Not all that long ago, I was what you might call a COBRA driver guy. The flirtation started when COBRA started making blue drivers. AMP and BIO Cell made me COBRA-curious and by FLY-Z, I was all in. LTD (not blue), F6 and F7 were all mainstays. After that … Yeah, not so much, but with the launch of the LTDx family of drivers, I could see myself being a COBRA driver guy again.
Not that you asked but my amicable breakup with COBRA started with F8. There was nothing particularly wrong with the driver but, by the time F8 and its CNC-milled face launched, the PING G400 LST had captured my heart. SpeedBack, SpeedZone and RADSPEED all followed and, despite COBRA innovating every step of the way, nothing took.
I’ll level with you. I think the sound of everything after F7 left something to be desired but, in hindsight, I think the thing is that I just wanted another LTD. I think a lot of us did.
And so here we go.
I’m feeling warm and tingly.
Nostalgia plays (recycling old names for new products) aren’t exactly new for the golf industry. Most everyone has done it (though I’m still waiting for Jetspeed II, Jetspeed-IER). Hell, COBRA has done it. KING and Baffler—those are both reboots—and I suppose there’s nothing wrong with that.
In my estimation, the key to a good sequel is to take everything that was special about the original and build on it in such a way that the follow-up is every bit as compelling.
That’s not easy to do which is why sequels usually suck.
For its part in this increasingly complex metaphor, COBRA hopes LTDx proves more Empire Strikes Back and not so much Caddyshack 2.
Remembering the Original LTD
The story of the LTD was basically that COBRA went to space and came back with a ground-breaking driver with a porthole in the bottom and graffiti splattered across the inside of the head. The intent was to call attention to what you couldn’t see: a center of gravity located on the neutral axis.
Admittedly, I’m playing fast and loose with the space-related facts but the center-of-gravity thing is absolutely true (so are the porthole and graffiti bits). If you’re not sure what that center-of-gravity stuff means, we’ve got plenty of good reading material on the subject but the simplest way to say it is that, with the KING LTD, COBRA managed to put the sweet spot dead-nuts center in the club face.
Golfers may assume that’s how it always is but, typically, the “center of gravity” is a few millimeters above center. In the case of super-niche designs (I’d be inclined to call them bad designs), the CG can creep 7mm or more above center face. If you’re looking for excessively high spin, that’s the recipe.
From a performance standpoint, when the center of gravity is on the neutral axis (the imaginary line projected from the center of the club face, perpendicular to the loft, through the rear of the club), it’s quite a thing for optimizing efficiency. Ball speed, high launch, low spin. Man, it’s the trifecta.
It’s a design spec COBRA calls Zero CGna (a center of gravity located zero millimeters from the neutral axis). Zero CGna was the thing that made the KING LTD special and it’s part of the reason the LTDx could prove to be the rare sequel that’s actually better than the original.
Cobra LTDx Drivers (AKA: LTD 2.0)
Let’s start with the name. With the original LTD, I think most of us just assumed it was short for LIMITED and didn’t ask many questions. With the new generation of LTDx, COBRA wants you to think of LTD explicitly in terms of Longest Total Distance.
It’s a bit campy, perhaps, but the idea is that when you factor in carry yards and total yards and the extra distance you get from the increased forgiveness offered by the LTDx driver family, COBRA believes its drivers will produce the … well … the longest total distance of any drivers on the market in 2022.
Before we hop into a discussion of the three different models that make up the COBRA LTDx driver family, we need to outline some of the key technologies common to all.
PWR-CORE
To some degree, PWR-CORE is the evolution of last season’s RAD (radial) weighting story. Let’s pause to thank COBRA for bringing “radius of gyration” into the vernacular.
Moving on …
The idea is that weight doesn’t always have to be placed low and back to be effective. On a player-for-player basis, “back” is forgiving but “forward” is often faster and with lower spin. Pushing weight to the heel is awesome for the guy who fights a slice and toe weighting can be great for golfers who fight a hook. Nearly everyone benefits from pushing weight low.
The idea behind the radius of gyration story is that mass doesn’t always have to go low and back. So long as you take it out of the middle of the club and push it towards the perimeter, you’re probably helping somebody.
It’s the reason why every manufacturer offers several models and why you should probably spend some time with a qualified fitter before parting with your money.
