Cobra

What it does: Anyone with a computer-aided-design (CAD) program can design an iron, but digging into the historical archives to the 1500s for an idea and making it work in a modern-day golf club is next-level science. That’s what Cobra has done. Inspired by a Leonardo da Vinci bridge design, Cobra created a weight bar then welded it onto posts. The idea is to suspend the weight above the bottom of the club internally, allowing for the bottom of the L-shape face insert (through the 7-iron) to bend for maximum energy transfer into the ball at impact. That face flexibility extends to the toe area, a spot where traditional face designs are typically rigid.

Why we like it: Although the bridge-like weight is truly different, it’s far from the only thing to like. The face design is a forward leap, too. Using artificial intelligence to simulate thousands of impacts, the company was able to arrive at a variable-thickness design that helps speed, launch and spin. The thinnest part of the face (1.9 millimetres) is 22 percent larger than its LTDx predecessor. Face deflection was raised by 10 percent as well, allowing shots to not only receive a distance boost but go higher, too.

7-IRON LOFT 26.5 DEGREES; PW LOFT 41.5 DEGREES