Tag: Cobra Golf

  • Closer Look: Cobra KING F8+ Driver

    Closer Look: Cobra KING F8+ Driver

    When I first started playing golf around 1989-1990, metal woods were starting to dominate the PGA Tour and only a handful of holdouts still used persimmon drivers and fairway woods. Golf club technology evolved rapidly in the 90s, and it wasn’t long before club heads started getting bigger and bigger. In the 1990s, the best player on the planet was Greg Norman, and he used the original King Cobra driver to launch tee shots like moonballs on a frozen rope. The King Cobra driver of that era will go down in history as one of the most recognized and influential clubs of the 90s, along with the Callaway Big Bertha.

    These days, golf club technology continues to evolve but the emphasis has shifted towards fitting rather than distance. The USGA’s limits on club design with regards to performance have constrained manufacturers when it comes to ball speeds and overall distance, so much of the new technology you’ll find is geared towards fine-tuning the way the club performs for individual golfers. The new Cobra KING F8 and F8+ (plus) drivers are no exception.

    cobra-king-f8-drivers
    (Left) KING F8, (Right) KING F8+

    Cobra Golf’s F8+ driver is geared towards the better player (0 to 15 handicap according to Cobra), and the difference between this model and the regular KING F8 driver is evidence of that. The forward weight port on the F8 driver is located in the heel area and set back a bit to help square the clubface and produce a draw action to combat a slice. In the F8+ driver, the weight port is located front and center, near the middle of the clubface which moves the center of gravity (CG) forward to reduce spin, while remaining in a neutral position for better workability. The other main difference is in the shaft. The F8+ driver comes with a choice of premium shafts from Aldila and Project X that feature premium materials and stiffer, low torque profiles that reduce spin for improved performance in distance and dispersion.

    Technology Overload

    My Cobra KING F8+ came fitted with the Project X HZRDUS Yellow 75x shaft. Cobra Golf packed a lot of features and tech into this driver, so let’s go over all the features:

    • Golf’s first CNC milled face – The forged titanium face is precision milled for exact face thickness, weight, and consistency. According to Cobra, testing against a traditional hand-polished driver face, the CNC milled face on the KING F8 driver produced increased ball speeds ranging from 1.2 to 1.6 mph across the face.
    KING F8+ CNC Milled Face
    KING F8+ CNC Milled Face
    • Have you heard of Taylor Made’s “Twist Face” technology? Sorry to break it to you, but Cobra did it first, and they did it years ago. Cobra’s Dual Roll Technology utilizes different curvatures on the top and bottom of the face to optimize launch and spin for shots hit above or below face center.
    • 360 Aero – Polymer trips on the crown and titanium trips on the sole are optimized for better aerodynamic efficiency, giving you more clubhead speed. All I know is, they certainly help give the club a unique look at address.
    KING F8+ 360 Aero
    KING F8+ 360 Aero
    • 2 adjustable CG settings – With a heavier weight in the back and a lighter weight in front, you’ll get a slightly higher ball flight and more spin. If you swap the weights and put the heavier weight in the front, you’ll bring the ball flight down a bit and lower spin by as much as 400 rpm.
    • MyFly w/ Smart Pad – The adjustable hosel has eight loft settings to fine-tune launch and spin to each player. In my F8+ driver, I can turn the loft setting from 8 degrees all the way up to 11.5. The Smart Pad ensures that the driver sits square at address in every setting for greater confidence. One issue with other adjustable drivers is that changing the loft also changes the look at address; Not so with the F8+ driver.
    • Carbon fiber crown – Making the crown out of ultra-lightweight carbon fiber allowed Cobra engineers to move weight around where it is needed to make the club more forgiving. It also looks really cool.
    Lamkin Cobra Connect Grip
    Lamkin Cobra Connect Grip
    • Cobra Connect, powered by Arccos, allows golfers to track their driving performance and accuracy with the Arccos app on their phone. A sensor built into the grip connects with the app and uses GPS to track your location on the course. The sensor can detect when you hit a drive and marks the location that you hit your second shot from to determine if you are in the fairway or rough and how far from the tee you are to calculate distance. Arrcos Driver, their stand-alone product, usually sells for $49, but the same technology is built into the F8 drivers at no additional cost.

