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 wouldn’t. The guys from Cobra are phenomenal to this forum. They work hard at their products and deserve the respect of the embargo dates.
Exactly what I thought and why I asked.
They’re easy enough to find for people that are curious.
Yeah it’s hard to not post it but when you meet those guys you have a different perspective. It means so much to them.
Nice! Does he want to buy a Volition Edition one? ?
Loving the RadSpeed still. It’s so good out on the toe which is my miss and was definitely apparent in my rusty swing. Need to work on my path as when I center it it just goes! but appreciate the toe love in the meantime.
I’m having ALOT of fun hitting this thing. I DARE say….. it maaaaaay be bringing back my post tee grab swagger off the tee box…
Haven’t hit it since Veterans Day in a simulator and no golf in sight ?
I’ve had no fear teeing the ball super high with this driver, since the top of the face rolls over the top edge. So I’m teeing it higher and I believe it is translating to much better strikes and therefore better performance for me.
I took the 6g weight out of the back and replaced it with a 2g weight. I then put 9g of lead tape on the sole of the clubhead really close to the face. Goal was to get some of the RadSpeed characteristics.
I’m getting to places I have never seen on my home course!
pics of the lead tape!
View attachment 9049287
Took the loft right down to 9 degrees in the standard setting, teed the ball up and tried hovering the driver rather than grounding it – I know, I know, should just try one thing at a time. Immediately gained 5 – 10 yards carry with extra roll out as well. Taking it out of the draw setting actually seemed to work better with controlling the fade as well for some reason. It would appear that I should just have tinkered much much earlier in the process rather than just plugging away. Swing flaws are usually my issue and not equipment
P.S – I have a new pet hate, greenside chips on a simulator!
I tinkered and done a full switch just before the MC. I have it exactly where I want it now but it took a while.
Has taken me far too long to realise that I wasn’t hitting up on the ball enough and had too much loft. Our Trackman range only has limited info so doesn’t pick up spin or AoA, but it appears I was hitting too much down. Only a year too late
Chipping on a sim is dreadful. My brain must do so much of the calculations on a chip subconsciously because just giving me a yardage and hitting it into a screen does not work for me.
I’ve slowed my swing down and not only gained yards but also control.
It was awful! Anything on the fringe needs a chip, so trying to bump and run into a screen was just disasterous, either 10 yards short or 10 yards long. Turns a solid 82 into a 95 without any difficulty
Needless to say I’m booked in twice next week!
Sim short game is brutal! Ugg…. I love missing greens from “17 yards, 2 feet down.” Ugg….
You’ll be zapping chips with a range finder next year after you get dialed in ?
Is this 10 yards or 12? I must know.
Oh I hope not, but I’ll be interested if they turn on Auto Putt – 3 putts from 4 feel and then one putt from 60 feet? Is better than freezing outside though, I’d never used one before so was a real eye opener!
fun when experimenting works out! Do you feel like you’ve created a unicorn or do you feel like the next step is to try the stand RadSpeed?
I feel like I have accidentally created something that works better than any other driver I have ever hit.
I will not be changing anything.
How tempted have you been to play the Team Paradise custom head?
tinkering Nirvana!!! I thought that was a myth ?
So….just how much tinkering did you do to find the optimum amount. Asking for a friend of course…
This made my morning!
I’ve changed the loft settings a few times over the last month, changed shaft length, then changed the weights based on what my goal was. Now I have a weapon. Since you live in Europe you may have to get a license for something like this.
To answer your question, like 6-7 changes over 5 rounds and 1 range session.
once It’s dialed in these drivers are great!
Never had a driver that I get along with this well.
It makes the game easy when I just aim down the left side of the fairway, swing hard, and the ball just bleeds a little right or stays straight.
I havent had a hook come out in like 2 full rounds.
that would be really nice! They are great clubs for sure!
Following my G425 Max (gamer) vs Radspeed XB battle a few pages back, I was keen to pick up a standard Radspeed for comparison purposes. Well, the standard Radspeed arrived a few days ago.
The G425 Max has been my gamer all season and has performed very well indeed. Long, forgiving, it’s lived up to the hype in my hands. However, sound and feel have never brought me joy… and the tinkerer in me is always trying to find something better.
If you see my witb below, those of you with a little ocd will understand why getting a Radspeed driver into the bag would bring me a little bit of joy. However, it would need to warrant its place which means beating out the Ping.
The testing was performed over a lunch break on a SkyTrak, and the configurations were as follows:
Ping G425 Max (9* head) | Motore X F1 6s | 9* @ 45.25”
Cobra Radspeed (10.5* head) | Ventus Red 6s | 9* @ 45.25”
First off, the feel and the sound of the Radspeed were significantly better. I knew this from when I played a Radspeed driver earlier in the season, and I was pleasantly surprised that everything was as good as I remember.
The more compact profile of the Radspeed head together with the ‘feel’ are also more comfortable to me… which is a little surprising and weird given I’ve been playing the Ping all season.
On to the numbers…
Here is one of my better shots with the G425 Max:
Here is one of my better shots with the Radspeed:
Here are summaries of a few shots with each club, the first being Ping and the second being the Cobra.
As you can see, I’m getting consistently faster ballspeed with the Radspeed. Given the numbers are better, it sounds better, it feels better, etc… I’m surprised to say that the Radspeed is going in my bag for the near-term future.
This is, of course, sim testing rather than the real world… but here’s hoping what I’m seeing indoors translates to the outdoors!
Happy to see it made it into the bag! Appreciate the run down and numbers!
I like this approach as well!
The XB was a weapon today for me.
Awesome stuff!!
Note to self: this is an #ad for the Radspeed that I’m trying to sell in the BST section.
I love this. I will be out there waiting for price drops shortly. The XB has been fantastic for me over 2 demo sessions. As someone that requires toe forgiveness I can vouch for this.
These drivers would be a tremendous value for someone looking for a deal.
I didn’t need to see this. I really want a XB but I also really want to hit the new lineup first…. what to do.
I’ve never been a new release guy but seeing Yags excited about the new model and picking up like 15 yards in a fit really has me thinking.
He did say he was a 14/10 on excitement this year though, and he told me Rad he was 10/10
This is the year they have been eyeing for three years now.
Right? Its the part about the design side people don’t understand, they NEVER stop working ahead.