Cobra Fly XL Review

The Cobra Fly XL is a complete set of golf clubs geared towards beginners or the average golfer who only plays a few times a year. Buying a complete setup like this means you won’t have to shop for a bag or try to figure out complicated loft gapping on your set.

Let’s take a look at the Cobra Fly XL set and see if this could be a fit for your game.

Cobra Fly XL: What’s Included?

Before we get into our review, here is what you will get with the Cobra Fly XL set . . .

• 10.5-degree drive
• 14.5 degree 3 wood
• 18.5 degree 5 wood
• 20.5 degree 4 hybrid
• 23.6 degree 5 hybrid
• 6-PW
• SW
• Putter
• Cart bag

The set comes in both graphite and steel options (depending on what retailers have in stock). The hybrids, fairway woods, and driver will always be graphite shafted, but the irons are where you have a choice of shafts.

Driver & Woods

The Cobra Fly XL set comes with a titanium face driver and two stainless-steel fairway woods. The thing that stands out about these drivers and woods is forgiveness. When testing the Cobra Fly XL woods and driver, we found it easy to get a higher ball flight and shots still fly pretty straight when you don’t find the sweet spot.

In addition to good forgiveness, the distance from this Cobra complete set is similar or better than other complete sets on the market. For instance, we found that we gained more yards with the Cobra Fly XL driver than the Strata driver.

A slight heel bias in the fairway woods and driver can also help golfers that struggle with a bit of a fade or a slice. Finally, the low profile and flat sole on the fairway woods make them super easy to hit from the fairway.

These are some of the best woods you’ll find in a complete beginner’s set.

Hybrids & Irons

Most complete sets do not offer two hybrids, so the set makeup alone helps this set stand out. We found the transition from the irons to the fairway woods to be perfectly loft gapped with the addition of the 4 hybrid and 5 hybrids.

The irons offer solid distance and forgiveness – expect a powerful, high flight and soft draw. The only downside to these irons is when it comes to shaping shots – they are built for forgiveness and distance, meaning hitting lower shots and fades is more challenging compared to more bladed irons.

However, for most golfers looking for distance, better ball speed, and overall forgiveness, this is a powerful iron head that will likely check all the boxes.

Wedges & Putter

The Cobra Fly XL golf clubs come with two wedges and a putter. The wedges are a 45-degree pitching wedge and a 55-degree sand wedge. Due to the chunky design, you will notice a small drop in control and finesse compared to a one-off $90 wedge. However, the forgiveness in these irons and wedges more than make up for it.

Take a look at that gap between the 45 and 55 degree wedge and consider purchasing a gap wedge. In addition, something with 58 or 60 degrees of loft could make this Cobra XL set an even better solution for your game. The great news is these can be added at any later date, and don’t need to match your iron set.

The blade style putter is a 34 inch classic looking putter that can help a golfer of any ability. It has a classical look, a simple line to help you aim up putts and heel-toe weighting to help with any miss-hit putts.

Golf Bag

There are two different Fly XL sets on the market. One will come with a cart bag in blue and white, and one comes as a stand bag in black. Both will hold all the clubs and plenty of additional gear with ease. However, the cart bag will not be your best friend if you like to walk the golf course. The decision as to which bag is better will likely be a personal one.

Golf Insider verdict

If you plan to purchase a complete set, this Cobra Fly XL is one of the top picks on the market, it even tops our current list of best golf clubs for beginners. The woods are exceptional, the irons are super forgiving, the only slight drawback is how chunky the wedges are. Cobra has always done an excellent job appealing to beginners and game improvement players, and this set is no different.

It’s also worth mentioning that many complete set options are explicitly designed for beginners but the technology in this set means you can play with these for many years as you develop as a golfer.

The Cobra Fly XL are a great choice for beginner golfers and casual golfers who want a complete set to help them now, and for many years to come. There are 10 & 12 club sets available (the former only has 1 hybrid and 1 fairway wood, rather than 2 of each). Both are great options but bear this in mind when comparing prices.

