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OFFICIAL FORUM MEMBER REVIEW - COBRA F7/F7+ Drivers


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Official Forum Member Review
 

Cobra F7.png
 

Cobra F7/F7+ Drivers

 

 

DawgDaddy        Stage 1               Stage 2              Stage 3

 

Drewneddy         Stage 1               Stage 2              Stage 3

 

 

Cobra Website

 

 

What's in the bag:
 
Driver:  :titelist-small:TSR3; :wilson_staff_small: DynaPWR Carbon
FW Wood: :wilson_staff_small: DynaPWR 3-wood; :titleist-small: TSR 2+
Hybrids:  PXG Gen4 18-degree
Utility Irons: :srixon-small: ZX MkII 20* 
Irons:;  :Sub70:699/699 Pro V2 Combo; :wilson_staff_small: D9 Forged;  :macgregor-small:MT86 (coming soon!); :macgregor-small: VIP 1025 V-Foil MB/CB; 

Wedges:  :cleveland-small: RTX6 Zipcore
Putter: :cleveland-small: HB Soft Milled 10.5;  :scotty-small: Newport Special Select;  :edel-golf-1:  Willamette,  :bettinardi-small: BB8; :wilson-small: 8802; MATI Monto

Ball: :bridgestone-small: Tour B RXS; :srixon-small: Z-STAR Diamond; :wilson_staff_small: Triad

Stat Tracker/GPS Watch: :ShotScope:


 
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Stage 1  

 

Hello all, I am thrilled to be testing The Cobra F7. I am a 69 year old retiree, a husband, father, grandfather and a great grandfather. I love golf, I played some when I was younger, around 25 to 35 but it was mostly an excuse to get together with my buddies and have a good time, golf itself was secondary to having a fun day. I got into bowling for about 15 or 20 years and became quite good, but an injury to my wrist really made my game go downhill and after 3 years of carrying a 185 average I knew I would never average 200+ again so I changed back to golf. This time I decided to get serious about improving so I sought out anything I could to improve including lessons. I was able to take my scores from 95/115 to 85 in a fairly short order. I finally over a ten year span was able to bring my handicap to 6.2, Then the back went out! I have degenerative arthritis in my lower two vertebrae and have some fairly good pain in my lower back. I don't carry an official handicap anymore as I cannot stand multiple days in a row of golf and tournaments are always at least two days, so my normal rounds now are somewhere between 82 and 88, being a senior golfer almost all of my rounds now are played from the senior tees, the only time I move is if I play in a charity scramble and they won't let me move up. My normal drives will be between 190 and 210, sometimes the occasional bomb with the right conditions (a bomb for me would be 230). I hit the ball mid high with a smooth tempo and my usual miss is a pull or a snap hook with the hook being the most often.

 

I love adjustable drivers, my first was the TaylorMade R11, I was lucky enough to be fit at the TaylorMade Kingdom at Reynold Plantation. My fitter was awesome and I watched him build my driver from scratch, it took him about 8 minutes. That is when I realized I would never pay anyone to change a grip for me again, it is as easy as it looks. I took pictures of the setting he had set the driver and then everytime I played for a while I would tinker with the settings and always come back to his recommendation. After a while I settled on slightly less loft than he had me using as I was hooking too much and having control issues. I always would rather be in the fairway than a little longer and in the rough, but then again as I said I am a older golfer and don't hit it that far anyway.

 

I will compare the Cobra F7 and the Callaway Great Big Bertha during my testing but the emphasis will be on the Cobra and what I feel everyone following along will want to read and see. The remainder of my bag is a Callaway Big Bertha V-series 3 W and Heaven wood. a Callaway X2 Hot 4H, TaylorMade SpeedBlade Irons and TaylorMade ATV Wedges, Odyssey Works 2 Ball Lined Fang. I always go to the PGA SuperStore in Atlanta and try equipment before buying, the clerks are helpful and most of them know their stuff pretty well. I will do my testing with the Bridgestone B330-RX as that seems to be the ball most MGS testing is done with. I am excited to see what the Cobra Connect Arccos feature can tell me about my game.

 

My biggest golfing feats are a single HIO a year and a half ago with my Wednesday morning group, and 4 years ago at my company golf tournament my partner (he is quite a golfer) and I won in a field of about 200 golfers. It is a best ball format, my partner tied for low score, I helped him 11 strokes over the 3 days for us to easily win the Championship by 4 strokes, I was very proud to had been able to help that much. My one other feat is in my weekly blitz 3 years ago I caught on fire on the back nine and posted a 30 (after an opening front of 41 with a penalty stroke). That 30 felt much better than the HIO, and I was with 3 of my regular golfing buddies that I also travel with so it was extremely sweet. I have been much luckier than I have ever been good but like all reading this, I love this silly game.

 

Living in Georgia I am fortunate enough to play year round so in my 20 years of actually playing golf I have been fortunate enough to play some very nice courses, among them are Bay Hill, PGA National, Mission Inn, Cuscowilla, Great Waters, many of the Robert Trent Jones courses including The Senator, The Brickyard and Idle Hour those come to mind easily.

 

 

Here are a few pictures pics of the drivers arrival and my unboxing.

 

The box was slightly larger than most I have received containing drivers in the past

 

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The contents were a great looking headcover, a tool, a booklet and of course the driver.

 

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The driver I chose is the stock black color and is very sharp looking IMO, the first thing I did was jack the loft up to 12° and then give it a look to see how it looks at address, as you can see it does not have an overly closed look at all, if anything to me it looks very square.  I like that. 

 

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I have only had opportunity to get it on the course twice, the first time was in my weekly scramble, I was excited to give the Arccos Cobra Connect feature a try.  It only took me a couple of holes to realize that a scramble is not the way to test Arccos at all.  I was no where near the longest ball striker in the group and I never got to measure my shots as the second shot was from the longest ball in the group.  It was still fun to play with though even though I did not save any stats for the round.  I did compare the Cobra Connect app to my Garmin G8 and the distances were very close, most times being within a yard or even equal.  

 

The second time out I went out alone to give Cobra Connect another try, the course was as crowded as I have ever seen it.  After the seventh hole I realized that I just needed to jump around if I wanted to get in all of the holes.  Arccos Cobra Connect has a great app that gives a bird's eye view of the course and shows the distance to hole, length of drive and distances to hazards, it is very easy to work but it does require the user to modify the hole being played when you decide to jump around.  I forgot to do it on all of the holes and actually ended up not playing all of the holes.  So in my two times using it I have not saved a round as yet, not a problem for me as I was able to monitor my shots during the rounds and found that all of my drives were between 188 and 235 yards, nothing unexpected except maybe the 235 is a bit longer than I regularly see now with my bad back.  

 

I am really enjoying the Cobra King F7, I have begun to experiment with a senior flex shaft in my GGB driver and may just contact Cobra about acquiring a senior flex for the King F7 to see if I pick up more yardage, stay tuned for more updates and insights as I continue testing.  Drewneddy and I are looking forward to your comments and questions, please ask anything that comes to mind.  Remember the only poor question the the question that was unasked.

 

If you would like some of the technical info on the King F7 here's the link http://www.cobragolf.com/king-f7-driver-custom?gclid=CjwKEAjwxurIBRDnt7P7rODiq0USJADwjt5DgR9CcLe06bsBD2zBiA-ylab7AG234OyyDtbe-WXqghoCkpfw_wcB

Driver -     Rogue ST Max
Woods -   Rogue ST MaxRogue ST Max 3, 5 & 7 Wooda 
Irons -      Rogue ST MAX OS  5 - AW
Wedges -   Zipcore RTX 6 50°  CBX2   54* & 58*  

Putter -    ER2
Rangefinder -  NX9 Slope
Ball -  Vice Pro Soft Drip

Bag -  Xtreme Cart 7.0 Bag Heather/Red/White

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Welcome to my Stage 2 thoughts, findings, speculations and ramblings on my testing of the Cobra King F7 driver. I have had the driver on the course at least 3 times per week (except this week, as we spent Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at Daytona Beach). I have had several folks hit it with mixed results, as you might expect. I don't live close enough to any shops with a golf monitor to give any real numbers but I will do my best to give you real observations.

