[#COBRACONNECT Challenge 4]

On 7/30/2020 at 11:49 AM, JohnSmalls said:

Is there much of a difference in the size/placement of the rails between SZ and F8---or the general size/shape of the clubs?

Haven't forgotten about this - just wanted to get a comparison picture for you. There is not a big difference in general size/shape. The SpeedZone 2 hybrid has a slightly larger footprint than the F8 4 hybrid.

 

[#COBRACONNECT Challenge 4]

23 hours ago, MDGolfHacker said:

Has anyone tried a shot they normally wouldn't because the Cobra's inspired that much confidence?

 

MDGolfHacker

Lots of confidence with the SpeedZone Xtreme. During my round Tuesday afternoon I setup my aim point such that I needed to carry the bunker on the right, which isn't always a guarantee with my driver swing. Cleared them easily and rolled a little. Maybe not a crazy difficult or not normal shot, but while I still hit bad drives, I have a lot of love for the Xtreme at the moment.

If I hit a good drive on No. 3 at my home course, I really think I can get to the green in two. Some of the danger has been removed from the hole because we've been so dry that the drainage area in front of the green is basically normal grass right now, but it's a possibility with how I've been driving the ball as of late. (Pictured for example.)

 

[#COBRACONNECT Challenge 4]

6 minutes ago, yungkory said:

I'm crying in bag chatter right now

I don't publicize this, but I invite you to look at pictures from the Epic Flash intro last year.

Let's just say, the irons have, uh, protection. As sacrilegious as it is.

[#COBRACONNECT Challenge 4]

3 minutes ago, Lacassem said:

We’re you running!?!? I think your busting and my busting are very different because they would have to be a sprint!

Parts were a sprint, not going to lie! Quite the workout. 

[#COBRACONNECT Challenge 4]

Well, I definitely set a mark this morning that probably won't be equalled or bested in this challenge, unfortunately it had nothing to do with the weekly FIR/GIR Burger competition...

I didn't know there was an outing scheduled for this morning until I got to the course, so I had to bust it to get all 18 holes in ahead of them. Very interesting results! I scored OK, and putted pretty well for me. Running between shots, no practice swings, no marking or lining up putts, left my glove on for every shot including putting. Might have to start carrying over some of the putting thoughts - pick a line, pick a speed and go - to a normal-paced round.

As far as the FIR/GIR competition goes, I won't be submitting this round. I changed my strategy off of the tee and hit a lot of irons trying to hit more fairways and that failed miserably (and I'll expound on that in more detail in my iron review). Still, remove a ball I hooked out of bounds on No. 3 and I put together a pretty decent scoring round for me.

Best shot of the day came on No. 17, and the SpeedZone Xtreme really continues to impress me. Had to punch a 7 iron under a branch to get to the green and did so successfully for an easy two-putt par.

[How'd you play?]

53 minutes ago, yungkory said:

Doesn't feel like I'm playing better really, just feels like I'm better at avoiding double bogey now. If that makes sense?

Funny @cnosil mentioned his coach reminding him of this, mine has done the same.

When I'm in trouble now, my thoughts are usually more along the lines of, "What can I do to avoid making worse than bogey?"

[#COBRACONNECT Challenge 4]

14 hours ago, GB13 said:

Those are some seriously nice numbers! Happy to hear the Xtreme is really working well for you! That said... what is wrong with the rest of your game?

I like to think of the parts of my golf game as pieces of the unattainable triangle (typically "quality, speed, price"), but in this case "driver, irons, putter."

You can usually only have two! On days I drive the ball well, I probably won't putt well. On days I putt well, I bet I didn't strike my irons well. Etc. That's how you end up like me!

[How'd you play?]

3 hours ago, yungkory said:

+3 (39)

43% FiR

56% GiR

16 putts (1 3-putt)

Couldn't really make a putt, kept leaving it short, but didn't make any huge mistakes which was nice. Lots of thin shots, need to work on low point!

I try to pay attention the best I can to this thread, but it seems like your scores and handicap have dropped quite a bit since last spring. Is that the case? If so, what do you think contributed to that? Better fit clubs? More practice? Mental game? 

[#COBRACONNECT Challenge 4]

6 hours ago, Lacassem said:

Does everyone like the new cobra symbol over the old as well? I know for me I really like it as an alignment aid.

Yes, the "tour crown" logo is great. Love it on my hat, too!

[#COBRACONNECT Challenge 4]

1 hour ago, yungkory said:

Just curious, were these range balls and is the data "normalized"

Mix of Pinnacle, Bridgestone and Srixon range balls. Probably the best range balls in the area but still a range ball. Data isn't normalized. 