    What I Like

    • I love the look of this driver. The nardo gray colored head with all the aero features and circular milling on the face just looks cool and futuristic to me. I’ve always been a traditionalist, but this club looks really good without being distracting.
    • The feel is perfect. The ball comes off the face with a muted “click” and you can really feel the impact in your hands. In fact, the feel is good enough to know immediately where you hit the ball on the face, and that’s easily confirmed because you can usually see the impact mark from the golf ball on the face. This driver reminds me of the foam filled metal drivers from the early 2000s before they got obnoxiously loud.
    • Ball flight with the driver set up at 9.5 degrees and neutral settings was ideal. The HZRDUS Yellow shaft keeps the ball from ballooning but still gets it in the air quickly. My short swing and relatively quick tempo managed to load this shaft pretty well, even if it’s not my favorite model shaft. I prefer something with a little more active tip section, like the excellent range of ultra-premium shafts from TPT Golf.
    • Cobra has made it easy to customize this driver, with over 40 custom shaft options! You can also change the length, grip type and even build up your grips if that’s what you prefer. There are more than a dozen different grips available with the built-in Cobra Connect feature, and even more standard grips.
    • The Cobra KING F8+ driver isn’t the most forgiving club I’ve hit recently, but it isn’t supposed to be either. This is a serious club for good players that can generate enough clubhead speed to make it work. Like I previously mentioned above, the face transmits feel to your hands about mishits better than most modern drivers. In this regard, the F8+ is a bit of a throwback.
    • The KING F8+ is infinitely adjustable, between the multiple loft settings and weight port tuning. I ordered two extra weights from Cobra because I like to swing sledgehammers. I replaced the 12g & 2g standard weights with an 8g in the back and a 16g weight in the front. Overall swing weight at 45″ comes out to D7. I have swung heavy clubs for decades because I want to leverage physics to my advantage. As long as you can maintain your average swing speed, a heavier club will transmit more energy to the ball than I lighter one, and you’ll not only get more distance, but a heavy club is also more forgiving than a light club.

    What I don’t like

    • I’m not a fan of the stock Lamkin Crossline grip with Cobra Connect. I’ve always preferred cord grips, but unfortunately, the Cobra Connect grips don’t include a cord grip in their custom options. I used the stock grip for a while to play with the Arrcos app and Cobra COnnect features, but eventually changed the grip out for one of the new Lamkin Players Cord grips.
    • The Project X HZRDUS Yellow shaft is a good shaft, but to get the most out of this club I would have had to order it with one of the many custom options. The other two stock options are the Aldila NV 2KXV Blue 60 and 2KXV Green 65 shafts. However, in their custom shaft offerings, I would lean towards Mitsubishi’s Tensei CK Pro line or Fujikura’s awesome ATMOS Tour Spec shafts (fitted in my Ping G400 three wood) would transform this club into a monster.
    • I know I just finished saying that the Cobra KING F8+ driver is infinitely adjustable, but for some, that may not be a good thing. If you are one of the people that end up buying this club right off the rack and have not been fit for it, you’ll probably need some time to find the loft and weight settings that work best for you. Without the help of an experienced club fitter, it may take several months to get it right. If you have access to a launch monitor or a good pro, they can help you get it dialed in much sooner. It took my buddy Tony from Hookedongolfblog.com about two months to get his KING F8 driver set up right. I still don’t think I have it dialed in properly. It’s close, but I don’t think the HZRDUS shaft is right for me.
    Cobra KING F8+ MyFly Hosel
    Cobra KING F8+ MyFly Hosel

    Conclusions

    The Cobra KING F8+ driver is loaded with tech, looks great, feels and sounds awesome and can be customized far beyond the needs of most golfers. It is the total package in a driver unless you prefer a super loud hollow sound at impact and a very high ball flight. This is a driver for serious players and purists which is blended with slick looking technology and aero features. Pricing varies depending on custom options, but expect to pay $399 for stock versions and up to $600 for a driver with custom shaft and grips.

  • Clay Long – The Best Putters You Haven’t Heard Of

    Clay Long with MacGregor Response PutterWho is Clay Long, and why haven’t you heard of his putters? For starters, Mr. Long doesn’t much advertise his putter designs. Designed for golf purists and enthusiasts that are serious about high-end putters that perform and feel great, only a select few dealers around the country get to sell his clubs. Fortunately for me, one of those shops is close-by in Orlando, and a number of years ago I stumbled on to his putters there and immediately had to have one. And then another, and then another. I now have three of his flat sticks and I love all of them.