 

Currently in my bag I have as my driver the Callaway Great Big Bertha 10.5° set to 12.5°, Callaway Big Bertha V-series 3 W and Heaven wood, a Callaway X2 Hot 4H, TaylorMade SpeedBlade Irons and TaylorMade ATV Wedges, Odyssey Works 2 Ball Lined Fang Putter. I have done all of my testing with either a Bridgestone 300-RX or a Callaway Chrome Truvis ball. I really do not see a lot of difference in performance and I personally think the Truvis is pretty cool. So my on course testing has been done with those two balls.

 

All of my testing has been on the course, as I explained before with my bad back I really am unable to practice any more because of the standing in one place for a while really aggravates my back right now. I have a Garmin G8 to compare distances of drives between the Great Big Bertha and the F7. Also I always play 2 extra wraps under my grip and with the Arccos installed I cannot change out the grip without losing the Arccos. Again I am pointing out that I recently changed to a senior flex shaft, again because of my back and I don't feel I am comparing apples to apples because of this.

 

I am finding that I am longer with the GBB and pretty much the same as far as fairways hit and ability to make the ball draw or fade with either driver. I do really like the look at address and the overall looks of the F7. Because it is slightly shorter (driving distance, not length) I tend to over swing at times trying to get a few more yards, that leads to either a pull by coming slightly over the top or a hook by really trying to add speed with my hands. Not the drivers fault but mine in trying too hard to get that extra umph. Loss of distance on mishits seems minimal and sometimes I wonder if I really lost any distance at all on the mishit.

 

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Performance at the Range

 

  • Because I am currently unable to put in range time I will move the 10 points for this section to the on the course section.

 

Performance on the Course

 

  • Accuracy – I have found the accuracy to be on par with any driver out there, I am averaging 10.8 of 14 fairways with this driver, I like that! As most folks who have played with me will tell you I don't miss a lot of fairways and would probably be hitting over 11 of 14 were it not for the over swinging when trying for more distance.

  • Distance – As I stated above, I recently switched to a senior flex and started getting back a little distance. With the F7 regular flex driver I only average 205, with my current driver I am averaging 214. Not a big difference, but as I age it is a huge difference.

  • Consistency – I have found this driver to be as accurate as any I have ever played as long as I keep my tempo and do not over swing. I would deem it a fairway finder.

  • Shot Shaping – I have been able to draw or fade the ball on the holes that favor those shots. I set the driver to 12° and therefore I know the face is closed but by golly it does not look to be closed at all. I like that.

  • Carry vs Roll – I have a mid high ball flight with the driver and consequently get a shorter carry but lots of roll. My primary course is Lake Jonesco and it is a relatively flat course that makes roll a great asset, especially roll in the fairway. As I mentioned in the first bullet point this driver is very accurate.

 

Course Score: 32 Out of 40 points

 

 

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Performance Notes

  • How did it perform? For me as it is configured it performs good but I cannot say great. I believe with a proper fitting this club could move to great.

     

  • Were you pleased with how the club(s) performed? Pleased and disappointed at the same time, accuracy is as good as it gets, distance is lacking. Proper fitting, proper fitting, proper fitting!

     

  • Please compare and contrast it to what you are currently playing? The F7 is much more appealing to my eye than the clunky looking head of the GBB, I actually am a huge fan of the looks. My GBB as configured is every bit the equal to the F7 in accuracy and longer off the tee.

     

  • What factors were you pleased with? Again, I love the looks and accuracy. This club looks like it is made to grip it and rip it. Confidence cannot be overrated in that department IMO.

     

  • How did it compare to your current gamer(s)? Certainly the F7 has a more aesthetically pleasing look. Even though some will love the Arccos I find that I had rather track distance with my Garmin G8, I am not a stats junkie.

     

  • Did you notice better production on the range or on the course more? On the course was actually all I could do, my back has really been painful for the past 3 months and I can't stand long. I can only play because I sit between shots and never stand more than 3 or 4 minutes for the putts.

     

  • What factors did you find lacking? While Cobra has many options for those purchasing the F7 I would really have loved to have a proper fitting grip and flex shaft. I feel that I could do a better job evaluating what this driver can actually do for a golfer.

     

  • What improvements would you like to see? Cobra seems to have everything going on right now, adjustable weights, lofts, light shaft, light head and shaft choices not to mention Arccos. That is innovation in my book.

     

  • What would you do away with? I am not too sure the public will let them do away with anything for a while at least. The novelty of having Arccos built in may wear off but even though I am not a huge fan, I think it will last for a while at least.

 

 

Subjective Looks

 

Describe the following:

  • General shape. The head is the classic rounded 460 cc head, nothing pointy, or looking out of place, great look. Very clean and pleasing to the eye.

     

  • Offset. There is no drastic offset to this driver, it really looks square at address to me.

     

  • Graphics. Subtle graphics of the head and shaft add to rather than distract from.

     

  • Other unique details. Arccos is as unique as it gets, no other company is using it.

     

  • How does it come together visually? Eye pleasing and confidence building, as good as it gets.

     

  • How does it compare to other products in its category? In this day and age I feel that there is a driver for every golfer, they just need to find “the one”. The Cobra F7 will be that driver for many.


     

Looks Score: 18 Out of 20 points

 

IMG_1428_zpsewumy2sx.jpg

 

 

 

Sound and Feel

 

Describe how the product sounds and feels

  • Is it soft, crisp, dull, clunky (feel free to use your own imaginative phrases)? I would say the sound is high pitched but not tinny. Pleasing not irritating.

     

  • Does it feel consistent across the face, or are mis-hits noticeably pronounced? Even though you can feel mishits they are not harsh, and you can tell if you were high, low, toward the heel or toe. The distance loss was not particularly penal, pretty close to a good drive most times.

     

  • Compare to your best/worst feel and sound experiences? The feel was close to excellent if not quite there. I am not a sound freak as I don't have great hearing anyway, I find the sound non irritating and that is all I ever want from my driver.

 

Sound and Feel Score: 16 Out of 20 points

 

Likelihood of Purchase

 

How likely would you be to purchase this product? At this time I can say I would not purchase the F7.

 

  • Why or why not? I enjoyed the F7 but not being a stats guy I don't need the Arccos feature. My current driver is performing as well as I can expect at this stage of my life. The only way I would purchase the F7 is if my current gamer broke and I was fitted to the F7 with the proper shaft and grip. I still think it to be a solid driver even though I would not purchase one right now.

 

LOP Score: 4 Out of 20 points

 

 

 

Subjective Notes

One of the things everyone looking at the new F7 is curious about is the Arccos feature. Personally I did not find the app as user friendly as I would have liked. As an example, the day I went up to play a round with ole gray, we fired up the app and it would not recognize the course. I cut it on and off a few times before finally manually typing in the course name. Not a biggie but the course it was pulling up was some 10 miles away, That's a pretty big miss. The app is supposed to give you a cue that the Driver is ready to let you know you can go ahead and hit your drive then drive to it and hit your second shot to record your driver distance. It only gave the driver ready prompt twice in 5 holes and only recorded one drive. That is an example, I have never completed a round with it as it sometimes won't let me input scores or come off the scorecard after putting in the score. Not sure if I need to delete the app and download again or what. I think I will try that before the stage 3 write up and update y'all on it then.

 

Conclusion

 

I truly believe this driver is a great product, I also believe that anyone wanting to purchase it should be fit. With 8 shaft choices they can dial a person into a bombing machine. If you have an itch to try Arccos this is a great way to do it without spending any extra money on the entire kit. I wanted to love it but the shaft and grip issues would not allow that to happen. However I do have a degree of fondness for this driver because of the innovation that Cobra has packed into it. I would recommend it to be on the short list of everyone looking for a new driver.

 

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Total Score: My total score is 70 Out of 100 points. 

