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Cobra KING F6 Baffler - THP Review

SuperStroke
This one feels like a green light for me. I'm using a driving 3 iron right now that I need a little more distance out of.
 
awesome review. still really want to hit this thing.
 
Great review James. I need a club with a bit more forgiveness though.
 
Nice job James! It sounds like this could be a really versatile club. Hopefully we will get one in our area to check out.
 
Great review.


Tapped from my smarter than me phone.
 
Ryan Loves Golf said:
Some great no cost shaft options now available on Cobra website.
Wish I had a local demo event where I can try the options...
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The only thing holding me back on this club was the stock shaft - I've never gotten along with Matrix Red shafts.

I now just have to decide on the Tour Green, my old reliable, or the HZRDUS Black. I've been playing the Tour Green in at least 1 of my woods since it was released but I"m really happy with the HZRDUS in my Cobra King LTD driver.

I had the original Baffler in my bag for almost the entire 1980's decade. I'm excited to put the new version in play!

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Thanks for the review Jman! My current 5 wood aeroburner is only 3cc different than the baffler, so the forgiveness should not be an issue. I have the new F6 hybrid already and that thing is a beast! With the versatility and adjust-ability this club should give my 5 wood a run for its money to fit the gap between my long clubs. Thanks again for the review, my only concern is the rails on the tight stuff, going to get this baby and report some findings once I get a chance to hit it on the Arizona hard pan with the rails.
 
Nice review James. Certainly not a club for everyone but I am so anxious to try one and see for myself.
 
Nice review James. I'm with Howzat. It's probably out of my skill range, but I still want to hit one.
 
I really like everything about this club in theory. Great writeup James.

For James or others who have played these clubs in the past. Do you see a really odd divot on well struck shots? Just curious.
 
This club had my interest when it was announced. Sadly it was just kind of "eh" to me. The rails worked based on the swings I took with it. But it just wasn't a home run.
 
ddec said:
This club had my interest when it was announced. Sadly it was just kind of "eh" to me. The rails worked based on the swings I took with it. But it just wasn't a home run.
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hmmm, need more info. why "eh?" didn't feel/sound as good as you were hoping? didn't launch very well? shorter than your usual 4/5 wood distance? any chance the shaft was a miss for you?
 
James: Good review. Very thorough. Nice job.

Question: How would you compare this with the Adams TL FWs? Those were 133 CCs and these are 147 CCs. Is the forgiveness similar? How's the launch and spin profile compare with the two?

I ask because I cut down a Tight Lies 2 Ti 5w to 41.5 inches. It's been the best FW I've hit in a long time from the deck. The shorter shaft makes the smaller head "scale" and forgiveness isn't an issue because it's much easier to hit the center of the face (at least for me vs. the stock 42.5). I see this Baffler as being a very similar club. Maybe the Baffler isn't as hot in the face, but it also might not be as spinny.

Just curious........ This is the club that has most interested me out of all the 2016 releases by all the major OEMs on the US market. I have something very similar that works, but a 10% larger head, the rails and a club designed to play at this shorter shaft length make this intriguing.
 
Finally at a laptop so I can get in here and fully reply. Thanks everyone for reading and commenting, glad everyone found it to be an informative breakdown of a very unique club.

Wake said:
I really like everything about this club in theory. Great writeup James.

For James or others who have played these clubs in the past. Do you see a really odd divot on well struck shots? Just curious.
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Not at all, standard divots for me, less propensity to form left or right angles though, the rails do as they claim in that regard.

ddec said:
This club had my interest when it was announced. Sadly it was just kind of "eh" to me. The rails worked based on the swings I took with it. But it just wasn't a home run.
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I think you nailed it. Now, that is NOT to say its a bad club, because, hell no it isn't. But, IMO, it generated a TON of hype and that is a tough thing. Also, the profile will appeal most to guys who like to hit golf shots and really use their woods for more than just a tee game IMO, not as much forgiveness as some others out there. I would LOVE (and almost anticipate) to see the T-Rails make their way to the more standard footprint fairways down the line. These rails on an F6 could be a ton of fun for someone like me.

ryebread said:
James: Good review. Very thorough. Nice job.

Question: How would you compare this with the Adams TL FWs? Those were 133 CCs and these are 147 CCs. Is the forgiveness similar? How's the launch and spin profile compare with the two?

I ask because I cut down a Tight Lies 2 Ti 5w to 41.5 inches. It's been the best FW I've hit in a long time from the deck. The shorter shaft makes the smaller head "scale" and forgiveness isn't an issue because it's much easier to hit the center of the face (at least for me vs. the stock 42.5). I see this Baffler as being a very similar club. Maybe the Baffler isn't as hot in the face, but it also might not be as spinny.

Just curious........ This is the club that has most interested me out of all the 2016 releases by all the major OEMs on the US market. I have something very similar that works, but a 10% larger head, the rails and a club designed to play at this shorter shaft length make this intriguing.
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Totally different, especially in face depth. The TL are SHALLOW while maintaining a good bit of heel/toe width, the Baffler is the opposite in a pretty noticeable way. The TL is def going to spin more, but I also think it offers more comfort for a lot of mid-to-higher handicaps that will miss more heel and toe. If you are consistent in the middle with a fairway though, the F6 Baffler could be a beast with a ton of utility, and I expect it to be for many.
 