PWR-CORE is a multi-layered weight cartridge that helps to optimize the distribution of mass (the radius of gyration) for each of the three models. We’ll dig into the numbers a bit more as we cover the individual models but the idea is that with the LTDx LS, a heavier PWR-CORE pushes weight forward for more speed and lower spin while in the LTDx MAX, a lighter PWR-CORE allows for more weight to be concentrated at the rear to increase the moment of inertia (MOI).
The part of PWR-CORE that’s visible is a stainless-steel badge anchored to the sole. Under the hood is a piece of metal injection-molded (MIM-d) steel and a pair of screws that hold it all in place.
Boiled down to simple terms, PWR-CORE is COBRA-speak for a consolidated chunk of weight in the front of the club.
CNC Infinity Face
We’re several generations deep into COBRA’s CNC milled-face design. At this point, it’s just one of those things you should expect to see every year. The idea is that milling the face eliminates a good bit of the inconsistency that comes from traditional finishing methods—which basically amounts to grinding away welds and hoping you don’t screw up the bulge and roll radii or otherwise compromise the face design.
The latest iteration rolls back a portion of the infinity face along the topline. Logically, I’m not sure how it can be simultaneously less infinite than before and still infinite but, anyway, Tour players didn’t love the way the pattern wrapped around to the crown so COBRA ditched it.
It looks cleaner (better) at address but if you’re prone to clanking balls off the leading edge of the crown every now and again, I should warn you that the new design is less resistant to what are often affectionally referred to as “idiot marks.”
H.O.T. Face Technology
More subtle branding … H.O.T. is short for Highly Optimized Topology and it speaks to under-the-hood improvements to COBRA’s face design. H.O.T. Face is the evolution of E9 which was COBRA’s take on a variable-thickness design. E9 was optimized, to the extent possible around the idea that golfers miss in an elliptical pattern that runs from high toe to low heel.
E9 worked pretty well but was limited in that it had only three discrete thickness zones which made it difficult to speed up the face in slow areas without also speeding up the adjacent fast areas and making the driver non-conforming.
Using AI, super-computers, machine learning and all the stuff that not so long ago was exclusive to Callaway stories, COBRA redesigned the face of the driver with 15 discrete thickness pads that can be individually sized, moved, thickened, thinned or otherwise tuned to maximize CT in each region without overcooking it or sacrificing durability.
The result is a driver that’s faster across more of the face than RADSPEED.
Redesigned Chassis
The last few iterations of COBRA’s flagship driver lineup have featured a Joe Dirt-inspired T-Bar chassis. The design allowed for a larger weight-saving carbon-fiber skirt to wrap around the club and form the SpeedBack shape. The LTDx driver’s new Speed Chassis ditches the T-top design in favor of more traditional construction. That’s not to say it’s unrefined. COBRA has upped the surface area of carbon fiber by 20 to 30 percent depending on the model. The total weight of the chassis is 8.3-grams lighter, which freed up enough weight to make PWR-CORE and H.O.T. Face possible.
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Dramatically Improved Aerodynamics
This year’s version of the improved aero story is made possible by a raised crown and aft sections paired with a softer leading edge. To its credit, COBRA is acknowledging that only the fastest swingers are likely to benefit from the improvements but if you’re already fast or willing to grab the Stack System and get to work, there are opportunities to benefit from the refinements.
With that out of the way, let’s take a look at the three models that make up the COBRA LTDx driver family.
COBRA LTDx LS Driver
By now, you guys know how names work so you’re likely already pieced together that the LTDx LS is the low-spinning model within the LTDx driver family.
It’s cut from the same cloth as the RADSPEED which is to say it’s legitimately, maybe even aggressively, low spin. Based on my preliminary experience, I’m confident that, loft for loft, it will prove to be among the lowest-spinning on the market this season. I wouldn’t be shocked if it’s THE lowest-spinning.
The COBRA LTDx LS driver features two forwardly placed weights. As you can plainly see, the two weights are reasonably close together so you’re not getting a ton of CG movement or shot-shape variation. The effect is meant to be subtle.
With the 10-gram weight in the heel, COBRA bills the LTDx LS as offering neutral ball flight. Moved to the toe, the heavier weight provides a slight (and only slight) fade bias.
The 19-gram PWR-CORE weight paired with a 1.5-gram back weight gives the LTDx a low center of gravity that’s significantly more forward than the other LTDx models.