Alternatives to the Cobra Fly XL Golf Set

Here are a few of the other complete set options that the Cobra Fly XL is up against.

Callaway Edge

The Callaway Edge set comes very close to the performance of the Cobra Fly XL. The irons have a very similar feel and performance capabilities; players will notice that the wedges are a bit easier to control with the Edge set. However, the driver doesn’t quite have the same level of power and forgiveness as the Cobra Fly XL – we are talking small margins here – both are great options.

Another area where the Callaway Edge stands out is the putter. The putter with the Edge set is an Odyssey blade style design, and it’s one of the best things about the Callaway Edge. For a more detailed review, check out our article on Callaway Edge golf clubs.

Overall, the distance from these clubs will be about the same, but the forgiveness in the Cobra Fly XL is slightly better. For golfers that know consistency will be an issue, the Cobra Fly Xl is the better choice. The Fly XL also promote more of a draw ball flight, whereas the Edge more of a neutral ball flight.

Bottom Line: The Callaway Edge has a better putter, but the Cobra Fly XL has a better driver the irons and woods will have really similar performance. Both are great options for golfers, do note the Edge set does not come with a golf bag.

TaylorMade Complete Set

The TaylorMade RBZ Speedlite is another golf club set often compared to the Cobra Fly XL. Right off the bat, you will notice that the TaylorMade Complete Set is considerably more expensive than the Cobra FLY XL, almost double the price.

For the additional price, you do get a few upgrades but few that are a game-changer, the putter is a modern mallet and not a blade-style putter and the shafts in the woods are more expensive, but these aren’t things a beginner golfer needs to worry about.

Both are great options, and again we feature the TaylorMade RBZ complete set in our top clubs for beginners. Our one tip would be for higher swing speed players (hitting a 7-iron +170-yards) to opt for these over the Cobra Fly XL, as the shafts may suit you better.

For a more detailed review, check out our Taylormade RBZ SpeedLite review.

Bottom Line: The TaylorMade RBZ Speedlite is more expensive, slightly better suited to fast swing speeds and has a nice mallet putter, overall forgiveness from both are excellent and both are top picks if you can afford them.

Callaway Strata

Where the TaylorMade RBZ Speedlite is a more premium-priced option than the Cobra FLY XL, the Callaway Strata complete set is the cheaper alternative. The Callaway Strata is the number one selling complete package set on the market and an option that many beginner golfers go with.

Strata offer a few different club set makeup options for players to choose from. The performance in the irons and wedges are similar to the Cobra Fly XL. You will notice plenty of forgiveness and average to above average distance. Still, there will be a lack of overall control.

With the drivers and woods, the Cobra FLY XL club heads are a bit more forgiving and have slightly more advanced distance technology. Distance, forgiveness, and a better feel are all things that we pay for as golfers. The main difference in price between these two sets can be seen in the woods and driver.

Bottom Line: The Callaway Strata is less expensive than the Cobra Fly XL and the performance from the drivers and woods is not quite as good, irons and wedges will have a similar feel and performance, golfers who can afford to spend a little more should look more strongly at the Cobra Fly XL, or the two alternatives above as the Strata is geared towards the newer player on a budget.

Are the Cobra Fly XL the same as the Cobra Fly Z XL?

The Cobra Fly Z XL irons were a set of golf irons released more than 7 years ago from Cobra. This new Fly XL set is aimed at game improvement just as the Fly Z XL family was, but these clubs are entirely different.

Although the Fly Z XL hybrids and irons were of high quality, technology has come a long way in the last several years. The new Cobra Fly XL range is more forgiving and more powerful than the Z XL clubs.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you have a better idea of what the Cobra FLY XL golf club set offers. This is a set that we would recommend to a golfer with a medium to slow swing speed who is looking for forgiveness and distance.

For beginner golfers, these are a top pick that will really help you progress as a golfer. As we mentioned above there are now a couple of different set options appearing in retailers (10 & 12 clubs), both will serve you well, but bear this in mind when checking prices.

Happy golfing.