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
I was told 4 weeks plus for a custom order.
Got a nod from the owner of the local muni I frequent on 18 this evening. He asked what’s up as he’s never seen me drive past the big oak as I did tonight ?
my driver:
10.5* Rad
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380 yard par 4, smashed it, landed on a little bit of a downslope for probably 15-20 yards extra. Had about 80-85 yards into the green!
It was a stock order so hopefully it will come in pretty quick because I’m super excited to see if I can recreate that point and shoot "magical moment" out on the course. If I can I will be a happy man, if not it will still be fun to have a new driver.
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keep striping it like that!!! ??
To have a strike pattern like that on the driver…
I had a ST200 before the my Morgan cup XB came in. It’s pretty awesome how the high MOI XB is so much longer for me.
The club had felt a bit low and fadey at the 10.5* standard setting so I set it to 11.5* Draw setting. That definitely put the weight where it felt good for me and got the ball flying high and carrying very well.
This is a very strong feeling driver when struck on the center of the face and very stable on misses. I have to get way out on the toe to get any kind of twisting feeling. It’s a very stable head and quite forgiving. It am really looking forward to getting my swing dialed in after taking a few lessons and really seeing what this driver can do.
Taking a little to get used to mine in between being a new, shorter driver and my swing changes I’m working on. 9/14 fairways on my 18 but, the misses landed barely in the first cut. Might play around with the adjustments or just tighten the screw between my ears! ?
I had one in the high toe that really only half the ball hit (you could see the impression in the morning mist) and it wasn’t awful. It’s a very stable head.
Sunday delivery by FedEx made for a long day at work. Next day off is Thursday, so hope to at least get to the range and get some swings in.
Gonna get out to the range in a day or two to test it out.
The pics don’t do it justice, it actually Makes the Sim2 look like a 3w in person.
So far dispersion is not great, it’s much shorter than my sim2, and the sound is god awful. It sounds almost exactly what I was afraid it would sound like. Very hollow with a metal like tingy-ness.
It launches insanely high but I am VERY impressed with the rollout. I did say it’s alot shorter than the sim2 (same shaft/length/flex) but the roll almost gets it to where I’m used too.
I will write this off as a bad day and give it another go though. Here’s hoping next outing is better.
Interested in the differences you found between the tsi2 and the rad speed xb. I’ve currently got a tsi2 in 9 degree which I just don’t get along with. I’ve got the Tensei AV Raw White shaft but I dont think I’m swinging it hard enough for that shaft. What shaft do you have in the XB? I’m seriously considering trying the Cobra but it’d be good to know your thoughts on the differences.
i had the raw white stiff in the tsi2 as well. The XB I got the motore F1 6x in tour length. Sound and feel go to the tsi2. But performance hands down goes to the XB. It’s hard to hit it off line. Also seems to launch higher which I needed. Really like the Infiniti face and how it looks behind the ball. I don’t think it’s longer on the longest drives, but my average drive has gone up 10 yards and have hit more fairways then I have in a long time!
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Yeah I really like the way the XB looks at address (haven’t hit one yet though). I was thinking about going for the hzrdus blue shaft as it sounds like a better fit for me, I’ll have to try it though. Good to hear the XB is hard to hit offline, thats what I need!
This is unreal. I know I’ve read this over and over, and it’s partly the reason I bought into the XB hype…But man, this XB is a snap hook machine for me. Like short, gross, snap hooks. 1 for 7 fairways and 2 lost balls on my first nine with this.. I went back to the Sim2 for the time being.
For reference, it plays at 45 inches, with an RDX blue 6.5 and the head came with a 16g weight
I am playing the XB in the F1 stiff and have not even come close to a snap hook or a power fade, ok I had one power fade in the last 5 rounds with it, user error on that one. A week ago I played 9 holes and hit 5/6 fairways. Today was 18, on a course with nearly 200 sand traps, and desert golf, I hit 12/14 fairways and did not lose a single ball. In fact I did not even come close to the desert, literally middle of fairway all day (including hitting a sand trap middle of fairway). This driver is putting my B21 to shame, and the BB is a freaking beast fairway finder.
my miss is often a snap hook when something is off in my swing and or the setup is too low spin for me.
While I don’t have the XB I recently been giving the SX Xtreme some time. First round out I had some of the snappers but realized I didn’t have any tilt in my driver setup. Once I added a little tilt which helps me hit up on the ball it came around and have been pleased with it. Definitely less left biased than my Mavrik.
IMO it might be the shaft. I also ordered the XB tour length with the RDX blue and I just couldnt get the ball in the air and it was also a hook machine for me (my typical ball flight is a fade unless I am overswinging). I went back to my Ventus Blue from last years SZ and the XB just woke up. So far this year, my FIR is way up (52%, I am typically around 32 in my 2+ years with Arccos) and my distance is up 5 yards over years past. If you have another shaft you can get in there give it a go and see
I put the Radspeed XB with my current Atmos Blue shaft and it was a great ball flight.
Admittedly I haven’t spent enough time with it, but this has been my experience with the standard Radspeed as well, using the RDX shaft. Still need to get around to putting my spare adapter on a HZRDUS Yellow.
Standard speedzone in tour length with 6.5 hzrdus yellow was amazing. Biggest mistake I made getting rid of it, but it lacked a but in distance for me.
Chasing the long ball lol
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I will give all my clubs a good cleaning before my next round but first I think I will take a picture of my irons and send you over the edge! ?
Could be worse
This is the same setup I have, with the Ventus Blue shaft from last years Pars and Stripes SZ Xtreme, and it just feels and performs so well.