Cobra Rail H Hybrid Review

[Addicted2Golf]

Cobra Rail H Hybrid Review

 

I've had my Cobra Baffler DWS 4 Hybrid a long time and it is one of the most important clubs in my bag. I use it off the tee on tight par 4's and long par 3's. It has become my go-to approach club from between 180 and 200 yards out. The Baffler is my rescue club to get back into the fairway when I've hit into long rough or into a stand of trees. I've even chipped with it from off the green.

 

I've resisted the urge to replace my old trusty friend because it's like a warm security blanket in all those situations - the golf version of a woobie. But that was before I tried the new Cobra Baffler Rail H Hybrid.

 

Pros

 

Compared to my old Baffler, the Rail H club head is slightly larger but it has a sleeker appearance at address because the steel face insert is now a carbon black color that effectively blends in with the rest of the crown. It looks more like a small fairway wood versus an over-sized iron. Deciding which is better is purely a matter of opinion and ultimately player preference.

 

The Rail H feels slightly lighter than the DWS and as a result I found myself swinging a little harder (not always a good thing). The feel is very substantial/solid on center contact, but that's not a huge change from previous models. The Fujikura Motore is a very good stock shaft and proved to be smooth and extremely stable.

 

Cobra has decided to go with stronger lofts this time around (22 versus 23 degrees for the 4/H) and the ball flight was lower and about five yards longer. The most significant change other than aesthetics is the new four-way rail sole which according to Cobra "relieves more contact area for improved turf interaction." I found the Baffler Rail H to be considerably more forgiving off the deck and from the rough. I had a tendency to hit the old model a little fat when my swing was off. That has been all but eliminated with the new sole design.

 

Cons

 

My biggest gripe about the DWS model is it's draw bias. I have snap hooked it at times with disastrous results. This new Baffler feels more neutrally weighted, but I still had a much easier time drawing the ball than cutting it.

 

The club head cover is a little loud for my taste, but that is a minor annoyance. Club head covers can be replaced.

 

Final Word

 

The Cobra Baffler Rail H is one of the best and most versatile hybrids in its class. The sole design alone is worth an upgrade for current Baffler owners. I will have a hard time sending this one back. My woobie is scared. It's days may be numbered.

 

The Cobra Baffler Rail H retails for $150 and is available in lofts of 17, 19, 22, 25, 28 degrees. To visit Cobra's website for more information and complete specs, click here.

 

For the full review with pics, click here.

[Moecat]

Thanks for the review!

[cheymike]

Excellent review A2. I'm going to look around in my friend's bags and see if I can hit one of these out on the course since we don't have a pro shop in the area who will let you demo their clubs.

[Addicted2Golf]

Thanks guys!

 

Mike - I hope you're able to find one to give it a run. A few years ago, I demo'd a bunch of different hybrids before settling on the Baffler. With the Rail H, Cobra has made significant improvements but kept the design close enough to the original to keep current Baffler owners happy. That is not an easy thing to do but they were able to somehow pull it off.

[Matt Saternus]

Hello all. I was the winner of the lottery for this club, but since A2G and I are neighbors (or close enough), we both took a crack at this one. Instead of starting another thread, I thought I'd just post my thoughts in his thread. Here I go:

 

I was very excited to try this club, because I have been considering taking the 4I out of the bag in place of a hybrid. While I love my 4I to death, I have to be realistic and say that I don't always hit it well. Since my 4I is 24*, I thought this hybrid (22*) might have a shot at the bag, or minimally it would push me in the direction of making the switch.

 

LOOKS

 

I think that the Rail H hybrid is a fine looking club. It doesn't knock my socks off, but it's certainly not bad looking. It has the thick "top line" that many hybrids do, and it's a look I'm very comfortable with. The head is similar in size to my Adams A7 hybrid, which is to say fairly large. That doesn't bother me at all, but those who prefer a smaller head might not like it. The headcover is nice looking (if you don't mind yellow) and the shaft graphics are pretty cool too.

FEEL/SOUND

 

These two things are very interrelated, so I'm bunching them together. The sound of this club is neither super solid (a "thunk") nor very tinny (a "tink"). I would label the sound a "think." I think this club is fairly limited in terms of the feedback that you get. Hitting balls thin, on the toe, or on the heel produced a feel very similar to hitting balls on the screws. Obviously, your ball flight will tell you if you mishit the ball egregiously, but you never get that "Oh $#&*&, that's going to be terrible" feeling. You also don't get the "I nutted that one" feeling.

 

PERFORMANCE

 

The first thing that I noticed about the club was that it felt very very light. I compared the swingweight to my Adams A7 and the Cobra was about half a swingweight lighter (D0 versus D0.5). Both clubs were the same length (despite the Adams being a 19* and the Cobra being a 22*), but the Cobra had a thinner, lighter grip and a shaft that was about 20 grams lighter. While I'm not a guy who needs, or even likes, heavy swing weights (my irons are D2 at +1/2"), I really never got used to the Cobra's lack of heft.

 

My overall experience with the club, both on the course and on the range, was that it's very forgiving and quite long. Well struck balls carried about 200 yards and rolled out to about 215-220. Badly struck balls still went 180ish. The trajectory was lower than my Adams A7 and I was not able to play shots that stopped shortly after landing, though that's more an operator-error issue.

 

The Rail design really works as advertised. I hit a couple shots really fat to test the design and you can really feel the club working to get out of the dirt instead of just burying itself. Since my miss is thin, this isn't a big deal to me, but this feature would be invaluable to someone who digs.

 

CONCLUSION

The Cobra Rail H is a nice club that's very long. Ultimately, it does not suit my needs because it goes as far as my 19* hybrid and does not have the trajectory I'm looking for. Also, the light weight did not get along with me at all in terms of accuracy. For anyone that wants to hit their hybrids further and/or has a problem with hitting fat shots, definitely check out the Rail H.

[Sandy Koufax]

Has anyone tried the Cobra Baffler Rail fairway woods? I'm very interested in the 2H Baffler Rail but also in the 3F Baffler Rail so I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on in. Good review BTW.