COBRA AEROJET Drivers (Standard, LS, MAX)

• The COBRA AEROJET driver family includes three models.
• The platform seeks to increase clubhead speed through aerodynamics.
• The LS is low spin. The MAX offers maximum forgiveness.
• Retail price is $549. Available Feb. 10.

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What’s in a name? With the COBRA AEROJET driver, you might think it’s the amalgamation of two drivers TaylorMade might prefer you forget.

“AEROJET” also sounds like the airline you fly when you only have $70 and you absolutely have to be to Tallahassee by 5 p.m.

Jokes aside, the “AEROJET” name is pretty on the nose insomuch as it conveys exactly what COBRA’s new drivers bring to the table: Speed (jets are really fast) through aerodynamics.

The tagline is “longest in the world” and that’s what you’d expect based on fact that Bryson Dechambeau and Kyle Berkshire are COBRA staffers. As two of the top World Long Drive competitors, they’re constantly looking for more speed and, as it happens, aerodynamics is one of the levers COBRA pulls to help them find it.

In that respect, some of what COBRA bundles into the AEROJET line trickles down from what were already among the fastest players in the world.

What does that mean for the average golfer? Let’s find out.

COBRA AEROJET Driver – Advanced Aerodynamics

Subtleties of bulge and roll aside, a driver’s face needs to be more or less flat. Big blunt surfaces (like the flat face of a driver) are aerodynamic killers. With that, a driver is never going to be the model of aerodynamics efficiency but the shaping of AEROJET drivers, in particular the AEROJET LS, is a bit like what you’d get if you made a driver conform to the shape of an airplane wing—to the extent that the rules and realities of golf allow for.

COBRA’s implementation of advanced aero is most visible in the profile view and is most appreciable with the AEROJET LS which remains the low-spin model. It’s typically, though not exclusively, suited to higher swing speeds.

With this iteration of its most aerodynamic shape, COBRA has softened the leading edges of the driver where the face meets the crown and the sole. You may notice a bit more curvature with a less abrupt transition.

The AEROJET LS’s crown has more curvature and, notably, the height peaks a bit farther towards the back of the clubhead.

Both the skirt and the aft (tail) section of the driver have been raised as well to further reduce drag.

Progressive Aero

Across the COBRA AEROJET driver lineup, the company is using what you could call a progressive approach to aerodynamics. The AEROJET LS is the most aerodynamic of COBRA’s three models. Again, that speaks to the reality that the typical LS player will like be a higher head speed golfer. With aerodynamics providing a percentage gain (swing speed * x%), it’s the faster players who are likely to see the biggest gains from improved aerodynamics.

COBRA’s middle driver this year, the standard AEROJET, offers aerodynamics on par with last season’s LTDx LS. It’s worth noting that LTDx LS was one of the better aerodynamic designs on the market so it’s not like the standard AEROJET is lacking for shape-induced speed.

That said, effectively, COBRA is trading away a little bit of aerodynamic efficiency for things like a larger shape with a taller face (more forgiveness) that are likely of greater benefit to the typical standard AEROJET player.

Finally, the AEROJET MAX, COBRA’s most forgiving option, has an aerodynamics package on par with last season’s LTDx. Again, not too shabby.

The thinking is that the typical MAX buyer will have a slower swing speed than golfers who fit into either of COBRA’s other offerings. With that, aero benefits aren’t likely to be of much benefit at all so this is again a case of not trading away things that benefit the target golfer (maximum forgiveness) to get a bit more of something that probably won’t.

PWR-BRIDGE

New for the COBRA AEROJET driver is what the company calls PWR-BRIDGE. It’s the replacement for COBRA’s speed-enhancing PWR-COR which, as you might recall, was basically a big chunk of steel anchored to the bottom of the club.

The idea behind PWR-COR was to push mass low and forward in the clubhead and, while that’s still the case with PWR-BRIDGE, COBRA’s latest tech is different in a couple of ways.

First, instead of being anchored to the bottom of the club, it’s suspended (almost floating) behind the face, anchored only in the heel and toe sides of the driver.

Because of how it connects, the PWR-BRIDGE can sit more forward in the face than PWR-COR. That gives more of that radius of gyration benefit we talked about with RADSPEED as it positions the mass farther from the center of gravity. The anchor points on either side also serve as perimeter weighting to boost MOI.

Finally, because there are no anchor points directly behind the face, PWR-BRIDGE doesn’t restrict the face’s ability to flex as much as PWR-COR did.

PWRSHELL H.O.T. Face

With the COBRA AEROJET driver, the company is leveraging the PWRSHELL technology from its iron lines for the first time in a driver face. As a reminder, PWRSHELL is forged-face piece. You could describe it as either a flange face or an a “L” face. The key point is that a section of the face wraps underneath and connects directly to the sole.

The wrap-under design, made possible by PWR-BRIDGE, creates about 15 percent more flex in the low face area which ultimately means more speed on those below-center impacts or, as I like to call them, normal impacts.

PWRSHELL is coupled with COBRA’s H.O.T. Face, an AI-driven face topology that combines strategically thickened and thinned areas to maximize ball speed across the face.