I've tested the Mevo alongside Trackman and the ball speeds are pretty much spot on (without normalization). The rest of the figures are definitely off to a certain degree. I'm usually looking for consistency in the numbers across the session.

[#COBRACONNECT Challenge 4]

Absolutely in love with the consistency of the SpeedZone Xtreme:

[#COBRACONNECT Challenge 4]

19 minutes ago, JohnSmalls said:

Compared to your previous clubs, have any of you guys noticed a difference or a benefit from the rails on the fairway woods and hybrids?

I previously used an F8 hybrid and loved the rails. That experience is carrying over to the SpeedZones.

[#COBRACONNECT Challenge 4]

1 hour ago, fixyurdivot said:

Are any of the testers seeing this issue with their drivers?

 

I haven't noticed any problems so far. Frankly, that thread seems seriously suspect with the number of one-and-done posters. I mostly play the Snell MTB-Xs, which although are great balls, don't have the most durable finish. I could see if you caught one off the top of the milling you might scuff a cover, though. The actually milling on the face isn't that pronounced.

[#COBRACONNECT Challenge 4]

58 minutes ago, Reesedw said:

@GB13, @B.Boston, @daviddvm, @Headhammer, @edingc... Alright Gentleman, who has started plotting which courses to play based on which weekly challenge is up?? Or are you all just playing courses you normally would? I played courses that I knew would give me the best chance at meeting the Challenge.. Course with wider firm fairways for driving challenges ect.. 

Courses with Bigger greens for GIR.. ... 

 

You guys are doing a great Job keep it up.. 

 

I'll be honest - I've scouted out a few for one of the challenges. Due to scheduling, I will most likely play almost every round from here on out at a single course, but it's conducive to almost all of the challenges.

[#COBRACONNECT Challenge 4]

5 minutes ago, yungkory said:

Anyways, that was a huge off-topic comment. Back to business. What the hell are these "burgers" you guys are referring to? I missed that somewhere in the thread.

Not sure if we ever clarified, but the scoring setup is basically one point for fairway hit, one point for green hit, and then the FIR/GIR "burger" (hitting both on the same hole) is worth two points.

Then, there's some Arccos handicap dividing going on that gets factored in to the score to determine the winner of the challenge.

[#COBRACONNECT Challenge 4]

1 hour ago, Lacassem said:

on the sole or club face? And is there anything specific that you thinks causing it? D

Sole. Could just be my imagination as I realized that on the range I've been using wood tees and on the course I use almost exclusively plastic...

I hadn't really been to the range much this year, so maybe it's all in my head.

I can confirm the white painted wood tees do leave marks on the matte finish.

[#COBRACONNECT Challenge 4]

23 minutes ago, B.Boston said:

Yup. I’ve noticed more tee marks than usual on all the clubs, but they wipe off with a wet towel and a little effort.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oddly have noticed more tee marks on my irons as well, but overall they all come off with a little elbow grease.

[#COBRACONNECT Challenge 4]

10 minutes ago, Bucky CC said:

Being fairways hit week; did any of you consider going for the Cobra KING Utility iron instead of a fairway wood or hybrid?

Like most people I've had issues with my F9 hybrids hooking off the tee.  I get plenty of distance out of them but they aren't really a true fairway finder when I'm not sure if it's going straight or hooking 30+ yards left.  I'm curious to see if the utility iron would help out with excessive draws.

 

The SpeedZone 4 Iron is about as close to the driving iron as I can get. I used it a ton from the tee yesterday.

I tried a few more balls with the 2 hybrid warming up yesterday and promptly put it back in the bag. Just need more practice with it before I could ever try to use it off the tee.

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2 hours ago, ncwoz said:

Aaaahhhhhh Is there a tournament or something they're keeping it fast for? Or just the weather?

Just the weather, I think. You can kind of see in my picture, but the whole course was pretty baked out, tee boxes included. We've had such a dry summer compared to last.

[#COBRACONNECT Challenge 4]

11 minutes ago, ncwoz said:

And at a course that's imperative to keep it in the short grass! Well done

Thanks! Just unfortunately I botched both par 3s on the front, and had a few too many three-putts. Greens were dried out and lightning fast. On No. 15 I three-putted from inside of four feet. 

[#COBRACONNECT Challenge 4]

In the interest of transparency, since @GB13 and @B.Boston have been so kind to post their round stats, I'll join the fun:

Eight fairways, nine greens, five burgers.

Hoping to get two more rounds in for this week's challenge and best those numbers.

EDIT - Just realized correcting my fairways hit hurt my driving handicap a bit. Still a good round though!