Driver -     Rogue ST Max
Woods -   Rogue ST MaxRogue ST Max 3, 5 & 7 Wooda 
Irons -      Rogue ST MAX OS  5 - AW
Wedges -   Zipcore RTX 6 50°  CBX2   54* & 58*  

Putter -    ER2
Rangefinder -  NX9 Slope
Ball -  Vice Pro Soft Drip

Bag -  Xtreme Cart 7.0 Bag Heather/Red/White

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Stage Three - The Follow Up & Value Question.

 

The Five Questions

1. Will this product go in your bag? Why or why not?

 

Not at this time, I need a larger grip and weaker flex. I can order the grip for the Arccos and the shaft adapter from Cobra, so I will most likely be ordering each so as to put a different shaft in combination with this head. I still love the clean look of the head and have hit some great drives with it but I just am not as consistent with it as I feel I can be.

 

2. To whom, if anyone, would you recommend this product? Why?

 

I truly would recommend this to anyone considering a new driver this season. I believe in being fit for your clubs and this one should be on your list, especially if you are a stats geek or even in need of a golf GPS. Arccos is still some what buggy for me when I am at remote courses but it is a fun addition when it is working as intended. This driver as configured is not quite right for me but with a few tweeks I believe it could be as good as any of the others I have hit or played.

 

3. How, if at all, did this product change your overall impression of Cobra?

 

I have been playing golf for a few decades, in all of that time I have only owned a set of Cobra S2 irons. I liked them but was not fit for them. After playing them for 6 months I went to a professional fitter and he told me that I did not need to ever play a SGI iron so I sold them and have not looked at a Cobra product ever again until this testing. This F7 driver has certainly piqued my interest in Cobra products. I do plan to do the shaft and grip changes to see what this driver will actually do for my game.

 

4. What feature would you change or eliminate from the next generation of this model?

 

As far as the current offering I cannot think of anything that should change other than the usual

R&D all companies are involved in. I think the Arccos feature is pretty neat but it still has some

bugs interfacing with the app. I really like the looks of the head shape and size plus the

graphics on both the head and shaft. I like the weights in the bottom, I wish I had a weight kit

with different weights to tinker around with. Sometimes that can lead to a good club becoming

a great club.

 

5. What feature do you really like, and would most like to see continued or evolved in future models?

 

I love the idea of incorporating Arccos into the grip, I also like that you can order a replacement

from Cobra that allows you to change the Arccos unit when you change grips. My only thing is

I wish the interface with the app was better, not sure how that will happen but it was a

disappointment to try to show it to friends and it totally not do what it was supposed to.

 

A huge thank you again to Cobra Golf and MSG for this testing opportunity.  I plan to check in to answer any questions everyone might have to the best of my ability.   Thanks to everyone for reading along and good luck to those who have purchased the F7 and F7+.

Driver -     Rogue ST Max
Woods -   Rogue ST MaxRogue ST Max 3, 5 & 7 Wooda 
Irons -      Rogue ST MAX OS  5 - AW
Wedges -   Zipcore RTX 6 50°  CBX2   54* & 58*  

Putter -    ER2
Rangefinder -  NX9 Slope
Ball -  Vice Pro Soft Drip

Bag -  Xtreme Cart 7.0 Bag Heather/Red/White

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Stage 2: June 13, 2017

 

Quick recap on my player profile from my stage 1 review: I'm a scratch golfer that plays a draw. I have a competitive background and have entered more tournaments. I have played three events this year with one successful event, one pretty good event, and one poor event. I'm looking for more fairways without giving up distance. My natural ball flight is a right to left draw. This has been straightened out this year. For the detailed background, please see my stage 1 review. I am reviewing the Cobra F7+ and comparing it against the Taylor Made Aeroburner TP and also against some of the industry leaders as I went to a driver fitting. My goal is to play the best equipment that suits my game & my eye and enables me to shoot the lowest score possible. If playing the Cobra F7+ gets me a ½ stroke per round advantage, I'm stoked because that's a full shot I picked up over the course of a 36 hole event.

 

For the performance range vs course, I will be combining these into one 40 point category. I have had several range sessions and played more than 15 rounds with the Cobra F7+ including 5 tournament rounds. My practice sessions begin with using my 58 degree Callaway Mac Daddy 3 to hit 50 yd shots, moving up in five yard increments until I reach my max comfort level of 90 yards. I then move up wedges to 54 degree and do the same thing starting at 75 yds. My range is marked nice for this drill as there are markers every 10yds up to 100yds. Next club is 50 degree gap wedge, then pw, 9 iron and so on until I reach my driver. This has been my practice routine since college. I found that if I'm working on a swing thought, it's easy to get incrementally longer with the wedge shots. Think 9 o'clock swing, then 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock etc. Just get progressively longer until its full. To me, it helps me translate to hitting full shots with longer clubs and maintain control of the clubface. In my opinion, what you do on the range helps you prepare for the course, which is where it counts. I've never won a match on the range. And I think back to watching Aaron Baddley on the range at the Barclays the one year. I watched him hit the same 7 iron with the same flight, landing within 2yds of the previous shot. I literally thought he would go out and shoot 59. He ended the day carding something like a +3 or +4. I've never been so impressed with someone's ball striking and he was over par for his round… just astonishing.

clubhead.JPG

 

Accuracy – My accuracy has gone up. I was never a miss big kind of guy. I'm looking for fairways and a straightened out ball flight. I want to hit fairways because that's where I score best. I'm long enough that on either of my home courses, with a good drive I will have no more than 150 yds into the green – which for me means nothing more than 8 iron if its wind in the face. Last year's statistics said I hit 50.7% of fairways. Through a 15 round sample size, I am hitting closer to 60%. That's about an extra fairway and a half per round which pleases me. More fairways = more GIR / more GIR = more birdie putts / more birdie putts = more BIRDIES!

 

Distance – In the MGS application thread I said I carry the ball about 265 – 270 yds. I'm not that far off. I have been easily able to measure distances using the Cobra Connect with Arccos golf application. The Arccos sensor is connected to the butt of the club. It is build right into the grip, so a con of this is if you change shafts or grips, you then need to either buy the full Arccos 360 (possibly) or get a new Cobra Connect grip. For me, that means a new grip every year as I change every winter after about 60 rounds and many range sessions.

 

The Arccos has been measuring my shots on flat terrain anywhere from 270yds to 295yds. That is almost all carry as the Northeast has had a wet spring season moving into summer. I played a tourney in Buffalo last week and found it refreshing to see the ball bouncing around after it hit the ground. I have yet to hit a ball > 300 yds on a hole that isn't downhill or down wind. I'm striving for that extra yardage and decided to see a club fitter this week about changing the shaft out from the stock Fujikura Pro XLR8 stiff shaft.

IMG_2437.PNG

 

Consistency – The Cobra F7+ has been a consistent club for me during this testing phase. I have increased my FIR stats which is really important to me. I do think I under estimated my distance in the MGS application thread, as I've found myself in similar spots on my courses as my previous gamer the Aeroburner TP. I have noticed that my misses have been more towards the heel, which could be a swing though of trying to hit a cut combined with a lighter shaft than I normally play. I'm hoping to have the misses sorted out after my fitting session. One thing to mention, is with the Arccos measuring my drives, I can't believe how much an uphill tee shot affects distance. I have really hit some of my best drives on uphill holes only to see the app tell me it went 260yds. The F7+ is a players club, so I expected the mis-hits to be less forgiving. I'm okay with that, because the sweet spot appears to be hot.

 

Carry vs Roll / Trajectory and Shot shaping– This spring has not been good golf weather for the Northeast. The ball has only rolled a couple rounds. Although one reason for my fitting was that the ball to my eye seemed to be falling out of the air. I was looking for a higher launch and jacked the loft up to 10.5 degrees from 9.5 degrees. Two rounds in, the loft did not attribute to my lower than expected launce. I lost distance and moved the loft back to my more comfortable 9.5 degrees. Again, most of the yardages on my Arccos are carry or close to carry because the ground has been wet.

 

The biggest effect the Cobra F7+ has had on my game is my shot shaping. I have hit more cuts in the past 15 rounds than I hit the past 5 years combined. The face is low spinning and I could see anyone looking for a draw to move the 12g weight towards the heel to get that extra help. Most shots have had very little R or L movement. I actually have to think about hitting a draw to move the ball R to L on dogleg left holes. That's a new feeling for me, but one I can get used to. I only play a draw because it's a natural shot to me and it's what holds up best under pressure when I have to hit a fairway or a big ball out in play.

