Two release cycles ago, Cobra came out with a head unlike others we have seen. Their technology advanced to the point where they could eliminate large amounts of headweight by wrapping carbon around the traditional ‘edges’ and provided extreme weight saving opportunities alongside a milled face that promoted consistency. They took it a step further in their next release by sending that milled face through the hard edges of the crown and sole to promote better aerodynamics (and let’s be honest, less chance of skymarking), with a brilliantly designed metal exoskeleton that further promoted weight efficiencies. It is simply hard to fathom how you can build off that kind of design. Enter the Cobra RADSPEED Drivers.
A name that absolutely begs to be explained because it is somewhat out of left field after “F9 Speedback” and “Speedzone” by comparison. Where does it originate? A concept we as basic consumers are probably unfamiliar; “Radius of Gyration.”
If you ask Cobra what that means (I thought about Googling but decided to commit to their smart people definition), “The distance away from an object’s geometric center that an engineer or designer can position mass or a technology. The further away from the center it is, the better the performance gain.” In short, locating weight away from the CG offers different benefits. The more forward, the higher the ball speed. Going lower promotes the lowest spin. It seems like that critical give and take between forgiveness (MOI), spin, and speed.
Now that we have mentally unlocked what radius of gyration is, and can only assume based on “RAD” that it is a big part of this release, where does it come into play? For Cobra, it came down to their engineers finding the perfect blend using extreme weighting to maximize the critical elements of performance for all types of players, continuing their trend of low back weighting but also taking into consideration extra weight low and forward to gain on that ball speed metric. And, for the benefit of our golf swings, have three heads to deliver performance where we need it.
First, RADSPEED- the primary source for ball speed and low spin workability. This head is designed for the better player hunting for maximum performance with extra weight forward by comparison. Taking full advantage of their TBar Speed Chassis, they were able to save enough weight to get apply 16g of locked weight in the front of the head, with 8g locked into the back. Weight ports of 12g in the front and 2g in the back (that can be changed out) produce in total, 28g forward and 10g in the very back of the head. It will be available in 9.0 and 10.5 degree heads.
For RADSPEED XB (or ‘xtreme back”), the design lends itself more to forgiveness while maintaining solid speed. In this head, the near-to-face weighting is dropped to 8g and a whopping 14g of secured weighting in the back, with a 6g movable weight. This is definitely looking like the next generation of the Xtreme lineup for those who enjoyed the forgiveness and support of the last offering. It will be available in 9.0, 10.5, and 12.0 degree heads.
Finally, RADSPEED XD (or ‘xtreme draw”) – built on the same basic platform as the XB but have moved 10g of radial weight to the heel side halfway between the hosel and the back of the head to promote a draw bias. There are still 8g of weight locked into the front and 8g in the back, with a 6g movable weight. It will be available in 10.5 and 12.0 degree heads.
It is an awful lot to take in, but the basic reality is, Cobra has taken radial weight placement with their new driver head, and allocated weight to places that promote benefits for all levels of golfers. They were able to do this because of new carbon wrap technology that saved six grams of weight from the crown, and continue to promote consistent performance with their infinity face, which is a 25 minute milling process that results in a level or precision that greatly exceeds hand polishing. Continuing from previous models, the dual roll tech (where the face operates slightly different when hit high vs low), and their tri bulge face (basically autocorrect for golf balls) are still very much present. Slight improvements to the face milling came from solid tour feedback and additional research, which include the decision to introduce a horizontal milling pattern in the central location for moisture management, and a new laser etching of the central circle and infinity logo to further support that moisture control.
It would not be a Cobra driver release, however, without discussing color. To continue with their last couple models, they have added a fresh version of the yellow using what they call “turbo yellow” as an option, offering a matte black in the RADSPEED head, and gloss black in the XB and XD offerings. While this type of discussion will be a totally personal perspective, I believe the yellow they selected was a great transition from former offerings. A little livelier, more ‘current’ so to speak.
