Not unlike their drivers, Cobra has been confidently crafting some outstanding products in the fairway and hybrid lineups over the last couple release cycles. I remember back in the day with their LTD lineup, thinking it would be tough to top the idea of being able to audit the internals of a club, but as expected, they have taken steps forward to promote better and better, with a propensity for putting quality sound at the forefront of their deliverables.
What we have the opportunity to introduce to you today, is RADSPEED. Using the same radial weighting considerations that they have applied to their latest driver lineup, Cobra is strategically placing weight relative to the CG location to maximize performance between speed, control, and forgiveness. It sounds a bit loaded from the outside looking in, but golfers can actually see the weight configurations on each head in the lineup to understand where that weight is being featured, and with a bit of understanding on how weight placement works, recognize what Cobra is seeking to achieve.
It is probably worth considering how they got to this point, and much of that comes with better technology in weight saving techniques, like their thinply carbon crown, which is saving about six grams of weight from the crown. They also hollowed out their two rails that flow across the club head from face to back, once again finding ways to isolate that weight into better and more efficient locations. They have also found a significant improvement on the flexion properties by doing this, which means faster ball speeds for golfers.
While the rails have gotten hollow in the new design, the benefits remain the same. With a headshape like a fairway, we all as golfers need some quality turf interaction to promote a solid strike, and that has not changed for this release. Better flow through the grass means maximum ball speed, and that is something that I have loved about the Cobra fairway offerings over the last couple years. I personally have played the tour style head with complete confidence that I can get the head through the ball without battling the ground, and that is critical with a club at that distance.
One of the biggest stories out of Cobra recently was their infinity face, which has carried over into some of their fairway woods. For those seeking the benefits of the standard head or their draw head, the infinity face will be present to not only support serious consistency across the face, but act as a pretty fantastic safeguard against the dreaded pop fly skymark swing. When designing the latest version of the Big Tour and Tour heads, Cobra went with their regular CNC milling instead of the infinity CNC at the preference of their Tour staff.
The colors for RADSPEED are nothing short of spectacular. Transitioning slightly from their previous yellow, the new offering features “Turbo Yellow” and white accents off a matte black face for the regular and draw versions, with a slight tweak in the tour offerings having a gloss finish on the crown. For the regular RADSPEED head, Cobra has also introduced their ever (Puma) popular “Peacoat Blue” with white, red, and black accents that immediately caught my eye. I love that they took an incredibly popular blue and made it reality, making golfers almost feel like they have a limited edition driver in their bag after the last few US Open limited runs.
For RADSPEED Hybrids, Cobra has maintained that radial weighting perspective with one adjustable weight in the back, and two weights at the front of the head near the toe and the heel. Looking at the internals of the head, you can see just how much of the weight is present on the extremes to promote lower CG and spin, which in turn leads to faster ball speed (read: distance). They have a high strength forged face insert that has variable face thickness to maintain consistency, and are carrying over the hollow split rails to save on weight and isolate it to other regions. While Radial weighting is the big story for 2021, I still firmly believe that the rail system is critical for success in a head of this design. Promoting quality turf Cinteraction in a hybrid is paramount, and if history is any indicator of the performance aspects of Cobra’s design, this offering will not fall short on allowing golfers to swing with confidence from a variety of different lies.
As you would expect, they are offering their one length option in blue/white/red accents as we have seen in the past for that style of product (in 19, 21, and 24 degrees), and continuing their turbo yellow and white accents on the standard model (17, 19, 21, and 24 degrees). From a top line perspective, only subtle differences are openly present, which reflects the colorway for each head.
From driver to hybrid, Cobra has taken weight placement to the next level, focusing on what each individual golfer needs with a product that suits their game. With colorways that look absolutely spectacular in pictures, it is hard to fathom golfers will not fall in love with the presentation as soon as the product is in hand. For more information on the RADSPEED product offerings, visit www.CobraGolf.com.
The Details:
Available: January 29, 2021
Price: Fairway woods – $279, Hybrids – $229
I actually like the idea of a 4wood
I mean, at 17.5 the Tour 5-wood in the RAD is basically a 4-wood so…..approved!
Did you ultimately become accustomed enough to it that you would pick it again?
I had the 7W 4H debate last year. I think you need to hit them both. I went with the 7W because for me I’m more confident with a fairway wood, both off the tee and off the deck. And with a fairway wood I can control the flight a little better.
I went 5w and 4h last time around and have major regret that I didn’t get a 7w as everyone raves about them. I’m thinking this time going 7w into 5h and then straight to 6i from there. There may be a bit of overlap there, but I’ll be using the hybrid more of a utility club, rescue club in the true sense of the word. That’s the plan anyway!