 

From a performance standpoint I am pleased with how the club performs. I know what I practice I can take from the range to the course and that gives me a confidence boost. I love the shape of the head and looking down at the black matte composite like finish of the club. The clubhead is adjustable from 8 up to 12 degrees in loft. When I moved the loft to 10.5 I felt like the toe did not close at all and still set up square to my target line.

 

The Cobra F7+ does not really lack anything. It has adjustable lofts, adjustable weights, and a new distance measuring feature partnering with Arccos Golf. The club itself comes with difference color schemes. I choose the black matte and orange because I knew it would fit my eye well. The clubhead does not give off any glare like some of the white clubheads. The tip of the shaft that has the adjustable part could provide some tough times if looking to change shafts. But any reputable club fitter wouldn't have a problem with this.

 

The only thing I would change would be the Arccos. I know the Arccos 360 for all clubs connects with a 12g sensor that connects through the butt of the club. I would like to see Cobra with the Arccos partnership just send one of the sensors. Some people won't use Arccos because of the phone in the pocket at all times inconvenience. Personally, I thought I'd hate this. But I don't. I don't even notice it unless I'm looking for my phone and I have an Otterbox case overtop my iPhone 6. I think this technology is really innovative and great for the game and great for beginners. The King of the Hole feature tracking the best drives on each particular hole is a great feature that provides a little competition for golfers of all skill levels. It even gives you a driving handicap (+5.2).

I think Arccos can expand on their technology and give better reporting data to the user. I would like to see an YTD report where it would give a shot overlay of all my drives on the hole. I would like to see them change to a hole by hole scoring. With this I think they can give the user a feedback like the PGA tour uses during their broadcasts – where blue dots on the hole grid show drives that made par, red dots on the hole equate to birdies on the hole, and black dots mean bogeys.

 

Performance score – 35/40 points

 

Looks – The clubhead on the Cobra F7+ driver is a Carbon composite cown with a black matte finish. This really suits my eye and does not give off a glare. According to their website the Carbon fiber crown allows the head to be 20% lighter which translates to lower and deeper redistributed weight. This gives a lower CG which means more distance! While the distance has not increased, my accuracy has.

 

There is no offset with this drive. The Cobra MyFly and Smartpad technology allows the adjustability of the clubface while still maintaining a square to target look.

 

Built into the grip, which you hardly notice is the Arccos sensor.

 

Looks score – 15 points

 

Sound and feel – This driver has the classic “pop” sound that I like out of a driver. It doesn't have the super titanium TING sound that would echo throughout a golf course. Cobra hit a home run with the acoustics on this club. I could close my eyes and listen to someone pound away at the range all day with this driver. It's music to my ears.

 

But the driver sound does match the contact. I've missed a few towards the heel and with miss-hits there is a noticeable sound difference. If one of my playing partners was playing this, I would be able to tell if they really got ahold of one by the sound. Not that it's a big sound, but the miss is a little, tiny sound that isn't as crisp as one in the center of the clubface.

 

The best feel is a hit in the center of the clubface… obviously haha! I love the feel of the pop off the face that resonates up the shaft into your hands as you watch the ball fly for miles… or 280 yds. The miss-hits have a noticeable sound and with it comes the rattling of the shaft up to your hands as you watch the ball travel and hopefully be in play for your next shot.

IMG_2436.JPG

 

I'm all about the acoustics of this club. I hope they don't touch a thing with their next model. The feel is comparable to other drivers. If you catch one, you feel it. If you miss one, you also feel it. It's a players club and you better hit it in the center if you want the results.

 

Sound & Feel score – 18 points

 

Now, the big question – Am I likely to purchase the club at suggested retail of $399? In short yes. I would consider myself likely to purchase this club… if….. it fits me. We can break this down further. I have decided to go see a club fitter and get a shaft change for the Cobra F7+. I liked everything about it visually and sound and feel. I just wanted more. My friends basically all had the same reply when I said I was testing for MGS- “You get to play and keep a $400 driver? So cool.” Well it's only cool if it makes me a better player otherwise I'm going back to what I was playing before or purchasing something that will make my game better. I'm not good enough to leave strokes on the course.

 

A guy I play with gave me an alarming comment. He said “Your ball just falls out of the air. You need fit, you could get another 20yds I bet.” Challenge accepted. I would love to add 20yds to my current game by being properly fit. The Fujikura Pro XLR8 stock shaft and I did not see eye to eye from the beginning of the test. It felt lighter in my hands and I felt like I struggled to load it. But how did I increase my FIR statistics? Maybe the shaft was loading properly and it's a case of the Indian vs the arrow. So off to see the club fitter and see if it's me, the club head, or the shaft. Maybe I would fit into the GBB Epic or the Taylor Made M2/1. I did not like the feel of the M2 I hit this spring, but I wanted to see what the numbers would give me. I could learn to love the feel of the M2 if it resulted in fairways and birdies.

 

I used the Cobra F7+ as my barometer for the fitting. I asked what the top sellers this year were and he said Epic and 917. I asked about the Taylor Made. He said the 2017 were different and worse than last year. It's been so noticeable that people are asking for the old model. But only Dicks Sporting Goods have been carrying them as they got all the old Taylor Made stock.

 

I hit the F7+ with stock shaft on the launch monitor and also hit my old gamer the Aeroburner TP for side by side comparison. The numbers were almost exact.

 

My clubhead speed was ranging from 109mph to 112mph. I do not feel like I take a hard cut at the ball and this number is higher than I would have told someone. I do make a nice shoulder turn. Spin rate was a consistent 3500-3600. Smash factor was a nice 1.4. The numbers hardly deviated from each club even though I feel the Cobra spun less.

 

After one shaft change we got my spin down to below 3000. I did remain negative on the impact which means I'm steeper than you would like coming into the ball. I already knew this but the numbers were better than I could have guessed.

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So after 20mins I went to the outdoor bay to see the flight for my eyes. The stock shaft was changed for the Project X HRZDUS 63g 6.5 low spin shaft. The flight was beautiful. I've never hit a ball like that before. And butter cuts without even trying. I was carrying the ball 290-295 and you could see once it dries out it would roll extra yards too.

IMG_2435.JPG

IMG_2434.JPG

 

The fitting changed my whole likelihood of purchase. I'm scoring MAX because I'm beyond thrilled with my flight and numbers combined with the aesthetics and acoustics of the club. This shaft has a $240 upcharge according to the Cobra site. I recommend anyone purchasing a new driver to get properly fit. I thought I knew enough to avoid the extra costs but there's so much more a launch monitor will tell you that your eyes and hands can't. It's the best money you can spend on your game.

 

I liked the F7+ before... but I love it after shaft change. So I'm going with an overall score of 100/100 because it's going in my bag. My numbers were in line with the Epic and 917 with comparable shafts. I don't know exactly what he had in there because I didn't want to know because of preconceived bias or price awareness. I just wanted to know numbers and the Cobra F7+ showed up in a big way.

 

Now unfortunately I have to buy Arccos 360 if I want to measure drives as that left with the stock shaft. But I'd rather be 20-25yds further up in the fairway than playing a game on my phone.

 

Kudos to the Cobra team on a club head well made. I love the classic shape and feel. And thanks to the MGS staff for allowing me to test it for myself against the "big boys". I'll be providing updates on my accuracy and distance going into my stage 3 review. I'm excited to see how far I can improve from my old distance and accuracy numbers. Praying for some dry weather so I can finally crack the 300yd mark!

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The Five Questions

 

Will this product go in your bag? Why or why not?

 

Yes, this driver will absolutely go in my bag. Backtracking to my stage 2 for a moment, I originally felt like the ball was falling out of the air and I was not receiving maximum distance. I even received comments from my playing partners. So in an effort to max my distance out and join the 300 yd club, I went to my local fitter for some numbers. With the insert of the HZRDUS yellow 65g stiff shaft it changed my entire ball flight from a draw to a baby cut. My spin numbers went down below 3,000 rpms where they were > 3,500 before with the stock shaft. My carry distance was averaging about 290 yds. I have never hit the ball further. This club and shaft will be in my bag for the foreseeable future.

