Cobra S2 Max Irons
By Dominic Pedler - May 2010

Last month we introduced the first two of Cobra's S2 iron trilogy. These were the stainless steel, perimeter-weighted S2 with its polymer topline and toe insert and expanded urethane sole insert with a vibration-dampening back plate. Also, the S2 Forged, a soft 1025 carbon steel cavity back targeted to more accomplished players seeking distance, feel and response - but also more forgiveness than a traditional forged muscleback.

These are now joined by the S2 Max, an ultra-game improvement iron for the mid- to high-handicapper seeking maximum forgiveness. As well as featuring Cobra's trademark 9-Point technology which effectively widens the sweetspot, the club has very low-profile, widesole design which updates the previous S9 model with contouring that considerably reduces turf drag.

We especially like the fact that the S2 Max is available as an Iron-Hybrid set, kicking off with three chunky metalwood-style hybrids clearly inspired by Cobra's famous Baffler (see below) but with even larger heads for a high-MOI, ultra-stable performance. There's also been close attention to gapping with the S2 Max showing consistent and reliable distances from one club to the next.

There was much talk in Orlando that the pitching wedge measures just 43° of loft, but we had no trouble getting an appropriate ball flight – presumably due to the compensating effect of the heads' exceptionally low centre of gravity and the low kick-point of the Aldila NVS-HL (High Launch) graphite shafts.

Cobra S2 Max (5-SW) £379 (steel)/ £449 (graphite); Cobra S2 Max Iron-Hybrid set £589 (graphite only; 4, 5, 6 hybrid & 7-SW irons).

Further details at www.cobragolf.co.uk