LTDx LS Shaping
As noted, the LTDx LS is the most aerodynamic of the three LTDx models and has the highest trailing edge (least SpeedBack-like shape) and the shallowest face.
At 457cc, the LTDx isn’t undersized enough to matter. COBRA describes the shape as “traditional.” I suppose that’s a fair description.
Really low spin and forgiveness don’t exactly go hand in hand and so there is a bit of a forgiveness penalty with the LTDx LS.
With modern drivers, I’d draw the line between forgiving and not forgiving at about 5,000 MOI. COBRA says the LTDx LS in the 4,300 ballpark. That’s a long way from PING G425 MAX territory but as far as forward center-of-gravity, low-spin designs are concerned, it’s not terrible. Mostly, it is what it is—and what it is is the cost of doing business in the legitimately low-spin category.
It’s worth mentioning that the LTDx LS is the model most likely to be played by higher swing-speed players (like Bryson and Kyle Berkshire). With that in mind, it’s the most aerodynamically efficient of the three.
The COBRA LTDx driver is available in nine and 10.5 degrees.
COBRA LTDx MAX Driver
COBRA is positioning the LTDx MAX driver as the amalgamation of the RADSPEED Xtreme and RADSPEED Xtreme Draw. With LTDx MAX, you get the best of what both drivers have to offer without compromising on either. Even at its absolute spiniest, it’s likely mid-spin relative to the market as a whole.
The strength of the RADSPEED Xtreme was its forgiveness and that’s true for the LTDx MAX as well. With the 10-gram weight in the back position, COBRA puts the MOI number at 5,400 and while that’s not challenging the USGA limit, it’s on the higher end of the market and, perhaps more importantly, it’s where COBRA feels its take on a MAX driver can strike the right balance between exceptional forgiveness and exceptional ball speed.
COBRA says the center of gravity sits less than 1mm above the neutral axis, which is rare in the marketplace. Among the competition, even the lowest-CG drivers hover around the 2mm mark though I’d be remiss to mention the G425 MAX which sits only about 1.5mm above the neutral axis.
The PWR-CORE weight in the LTDx MAX is 10 grams. That’s paired with a five-gram back weight along with 13-grams’ (10 grams and 3 grams) worth of movable weight.
With the 10-gram weight in the heel position, COBRA’s LTDx MAX effectively becomes the LTDx MAX Draw. MOI dips by a couple of hundred points, the center of gravity drops just a tick, and you get a considerable amount of anti-slice shot-shape correction.
Again, with the heavier weight in the heel, the LTDx MAX isn’t going to be the most anti-slice driver on the market. That’s not the intent. COBRA wants to maintain what it sees as really good center-of-gravity locations (low and back), give you a some help with a slice, and still maintain a shape that doesn’t hurt to look at.
LTDx MAX Shaping
Of the three COBRA LTDx drivers, the LTDx MAX has the lowest skirt height. It offers COBRA’s oversized Xtreme shape (similar to RADSPEED Xtreme) and while that certainly makes for an elongated design with the largest footprint of the LTDx family, it’s by no means wonky or intrusive.
The COBRA LTDx MAX driver is available in nine, 10.5 and 12 degrees. Women’s versions feature a pink-ish Elderberry colorway and are available in 10.5 and 12.
A 12-degree junior version, which allows for one free shaft upgrade as your child grows, is available for $399.
COBRA LTDx Driver
In nearly every way, the COBRA LTDx driver (no suffix) sits between the LTDx LS and the LTDx MAX. Like the LS, the front PWR-CORE weight is 19 grams. At five grams, the back weight matches that of the LTDx.
The ripple is that, unlike the other two drivers, there are no movable weights in play. The 10-gram sole weight is for swing-weighting purposes only. As we’ve said numerous times before, adjustability carries with it a weight penalty and, while manufacturers have reduced that penalty over the years, the rock stars of the driver world are often the ones with fewer shiny things that move.
The COBRA LTDx driver has the distinction of being the second driver this season to be described as a “unicorn.”
On one hand, I think we all more or less know what that means. On the other, it’s a little weird to use a mythical (i.e., imaginary) creature as your point of reference for quantifying the performance of a golf club. To its credit, COBRA provided a checklist of sorts to help us better understand what it takes to be a unicorn.
