Fairway woods are quite a unique piece of golf equipment to me. A good 3 Wood is a game changer in the fact that you are never really out of a hole if you’re able to nail your 3-wood. There are so many different ways a solid 3 Wood can prove invaluable to a golfer. First you use it off the tee box on a hole with a tight fairway, if you can get this shot down you’ll always have an option when the room for error disappears. Next if you have a dependable 3 Wood you are much more likely to hit a par 5 green in two setting up a potential eagle, talk about a game changer. Finally another spot a 3 Wood really comes in handy is when the absolute worse happens, a shanked tee shot leaving you some 350 yards away from the green for your 2nd shot into a par 4, nothing saves the day like being able to step up there, clear your mind and bomb a 3 wood back to the spot you should have been in the first place. So going into this review of the Cobra Baffler Rail Fairway I definitely had more in mind than just one particular shot. 3 Woods for me are one of those clubs that can be called upon in numerous different situations in the course of an 18 hole round, how does the Baffler stack up? Let’s find out!
From Cobra:
Cobra’s Baffler Rail Fairway features a sleek-looking, 17-4 steel clubhead that has a thin, high-strength 465 maraging steel clubface designed to increase ball speed and distance. The elongated clubface and low-profile head result in a low, deep center of gravity – to help golfers launch the ball with ease – and a high Moment of Inertia for maximum forgiveness. The new four-way rail sole is designed to help the club move effortlessly through turf – to provide more consistent ball contact and improved control. The Baffler Rail Fairway features a premium, high-performance Fujikura Motore shaft for optimum distance and control.
The Baffler Rail F is geared for players seeking maximum forgiveness, power and control from the fairway.
More Technical info from Cobra:
Oversize Design with Shallow Face– A new, unique oversized head design and a very shallow face results in an extremely forgiving fairway wood that launches the ball with ease.
Innovative Rail Sole– A four-way rail sole reduces the area of the club that comes in contact with the ground. The result is improved turf interaction and maximum forgiveness – making the Baffler Rail Fairway the most forgiving and versatile Cobra fairway ever.
High Strength Steel Face with 9 Point Face Technology– A thin, lightweight maraging steel face promotes faster ball speed and allows for 10 percent of the weight to be strategically repositioned low and back for improved launch characteristics and an expanded sweet zone.
I love the look of the Baffler Rail F at address; the oversized head along with the shallow face just sets up perfectly at address and for me really helped build a lot of confidence as I was preparing to hit the ball. Because I use my fairway woods for such a wide variety of shots I need to have confidence both off the fairway and off a tee, at address the Baffler worked out great for both shots.
The Baffler delivered beyond just in the looks department for me. While the face of the club is shallow it still boasts Cobra’s 9 Point Face Technology, which if you’re not already familiar with it is Cobra’s way of getting 9 different sweet spots to increase ball speed across the entire clubface. I found the Baffler F to have a pretty hot face with the ball seemingly jumping off with each shot. With a 3 wood loft of 15.5 degrees I expected to get a little less distance and more height with it. I was happy to see that I was only half right. The distance is just fine thank you very much. I was able to get a lot more height than I’ve ever gotten out of a 3 wood while still enjoying the same amount of distance I’ve come to depend on.
The first day I put the Cobra Baffler Rail F in play I first used it on the range just warming up before a round. I warmed up like normal then when it came time to hit a few 3 Wood shots before finishing with a few driver shots I could not stop hitting it. From the first shot what jumped out at me was just how easy this club was to hit. If you ask me a 3 Wood is not the easiest club in the bag to hit, sure not as hard as say a 1-iron but still not always real simple to me anyway. Well the Baffler Rail F is in fact easy to hit and I could not get over that. Shot after shot on the range launched both high and far. I couldn’t stop hitting it, I was so happy with what I was seeing I just skipped right over the driver shots in my warm up routine that day.
On the course I found much of the same results. I have used it in every one of the above mentioned situations and each time I have come away pleased with the results. I’m pretty sure you could find a longer 3 wood if you really wanted, but it went plenty long for me and I never once felt that I needed more distance. Beyond the overall ease of hitting this the thing that I really appreciated the most was the trajectory that this club gives me. At 15.5 degree I expected it to go slightly higher, but this club launched the ball high, real high in fact. I see this being a huge advantage. Being able to get a fairway wood shot high in the air so that it stops without too much roll out is extremely helpful especially when trying to reach the green in 2 on a par 5.
The stock shaft is a Motore by Fujikura, available in Lite (White), Regular and Stiff (Black). Some hardcore equipment junkies might suggest a different shaft but really I found no issues with the Motore in the Baffler and don’t really imagine that too many people would.
Overall I’m very pleased with the Cobra Baffler Rail Fairway wood. I love the looks and the confidence that it builds at address. I especially like the feel of the clubface at impact and the high launch trajectory was just great. I feel that a good 3 wood is like having a magic club that can be used in various situations to either get me out of trouble and to help me really put the hammer on my opponent. This club does everything that I could possibly need it for, and does it rather well. I have owned a couple of the older Cobra fairway woods and I’ll tell you firsthand that, in my opinion, they don’t hold a candle to the Baffler Rail F. The Baffler Rail F is available in 3, 5, and 7 and will run you right around $169 at online retailers.
