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Cobra Introduces the ZL Driver

SuperStroke
I hit this at Golfsmith the other day. Maybe its just because the L5V is so loud, but it seemed like they have quited this thing up big time.
 
Too light so made a change

Too light so made a change

I had my ZL reshafted yesterday with a Graphite Design 6+ 65g shaft. My club fitter also added weight to the bottom so my driver now weights in at a D5 with a 45 length shaft. I will go out this morning to give it a test drive to see if the lightweight issue has been resolved. I will post the results this afternoon.
 
bsandefu said:
I had my ZL reshafted yesterday with a Graphite Design 6+ 65g shaft. My club fitter also added weight to the bottom so my driver now weights in at a D5 with a 45 length shaft. I will go out this morning to give it a test drive to see if the lightweight issue has been resolved. I will post the results this afternoon.
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Very curious about this because I think this will negate the benefits of that Cobra is touting about this club. It is very much like the new Cleveland with the super light weighting.

Let me know what happens with the ball flight on this one.
 
Shaft upgrade and swingweight now perfect!

Shaft upgrade and swingweight now perfect!

OMG!!! This club responds totally awesome with the right shaft and swingweight. My ball flight was a ton better even on the 10.5 loft. It is sooooo pure feeling now. The stock shaft (Voodoo) that came with this club had a mid to low kick and only weighed 62 grams even in the stiff. I found this club hard to control with the stock shaft. I could not feel the head, way too light. Now it's a totally different club. PLEASE don't judge this driver on the stock version. It's long off the tee and very forgiving with a beautiful ball flight with the right fitting. This driver is silky smooth for me at 45 inches and a D5 swingweight. OMG!!! Have you ever had a club that actually made your heart race :eek:) .. Hmmm Hmmmmm good Aunt Bee! Cobra came up with a super head on this one but the stock Voodoo 46 shaft did not work at all for me. Upgrade the shaft, cut it down a bit, get your swingweight right, (we put lead power in tip end of the shaft and plugged it), and just feel the grin come on your face! Of course that goes for any driver. You got to get it set up right. The stock version right off the shelf is not for everyone.
 
bsandefu said:
OMG!!! This club responds totally awesome with the right shaft and swingweight. My ball flight was a ton better even on the 10.5 loft. It is sooooo pure feeling now. The stock shaft (Voodoo) that came with this club had a mid to low kick and only weighed 62 grams even in the stiff. I found this club hard to control with the stock shaft. I could not feel the head, way too light. Now it's a totally different club. PLEASE don't judge this driver on the stock version. It's long off the tee and very forgiving with a beautiful ball flight with the right fitting. This driver is silky smooth for me at 45 inches and a D5 swingweight. OMG!!! Have you ever had a club that actually made your heart race :eek:) .. Hmmm Hmmmmm good Aunt Bee! Cobra came up with a super head on this one but the stock Voodoo 46 shaft did not work at all for me. Upgrade the shaft, cut it down a bit, get your swingweight right, (we put lead power in tip end of the shaft and plugged it), and just feel the grin come on your face! Of course that goes for any driver. You got to get it set up right. The stock version right off the shelf is not for everyone.
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Thanks for the great feedback. I have some questions. If you changed the weight and the shaft could it possibly be that is what is causing the better flight and not the head? I mean this driver was designed to be a superlite. I am wondering if you took this same setup (shaft and weight) and put it into a different head would you have the same results? My gut feeling is yes. I am going to install a few different shafts in this one and see, but I gotta say as of right now I think the head is good but not great (for my game) and the superlite does NOT work for me at all with this head yet works great for me in the Cleveland head. Curious.
 
It will take a few more rounds

It will take a few more rounds

The correct swing weight plus an upgrade in shaft should help any stock version driver be better and that includes all the name brand drivers. The sad part is alot of folks spend alot of money hoping they will get the magic wand off the shelf. And then you have to modify it to make it work for you. After saying this I still believe the ZL Cobra head with the right combo shaft is the BEST I have seen in years. It is scary good with the right combo. I will find some faults with my ZL. No club is perfect. This club is so different from what came off the shelf it's amazing. I can hardly wait to hit it Saturday. I am sad to say but my favorite driver until the ZL (R9) will have to take a back seat tomorrow. The snake will be on the prowl.....
 
no pics? I had to go to a different website to see what it looked like. I'm sure it's nice but I'm happily married to my 09 TP Burner.
 