It needs to have an MOI over 5,000.
COBRA puts the MOI number for the LTDx at around 5,300. Solidly forgiving.
Check
It has the best combo of speed and launch
Obviously, there’s some room for interpretation here but COBRA further clarifies that as Zero CGna.
Paired with our previous qualification, we’ve arrived at the explanation for why COBRA believes the sequel (the LTDx) is better than the original LTD.
Like the KING LTD, the LTDx has a center-of-gravity location on the neutral axis (+/- reasonable manufacturing tolerances). The improvement is that the MOI of the new version is substantially higher. For reference, the original was around 4,600 MOI. While that wasn’t bad for the time, by today’s standards, I’d call it unforgiving.
So, yeah, check.
Forgiving face design (more speed away from center)
It’s starting to look like COBRA’s definition of a unicorn might be self-serving but, with the addition of H.O.T. face, I suppose I have to play along.
Check.
Looks amazing
This is where you guys come in. “Amazing.” I don’t know. It looks good. I wasn’t big on SpeedZone or RADSPEED so it’s certainly an improvement. Whether or not it gets the check is totally up to the individual golfer.
You tell me.
Sounds amazing
Real talk guys. COBRA driver sound over the past few generations hasn’t been great … or even good. To be fair, RADSPEED wasn’t the worst-sounding driver ever or even the worst-sounding COBRA driver ever but, in my opinion, it was COBRA’s worst acoustic effort since F6+.
For some, I’d wager it was deal-breaking-ly bad.
So does LTDx sound amazing? Again, that’s totally up to you. What I will say is that this is as good as I’ve felt about the sound of a COBRA driver since the KING LTD.
Cue the Imperial March.
Regardless of whether that amounts to “amazing” or just “really not bad,” it’s the win COBRA needed. So, with allowances for the heavily subjective nature of sound, I’m awarding the check.
Incidentally, it’s not just the LTDx. The sound is good across the entire LTDx driver lineup.
Cobra LTDx Driver Shaping
Surprise, surprise! From a shaping perspective, the COBRA LTDx driver sits in the middle of the lineup. There’s still some SpeedZone shape in it but the tail doesn’t sit as low as the LTDx MAX. Likewise, while it’s not nearly as elongated as the LTDx MAX, COBRA describes the shape as undersized XTREME—which I guess isn’t exactly XTREME.
Battle of the Pointy-Headed Horses
You may be wondering how the LTDx stacks up to the Callaway Rogue ST MAX LS, the other “unicorn” in the 2022 driver market.
The truth is that, as of right now, we don’t know. That said, if we work off what we know about Callaway designs, my expectation is that Rogue ST MAX LS will be similarly forgiving (as least in terms of MOI) but the center of gravity will be significantly higher.
The EPIC MAX LS was a relatively high CG design and, despite the occasional Sub-Zero moniker, Callaway hasn’t dabbled in super-low CG in a number of years. With the Rogue take on MAX LS, CG may be down a bit but it’s unlikely to be anywhere near Zero CGna.
While we contemplate whether we need to add a battle of the unicorns to our testing calendar, it’s worth a mention that the 5,000-5,400 MOI range where drivers like PING’s LST series, Callaway’s MAX LS and even the Titleist TSI2 live tends to be the sweet spot for a healthy percentage of golfers.
When centers of gravity are low, you can still get some low-ish spin benefit and, while not the absolute most forgiving on the market, they’re solidly forgiving enough for most golfers. It’s a range where we typically find well-balanced designs and, with the super-low center of gravity and I suspect what will prove to be a low- to mid-low spin profile, the LTDx could prove to be the best of the bunch.
A unicorn among horses, perhaps?
As far as the market is concerned, the LTDx could prove to be a bit like the EPIC MAX LS. It’s not the driver that COBRA expects will fit the highest percentage of golfers but, for a majority of MyGolfSpy readers, it may prove to be the best of the lot.
Much to my surprise, I was fitted into the LTDx over the LTDx LS. I picked up a couple of hundred more rpm and went from dangerously low spin on mis-hits on the LTDx to inside the optimal range on just about everything.
Bottom line: Don’t assume you fit into one COBRA LTDx driver without trying the other two. You’d be foolish to leave the demo bay without trying them all anyway.