Had a chance to hit this today with the stock stiff shaft. Loved the shape of the head and the performance but not the shaft. I ordered one with a HZRDUS Black. For me this may replace my XR Pro fairway or I may play it at the 19* loft to fill the 30+ yard gap between my 4 iron and 4 wood. I could easily pull my 6 iron from my bag to make space since I don't think I've used it once in the last 5 rounds. I've been hitting more drivers off the tee lately which is putting me in position to go for more par 5's in 2 and this club could easily get used 4+ times per round.

BTW, at 147 cc this is nearly identical in size to my 145 cc XR16 pro 4 wood but IMO, the Baffler head has a much better, more square shape that is very pleasing behind the ball. I don't see this as being smaller than other players fairway woods, in fact it's 10% larger than an XR16 Pro 5 wood and only 8 cc's smaller than a GBB 5 wood. The Titleist 915Fd 5 wood, my gold standard for what a classic fairway wood should look like, is just slightly smaller than the F6 Baffler.
 
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Jman said:
Totally different, especially in face depth. The TL are SHALLOW while maintaining a good bit of heel/toe width, the Baffler is the opposite in a pretty noticeable way. The TL is def going to spin more, but I also think it offers more comfort for a lot of mid-to-higher handicaps that will miss more heel and toe. If you are consistent in the middle with a fairway though, the F6 Baffler could be a beast with a ton of utility, and I expect it to be for many.
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Thanks. You are reinforcing what I'm thinking. I was hoping the face hitting area was similar heel to toe but it sounds like it isn't. It's one I'd like to hit, but I suspect the TL experiment may be more forgiving and higher launching.
 
tahoebum said:
Had a chance to hit this today with the stock stiff shaft. Loved the shape of the head and the performance but not the shaft. I ordered one with a HZRDUS Black. For me this may replace my XR Pro fairway or I may play it at the 19* loft to fill the 30+ yard gap between my 4 iron and 4 wood. I could easily pull my 6 iron from my bag to make space since I don't think I've used it once in the last 5 rounds. I've been hitting more drivers off the tee lately which is putting me in position to go for more par 5's in 2 and this club could easily get used 4+ times per round.

BTW, at 147 cc this is nearly identical in size to my 145 cc XR16 pro 4 wood but IMO, the Baffler head has a much better, more square shape that is very pleasing behind the ball. I don't see this as being smaller than other players fairway woods, in fact it's 10% larger than an XR16 Pro 5 wood and only 8 cc's smaller than a GBB 5 wood. The Titleist 915Fd 5 wood, my gold standard for what a classic fairway wood should look like, is just slightly smaller than the F6 Baffler.
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You have to remember, though the cc's may be similar, it is the SHAPE that dictates this difference visually and makes is a much smaller looking footprint than most (as I said in the review, not all, most) fairways that are popular now. It is MUCH less elongated front to back with its size and that makes the lions share of the difference.
 
Jman said:
You have to remember, though the cc's may be similar, it is the SHAPE that dictates this difference visually and makes is a much smaller looking footprint than most (as I said in the review, not all, most) fairways that are popular now. It is MUCH less elongated front to back with its size and that makes the lions share of the difference.
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then does that mean it's a "deeper" shape, higher from sole-to-crown than something that is longer front-to-back or heel-to-toe? i ask because the "depth" of my xr 4w kinda bothers me; i prefer a "shallower" profile sole to crown.
 
Also, I added a link to the homepage review to the beginning of the first post.
 
Jman said:
You have to remember, though the cc's may be similar, it is the SHAPE that dictates this difference visually and makes is a much smaller looking footprint than most (as I said in the review, not all, most) fairways that are popular now. It is MUCH less elongated front to back with its size and that makes the lions share of the difference.
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You nailed the description. It's definitely shallow from the face to the back of the crown. For me I expect that the size combined with rails of this club will allow me to go for some greens from 225 yards when I have a less than ideal lie. I love the look but you are right that it will have a limited appeal as so many fairway woods have grown to that 175 cc size. I'm still old school with liking a smaller head to frame the ball. For me it actually inspires confidence off the turf over a larger head, maybe because I grew up playing Powerbilt Persimmon woods in the early 80's and played this little Titleist beauty in the 90's. You can see why I like the shape of the Baffler F6. I had to have it just on looks alone!!

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tahoebum said:
You nailed the description. It's definitely shallow from the face to the back of the crown. For me I expect that the size combined with rails of this club will allow me to go for some greens from 225 yards when I have a less than ideal lie. I love the look but you are right that it will have a limited appeal as so many fairway woods have grown to that 175 cc size. I'm still old school with liking a smaller head to frame the ball. For me it actually inspires confidence off the turf over a larger head, maybe because I grew up playing Powerbilt Persimmon woods in the early 80's and played this little beauty in the 90's. You can see why I like the shape of the Baffler F6. I had to have it just on looks alone!!
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I can dig it man, and this is exactly what I was trying to hit on in here and in the review. I think the golfer who has an affinity/history with a more compact overall shape from address who also like to hit golf shots as opposed to wanting all about max forgiveness will be the ones who really really enjoy what the F6 Baffler has to offer. Its a damn solid club that does what it claims for sure, its just not going to offer the biggest amount of forgiveness compared to, say, a standard F6 fairway.

Good stuff dude, enjoy it!!
 
TahoeBum: I understand what you are saying about that larger headed FW. That additional size kind of cuts both ways -- good off the tee, but almost always a duff off the deck. Even though I'm a high handicap hack, that smaller headed FW is much easier to hit cleanly. Maybe it's mental, but I often end up bouncing a big headed FW into the ball. With a smaller head, I end up hitting the ball first far more often.
 
good review and the format used for presenting is great James. Any chance you have numbers to post with it regarding peak height and spin for different myfly8 configurations?
 
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