 

To whom, if anyone, would you recommend this product? Why?

 

I would recommend this driver to anyone serious about distance. The clubface is hot and the acoustics are awesome! The look of the clubhead from the top is pretty. But my main recommendation is to get fit and try several head and shaft combos. Let the professionals tell you what the best driver is for you. You're already spending > $400 purchasing a new driver – do it right and get fit! It's a small investment in your game.

 

How, if at all, did this product change your overall impression of Cobra?

 

This testing did not change my impression of Cobra at all. I have played Cobra drivers in college and still carry two hybrids. If anything it validated that they are still a serious player in the game. All year the noise was M1 vs Epic. This Cobra F7+ model is a serious contender. The MGS review earlier had the new Srixon listed as top driver. There are a lot of good brands out there that make quality equipment. Find the brand that fits you best. This driver fits my feel and accuracy needs. It is the driver for me, but only after some tinkering and a total shaft change. The two words I associate with the Cobra brand are “long” and “quality.” The F7+ driver met my expectations and my needs for my golf game.

 

What feature would you change or eliminate from the next generation of this model?

 

Interesting question. From the arrival day I was intrigued with the Arccos sensor. I had some fun playing around with it and measuring drives. But when I got the shaft change I lost the Cobra Connect feature. It is something that I thought was fun and accurate – only ever had two problems with it not measuring anything close to the yardage I had. The sensor was built right into the grip. In future models, I would like to see them include like the Arccos 360 just the plug that would be interchangeable with any grip.

 

What feature do you really like, and would most like to see continued or evolved in future models?

 

I'm a huge fan of the composite style clubhead. It has a great sound and even better feel. It really lets you know when you catch one good / or one bad. Great player feedback. I hope they carry this with them in future models. The trend is to continue with adjustable drivers so I was glad to see the wrench to adjust not only weights on the bottom of the clubhead but to adjust the shaft to increase or decrease loft. I like that if my swing changes I can still play the same driver I just need to move a weight from here to there or increase my loft from 9.5 degrees to 10.5 degrees and it's something that I don't need a clubfitter to do for me.

 

I wanted to give a huge thanks to the MGS staff and this site for providing me the opportunity to test the Cobra F7+ driver. Also want to thank Cobra for participating in the testing. I enjoyed the product. Hopefully you enjoyed my reviews. And hopefully I helped someone along the way consider this product. I know there were a few comments, but wanted to influence the lurkers. I was in their spot once and only recently started posting regularly. Hopefully we can add some more members to the forum to make it more active for future tests.

 

Thanks,

 

DrewNeddy

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Stage 1 Reserved

Hey Stan. First time caller, long time listener. Got question for you. Wanted to see how you felt about the new Cobra F7+ driver? I'm going to hang up now and listen. Enjoy the show”

 

Not sure about other parts of the country, but a monologue like the above sounds like nearly every caller into Pittsburgh Sports Talk radio.

 

My screenname is drewneddy, and I'm going to tell you in three stages how I feel about the Cobra F7+ driver. I've been selected by the fantastic people at MyGolfSpy to test this product. But first, let me tell you a little more about myself, my game, drewneddy WITB and my initial thoughts on the Cobra F7+ driver.

 

I'm 28 years old and currently a Commercial Lending Officer at a local bank. I enjoy my job and it does allow me some extra time to play golf either with customers or in corporate functions. The term “Bankers Hours” really doesn't apply anymore. Gone are the days where Pennsylvania towns use to close up shop at noon on Wednesdays and everyone would rush to the golf course in the summers. Some days I attribute this to population decline. Others I blame technology and our “plugged in society.” I can basically work off my phone which is really convenient. But it also means I'm always “on the clock.”

 

The game of golf has opened so many doors for me. Due to serious leg and knee injuries, contact sports were out of the question in high school. I had been playing golf since I was about 6 years old. But I enjoyed a variety of sports like basketball, volleyball, baseball, and tennis. I started to concentrate on golf in about 6th grade. The injuries to my right leg have given me a sort of “stack and tilt” motion in my swing. The kind of trendy swing back around 2010-ish that seemed to have fizzled out over the years. Maybe we will see a video in the later stages of testing.

 

I was four year MVP in high school. I played in regional and national junior events and put together enough of a resume to earn a NCAA Division 1 golf scholarship. Golf has given me an opportunity to meet people from all corners of this country and many from other countries; including two former teammates from Columbia.

 

Currently, I am a scratch golfer. After being busy the past two years getting married and having a beautiful baby girl last March, I'm finally ready to re-enter the competitive golf world. I was lucky to be able to play 60 rounds of golf last year and plan on playing about the same but practicing more this year. I'm excited to see what 2017 has in store for me.

 

My ball flight has always been predominately right to left. It's my go-to shot that holds up under pressure. My miss is almost always a pull to the left. I've been joked with before that my cut shot is actually a 2yd draw. I've been working on that this season in hopes I can rely on hitting it Left to Right when necessary.

 

Naturally, I'm a very competitive person. I love the game because I love competition and all the memories and friends I've made playing. I literally don't know if I can tee up a ball without anything on the line or anything to work towards. I'm a believer that you are only as good as your tournament scores. The ones where you have to putt everything out, count every shot. None of the gimmies and GHIN mandated double bogey MAX. To be brutally honest with myself, I'm not sure how good of a player I am right now because I have no barometer from the past two years.

 

My swing speed I estimate to be about 105 mph. With my driver I carry the ball roughly 265- 270 yds (edit: maybe I'm longer than I gave myself credit for. Thanks Cobra Connect w/ Arccos!) Driving has always been a strength of my game. Ball striking in general has carried me. Not to say my short game is bad, but you still need to roll the rock on the greens and get up and down when you make mistakes. This season I started chipping/pitching face on. It's a technique I saw from a top 100 instructor out of Tennessee. It's impossible to not make solid contact with the ball and very easy to control trajectory and spin. Anyone who has the chip y*ps or chunks should give it a try. Here is the article: http://www.golf.com/instruction/2017/03/29/new-way-chip-turn-bogeys-to-pars-birdies . While the season is still early, I think I've holed a chip shot every round and have minimized my mistakes. Trying to turn a weakness into a strength.

 

Did I mention I'm a statistics nerd? I have kept track of my stats from every round each of the past three summers. I hit 50.7% of fairways, 63.8% of GIR (DJ hits 75%!!!), and average 30.2 putts per round. Best score last year was a 65. Worst was 79 (+9 posted somewhere Away. The two courses I'm a member at are both par 72.) Only 22% of my fairway misses are to the right. That stat alone I think paints a pretty good visual of my ball flight.

 

Any cool statistic apps out there? I'm always looking for something to try that might be able to provide me some better feedback. I use the GRINT for now. Have used Nike360 and some generic iTunes app before.

 

My bag setup is as follows:

 

Driver – Cobra F7+

3 Wood – Taylor Made SLDR 15 degree

2H & 4H – Cobra T-Rail hybrids

5 through PW – Bridgestone J15DPF

Wedges: 50, 54, 58 – Callaway Mack Daddy 3 black nickel

Ball – Bridgestone B330 tour

 

Why I enjoy this site also attributes to what's in the bag. I've read MGS for a long time for product testing and reviews. I am not brand loyal. I want the best performance and best feedback. That's' why I have loved reading previous MGS project reviews. I feel like I don't choose my equipment, my equipment chooses me. Like my irons for instance. I was playing Titleist AP2 then my dad brought home the Bridgestone set he won at an outing. I hit them on the range and swapped them out before he could put them in his bag. I liked the increased distance without sacrificing trajectory, spin or most importantly FEEL!! I loved the feel coming off the club face. It really opened my eyes to Bridgestone equipment and got me converted to their B330 tour ball from the ProV1X.