beautiful club really.
 
bsandefu said:
The correct swing weight plus an upgrade in shaft should help any stock version driver be better and that includes all the name brand drivers. The sad part is alot of folks spend alot of money hoping they will get the magic wand off the shelf. And then you have to modify it to make it work for you. After saying this I still believe the ZL Cobra head with the right combo shaft is the BEST I have seen in years. It is scary good with the right combo. I will find some faults with my ZL. No club is perfect. This club is so different from what came off the shelf it's amazing. I can hardly wait to hit it Saturday. I am sad to say but my favorite driver until the ZL (R9) will have to take a back seat tomorrow. The snake will be on the prowl.....
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So today we stuck a few different shafts in our playing partners ZL and I have to say I am still just not in love with the head. My original thoughts still hold true. Distance is good, forgiveness is good, but neither is great. Glad it is working for you though.
 
Thanks JB. I hit 12 fairways yesterday so I was rather pleased. It's going to be an ongoing bonding thing for quite some time. The ZL sets up good to me and that inspires confidence. I have hit longer drivers such as the TM Burner however with the Graphite Design shaft now in the ZL, I have a good feel that accuracy is going to be the number one plus for me with this driver.

I am looking forward to the upcoming driver shootout. It is always interesting to see the concensus from different skill levels. This a great way to test new products. THP is number one in my book on giving golfers a truly fair review.
 
bsandefu said:
Thanks JB. I hit 12 fairways yesterday so I was rather pleased. It's going to be an ongoing bonding thing for quite some time. The ZL sets up good to me and that inspires confidence. I have hit longer drivers such as the TM Burner however with the Graphite Design shaft now in the ZL, I have a good feel that accuracy is going to be the number one plus for me with this driver.

I am looking forward to the upcoming driver shootout. It is always interesting to see the concensus from different skill levels. This a great way to test new products. THP is number one in my book on giving golfers a truly fair review.
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That is awesome. It sounds like a setup that fits perfectly for your game.
 
Not perfect but close enough

Not perfect but close enough

It took some extra bucks to get my new ZL to perform in my comfort zone. I wish Cobra would put some of the upgraded shafts in the stores instead of having to special order them. Titleist drivers come with great shafts but not their little brothers the Cobras. There are some pretty interesting reviews of the ZL at:

COBRA ZERO LIMIT DRIVER - DETAILED PICS - GolfWRX.com

There are several good and interesting comments on the ZL driver and the different shaft combos tried etc. Different strokes for different folks but for me, the ZL is a now a keeper. I had just about sold it to order a lower lofted model but now it is working beautifullly.
 
I want to hit one of these things. I did find a good review but I want to hit this thing bad, Cobra Zero Limit ZL Driver - Review!

bsandefu said:
It took some extra bucks to get my new ZL to perform in my comfort zone. I wish Cobra would put some of the upgraded shafts in the stores instead of having to special order them. Titleist drivers come with great shafts but not their little brothers the Cobras. There are some pretty interesting reviews of the ZL at:

COBRA ZERO LIMIT DRIVER - DETAILED PICS - GolfWRX.com

There are several good and interesting comments on the ZL driver and the different shaft combos tried etc. Different strokes for different folks but for me, the ZL is a now a keeper. I had just about sold it to order a lower lofted model but now it is working beautifullly.
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JB - great forum... love the insight. I tried this driver out at golfsmith - a total beast! I've narrowed my search down to Cobra ZL and TM R9 460 TP Voodoo SNV6... 9.5 deg. I'm smoking both on the launch monitor with a SS in the 105-110 range. The guy at golfsmith thinks I should go with 10.5 because the launch angle numbers were hovering right around 10 degrees and he thinks the optimal mix should be 13 - 15 degrees. I'm typically a high ball hitter and I'm hesitant to pull the trigger on 10.5 because I don't want to hit moon balls. That said, the Voodoo shaft in the R9 460 brings down the spin rate to right around 3,000... so perhaps R9 460 10.5 with Voodoo and a low spin ball, with the shaft adjusted so that the clubface is slightly open might work. What are your thoughts on the change in launch angle if I go from 9.5 to 10.5? Thanks!
 
You will see a much bigger difference in launch based on shaft than you ever will moving a degree or 2 in a driver. I personally hit a high ball as well and still play a 10.5. Just picked a shaft to lower the flight and it is working quite well. The launch monitor wont lie, go with what gives you the best numbers, is in your price range, and feels the best.