Additionally (and from my perspective the greatest thing ever), they have brought in their ever popular peacoat blue color for the RADSPEED and RADSPEED XB heads. A perfect combination of blue, white, and red accents compliment the overall presentation and present two outstanding cosmetic choices for consumers looking for variety in the RADSPEED and RADSPEED XB heads. Anyone who is familiar with Puma knows that Peacoat is a popular color throughout their apparel, and it makes perfect sense to bring that subtle yet solid presentation onto a driver. For the first time, I am not totally for one color and indifferent on the other. This is about two great choices, and it would not surprise me to see people feel the same way (although the right answer is of course, blue).
Each setup comes with a couple popular shaft options, Cobra connect in the grip, and tour length will return with the RADSPEED head. On the junior head, Cobra is still honoring the free shaft upgrade which is a great feature. MAP for all three heads is $449.
I for one am incredibly excited to give RADSPEED a try. F9 came in with a bang, redefining what could be done with carbon fiber, and showcasing that there are numerous ways to achieve consistent performance off the face of the head. They doubled down on Aerodynamics for Speedzone, and are now going another direction to make sure that we as golfers make only the concessions we need to promote the performance we seek.
The Details
Available: January 29, 2021
Price: $449
Website: www.cobragolf.com
Radius of Gyration is FANCY
Great to see three heads including a Draw model.
I ? agree with you on Peacoat offering the variation of yellow.
I think two of these would make a great Thriver setup
As for colors, I agree 2 great options, but the right choice is Blue
The expanding on the tech from prior releases has me super interested. Little birdie has told me this guy is a bit easier to turn over and not so fade biased as the SpeedZone. Cant wait to try it!
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The blue and red remind me of the Pars and Stripes release. Should pair nicely with my Ventus Blue shaft!
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Man they both look really good.
Isn’t that awesome?
It’s like having a limited edition head, but it’s stock.
The blue comes in SO subtle in these pics. Well freaking played, Cobra.
The blue is very awesome.. One thing that I love about the Cobra face design is how there is no paint from the crown that creeps over onto the face.. We all make mistakes and that can cause ugly paint chipping.
Our assistant pro is on Cobra staff I think. So, we should be seeing a fitting event at our club.
That was one thing I absolutely LOVED about Speedzone. I wasn’t afraid to let people try it because you have to REALLY sky the driver to come close to doing damage haha
I also think the XB configuration is going to be extremely popular. And I am glad to see that I can pop in the shaft from my SpeedZone. Love what Cobra is doing this year.
I have massive expectations right now, based on the information I’ve seen.
That is a feature that would come in real handy for me…
There may have been a certain THPer who is absolutely not named @X.Man that may have skyed a ball with my SpeedZone AND let it slip and fly it into a tree, all of which resulted in no damage.
I bet that was a stressful 10 seconds hahaha!
I think that XB is going to really open some eyes for golfers.
This is the first year where I would GLADLY game either one.
I felt strongly against that idea for one of the two heads in both F9 and Speedzone.
If the spin works, I want to be in that head.
My suspicions have me in RADSPEED but I would absolutely flex on XB if I could.
Could be the angle. But, the XB looks shorter heel to toe. Can’t wait to see these in hand. I think it would be between these two models.
the added confidence is great, especially when you want to tee one up a bit more. Absolutely no fear.
I would want to hear from marketing/engineering why they are emphasizing radius of gyration, since it is directly proportional to moment of inertia. Just seems like a different way to market a similar concept.
It is the angle, but they have done a lot to make this look slimmer to the eye.
this is really exciting. Loved the write up Dan. Loooking forward to your testing.
now I have two drivers that I want to test….
We’ve got Mike Yagley on Off Course this week talking about Radial weighting and how they came to it. Might be worth the listen.
That blue head, with the subtle blue on the crown is awesome. Love it! Can’t wait to hear the discussion with Yagley on these later this week!
I avoided calling it "raid speed" a lot hahahaha
But man do I ever want to.
Yup, that crown is everything I like to stare at at address
Excellent. Could just be me taking mechanics and engineering concepts too literally haha. Always good to hear from Mike.
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Easily the best looking at address since the F7 line.