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Talk about weird - driver changes!

Luchnia

Luchnia

You will never conquer golf.
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So I bought a Cobra King F9 from a THPer and love it!

Here is what is totally off the charts wild in my understanding. I took the club out when I got it and hit some drives and I was happy with the results so yesterday I gamed it on an 18 hole round. Now, so you will know why this is weird - I am a fade and slicer type of guy. My fade/slice percentages are probably 80% or above and I usually play to those fades.

Here is what is weird. Hitting the F9 yesterday, I hit about 90% draws or even hooks! I am still shocked reeling from this. How did I go from a fade/slicer to a draw/hook simply because of this driver change? This is not my first driver change by any means. I have four different drivers I have used.

I could see one or two draws/hooks, but not the majority of the round being draws. Also I had some of the absolute best center fairway drives I have ever hit, yet I hit a lot of draws. I hit five draws with the driver in a row yesterday. I hit one hook/draw so bad in was in the next fairway! This really got me to thinking now that I can start working on dialing this in, but now I have to watch my stance and lineup.

My buddy was watching me swing and said it looks like my normal swing as far as he could tell. How in the world could using this driver turn my swing into draws/hooks, unless something about the top of the club is making my subconscious brain swing differently and I don't know it? Everything in my swing feels normal.

I cannot wait to get this driver out again and see if draw/hook thing continues. The nuances of this game never cease to amaze me.
 
The swing weighting May be different. I know swinging my new driver is much different then the previous.
 
If it is a once in a lifetime or infrequent event only time will tell.

But if this is a new norm. Bingo. you found your driver for life.

Why because without any lessons or major swing changes, or changes in your swing thoughts or setup you are achieving a very successful and desirable result.

Again with out looking at your game, swing or setup and comparing it to your prior Swings.....

It could be that this Club fits you better, and that the club and shaft specs are working perfectly with your natural Native swing and allowing you to properly release the Club, putting the proper spin to produce a beautiful draw.

I am a natural drawer of the ball. Lob Wedges thru Driver. Yet I recently purchased a new driver that for my swing has produced a beautiful Fade. And I know that my swing has not changed because I still am hitting a very consistent draw with all of my other clubs.

I was looking to take the left side of the Fairway out of play. So I am equally overjoyed with the results. More than 3 rounds.

You would be amazed at how the club had and shaft work together with your swing to successfully produce a repeatable result. They are actually designed that way. Otherwise no one could ever hit a Fairway with a golf ball.

If my educated guess is correct, even without any swing changes, as you have noted, the driver shaft and head combination can produce the results of alternating your ball flight.

The best way to confirm this hypothesis is to book some time on a serious launch monitor and hit the Balls while at the same time video taping your swing. Down the line and front view.

Hit ten shot with your old driver and ten shots with your new driver.

If you consistently hit fades fares with one club and draws with the other, while at the same time noticing no changes to your swing on slow motion high speed video taping, Bingo. Plus with the launch monitor data you can gave access to the exact analytical data to understand the how and why the ball is behaving differently with the two clubs. With the club head speed, ball speed, back spin. Side spin, carry, trajectory etc. Etc. Spin axis data you have all the proof you need.

Plus you will have a data basis to compare prior to purchasing any new driver, to make sure it reproduces the F-9 numbers, to get the F-9 results from another club prior to any purchase.

Data is king.

Or just video tape yourself hitting both clubs at your driving range. If your swing is the same, but the ball flight is different, fade vs draw with the two drivers. Then we can safely assume that you are putting a different spin axis on the golf ball with the two different clubs.

No need to over think it. If it fits. And gives you the results you enjoy. Thank the fellow THPER'S Who sold you a precious tool. A driver that goes where you intended it to go. To your target. Bingo.

Enjoy.

Hopefully this will help

:drinks:
 
how do your other clubs play...do you fade them?
 
You must be getting inside to out on the swing. Play it again and see how it turns out.
 
I wonder if the swingweight or total weight of the club is causing you to change your swing without noticing
 
Most of the time I am fairly straight to where I aim on my long irons with the occasional fade/slice being predominant. Sometimes I do hit right or left depending on my aim though.
 
TexasHacker34 said:
I wonder if the swingweight or total weight of the club is causing you to change your swing without noticing
Click to expand...
I tested swing weight and it is pretty much on the money with my other drivers. My Wilson D7 is around D0/D1, where as the Cobra is right at D1.5/2 - about 1 swing point difference is all. One driver I have is around D4. The only driver so far that I have hit draw/hooks is this manner is this Cobra F9. Maybe yesterday was simply a weird fluke with my swing. I realize that could be the case. The next couple times out should tell the story. I am a weekend hacker so I won't know until then, if weather permits.
 
Shafts same length?
 
If the F9 is adjustable, it may be set to a draw bias, also. If not, that club and shaft just might be balanced in a way that allows your hands to turn over more in the swing than usual?
 