AEROJET Drivers – No Infinity Face

With the introduction of the PWR-BRIDGE and PWRSHELL, COBRA’s CNC-milled Infinity Face is no longer part of the offering. The current technology doesn’t allow for PWRSHELL’s flanged design to be milled so COBRA had to make a choice. Ultimately, it chose the performance benefit of PWR Shell over the consistency benefit of the milling process.

That said, it’s still closely inspecting bulge and roll as well as face thickness of its heads to ensure heads are delivered on spec.

Multi-Material Construction

Mixing carbon and titanium is standard practice within industry so nothing particularly notable about the basics here. The important details are that with the AEROJET, COBRA reduced crown thickness by 30 percent and was able to remove some of the supporting ribs from the head.

That gets you the weight savings that allowed COBRA to put weight pads in the heel and toe to boost MOI. Just because we’re not talking about it, doesn’t mean radius of gyration isn’t still a thing we care about.

Three Models

As is typical for COBRA, the company will again offer three models under the AEROJETumbrella.

COBRA AEROJET LS

Even if you’re not familiar with COBRA’s driver lineup, the LS designation should tell you most of what you need to know.

If you’re looking to reduce spin, then the AEROJET LS is probably the one. The LS driver head is also the smallest, though, with a volume of 457 cubic centimeters (the other two are460), we’re splitting hairs.

Beyond the enhanced aerodynamic shape, what should be noticeable is the slightly shallower face and the more compact (from front to back) shape.

As a result of the more aerodynamic tuning, the AEROJET LS’s center of gravity is slightly higher, though the real-world implications on launch and spin rates should be within the statistical noise of the human golfer.

While the additional perimeter weighting boosts MOI a bit relative to the LTDx LS, the more forward center of gravity provided by the PWR Bridge should promote increased ball speeds.

Even with the heavier (12-gram) weight in the heel, the COBRA AEROJET LS has a bit of a fade bias. Swapping the 12-gram weight for the three-gram produces a bit more fade bias.

If that’s problematic for you, the fade bias can be mitigated via COBRA’s MyFly hosel adapter. The neutral/stock setting is the flattest. Adding or removing loft progressively moves the head more upright. In the actual upright setting, the head will sit about 2.5 degrees more upright than in the neutral setting.

Loft options for the COBRA AEROJET LS are nine and 10.5 degrees.

COBRA AEROJET

Last year, COBRA described its middle driver, LTDx, as a “unicorn.” The company says that’s still the case with the standard AEROJET which is designed to offer a high level of forgiveness without compromising ball speed.

That’s basically the Holy Grail of driver design but that’s not to say it will fit everyone (there’s a reason why the LS and MAX exist).

The standard AEROJET is relatively neutral, though saying it has a slight draw bias would probably be accurate.

Loft options for the COBRA AEROJET are nine, 10.5 and 12 degrees.

COBRA AEROJET MAX

While the standard AEROJET provides an excellent balance of things nearly every golfer wants, AEROJET MAX is COBRA’s most versatile model. It’s designed to maximize forgiveness or shot-shape correction (draw bias), depending on your particular need.

With the heavy weight in the back, the AEROJET MAX shapes up to be among the more forgiving drivers on the market in ’23. It’s not going to push the absolute limit of the rules like PING (G430 MAX) or PXG (GEN5 XF) but it will likely fall in the next group and that’s reflective of COBRA’s philosophy of trying to balance high MOI with other aspects of performance.

With the heavier weight in the heel, the MAX slides into the anti-slice category. The LTDx MAX was already a competent performer in the draw space but the new model should prove even more adapt at killing slices as the AEROJET MAX offers an additional eight yards of correction.

Loft options for the COBRA AEROJET MAX are nine, 10.5 and 12 degrees.

COBRA AEROJET Driver Colorways

While COBRA typically offers drivers in a couple of different colorways, the men’s AEROJETwill be offered only in white/blue/red. All three are basically accent colors as the body is covered in satin black, while COBRA describes the crown as a raw carbon fiber gloss.

The combination of matte and only a slight gloss on the crown works to reduce glare without looking overly muted or bland. It’s hard to find anything objectionable about how the the Aerojet driver looks at address.

AEROJET Women’s model

The COBRA AEROJET MAX will be available in a women’s model (10.5 and 12 degrees). Apart from the alternative colorway, which COBRA calls “silver with cool blue” and the shorter build length, the head is identical to the “men’s” version.

AEROJET Junior

As it has with other recent drivers, COBRA will also offer a junior version of the AEROJET Max. The junior version is available with a 39-, 41- or 43-inch shaft. It’s not lost on COBRA that kids grow so, as part of the offering, purchasers are entitled to one complimentary shaft upgrade. If you start at 43 inches, you can upgrade to the full-length model in women’s or senior flex.

COBRA AEROEJET Stock Shafts

Stock shafts for the COBRA AEROJET driver family include:

• UST Helium (high launch)
• Mitusbishi Kai’Li Blue (the wheelhouse mid-launch shaft)
• Mitsubishi Kai’Li White (mid-low launch)
• HZRDUS Black (low launch)

As with the Callaway Paradym stock selection, it’s neither spectacular nor offensive. It’s perfectly fine.

COBRA AEROJET Pricing and Availability

Retail precise for the COBRA AEROJET Driver is $549. Retail availability begins Feb. 2.

For more information, visit cobragolf.com.