I might have said this before but COBRA fairway woods (and hybrids for that matter) don’t get the attention they deserve. It’s unlikely this article will single-handedly change this unfortunate situation but, nevertheless, we press on. My plight continues.
What you’re not going to see with COBRA’s DS-Adapt fairway woods and hybrids is any radical departure in form, footprint or basic lineup from the 2024 DARKSPEED family. However, what golfers will notice are incremental improvements and a new FF33 hosel adapter which, according to this panel of one, is what COBRA will lean into as its key differentiating element and competitive advantage.
It’s not often that the most notable feature of any new club isn’t a material, weighting scheme or face topology. In a sense, this might suggest COBRA’s sense is that it can provide golfers with a greater performance bump through increased fitting options than materials and mass properties.
Future Fit 33 aka FF33
The FF33 hosel adapter is, at first glance, overly complex and I wouldn’t fault anyone for treating it the same way you do a long text from an in-law. So, Happy Holidays or I’m sorry that happened, but I’m not reading all of that.
But hear me out. The FF33 adapter is 1) primarily a tool for fitters and 2) actually pretty simple to use should you need to.
More importantly, the FF33 adapter decouples (not what happened to me after junior prom) loft and lie. Put differently, this adapter allows loft (or lie) to move independent of the other one. So, if you want to decrease loft, but make the club more upright, it’s all good. More loft, but a flatter lie angle? No problem.
Beyond that, the impact on performance (trajectory and dispersion) offers a balance and range of adjustability equal to and in some cases, beyond that of competitors. Cobra puts the numbers at 4° of trajectory alteration and 15 yards of left/right downrange dispersion.
If you work with a qualified fitter and preferably one well-versed in Cobra’s set up, the FF33 simply gives that individual more levers to pull and dials to turn in order to get you optimally fit. For the tinkerers out there, a handy QR code on the hosel leads you directly to the adapter chart. From there, my advice is to “work opposite” – Meaning that whatever shot behavior you’re looking to fix, take the current setting (say B3) and see what setting sits directly opposite (B1). From there, play with that setting and the 4-5 adjacent options (C1, C2, A8, D3) and see what happens.
Tungsten tells the story
Cobra again has three fairway wood models and one hybrid model. And as with most fairway wood stories, mass properties (and the concentration of tungsten weights) tell you what each model is designed to do.
The DS-ADAPT LS pairs a titanium face with a carbon body to generate 60 grams of discretionary weight, 34gr of which is placed low and extremely forward in the head. What this suggests is that this will be the lowest-spinning, but highest ball speed model in the lineup. Allowing for reasonable assumptions, the closer the CG is to the face, the better ball speed will be. The lower the CG, the less spin it will generate.
The remaining 26 grams is split evenly into two, 13-gram moveable weights and the DS-ADAPT LS features the deepest face of the three models.
If you recall the Cobra King LTD (yeah, the one with the orange space port), the DS-ADAPT LS is a direct descendent, so the genetic profile is solid. And I know that on paper each successive model after the KING LTD was somehow “better” yet I’d comfortably place the original in the pantheon of legendary fairway metals. Anyway, a topic for another day.
Ultimately, the DS-ADAPT LS is for the golfer who either generates excessive spin or is looking for a hotter/lower trajectory from a fairway wood.
Moving on, the DS-ADAPT X is the middle-of-the-road option with a balance of speed and forgiveness. The discretionary weight is allocated primarily in two places – a revamped PWR-BRIDGE that pulls the CG closer to the face (not as close as the DS APAPT-LS) and a rear weight. The teaching point here is that as the CG moves away from the face, forgiveness (often referred to as MOI) tends to increase.
Compared to the LS model, DS-ADAPT X will launch a bit higher with a tick more spin. Beyond that, I fully expect most golfers to fit into this model, because well, most golfers need moderate launch and spin to find optimal performance.
The DS-ADAPT MAX is Cobra’s dedicated “draw-biased” (or at least, draw-enhanced) model. Looking at the sole, the dead giveaway is the two weight ports – one in the rear and one in the heel. This tells us that Cobra is using it’s discretionary mass to pull the CG rear and toward the heel and because the CG sits closer to the shaft axis, it should be easier to square up the face at impact (or leave it less open for those of you prone to slicing the ball).
It’s getting H.O.T. in HERE
If you’ve already perused the DS-ADAPT driver article, you likely noted the term aggregate incrementalism. If not, the simple definition is that many little improvements can lead to more noticeable, large improvements. It’s in that context that Cobra’s updated H.O.T. Face topology exists. This version again features 15 individual hot spots (or mini sweet spots if you want to think of it like that) which work to retain ball speed (and appropriate spin) on off-center strikes. This time around Cobra developed a slightly larger face with improved face flex and more robust launch conditions.
What this means is that a greater percentage of the face can provide performance attributers closer to what you’d expect from center-face impact. How close, exactly? Well, like we said, it’s incremental – meaning that we’re talking about tenths of a mile-per-hour of ball speed and a bit of spin. It’s not enough that you’ll likely notice on any given single shot, but better is better, right? Any step forward, albeit a small one, is still a step.
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I See Your True Colors
The golf industry struggles to reach consensus on any number of topics, including but not limited to how to measure a club. Yep, 1” isn’t the same for everyone. That said, occasionally common sense prevails, and we end up with a semi-consistent definition or application of terminology – in this case, it’s color.