Stock Shafts
Stock shafts for the COBRA LTDx driver family include the lightweight UST Helium Nanocore (high launch, high spin), HZRDUS Smoke iM10 (mid launch and spin), HXRDUS Smoke RDX Blue (low/mid launch, low spin) and the Mitsubishi Tensei AVI RAW White (low launch, low spin).
Men’s colorways include Gold Fusion (black with matte satin black crown) and Peacoat Blue/White (red accents, gloss crown). The women’s version is available in Elderberry with a gloss black crown.
Men’s versions are available in standard and Tour (44.5-inch length).
Pricing and Availability
Retail price for the COBRA LTDx driver family is $499 ($399/junior).
Retail availability begins Feb. 11. Available for Pre-Order now.
For more information, visit CobraGolf.com.
*We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.
Colby
11 months agoWent down to my local golf club on Friday evening for dinner and they happened to have Cobra, PXG, Taylormade, and Callaway fitters there for some demos. I have not been able to hit drives consistently for the past 2 years, so I thought I would try out some drivers. Picked up the LTDx and the rest is history. I liked the lighter swing weight and the club just felt so forgiving. My miss hits were ending up in a good spot each time.
John
1 year agoLooks, sound and feel are so individual that I can never argue with anyone’s opinion. I have 2 drivers, a Mizuno ST-Z and a RAD Speed and although they look and sound completely different I like them both. If we’re looking for a new driver I would absolutely put these in the mix. I’ve always liked Ping drivers but the G425 is so loud I’d never hit it. As they say To each his own. I really do appreciate the in depth review Tony gave, but I would expect nothing less from the MGS writers. Always top notch.
mackdaddy9
1 year agoHere is the question? Have they changed the COR restrictions? If not then how much can they really gain?
fTony Covey
1 year agoWell yeah…COR as the USGA’s metric for conformity went away in 2004 and was replaced by the CT rule.
Here’s how that works.
A club is anchored into a jig, a pendulum is dropped on different points of the face from various heights and measurements are taken as to how long the pendulum stays in contact with the face. With allowances for tolerances, the old COR rule maxed out at .830. What that meant was that a ball fired from a cannon into a driver face could rebound at no more than 83% of its original speed. COR and ball speed are strongly correlated.
The rule changed because not everyone had ball cannons, the test was difficult to replicate (hit the same point on every driver) and it wasn’t exactly portable, which made it super-difficult to measure drivers in the field (at tour events, for example).
The CT rule sets the limit at 239 microseconds with another 18 microseconds worth of tolerance, which gets us to the 257 number many are familiar with. CT isn’t as closely correlated with actual ball speed as COR and it’s important to understand while the CT limit came from the COR limit, they’re not measuring the same thing.
When making the rule change, the USGA basically looked at .830 drivers and found that most were around the 239 mark for CT and so that became the rule.
When you look at actual CT/COR distributions what you see is that at any given CT (most of the market targets the low 240s) there are high COR drivers (often above .830) and low COR drivers, well below .830. It’s a distribution and some brands are better than others at exploiting the gap. What is still kind of an unknown is the extent to which the COR/CT gap can be widened. There’s definitely not universal agreement here as I’ve heard everything from 10ths of MPH to a handful of MPH worth of ball speed. This is all with allowances for the fact that the USGA could step in at any time and revert to the COR rule if it feels like things are getting out of hand.
The other factors here are launch and spin. At equivalent ball speeds, higher launch with lower spin will produce more carry distance – and there are no rules that govern either.
Also notable – rarely do manufacturers talk about increases in peak ball speed. The objective is to increase speed across the face. That means not just having high CT in the center, but across more of the face. It’s why you here manufacturers talk about things like ‘20% larger sweet area’. Typically that’s the percentage of the face that produces COR above some number (Mizuno, for example uses .800). Bottom line, when more of the face is faster, average distance goes up because everybody misses the sweet spot more than they hit it.
MOI also plays a role in average distance because it helps to preserve ball speed.
Finally – and this is a bit of an unknown here for sure, but it’s worth mentioning. The USGA CT test was developed to measure the flex properties of titanium drivers. The reality is that different materials flex differently and so something like a carbon-faced driver, for example, has the potential to not only exploit the gap between COR and CT, but also the gauge itself. Again…that could amount to nothing or a bit more COR while keeping CT within the limit.