[#COBRACONNECT Challenge 4]

7 hours ago, fixyurdivot said:

How is the ARCCOS system used in this challenge?  Are testers able to review and edit the data for rounds prior to entering them into the database? I just used my Shotscope V2 in the "GPS + Trac" mode for the first time today.  It had a handful of my clubs incorrect and several putts incorrect - though that was my bad as I forgot to record the putt.  It also showed me putting a couple of times when I was on the apron - which recorded as a GIR.  Really like the watch and it and the software is easy to use.  Just got to remember to record putts and pin. 

I know ARCCOS has a putter tag but is it similar in this regards to other minor deviations?  

Lastly, what's the background story on how a FIR+GIR=Burger? 

As a ShotScope v2 owner, I will say that it seems to be more likely to miss shots than Arccos if you don't remember to always get a good hefty practice swing in to wake up the tag/watch. I would take pretty healthy practice cuts even when chipping.

7 hours ago, GB13 said:

Yeah, that sounds pretty similar to my results, some minor errors here and there, but I correct those once I get home, and we all correct them before we submit our scores for the week.

Arccos generally gets everything close to right, but I still track score on The Grint alongside Arccos for this very reason. For example, yesterday Arccos only missed a single shot (a delicate open-faced chip from one of the low-lying fairway grass bunkers near the green - Links style course). But, Arccos originally credited me with way too many fairways hit. There were several holes where I was a yard or two into the rough, so I had to go back and correct stuff for this competition. There were at least three holes where this was the case (which I assume is caused by the GPS and mapping not being quite accurate enough).

7 hours ago, fixyurdivot said:

Did you opt for different clubs than normal?  I know if I was playing a FIR & GIR contest, there are a handful of holes on the two courses I play that I would play different clubs off the tee. That kind of begs the question "why not always do that if the odds of success is better"... because I play Tim Allen golf .

I had no intention of using this round for the challenge this week, so I played my normal strategy, which included mapping the course out on Google Earth Pro and picking clubs and lines based on estimated dispersion (shot cone) with each club at certain distances since I hadn't played this course in a few months. Had to adjust a bit for wind (15 MPH sustained), but it worked out well. I didn't strike my irons particularly well off of the tee, but because I made smart decisions in terms of aim line, I got away with it for the most part. The only exception being the two par 3s on the front where I had to take drops/retee because I hooked my first shots into oblivion.

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1 minute ago, B.Boston said:

I have to double check... but I think it was 6 FW, 11 GIR and 3 burgers(x2).... so 6 + 11 + 6 = 23.  If I’m doing that right.

[#COBRACONNECT Challenge 4]

2 minutes ago, B.Boston said:

What a stunning summer morning.  This week the competition is all about FW and GIR so I went to the course with a different mindset than I normally do.  I was going to aim for the fat part of the fairway (within reason) and the middle back of the green on approaches.  All I have to say is damn... I might have to play that way more often.  Or maybe it was just the extra focus knowing that the real games have begun.

Here’s a link to my instagram post with some photos and videos of todays action:

 

And onto some key highlights:

New/Tied Personal Bests:

Score: 75 (+3) 

Arccos Handicap: 5.8

Birdies: 4 (ties my personal best)

Long Drive:  317 yards 

Fairways Hit - 6/14 (43%) - ties baseline

Greens in Reg - 11/18 (61%) vs 8/18 in baseline

I’m ecstatic with this start but I’m still wanting to get those Fairway Hit numbers higher for this week’s challenge.  I should have one more opportunity to get 18 holes in, but I know my competitors will be giving it their all too! 

I’ll end this post with a photo of the 17th green, a par 3.  The Forged Tec irons have been REALLY solid for me on par 3’s... I’ve been getting a lot of quality birdie looks out of them which is not usual for me.  Hopefully more good rounds to come!

 

For those of us doing the math, can you comment on your total number of FIR/GIR burgers? 

[#COBRACONNECT Challenge 4]

Beautiful day for 18 holes! Got out to one of my favorite spots with my father-in-law and both brother-in-laws.

It was hot, windy, dry and fast, but I played very well and may have to use this round for the FIR/GIR challenge! If not for the pesky par 3s on the front, and that stupid thing called putting, I think it could have been a career round, hahahaha. Seriously though, I hit my driver extremely well today and was great again around the green.

This was my best effort distance wise, unfortunately it stopped in a divot and I came up just short of the green trying to finesse it out of there.

No doubt the SpeedZone Xtreme is a great fit for me. I really focused on one swing thought regarding balance and pressure today, and just need to ramp up the speed a little bit now that I've got my swing path figured out.