    Clay Long is one of the most experienced and well respected golf club designers in golf. He has been designing clubs for over 25 years, serving as the Vice president of Research and Development of Macgregor Golf Co., chief designer to Progroup and The Arnold Palmer Co., Vice President of Research and Development of Cobra Golf Co., Vice President of Golf Club Development for the Acushnet Co. In 1992 he founded his own company – Plus 2 International – and today is responsible for Nicklaus Golf Equipment and Jack Nicklaus’s golf club designs.

    Clay Long with Jack NicklausAs chief designer for Arnold Palmer golf, Clay Long developed the PHD hosel weighted iron. This design was used by Arnold Palmer, Steve Stricker, and Tom Wargo. Wargo used the PHD to become the first player on the Champions Tour to win a million dollars in a single season. His hosel-weighed design was later licensed and used by Cobra Golf Co. in the King Cobra II irons and woods.

    In 1997 Clay Long joined Cobra Golf as Vice President of R&D. Clay helped design the Gravity Back series of woods and irons along with a number of other products. He later served as Vice president of Golf Club Development in the Acushnet organization, working on titanium wood designs  until leaving in 2000 to restart Plus 2 International as an independent design house. Mr. Long owns no less than 26 golf related patents and is also a charter member of Golf Digest’s Technical Advisory Panel.

    Clay Long Personal Edition Putters

    [caption id="attachment_1975" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Click photo to enlarge..."]Clay Long Personal Edition Putters[/caption] Clay Long's Personal Edition putters are some of the best looking and feeling putters I've ever rolled the ball with. Made in very small numbers and cherished by their owners, they are the pinnacle of putting tools. For years and years, Mr. Long has been the personal clubmaker for Jack Nicklaus. Many of his putter designs were created with Jack in mind, and have landed in the hands of a few lucky collectors like myself. Clay Long has recently released several new limited edition hand made putters. There are 13 models available in small numbers. [caption id="attachment_1980" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Click photo to enlarge..."]Clay Long Personal Edition Putters[/caption] All three of the models that I own (D202.5, E203.11, A201.4) were made in the early 2000s and have Clay Long's unique raised center sighting feature. Rather than engraving or milling a sight line on the flange of the putter and filling with paint, Mr. Long came up with a design in which a raised bar of metal is milled into the design, giving the cavity of the putter a raised sight line feature that is unique to Clay Long putters. These early models were made in small batches of 10 putters and individually numbered. Two models (D202.5, E203.11) are made of 303 stainless steel and the third (A201.4) of mild carbon steel. The other unique feature of Clay's putters is the long barrel slant neck. The elongated shaft socket allows the putter shaft to penetrate deeper and puts the shaft in greater contact with the head, resulting in greater feel and less vibration. There really is a very solid, stable feel to these putters. The best way to describe it is to compare driving a German car vs. a Korean car. They just feel more solid and well put together. The ball pops off the face with a slight clicking noise that you would expect from a metal putter, and the feel is soft without being mushy. Feedback is instant and vibration is non-existent. [caption id="attachment_1976" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Click photo to enlarge..."]Clay Long Personal Edition Putters[/caption] The curved top line of my D202.5 makes the putter look better at address, and the slight offset aids alignment. The E203.11 has less offset and the shaft goes over the hosel. The curved cavity gives the putter a clean look and thinner top line. The shaft connects to the head closer to the center of the putter than other models, reducing the toe hang of the putter. My A201.4 model putter is made of mild carbon steel and is heavier than the 303SS offerings. I was told the "I" marking below the hosel area denotes this putter as a heavier weight. The putter features a more traditional heel-toe cavity back design made famous by the Ping Anser. It has a longer slant neck and the unique long barrel hosel and raised sight line feature. The face area of these putters is outlined by an oval paint line and is milled flat. The classic "CL" cloverleaf logo is prominent on the heel of the club as well. [caption id="attachment_1984" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Click photo to enlarge..."]Clay Long Personal Edition Putters[/caption] Clay Long doesn't offer his putters in large quantities or sell them in all the big box golf retail stores. In fact, his putters are hard to find. His designs are innovative, without losing that classic look and feel, and they are sure to stand the test of time. He has designed putters and golf clubs for some of the game's all time greats, and his famous MacGregor response putter design will go down as one of the most popular putters of all time. Nicklaus won the Masters in 1986 with it and as a result, MacGregor sold 350,000 units by 1987. In a putter market dominated by over-hyped , over-priced, so-called "custom" putters, Clay Long continues to make very high-quality, high-performance putters that look and perform beautifully. If you are a putter enthusiast and haven't seen his putters or had the pleasure of putting with them, you owe it to yourself to get your hands on one. You won't be disappointed!

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