What I would say is that drivers aren’t maxed out by any means. You won’t see huge gains year over year, but there will be incremental gains. It’s more about golfers managing their expectations accordingly than anything else.
It’s a fascinating game of cat and mouse for sure.
Rob
1 year agoWorld Class Post there Tony. Seems like that should be pinned in every discussion on the internet about ball speed and tech being maxed out.
Thanks for the insigt!
Gordon
1 year agoI still game the King LTD, which I was fitted into, and have been going strong for 4-5 seasons now. Had to change the shaft after an unfortunate bag fall.
I can’t say it plays the same, and I am fully aware the newer shaft is likely not best for me.
This new line intrigues me, and I am looking to get a new big stick. I am excited to have a new LTD to lineup against the others for a fitting!
Cobra makes quality equipment, and while they don’t get the same “player cred” as a lot of other companies. A golfer can play great with Cobra gear in your bag!
Owen
1 year agoBig respect for Cobra. Always pushing innovation and constantly producing premium products. The LTDx will perform just as well, if not better, than anything TM, Callaway, Titlist, or Ping puts out…..for $50-100 LESS. That’s something the common-golfer can get behind.
I believe Cobra would jump into 4th place of the Big 5 if they had 1 or 2 more likable (top-performing) guys on Tour. They make great products, but the validation/awareness just isn’t there at the highest level…They miss Rickie being good (everyone loves Rickie) and Bryson is about as likable as a root-canal.
Dylan
1 year agoWould also help if they made the clubs look more classy or like just like less going on IMO. Like I game the F9 but TM makes a much nicer looking club. Love everything about them except looks.
Brian
1 year agoOrder now and you might get it by mid summer, assuming you order with the stock shaft offering.
G Money
1 year agoHardly no one plays it on tour and in a couple of mens league here in SoCal, no one hardly hits a Cobra. (Drivers or Irons) I see mostly Titliest, Ping, Callaway, PXG are most played in our mens league…
Roger
1 year agoOne moment while I dig up the face palm emoji, I know it’s around here somewhere….
Michael
1 year agoWhat does going Tour Length do to the MOI and CGNA of the LTDx? In the past this was reported
Thank you. Also would love to see an updated CG report.
Mike
1 year agoOK, & that means what? To be honest, who cares what they play on tour? They’re PAID to play those clubs. Your game has no relation to a tour player’s game.
Trusty Rusty
1 year agoI have to agree, I never see a cobra driver at my semi-private club, and we’re not a bunch of snobs. It’s just that once you go thru 5 models of Callaway, 3 models of Taylormade, a couple of pings and Titleist. I mean what is left at that point? In shops I see it on a full rack, the rack doesn’t change much till mid-season when Cobra historically returns to earth in a much lower price point of $299-349. While the big guys stay at retail all year.
Paul
1 year agoWow more drivers to choose from. A great article worthy of an academic A, but still too many bells and whistles. My Ping driver finds the middle of the fairway and far too. Many steps ahead of my playing partners. This would be a worthy alternative though, but so would the others if one has the dough.
ghoul
1 year agoHow could you forget to mention that the LTDX MAX looks like a snake face with fangs? Cobra living up to its name!
Kevyn Nightingale
1 year agoSo let me get this right. You didn’t like the sound of the Radspeed, but you’re good with a Ping? Eew. There’s a reason it’s called “Ping”.
FWIW, I game the Radspeed. I love the dull sound (and the forgiveness).
JL
1 year agoSo right! I figure those Ping drivers must be very good because they sound so bad. (lots of good players use them though). I have a ‘new’ Cobra Speedzone driver and gotta say that I am struggling with the ‘tink’ sound it makes.. the previous Cobra bio Cell I had made a much meatier sound on impact
Erick
1 year agoInteresting regarding your personal take, the original LTD piqued my interest in Cobra again after 20 years and the F8 is what changed me, it was my first Cobra driver after being a Titleist guy for years and not really loving the 917 when it came out. Love the F9 and then I upgraded to SZ which is just an awesome driver. From F8-Radspeed were my absolute favorites and have put Cobra back in the top-driver conversation. I think the looks of this have regressed since the F9/SZ but that’s subjective opinion because the performance sounds awesome. I look forward to hitting them but I’ll keep waiting for a couple years before I give up my Speedzone- it’s perfect with my old Black Tie shaft.