No, I think I’m going tour fwy this year but the regular version may make a strong case. I hit it very well at the THP Tech Studio
It’s a good plan! I like the 3,5 7 and 5H choices. This is the way I would be thinking. I went 3,5 7 last year and then 5-GW in the T-Rails. The only issue I had was some gapping between the 7W and the 5i. But that was because the Speedzone 3, 5 and 7 woods were so good.
I’m liking the 7w idea. I have a Callaway XR 7w that is almost like cheating from any lie, so I’d be keen to get another in the bag. The gapping may be an issue with the 5h, but that can be tweaked. Would have been easier if the hybrid was adjustable but I can work with it. I’d rather have a slight distance overlap than a large gap.
I have always been of the school of thought that would say to buy both and practice with both. Then switch them in and out of my bag. There are times when I am swinging my hybrid better and then ties when I am swinging my fw wood better. I think many golfers have an eb and flow that have similar trends. Obviously you don’t want to go overboard with options (or maybe you do…but it can get expensive).. but gapping at the top end of the bag is a spot many of us struggle with getting right and the only way to figure it out is to have a few options up there. I am just starting to experiment with a OL set and I am worried about the gapping at the high end of the bag. I have a regular length utility and hybrid that I will experiment with at that end.
Honestly for me it would be 7w vs 4h. Currently my 5w carries in the region of 215, and my 4h is 205 give or take.
You’d have to try them. I have the 7W at 21.5. And it depends on how well and far you hit whatever is in the 5iron spot.
Something else I need to test then
At the minute there is very little in my 5i spot. I have always had a complete mind blob when it comes to hitting a 5i, I have never been able to hit one properly in any of my sets. Currently I have an old 27 degree Ping G25 sat there which doesn’t gap particularly well, but does the job.
More things to test = more fun!
Not knowing which direction you will be taking this season as far as your MC bag, but I think you may want to try the Radspeed as far as the 5iron or even a 5H.
I loved the Speedzones when i hit them last year.
I’m absolutely looking at the 5h this year. Thinking of going 7w into 5h, but will need to give them a whirl to check the gapping. Going to be very interesting…
In my future, I can envision a 5H and even a 6H then going conventional from the 7iron. I already have a 4H that I’ll use this year. I didn’t play it last year because it wasn’t part of my MC bag and I played that bag exclusively even after I withdrew from the MC because I was not able to travel out of state without facing mandatory quarantine upon return.
IMO, based on what I’ve heard and seen it’s such a low spinner with the toward CG that the 5w loft realm is where it’s extremely playable, and workable. It’s basically a strong 5w, and turned to 17 would make a very fun 4w imo.
Kind of what I’m thinking about the 4w. The Big Tour was a Big Miss for me last season. I’ve always liked the smaller heads of the tour version but never pulled the trigger on one. I played a 2h last year at 17* and loved it, might just have to stick with the regular version if I want a 3w this year.
That regular version though, man that was fun to hit!
It was for sure! Maybe thats the ticket for the 3w and maybe the tour 5w instead of a hybrid
Dan will hate on this, I myself adore the idea!
I just moved to an F9 Tour 4/5 wood at 16* as a 3 wood replacement. You are spot on – very fun club, and gorgeous in the smaller Tour footprint. The 3/4 lofted version was going too far for me even at 15*, so the 5 wood should be adjustable enough to find the distance you are looking for.
Fortunately the F9 and SZ Tour models are still available in 3W lofts . I would be curious to hear if anyone noticed different turf interaction since the change to hollow rails in these clubs. That, to me, was the main difference in the SZ release.
I mean….that’s pretty cool……
I mean I guess that’s pretty darn cool right?
I didn’t swing any yesterday but I did have a look see. I should have snapped a photo but I did notice that the head shape of the Big Tour Fwy looked a little more compact than last years model to me. Anyone else able to compare?
I am definitely thinking more the standard RADSPEED. I hit a lot of hybrids and FW’s into greens so I like the higher launch and flight a slightly more weight back head offers. I hardly ever use a FW off the tee. I just don’t hit driver far enough to justify that.
I need to get to Golf Galaxy and hit the Motore F3 a bit in the 5 wood to confirm that’s where I want to go, but that’s the game plan now.
That’s what I am thinking this year
After hitting it on the sim, I had to come in here to speak a bit about the strike experience, which I think is the best they have offered in some time. It’s definitely a wow. Going to need to improve my swing a bit more before celebrating distance as I’m still dealing with some spin/swing/path issues with these and drivers, BUT… When i squared this thing up, it feels SO rewarding. Just absolutely flush feedback to my ears and hands.
7 wood?