Equipment
GolfWRX Insider: Inside the development of Rickie Fowler’s Cobra irons (plus full specs)
It’s been nearly 10 years since Rickie Fowler showed up on a PGA Tour driving range with Cobra blades in the bag. He was coming off of a 2010 rookie campaign that immediately put the young Californian into every big golf conversation there was to be had. Its been fun looking back at the work that has been done thus far, but oh my, did they go into a rabbit hole on this project.
On Sunday, Fowler will debut a set of the most unique forgings I’ve seen in a long time…maybe ever. The Cobra Golf Rev33 (33rd revision) muscleback irons are the brainchild of Cobra R&D, Director of Tour Operations Ben Schomin and Rickie Fowler. As you can see in the photos, getting here took some serious engineering chops and a lot of Rickie’s imagination.
The development process of the Rev33 took place over a year, from late 2018 to late 2019, and in that time Cobra R&D, Fowler, and Schomin had one goal in mind—make an iron designed with Rickie Fowler that inspired confidence in Rickie Fowler.
I had a chance to chat with Cobra’s Director of Tour Operations Ben Schomin on the development of the Rev33, and this is what he had to say.
JW: This isn’t the first time you have collaborated with Rickie on a Cobra iron. What made this experience feel different?
BS: In many ways designing a muscle back has similarities no matter who is making them but in this case, the experience was more of an exploration of taking the best of what Rick liked from the past, keeping it and adding in his own personal preferences to truly make it his iron. That involved as you know now 33 versions but what this process landed us on is a very special iron that has attributes you don’t see very often.
JW: It sounds like this project was a bit old craftsmanship and new tech—computers and a good old fashioned grind wheel.
BS: Yeah, the Sunday before Torrey last year, we had Rickie in the workshop and I pulled out some old MB heads and started grinding. As we went along and the ideas started flowing he’d say a little more off here, blend this line, a little less off there, etc… It was a great day especially if you’re a gear nerd like me.
JW: From the look of it there is some “old school” attributes to this iron. Did you look back at old forgings for inspiration?
BS: I went into our archive for inspiration. Gathering iconic blades from years past; MP14/29, Ram FX Tour Grinds, Wilson Staff Fluid Feel sets, Cobra Norman grinds, etc… The crazy thing was I forgot how much offset many of those old school blades had. That’s when I realized we could pick out certain design features and aesthetics, but ultimately this new iron idea was going to be just that, an entirely new creation. Remember Muscle Backs typically follow the similar design rules, where we and many other great companies get creative is in the engineering of it all. Edges, lines, widths, etc… all while making sure they hold up for the best players in the world. No easy task.
Top Line of early Proto 4-iron Rev33
JW: Let’s talk about that offset—or the fact that it’s not there, mathematically or optically.
BS: LOL. That’s the first thing you will notice with these. His old irons had barely any offset, to begin with, (40/1000th of an inch) so we are already dealing with very little space. So the real question was how do we take out more offset and eliminate any appearance of offset. That’s where it got interesting. If you set it down, you would notice that the hosel has no taper to it at all. That taper, believe it or not, can optically add the appearance of some offset, next step was to flatten out the “par” area—most irons have a little space from the ferrule to the scoring line; these have basically none. So to your point, mathematically, there is zero offset and optically there is zero, which is rare.
JW: You mentioned the 7-iron being the anchor club in this set. Explain that.
BS: Rickie loves the look of the 7-iron; it’s his favorite shape in the set. The idea was to transfer the look of that club into the whole set. You can really see it in the shorter clubs where the roundness or softness in those clubs is replaced by sharper lines from toe to heel. That’s where visually the set will catch any player’s eye.
JW: From a spec standpoint, is Rickie married to certain lofts? Another way to ask is are the Rev33 engineered around his loft preferences or was a bit more fluid?
BS: Rickie’s specs have always been right where they are now (47 PW on down). The set was engineered around his specific lofts. I understand with launch conditions/preference being stuck on certain specs could add some extra math but in this case, it didn’t hold us up much nor was it really a mountain to climb. Remember these are soft metal MB’s so a degree here or there won’t alter the performance.
Rickie Fowler Rev33 iron specs (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS C-Taper 125S+ (soft stepped)
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align (non-brushed RF style)
- 4: 23° / 61.5° / D3 /38
- 5: 27° / 62° / D3 /37.5
- 6: 31° / 62.5° / D3 /37
- 7: 35° / 63° / D3 /36.5
- 8: 39° / 63.5° / D3/36
- 9: 43° / 64° / D3 /35.75
- PW: 47° / 64.5° / D3 /35.5
JW: He has been in a KBS Tour C Taper S+ for a while. Was that the shaft all the testing was done with?
BS: Yes, he switched to a Dynamic Gold S400 at one point last season to find some spin, but the KBS has been in the bag for a while, so the Rev33 was tested with that shaft.