It mostly applicable to composite shafts, but here’s the tip sheet:
- Black/Grey/White = low launch/low spin
- Blue = mid launch/mid spin
- Red = high launch/high spin
Again, this isn’t a hard and fast rule, but more of a guideline. In addition, any difference in launch/spin is going to be relative to that family or series. For example, the DS-ADAPT Max will be higher launching/spinning than that DS-ADAPT X, but that doesn’t mean that the DS-ADAPT X will always produce less spin/launch than another manufacturer’s highest spin/launch offering. Make sense?
A word on The DS-ADAPT Hybrid
The Cobra hybrid nomenclature can get a little confusing. DS-ADAPT is the flagship metalwood line and what you’ll likely see in the bags of staffers like Ricky Fowler and Gary Woodland. However, the DS-ADAPT hybrid targets primarily game-improvement golfers. For reference, the KING family is where you’ll find Cobra’s iron line up and smaller, more compact hybrids which are generally preferred by better/faster golfers.
What this means to you is that considering the continuum of hybrids, the DS-ADAPT will trend toward the larger, more wood-like footprint.
Beyond that, the DS-ADAPT hybrid carries over key technologies (FF33 hosel adapter, H.O.T. Face topology, revamped PWR-BRIDGE), but in a slightly larger package than the Darkspeed hybrid which it replaces. If you set the two models (Darkspeed and DS-ADAPT) side by side, the increased footprint is most noticeable along the toe and rear of the club. It’s not much of a change, but again, it’s incremental people.
I’m excited because…
This release is potentially dropping some hints as to what Cobra might be up to in the future. The FF33 adapter tells me that Cobra continues to look for meaningful advancements that increase performance for all golfers and create an authentic competitive difference. But it’s more so what this line of thinking might lead to down the proverbial road. Enter 3D Printing. We saw the first commercial evidence of Cobra’s 3D printing capabilities last year with its limited release of irons. At the time, my question to Mike Yagley (COBRA’s VP of Innovation) was whether 3D printing could benefit metalwood design and if so, just how far down that rabbit hole he ventured. The answer was one that suggested there was reason for golfers to be optimistic about future implications, hypothetically speaking of course. Should that ever happen, it could lead to a level of innovation that’s anything but incremental.
What I’m questioning
As fun as it is to pontificate about the future, companies need to sell product now. Cobra is no exception. Yet, the brand’s challenge remains the same as it has the last several years – find a way into the consideration set. If a golfer is looking for a new fairway wood – either alongside or apart from – a new driver, how does Cobra get on the interview list? Golfers will consider at least two brands, and often three, before making a purchase. Assuming that several slots will go to other big-name manufacturers, can Cobra get enough golfers to give it a try, hoping that it can win its fair share of launch monitor battles from that point.
To do so, DS-ADAPT can’t be just “as good” as whatever comes out from market leaders. It has to somehow be better – or at least a better value. Stay tuned.
Specs, pricing, availability
Stock shafts and pricing varies by model:
Fairway Woods
DS-ADAPT LS ($429): The LS is available in3W (14.5° ), 3HF (16° ), and 5W (17.5° ) models and comes standard with True Temper DenaliBlack 60 shaft (X, S) and Lamkin Crossline grip.
DS-ADAPT X ($329): The X model is available in 3W (15.0° ), 3HF (16.5° ), 5W (18° ), and 7W
(21° ), with the choice of True Temper Denali Red 50 (A flex) or True Temper Denali Blue 60
shafts (R and S flex).
DS-ADAPT MAX ($329): The Max model is available in 3W (15.5° ), 5W (18.5° ),
7W (21.5° ), and 9W (24.5° ) with True Temper Denali Red 50 shaft (S, R, A).
The DS-ADAPT MAX is also available in a women’s model in 3W (18.5° ), 5W (21.5° ), and 7W (24.5° )
with UST Helium Nanocore (43g) shaft in Ladies flex and an undersize Lamkin Crossline grip (45g).
Hybrid
DS-ADAPT Hybrid ($299): The DS-ADAPT Hybrids are available in 2H (17° ), 3H (19° ), 4H (21° ), 5H (24° ), and 6H (28° ) with KBS PG HYBRID graphite shafts in 85 (S), 75 (R), and 65 (A) flexes. A DS-ADAPT Women’s Hybrid is also available in 4H (21° ), 5H (24° ), 6H (28° ), and 7H (31° ) with KBS PG Hybrid 55 (L) flex graphite shafts.
Retail availability begins on January 10, 2025.
For more information, visit cobragolf.com.
Looking to upgrade without breaking the bank? Last year’s DARKSPEED models are up to 30% off.
Dean D
1 month ago
As a shorter golfer with low hands at address and a tendency to miss with a bad hook – I like the extra adjustments uncoupled from each other. Anything with a closed face is bad news for me when I’m not warmed up or swing a little too quick. I adjust everything to hook fighter settings on my Ping driver and fairway woods. I haven’t carried a 3 wood in years because that hook miss is usually OB with that club and my cranked down 5 wood is 235+ when struck squarely. I’ve lost a few yards off the tee and some days I’d like to have a 3 wood in the bag – at Torrey Pines for example.