 

I'm really excited to put this driver to the test. All of the reviews I've read so far have been great. I was and still am planning on trying out the Callaway Epic and Taylor Made M1/M2 drivers. The Cobra Connect with Arccos app pairing for tracking shot distance is something that fascinates me. In the future, I'm thinking we are looking back at the Cobra F7/F7+ as a game changer in the industry. I believe we will see other manufacturers piggy back off of this technology. Hopefully they improve on it. Something that has turned me off from the Arccos is the fact your phone needs to be in your pocket at all times. I don't play like that and don't think I could since I have a bulky Otter Box case on my iPhone 6.

 

Finally… the long awaited delivery day. My wife text me at 3pm that a delivery driver had just dropped off a box that said Cobra. I immediately called her to confirm, left work and raced home. I spent some time with the family, cooked dinner, and shot off to the course for a quick 9.

 

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unpacking.JPG

 

Initial thoughts: The packaging was standard golf club packaging. Tall and skinny brown box that said “Cobra.” The club was neatly secured inside with a cardboard flap. A nice black leather Cobra KING head cover and wrench with instruction manual were packaged separately inside. I immediately pulled the Arccos tab off the top of the grip and got my phone out for pairing. I had already downloaded the Arccos app in anticipation of this day. The pairing could not have been simpler. I did not even need the instructions for pairing. Just turned on my Bluetooth and gave permission to Arccos to use my microphone and that was it!! Even the most technological challenged person could pair the driver with their phone.

 

Cobra connect.JPG

 

The driver itself can be set anywhere from 8 to 11 degrees. This club also incorporates Cobra MyFly and Smartpad technology so you can adjust the loft and lie angle with little to no impact on the angle of the clubface at the address position. The stock shaft option was the Fujikura Pro XLR8. My two previous drivers have been both Taylor Made. For this review, I swapped out the Aeroburner TP with diamana blue shaft. Before that I played the RBZ Tour. One of my cons with that club was whenever you adjusted loft it would made the club more open/closed at address depending if you increased or decreased loft. I typically play around 9.5 of loft so I did not move the loft or any weights to get ready for the course.

 

clubhead.JPG

 

If it were any other driver my first move would have been a standard range session; start with wedges and move up to the big stick. But I was just as anxious to try out the Cobra Connect with Arccos technology on my course as I was to hit the Cobra F7+ driver. (Spoiler Alert! Cobra Connect is better than I ever imagined. Arccos might have landed a new customer. Very impressed with the ease of the system. Set it / play it / review it. Reviewing your stats after the round is a fun mental exercise so I really enjoyed this. And their yardages are down to +/- 2yds from what I can tell which is incredible for a course in the middle of Pennsylvania.)

 

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Quick observations: I love the compact look of this club. Right out of the package and into my hands, the black matte finish is beautiful compared to the white headed drivers I've been playing. The compact look will fit the eye of better players. It looks like it comes in different color options including a Rickie Fowler OSU Orange and Royal Blue color. Myself, I prefer something simple looking and the black matte fitted my eyes the best.

 

club at address.JPG

 

This Cobra driver implores 3 movable weights that are positioned on the bottom of the club head. One 12g weight and two 2g weights fill up the three weight ports. No more weight track that was on the older Cobra model. It looks to me like there are a couple settings for this club. Low spin – 12g weight middle and forward. Higher spin – 12g weight back. And a draw setting which I will not be messing with. Nothing for wanting the left to right ball flights which is actually a good idea since I thought I heard somewhere > 80% of players hit a cut/slice. I don't know the percentage of what better players hit, but I'd guess that number is significantly towards the mean for single digit handicaps.

 

I played two rounds over the first weekend of reviewing the club at each of my home courses. Both are tree lined as you can see by the Arccos screen shots. The weather was about 55-60 each day and overcast with a light breeze. Again, I live in the middle of Pennsylvania. It has not been a good spring for golf. I've only played 10 rounds because of cold and wet weather. The yardages listed are all carry yardages as we received rain 5 of the past 7 days leading up to my first test weekend. I'm excited seeing numbers > 280 because I know once June comes the ball is going to be bouncing and rolling. It could be I have picked up some distance in the off-season. Time will tell if I continue this trend or come back to my average carry distance.

 

The driver itself is very light. The look and feel reminds me of the Cleveland Composite driver. I really have to give Cobra credit for the acoustics. The sound really matches the feel if you know what I mean? There is no more aluminum baseball bat sound like previous Cobra models had. Shots in the center of the clubface have more of a “pop” sound compared to a loud and echoing “Ting”. I dig the noise. I dig the feel of the Fujikura Pro XLR8. And after one range session and two 18 hole rounds I am digging the trajectory. The ball flight for me is a high launching and long carrying tight draw – or dare I say Straight?!?!. I missed more fairways to the right than I think I did all of last summer. In the coming weeks this is something I think I can compensate for once I learn to trust the flight and pattern and stop aiming at the right cut expecting it to peel off to the left like my typical ball flight does.

 

With that said, I am anxious to see what the next few weeks has in store for the test. I need to commit to carrying this club in my bag by the end of the month because I have a couple qualifiers in June. I also have a bachelor party the last weekend in June which will be competitive as all hell versus my old teammates. I'm out for blood at this BP. Nothing worse than losing to your best friends and old teammates.

 

What's your ultimate performance goal for drivers? Long and accurate, right? High launch and low spin?! I'm not looking for distance as much as I'm looking for control and workability. It's time to put this baby in the bag and see how it performs over a longer period of time in advance of my stage two of the review process.

 

Let's keep the discussion ongoing leading up to my stage 2 review. I'm leaning on you the MGS community to help me through this review. Any questions, comments, concerns, please post. This is my first review and obviously this is new to me. So if there is anything specific you want to see, please post it. Any suggestions how to make stage 2 or 3 better, please post. Keep posting and I'll keep checking back to make sure every comment has been read.

 

And to my old teammates on this forum – please do not post Greg's 54 hole bachelor party results in the event one of you beats me. I'm not about public shaming.

 

Thank you MyGolfSpy and let the games BEGIN!!!

 

- DrewNeddy

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Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

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Fantastic Stage 1 Drew...I love getting such a detailed background on all the testers, really helps paint a picture for the whole testing.  Well Done....Atlhough one thing, shouldn't you have said,  Wanted to see how YENZ felt about the new Cobra F7+ driver?   LOL   My best friend in life was a Pittsburgh native, and I always gave him a hard time about that  :D 

:ping-small: G430 Max 10K 

:titelist-small: TSiR1 15.0 Aldlia Ascent 60g

:titelist-small: TSR2 18.0 PX Aldila Ascent 6og

:titelist-small: TSi1 20 Aldila Ascent Shafts R

:titelist-small: T350 5-GW SteelFiber I80 

:titelist-small: SM10 48F/54M and58K

:ping-small: S159 48S/52S/56W/60B

:scotty-cameron-1: Select 5.5 Flowback 35" 

:titelist-small: ProV1  Play number 12

 

 

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Fantastic Stage 1 Drew...I love getting such a detailed background on all the testers, really helps paint a picture for the whole testing. Well Done....Atlhough one thing, shouldn't you have said, Wanted to see how YENZ felt about the new Cobra F7+ driver? LOL My best friend in life was a Pittsburgh native, and I always gave him a hard time about that :D

Yinz.... crick (not creek).... fish sammich

 

Pittsburgh accent to a T!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

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Yinz.... crick (not creek).... fish sammich

 

Pittsburgh accent to a T!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

HA!! Sorry for the misspelling...But yep, that's it.  

:ping-small: G430 Max 10K 

:titelist-small: TSiR1 15.0 Aldlia Ascent 60g

:titelist-small: TSR2 18.0 PX Aldila Ascent 6og

:titelist-small: TSi1 20 Aldila Ascent Shafts R

:titelist-small: T350 5-GW SteelFiber I80 

:titelist-small: SM10 48F/54M and58K

:ping-small: S159 48S/52S/56W/60B

:scotty-cameron-1: Select 5.5 Flowback 35" 

:titelist-small: ProV1  Play number 12

 

 

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Great start on the review!

 

MDGolfHacker

TSssWhat's In This Lefty's Bag?

