One length irons / hybrids?

[Captain_Black.]

Probably been done before, so sorry for asking if it has.

I do feel much more confident with my shorter clubs with the exception of my driver which I do hit well.
I don't like the thought of playing with 7 iron length 8 / 9 irons & wedges but.
I'm thinking of trying to pick up a used one length 5 / 6 irons & maybe a one length hybrid or 2 to mix in with my present set.
Apart from possibly a slightly lower ball flight & a slight loss of distance what else can I expect?
Has anyone any experience of one length clubs?
Thinking specifically of Cobra.

 

[Jason.H]

Manufacturers build iron sets to precise tolerances which gives ideal gapping. A mixed set you’re sugesting would throw out gapping and ball flight consistencies imo. I’d rather go normal full set or try one length set but the one length idea has not really took off I wonder why.

 

[OnTour]

personal experience I like them pw to 7 iron, 5,6 irons flight was too low for me.

Installed new steel fiber shafts in my Cobra F7's and they feel so much better with a weighted shaft over the crap COBRA installed (every shaft had rust issues)

 

[Sats]

I tried the cobra F9 one length a couple of years ago thinking that it would be a good fit for me. I found they weren't - for me that is. The higher lofts looked weird and ballooned up and the lower lofts were very flat.
I do know a couple of lads that play them and love them. If you can go and try them see what it's like for you.

 

[Orikoru]

I used to think the idea of a shorter length 5 iron sounded appealing, but a really long PW sounds bizarre and awful. I think just using a hybrid and 7 wood instead of using long irons is a more sensible solution.

 

[Backsticks]

There has never really been a solid case, or even thesis to justify them. Tried several times, but always seem to have just died out like a failure of natural selection. The overwhelming avalanche of evidence is that a tapering loft/length balance is the optimum. It is the way.

 

[PJ87]

I have 6-Lw in normal clubs

my hybrids are one length. they go 5, 4, 3

not much gapping issues just use them as distance clubs tbh .. when your on the fairway and need max distance its a 3.. if its out the rough nothing more than a 4.. out a fairway bunker its a 5 etc

 

[Sausagefingers23]

I've recently got hold of a one length 3 utility iron but not had the chance to properly give it a go - hoping it will be pretty easy to hit and a relatively low flight

 

[Captain_Black.]

I have 6-Lw in normal clubs

my hybrids are one length. they go 5, 4, 3

not much gapping issues just use them as distance clubs tbh .. when your on the fairway and need max distance its a 3.. if its out the rough nothing more than a 4.. out a fairway bunker its a 5 etc

Yes, that was my thinking.
I don't like the idea of a 7 iron length wedge & maybe a 6 & 5 one length iron isn't worth the bother, but I would be interested to see how I hit the one length hybrids & what possible gains can be made over control vs ball height & distance.

 

[Billysboots]

A mate of mine has them and it’s made zero difference to his game.

Personally I like my long irons, my 4 being my favourite club in the bag. But I wouldn’t want a 9 iron that length, any more than I would want a shortened 4 iron. It would not feel right to me hitting clubs which are all the same length - not sure I could ever get used to it.

 

[Imurg]

I'm sure 1 length works for a few people but,,in my view, there's a reason the vast majority of manufacturers aren't making 1 length sets...

 

[Tinkerman]

That reason is likely the cost of development and marketing vs the sales they would need to make. Cobra don't follow the herd (not always a good thing of course), whether it be one length irons or their 3D printed Sik faced putters, and the sales of OL irons have been a huge success for them.

I tried out the F7 irons a few years ago and liked the consistent setup it brought to hitting irons. Distance control wasn't great though so I switched to the Forged TEC Black. I've got them in PW-5i with variable length hybrids, woods, GW and SW.
The 5i does have a very low flight so it carries less and relies on rollout for distance so may not be a good option if you already struggle with low ball flights. Might want to use a hybrid instead.
No issues with hitting the PW the right distance with a longer shaft.
The Forged TEC aren't the most forgiving but I've found them to be very accurate, both distance and dispersion, but Cobra have just bought out another model to add to the two in their OL line up, the Forged TEC X. It should be more forgiving then the Forged Tec but with better control over the LTDx OL irons. Unfortunately they don't do it left handed so I haven't been able to try it out.
I found it took about 5 or 6 rounds to get used to using OL irons to find the right setup to use for them so don't expect it to be a quick fix.