I prefer the R9 460 to this Cobra, but that is purely a personal preference. Both are very good drivers. We also have our huge Pre Show driver shoot out coming up in early January.

Welcome to THP by the way. Dont forget to check out our HUGE CONTEST going on right now.
 
So I hear you telling me that I should just quit worrying about the 1 degree difference and go with the 10.5... I agree with your take - the ZL is a great club, but the TM R9 460 is very nice.
 
I would definitely do that. The 1 degree will mean very little and you can grab the right shaft to keep the ball at the perfect launch for you.
 
JB said:
So today we stuck a few different shafts in our playing partners ZL and I have to say I am still just not in love with the head. My original thoughts still hold true. Distance is good, forgiveness is good, but neither is great.
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But this is Cobra's most innovative, highest-performing driver ever, which is designed to help all golfers achieve more distance and is the longest driver in Cobra's 36 year history and it sets a new standard by combining the best technology, materials and design they've ever built into a driver.


Surely they wouldn't lie about that, would they?


(Sorry, JB...I couldn't resist :bomb:)


Happy Thanksgiving! :D


-JP
 
It does help a whole lot of golfers increase swing speed. However in our early tests, it did not perform for me as well as others. Every company advertises that their new club is the best on the market. It is our job to determine whether or not the marketing matches the hype. In this case, while it clearly works for some, it did not for me.

Still a great club, but in my opinion, there are better driver heads on the market right now. Many club companies are putting out a superlite version for increased swing speed. I think a few of them have great products in those clubs. This one while a good driver head did very little in terms of distance increase or forgiveness for our testers.

A shaft change could help that as it did with our THP member above, but that is not what this driver is really about. Moving to a heavier shaft goes against what they are releasing this for. Getting fitted for the perfect shaft is the absolute best way to find the right driver, but most do not do that and it is our job to make sure we test all the stock offerings and see how they work off the shelf.

According to a recent survey conducted by a large publication, over 21,000 golfers were asked about purchasing drivers. 86% of them said that they buy off the shelf and do nothing in terms of fitting.
 
Great Job

Great Job

Happy Thanksgiving JB to you, golfergal and your staff! Have a great Holiday Season. I,m sure everyone who enjoys THP, appreciate the hard work and honest opinions you share with your readers. A job very well done and respected.
 
bsandefu said:
Happy Thanksgiving JB to you, golfergal and your staff! Have a great Holiday Season. I,m sure everyone who enjoys THP, appreciate the hard work and honest opinions you share with your readers. A job very well done and respected.
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Thank you for your kind words.
 
Wow!

Wow!

Only missed two fairways today however I shot a sorry round (86). The wind was blowing pretty hard and my putting was not up to par :eek:(...... Is there someone out there who has tried this driver and found it as forgiving as I have???? I averaged 240 to 255 off the tee and hit one big one for me which was 275 and just left of a short par four. 59 years old this Sunday and I am kinda proud of that poke. Not sure if there are many left in the old man :eek:)
Graphite Design stiff shaft and Cobra ZL 45 inch at D5 is the ticket!!!!! I am not sure why they are going towards the ultra light weight? Is it wrong to like to feel more weight in your driver? I also have lead tape on all my irons as I like to feel the weight if ya know what I mean? My ZL works sooooooo fine at 45 length and D5 or D4 with the medium size grip. When you move up with the grip you have to deduct from the swingweight thus I have a D4 now..... Wow this thing is soooooo easy to keep in in the fairway!
 
bsandefu,
Awesome stuff. Glad it was working for you. Have you ever tried this shaft that you are using now with another club head?
 
Works great in my R9 too

Works great in my R9 too

Same shaft in my Taylormade R9 9.5 driver works great. I got the R9 set up for a fade and my ZL for straight to slight draw. I suppose the Graphite Design YS 6+ shaft is my ticket. I have heard this shaft plays a bit weaker than other stiff shafts. My swing speed is 96 on average so I don't have the big power move. I try to swing as though my shoulders, arms, and wrists are all together if that makes sense. My main swing thought is the BIG V. Keep the V moving back and though in one smooth move.

I am fortunate enough to have two great drivers :eek:) R9 & ZL Love em!!!
 
That is a good shaft for my swing as well. We have similar swing speeds. Glad it is working so well for you.
 
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