JW: In speaking with Rickie last year, he mentioned the turf interaction being so good on King MB. Was that sole something you wanted to keep in the Rev33?
BS: We didn’t want to sacrifice anything he loved from the King MB irons, so the sole shape, camber ,and bounce remain the same. Since he plays at 1/2-inch short, we also continue to add tungsten plugs to increase weight. Blade length from heel to toe is about the same as well, but aesthetically everything else has been changed. Even the copper finish was his pick. We set out to make a unique iron that was his, and we didn’t stop until it was just right.
JW: What materials are these irons made of?
BS: His current prototype sets have been machined in-house from 304 stainless steel.
The Cobra “Rev33” MB are scheduled to be released as a custom order beginning fall 2020.
JUNO BEACH, FLORIDA – MAY 17: A detail of the clubs of Rickie Fowler of the CDC Foundation team prior to the TaylorMade Driving Relieve Supported By UnitedHealth Group on May 17, 2020 at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
JUNO BEACH, FLORIDA – MAY 17: Rickie Fowler of the CDC Foundation team plays a shot from a bunker on the third hole during the TaylorMade Driving Relieve Supported By UnitedHealth Group on May 17, 2020 at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Neal Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.
That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.
On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley told GolfWRX. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.
“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”
On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”
“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @raw10628 has a L.A.B. DF3 putter and Masters putter cover up for grabs.
From the listing: “Some great items here today, time to thin out and make room for next set of gear. All prices include shipping.
LAB DF3 Purple 33.5” 68° lie with TPT – $725. LAB Masters release DF3 cover – $150.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4
3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
5-wood: Ping G440 Max (19 degrees @18)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
Hybrid: Ping G440 (23 degrees)
Shaft: Oban Isawa Red Hybrid Shaft 04 Flex 70 Gms
Irons: Srixon ZXi7 (5-P)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i80
Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50-MID, 54-FULL, 58-MID)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i105
Putter: L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i
Shaft: ACCRA Putter Shaft
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Pingback: You can (finally!) buy Rickie Fowler’s Rev33 irons: Cobra releasing limited RF Proto irons – GolfWRX
VINICIUS COSTA
Sep 20, 2020 at 5:38 pm
Any word on the release date for these irons?
Wilson
May 16, 2020 at 5:28 am
Stainless steel? Why not 1020 or S20C?
Kevin
May 15, 2020 at 11:21 pm
FINALLY we get an answer on when Cobra is releasing a new MB. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the current MBs but as a gear junkie ever since they had this new “Rickie Proto” ive been wanting a set. Gonna have to order a set of the new ones and probably an extra set of the current model if they drop the price to move old stock. Thank you for this article!!
Jeff
May 15, 2020 at 6:54 pm
Kevin Na would be so upset
Mike Rowe
May 15, 2020 at 3:24 pm
Remember when Rickie switched iron shafts and it was a huge story, but when he switched back no one said a word? Pretty weird.
stanley
May 15, 2020 at 10:59 am
for the first time in my life, “those cobra irons are amazing.” there are some mean curves on those cobras!!!
Cody Reeder
May 15, 2020 at 10:42 am
I am getting a set….
Mike Honcho
May 15, 2020 at 10:39 am
It took cobra a year to rip of the p7tw? From the inspiration (mp14/29), look, to the milling, to the tungsten plugs? You would think in a year you could have came up with something unique. I would label this a shank but it’s really more just diarrhea.
Guy who actualy pays attention to detail
May 15, 2020 at 11:01 am
Ricky has had a tungsten plug in his irons for many years, so nothing new there. Tungsten in irons has been going on for quite a while in general (Ping S56 from 2011, first Ap2 irons from way back). Also, how is it ripping off when they are both ripping off older irons? This iron honestly looks nothing like the P7tw. Your “Shank” comment, Ironically, these would be the first irons ever made that could shank relatively straight because they milled the par area and hosel flat to remove the offset look. I’m not even sure what would happen on a hosel shot.
Craig
May 15, 2020 at 10:23 pm
Um, no. It is well known Tiger likes a little bit of offset and longer blade. These are almost the opposite, zero offset and tiny blade.
Troll Hunter 18
Jan 25, 2021 at 12:13 pm
Troll
Shallowface
May 15, 2020 at 9:55 am
The 304 Stainless is interesting. I’ve heard they need to be checked frequently as they go out of spec for loft and lie very easily with use. No problem for Fowler, but it could be an issue for the consumer.
chip75
May 17, 2020 at 3:34 pm
I’m sure those that are inclined will get them checked, otherwise they’ll be just like other clubs that “wander” around though use.
Pelling
May 15, 2020 at 9:35 am
Do they keep Rickie from putting big numbers on the card?
dat
May 15, 2020 at 9:23 am
These are amazing clubs. Hope they bring something like them to retail. What’s the deal with the grips? (non-brushed RF style)