File these away under You Never Know.
These concept drawings of what’s been labeled as Cobra Shikon irons were posted to a popular design site earlier this week. As is usually the case, we don’t know the whole story behind the design.
These could simply be random ideations. They could be two among several designs for products that will never see the light of day. Or…they could provide a glimpse of what’s to come.
What we can infer from the drawings is that they were done for Cobra’s Japanese division. There aren’t any Japan-exclusive products in the Cobra lineup (shaft graphics differ a bit, but that’s most of the story), and there haven’t been in a while. You could certainly argue that Cobra is past due on creating something unique for what is most certainly a very different market.
A quick step through Google’s translator reveals that Shikon can either mean bluish purple or fang. Given the context, let’s go ahead and assume it’s the latter.
Cobra Japan Shikon (Fang) Forged Irons
The first of the Shikon designs has a very player-centric look. If we consider it in terms of Cobra’s current lineup, I’d slot it between the AMP Cell Pro, and the BiO Cell+. The sole is relatively narrow, graphics (which include a shiny gold fang…see what they did there?) are relatively subtle (as subtle as a gold fang can be).
While maybe the color isn’t my favorite, it’s a design I actually like quite a bit.
The second Shikon design reminds me a bit of the AMP Forged. It looks to have a slightly more game-improvement slant than the first, and looks like it would fit between the current BiO Cell and BiO Cell+irons.
It’s just a drawing, so it’s impossible to know how the irons would actually be constructed, but given how Cobra is currently using Tungsten weighting in the BiO Cell, it’s possible that those lighter areas near the sole (where the 7 is stamped) might be made of a denser material like Tungsten. If you look them just right, those same two areas look a little bit like fangs, I suppose.
What Do You Think?
What do you think of these designs? Are these anything you’d like to see come to life, or are the ideas better left on balled up pieces of paper?
Would the Shikon iron change your perception of Cobra Golf?
Joe
10 years ago
When traditionalist talk about cobra clubs I LOL! Go look at titleist clubs cause cobra isn’t suppose to look “pleasing on the eye.” Ever since Ricky showed up on scene they have been about looking flashy and being cool. Younger players love it and it is good for the game to have someone like them because they get people interested in playing the sport! Plus you’re going to remember them with all their colors compared to classic steel looks (blah