Tider992010
1 year agoI like the looks of these but why the higher price? Cobra have always separated themselves from the rest by making them a little cheaper than the others in the market. I think they should be around the $459 price again. Just me!
Bucky CC
1 year agoLove Cobra but for some reason this year’s release feels a little flat. As always performance trumps marketing but I don’t see anyone running to their local fitter and specifically asking for a Cobra unless Bryson or Rickie does something crazy. Doesn’t seem like a huge story to tell here.
Max R
1 year agoThank you for the detailed & well-researched article on the new family of Cobra drivers. While most of the following readers will comment on the drives, I will focus on your writing acumen. Not sure what your academic background is, but your writing style is truly enjoyable. I am sure your colleagues are fully aware if it, but I felt it was important to make note of it in this forum. Thank you.
Rob
1 year agoMax, I agree 100% about Tony’s articles. I said onthe forum recently that MGS is blessed to have the bestg stable of writers in the golf business in my mind. John Barba, Chris Nickel and Dave Wolfe all do excellent work.
derek gzaskow
1 year agofor 100 less if it dont sound like and ice pick I’d try it
Steve S
1 year agoLTD…longest total distance? Playing in an area that typically has soft, not so short fairway grass, total distance is usually pretty close to carry distance. I never pay attention to the total listed on trackman, etc. only carry because it really is the only way to compare drivers around here. I am intrigued by the lower center of gravity.
Brandon
1 year agoCould not possibly agree more. I find it hilarious when you watch a video of someone reviewing a driver and they get 265 carry, 305 total. Almost every drive I hit stops within a few yards of where it lands, especially in the winter and spring. Sometimes I even fix my ball mark in the fairway. It would be great if real world golf was like playing on a simulator, or Kapalua, but it isn’t for us public course guys.
Peter P.
1 year agoYou can feel the romanticism in this write up. Shakespeare didn’t write about his characters the way you write about the LTD driver line . . .
Cobra continuing to push the big boys with product that will go toe to toe for those with an open mind. Love the trend of matte finish on these driver heads . . .
Darren Jeffries
1 year agoMy current gamer is a Ping G30, which, I know, is old! As such, I’m paying particular attention to the new 2022 diver launches, , which include the Stealth, Rogue, and the LTD (not ruling out, however, Ping’s 425 and other drivers already on the market) as I think it’s time I looked to see if if there’s a driver out there that is better for me and my swing. While, for obvious reasons, Taylor Made is getting all the fan mail, I’ve heard great things already about the Cobra’s new driver family. Thanks for your insightful write up.
Jay
1 year agoI have to question your guys ability to actually have a non biased real opinion. Radspeed and and especially speedzone are two of the best drivers made not to mention to f9 because it’s not blue? The sound of the speedzone is exactly the sound you want in a driver. The speedback and speedzone we’re the best on the market. I still use the speedzone with the matte black is probably the nicest looking driver of all
Erick
1 year agoI agree completely, those line of clubs finally got it right and not sure about what this guy is talking about.
Hayes W
1 year agoCome on man, really? It’s an article, written by one guy, and he starts the article owning and elaborating on his own history and perceptions of Cobra drivers…how much more transparent can he be? If you want unbiased, go look at last years Most Wanted driver test, and you’ll see Cobra sticks doing quite well.
Rob
1 year agoGreat point. But that’s the way it always is, if someone’s favorite or current driver gets one little thing said about it, it’s amazing how fast people get in a tizzy that someone doesn’t rave about their driver being the best ever!
Awol
1 year agoI have to agree with you all. I have the first gen Sim and the Speedzone. I absolutely love the sound of the Cobra. That louder metal sound, sounds like you really crush the ball versus the Sim which is a lot more muted. I think sound plays a huge factor in the perception of feel. I just tend to like the louder sound. Although I do love both drivers. To each their own I guess.
Brandon
1 year agoI have both of those drivers as well and I prefer the muted, more solid sensation of the SIM. That being said, the best feeling/sounding driver I’ve ever owned is the original LTD pro. It’s all just personal preference. I could never play any Ping Equipment because it sounds like hitting a golf ball with a dog turd to me, but I’m obviously in the minority opinion there. Looking forward to hitting this line of drivers against my SIM and original LTD pro.