Driver: :titleist-small: TSR2 11° Project X HZRDUS Black 4G 60g 5.5 Flex

Fairway Woods: :cobra-small: F8 3W Project X Even Flow Blue 75g shaft

Fairway Woods: 

Hybrid: :titelist-small: TSR2  18° Graphite Design Tour AD DI-85 Shaft

Irons: :titelist-small: 2021 T200's 4-GW AMT RED shafts Regular Flex

Wedge: :cleveland-small: Tour Satin RTX 4 Wedges in 52° and 56° 2 Dot

Putter: :nevercompromise-small: Gray Matter TDP 2.2 32.75"

Bag: :1590477705_SunMountain: Three 5

Ball:  :titelist-small:  PRO V1 / :srixon-small: Z*Star

RangeFinder:918457628_PrecisionPro: In search of new range finder

Social Media:

Facebook:   MD Golfhacker
Twitter:        @mdgolfhacker
Instagram:   mdgolfhacker

 

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I know that golf course! It's kicked my arse plenty of times.

In the bag:
Driver: :titelist-small: TSR2 Project X HZRDUS Black 5.5
Fairway: :callaway-small: Apex UW 19° & 21° Project X HZRDUS Smoke RDX Black 5.5

Irons: :mizuno-small: JPX 923 HMP 5-PW UST Mamiya Recoil 95 F4
Wedges: :mizuno-small: T-22 Denim Copper 48°, 52° & 56° UST Mamiya Recoil 95 F4
Putter :Sub70: Sycamore 005 Wide Blade
Bag: 
:Ogio: Alpha Convoy 514
Balls: :callaway-small: Chrome Soft X

Cart: :CaddyTek: CaddyLite ONE Ver. 8


God Bless America🇺🇸, God save the King🇬🇧, God defend New Zealand🇳🇿 and thank Christ for Australia🇦🇺!

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Great job Drew! Way to lead off with a bang. 

 

And yes Matt, Treasure Lake has a habit of doing that! Haha.

:titelist-small: TS3 8.75 with HZRDOUS Yellow and Black MicroPerf Best Grips.

:callaway-small: XR 16 3W & 5W with HZRDOUS Red shafts and Black MicroPerf Best Grips.

:srixon-small: U65 4i with Fujikura MCI shaft and Black MicroPerf Best Grips.

:titelist-small: AP3 5-PW with Accra Tour 110i shafts and Black MicroPerf Best Grips.

:titelist-small: SM7 50F, 54S and 60M grinds with Dynamic Gold 120 Tour Issue S400 and Black MicroPerf Best Grips.

:bettinardi-1: Queen B #6 with 34" Stability Shaft and P2 Aware Tour Grip.

:titelist-small: Pro-V1 Golf Ball.

Jones Utility Golf Bag.

Dormie Custom Headcovers.
Bushnell Pro X2 Laser Rangefinder.

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WELL DONE!!  That was well thought out and well written. Cant wait to read more.

Driver - Ping G430 Max 9° | Ventus Blue TR 
Hybrid - :srixon-small: ZX 16° & 18° | GD Tour IZ S

2 Iron - :srixon-small: ZU65 17° | AeroTech SteelFiber 110icw S

Irons -  :srixon-small: ZX7 MKII  4-Pw | TTDGTI S400, std length  1° flat
Wedges - :cleveland-small: RTX 6 Tour Rack 50° 54° 58° | TTDGTI S400, std length 1° flat

Putter -  L.A.B. Golf Link.1 | LA Golf P135 shaft | Garsen Quad Tour grip
 

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Great start Drew.  Looking forward to your stage 2 thoughts.

:cleveland-small: Launcher HB Driver 10.5* | :cleveland-small: Launcher HB 5W | :cleveland-small: Launcher HB 3H and 4H | :cleveland-small: Launcher CBX Irons 5-PW | :cleveland-small: CBX Wedges 50*, 54*, 58* | :cleveland-small: TFI 2135 Cero Putter | :srixon-small: Q Star Balls
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Driver -     Rogue ST Max
Woods -   Rogue ST MaxRogue ST Max 3, 5 & 7 Wooda 
Irons -      Rogue ST MAX OS  5 - AW
Wedges -   Zipcore RTX 6 50°  CBX2   54* & 58*  

Putter -    ER2
Rangefinder -  NX9 Slope
Ball -  Vice Pro Soft Drip

Bag -  Xtreme Cart 7.0 Bag Heather/Red/White

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Drew you kept my attention the old time dude. Well written and I look forward to following along with ya.

Ping G430 Max Driver 10.5 Degree
Titleist TSR1 4, 5, & 6 Hybrids 
Titleist T350 Irons 7 - W48 
Cleveland
CBX ZipCore  52 56 & 60 Degree Wedges

LAB Mezz Max Broomstick Putter / TPT Shaft  (Platinum @ 45/78)

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

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Loved the reviews so far!!! Keep up the great work!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Titleist 917D2 10.5

Ben Hogan GS53 3 Wood

PING G425 MAX 5 Wood

Cleveland UHX Launcher 3 Iron

PING G30 5-PW

Cleveland RTX 3.0 50/10 V-MG

Cleveland RTX 3.0 54/14  V-FG

Cleveland RTX 3.0 58/12 V -FG

EVNROLL ER-3

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Great job Randy. I know you and I are pretty close in driving distance, so I'll be following your comments closely.

 

You were being oldest about your game and swing. While injuries have no doubt cost you quite a bit of distance. Just watching you swing it on that rainy day at PGA National, was a treat. Such a smooth move and you could just tell at one time, you were able to move it out there very well.

:ping-small: G430 Max 10K 

:titelist-small: TSiR1 15.0 Aldlia Ascent 60g

:titelist-small: TSR2 18.0 PX Aldila Ascent 6og

:titelist-small: TSi1 20 Aldila Ascent Shafts R

:titelist-small: T350 5-GW SteelFiber I80 

:titelist-small: SM10 48F/54M and58K

:ping-small: S159 48S/52S/56W/60B

:scotty-cameron-1: Select 5.5 Flowback 35" 

:titelist-small: ProV1  Play number 12

 

 

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Randy well done as always! I'm looking forward to us getting together soon so we can compare my F6 vs your F7 and add some tid bits to your review. Having played with this old codger many times, I can attest he will help many viewers in this thread who are considering this club. He has a beautiful driver swing and the consistency in which he plays will be of great value to this review.

Ping G430 Max Driver 10.5 Degree
Titleist TSR1 4, 5, & 6 Hybrids 
Titleist T350 Irons 7 - W48 
Cleveland
CBX ZipCore  52 56 & 60 Degree Wedges

LAB Mezz Max Broomstick Putter / TPT Shaft  (Platinum @ 45/78)

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

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Bumping so the morning folks can read the Stage One reviews on the F& and F7+.  Any comments and questions are welcome.  Thanks for reading. 

Driver -     Rogue ST Max
Woods -   Rogue ST MaxRogue ST Max 3, 5 & 7 Wooda 
Irons -      Rogue ST MAX OS  5 - AW
Wedges -   Zipcore RTX 6 50°  CBX2   54* & 58*  

Putter -    ER2
Rangefinder -  NX9 Slope
Ball -  Vice Pro Soft Drip

Bag -  Xtreme Cart 7.0 Bag Heather/Red/White

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Stage 1

 

Hello all, I am thrilled to be testing The Cobra F7. I am a 69 year old retiree, a husband, father, grandfather and a great grandfather. I love golf, I played some when I was younger, around 25 to 35 but it was mostly an excuse to get together with my buddies and have a good time, golf itself was secondary to having a fun day. I got into bowling for about 15 or 20 years and became quite good, but an injury to my wrist really made my game go downhill and after 3 years of carrying a 185 average I knew I would never average 200+ again so I changed back to golf. This time I decided to get serious about improving so I sought out anything I could to improve including lessons. I was able to take my scores from 95/115 to 85 in a fairly short order. I finally over a ten year span was able to bring my handicap to 6.2, Then the back went out! I have degenerative arthritis in my lower two vertebrae and have some fairly good pain in my lower back. I don't carry an official handicap anymore as I cannot stand multiple days in a row of golf and tournaments are always at least two days, so my normal rounds now are somewhere between 82 and 88, being a senior golfer almost all of my rounds now are played from the senior tees, the only time I move is if I play in a charity scramble and they won't let me move up. My normal drives will be between 190 and 210, sometimes the occasional bomb with the right conditions (a bomb for me would be 230). I hit the ball mid high with a smooth tempo and my usual miss is a pull or a snap hook with the hook being the most often.