The F9 driver in a lot of reviews tended to have a little bit of draw bias. I believe it may sit more upright and closed than other drivers. (comparing to an older driver it just seems to sit more closed). Check the adjustable hosel and see if it's in the standard or the draw (D) setting. If you take a 9* head and open it up to 10.5* it also sits more closed. What head and setting? You also might just be timing the shaft better. In any case, keep swinging if it works!!
 
10.5 standard shaft setting and lengths are the same. I do have one long driver at 45.5, but I have this one at 44.5 and the other two playing at about the same length.
 
I have always been a drawer of the ball, throughout my bag. Mid year last year, pick up an Epic Flash SZ and despite the weight being in the full draw setting, +95% of my shots are straight to slight fade. I’m not complaining but this is something I have never experienced with a driver unless I purposely tried to fade the ball. I just had to learn to trust and bingo, I luv the driver.
 
Cobra drivers are notorious for being draw biased. The higher the standard/stated loft, the more upright the angle. That 10.5 has a lie angle of 58.5*. In comparison, the standard for all stated lofts in the TM SIM is 56*.

I also feel like Cobra has more buldge and roll in the face than other brands, but I can’t give actual numbers on that. It’s just my experience that an intentional draw off the toe with some OEM drivers would be a massive hook with a Cobra driver.

They also tend to spin more than some other options, especially at higher lofts and if you have the heavy weight back in the F9. But this can be a good thing if you need it and could be helping to stabilize your ball flight.
 
-CRW- said:
Cobra drivers are notorious for being draw biased. The higher the standard/stated loft, the more upright the angle. That 10.5 has a lie angle of 58.5*. In comparison, the standard for all stated lofts in the TM SIM is 56*.

I also feel like Cobra has more buldge and roll in the face than other brands, but I can’t give actual numbers on that. It’s just my experience that an intentional draw off the toe with some OEM drivers would be a massive hook with a Cobra driver.

They also tend to spin more than some other options, especially at higher lofts and if you have the heavy weight back in the F9. But this can be a good thing if you need it and could be helping to stabilize your ball flight.
Click to expand...
Thanks. That is very interesting.
 
93civiccpe said:
The F9 driver in a lot of reviews tended to have a little bit of draw bias. I believe it may sit more upright and closed than other drivers. (comparing to an older driver it just seems to sit more closed). Check the adjustable hosel and see if it's in the standard or the draw (D) setting. If you take a 9* head and open it up to 10.5* it also sits more closed. What head and setting? You also might just be timing the shaft better. In any case, keep swinging if it works!!
Click to expand...

I noticed this yesterday with my 10.5 F9 head on my project x hazardous yellow set to 9deg (11.5D because it's an RH tip) noticeably more closed than my M6 (with fujikura vista pro) at 9deg.
 
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-CRW- said:
Cobra drivers are notorious for being draw biased. The higher the standard/stated loft, the more upright the angle. That 10.5 has a lie angle of 58.5*. In comparison, the standard for all stated lofts in the TM SIM is 56*.

I also feel like Cobra has more buldge and roll in the face than other brands, but I can’t give actual numbers on that. It’s just my experience that an intentional draw off the toe with some OEM drivers would be a massive hook with a Cobra driver.

They also tend to spin more than some other options, especially at higher lofts and if you have the heavy weight back in the F9. But this can be a good thing if you need it and could be helping to stabilize your ball flight.
Click to expand...

Sheesh!! You’re actually good enough to intentionally hit the toe of your driver for a draw??? Good gracious! I’m just happy as can be just to hit a semi centered shot!
 
Newman21 said:
Sheesh!! You’re actually good enough to intentionally hit the toe of your driver for a draw??? Good gracious! I’m just happy as can but to hit a semi centered shot!
Click to expand...

I don’t think being good has anything to do with it. I just set up with the ball slightly more toward the toe. My swing doesn’t change.
 
If you're hitting all your other clubs straight it could be the difference in shafts. Your original shaft might have a higher torque and with your swing it's causing the face to be open at impact.
The cobra shaft might have a lower torque shaft to where it's closing at impact with your swing.
 
I've had those days myself, as a natural fader all of a sudden I'll play a round and everything will be going left. Generally I then try and compensate by aiming more down the right and then bang, either a wild slice or fire it straight into the right rough. Is a cruel game!
 
From what I understand, similar swing weight doesn't necessarily mean the overall weight of the club is the same

It may be that the combination of shaft weight and weight of the Cobra head has an effect on your swing path
 
always great to find something that works with little effort
 
I plan to do some matching and more comparisons this week.

There is about 10 grams difference in shaft weight with the driver I play the most. The Cobra is almost the same as another driver I play once in a while. All other drivers I have are fade/slice for me with an extremely rare hook which usually occurs because I pull my left elbow in too far. This may have been a total one time fluke last week - we will see.

I will match the shafts within 3 grams of weight and verify length, but length is already about the same and swing weight is very close - within 1 swing weight point. I will also look at the faces and loft settings (both are currently set on standard) during normal swing and see if there is anything I notice there.

I am hoping for good weather this weekend (at least one day) to try it out. I can try it at home, but difficult to really tell exact direction with my swing caddie and practice net. I have gotten to where I have a somewhat decent idea with the net, but the course is really the truth teller.
 
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