forgiveness, the Cobra 3DP irons are printing a new category all together.
So yeah, blades are cool and hollow bodies are hot. But the 3DP irons combine the best of both designs.
Building on a career that has spanned more than 20 years in the golf industry, McCormack has spent the last six years of his career serving as the Vice President of Tour and Education for True Spec Golf. During that time, he curated the training program for the True Spec fitting staff and pushed for more continuing education curriculum. As well as managing their Tour department and building relationships with a multitude of OEM partners. Prior to joining the True Spec team, McCormack worked with several of the industry-leading manufacturers as a Master level Fitting Professional. In addition to being an instructor and partnering with the Golf Channel Academy as a lead instructor and brand-agnostic Fitting Professional. He has also worked with R&D teams to assist in product design, testing, and development for a variety of gear releases. He is a golf enthusiast and lives in the gear space!