 

I love adjustable drivers, my first was the TaylorMade R11, I was lucky enough to be fit at the TaylorMade Kingdom at Reynold Plantation. My fitter was awesome and I watched him build my driver from scratch, it took him about 8 minutes. That is when I realized I would never pay anyone to change a grip for me again, it is as easy as it looks. I took pictures of the setting he had set the driver and then everytime I played for a while I would tinker with the settings and always come back to his recommendation. After a while I settled on slightly less loft than he had me using as I was hooking too much and having control issues. I always would rather be in the fairway than a little longer and in the rough, but then again as I said I am a older golfer and don't hit it that far anyway.

 

I will compare the Cobra F7 and the Callaway Great Big Bertha during my testing but the emphasis will be on the Cobra and what I feel everyone following along will want to read and see. The remainder of my bag is a Callaway Big Bertha V-series 3 W and Heaven wood. a Callaway X2 Hot 4H, TaylorMade SpeedBlade Irons and TaylorMade ATV Wedges, Odyssey Works 2 Ball Lined Fang. I always go to the PGA SuperStore in Atlanta and try equipment before buying, the clerks are helpful and most of them know their stuff pretty well. I will do my testing with the Bridgestone B330-RX as that seems to be the ball most MGS testing is done with. I am excited to see what the Cobra Connect Arccos feature can tell me about my game.

 

My biggest golfing feats are a single HIO a year and a half ago with my Wednesday morning group, and 4 years ago at my company golf tournament my partner (he is quite a golfer) and I won in a field of about 200 golfers. It is a best ball format, my partner tied for low score, I helped him 11 strokes over the 3 days for us to easily win the Championship by 4 strokes, I was very proud to had been able to help that much. My one other feat is in my weekly blitz 3 years ago I caught on fire on the back nine and posted a 30 (after an opening front of 41 with a penalty stroke). That 30 felt much better than the HIO, and I was with 3 of my regular golfing buddies that I also travel with so it was extremely sweet. I have been much luckier than I have ever been good but like all reading this, I love this silly game.

 

Living in Georgia I am fortunate enough to play year round so in my 20 years of actually playing golf I have been fortunate enough to play some very nice courses, among them are Bay Hill, PGA National, Mission Inn, Cuscowilla, Great Waters, many of the Robert Trent Jones courses including The Senator, The Brickyard and Idle Hour those come to mind easily.

 

 

Here are a few pictures pics of the drivers arrival and my unboxing.

 

The box was slightly larger than most I have received containing drivers in the past

 

x2_zpsedpysmj3.jpg

 

x3_zpswcpcyexu.jpg

 

 

 

The contents were a great looking headcover, a tool, a booklet and of course the driver.

 

x6_zpsxhqwbssw.jpg

 

x9_zps0qt70ndv.jpg

 

 

 

x14_zpsvyp5qgjn.jpg

 

The driver I chose is the stock black color and is very sharp looking IMO, the first thing I did was jack the loft up to 12° and then give it a look to see how it looks at address, as you can see it does not have an overly closed look at all, if anything to me it looks very square. I like that.

 

x12_zpsedgigirm.jpg

 

x13_zps8axsl9nv.jpg

 

I have only had opportunity to get it on the course twice, the first time was in my weekly scramble, I was excited to give the Arccos Cobra Connect feature a try. It only took me a couple of holes to realize that a scramble is not the way to test Arccos at all. I was no where near the longest ball striker in the group and I never got to measure my shots as the second shot was from the longest ball in the group. It was still fun to play with though even though I did not save any stats for the round. I did compare the Cobra Connect app to my Garmin G8 and the distances were very close, most times being within a yard or even equal.

 

The second time out I went out alone to give Cobra Connect another try, the course was as crowded as I have ever seen it. After the seventh hole I realized that I just needed to jump around if I wanted to get in all of the holes. Arccos Cobra Connect has a great app that gives a bird's eye view of the course and shows the distance to hole, length of drive and distances to hazards, it is very easy to work but it does require the user to modify the hole being played when you decide to jump around. I forgot to do it on all of the holes and actually ended up not playing all of the holes. So in my two times using it I have not saved a round as yet, not a problem for me as I was able to monitor my shots during the rounds and found that all of my drives were between 188 and 235 yards, nothing unexpected except maybe the 235 is a bit longer than I regularly see now with my bad back.

 

I am really enjoying the Cobra King F7, I have begun to experiment with a senior flex shaft in my GGB driver and may just contact Cobra about acquiring a senior flex for the King F7 to see if I pick up more yardage, stay tuned for more updates and insights as I continue testing. Drewneddy and I are looking forward to your comments and questions, please ask anything that comes to mind. Remember the only poor question the the question that was unasked.

 

If you would like some of the technical info on the King F7 here's the link http://www.cobragolf.com/king-f7-driver-custom?gclid=CjwKEAjwxurIBRDnt7P7rODiq0USJADwjt5DgR9CcLe06bsBD2zBiA-ylab7AG234OyyDtbe-WXqghoCkpfw_wcB

Great review! Looking forward to yor stage 2!

 

MDGolfHacker

TSssWhat's In This Lefty's Bag?

Driver: :titleist-small: TSR2 11° Project X HZRDUS Black 4G 60g 5.5 Flex

Fairway Woods: :cobra-small: F8 3W Project X Even Flow Blue 75g shaft

Fairway Woods: 

Hybrid: :titelist-small: TSR2  18° Graphite Design Tour AD DI-85 Shaft

Irons: :titelist-small: 2021 T200's 4-GW AMT RED shafts Regular Flex

Wedge: :cleveland-small: Tour Satin RTX 4 Wedges in 52° and 56° 2 Dot

Putter: :nevercompromise-small: Gray Matter TDP 2.2 32.75"

Bag: :1590477705_SunMountain: Three 5

Ball:  :titelist-small:  PRO V1 / :srixon-small: Z*Star

RangeFinder:918457628_PrecisionPro: In search of new range finder

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Great Start as always!!!!

Driver: :nike-small: Nike Vapor Speed (10.5 degrees, Stiff)
Hybrid: :titelist-small: Titleist 915H 3h (stiff)
Irons: :nike-small: Nike Vapor Fly Pro (4-AW, stiff +.5 inch long)
Wedges: :nike-small: Nike Engage (52, 56, 60)
Putter: :seemore-small: SeeMore FGP Mallet
Ball: Vice Pro Soft

Bag: Puma Cart Bag

Shoes: :footjoy-small: FootJoy Hyperflex BOA

Dexterity: Right Handed

Location: Iowa

Handicap: 14

 

 

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Bumping this one back to the front.  

Driver -     Rogue ST Max
Woods -   Rogue ST MaxRogue ST Max 3, 5 & 7 Wooda 
Irons -      Rogue ST MAX OS  5 - AW
Wedges -   Zipcore RTX 6 50°  CBX2   54* & 58*  

Putter -    ER2
Rangefinder -  NX9 Slope
Ball -  Vice Pro Soft Drip

Bag -  Xtreme Cart 7.0 Bag Heather/Red/White

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Bump!        

Driver -     Rogue ST Max
Woods -   Rogue ST MaxRogue ST Max 3, 5 & 7 Wooda 
Irons -      Rogue ST MAX OS  5 - AW
Wedges -   Zipcore RTX 6 50°  CBX2   54* & 58*  

Putter -    ER2
Rangefinder -  NX9 Slope
Ball -  Vice Pro Soft Drip

Bag -  Xtreme Cart 7.0 Bag Heather/Red/White

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hope you guys don't mind if I chime in with some thoughts and a couple questions.

 

I went and demo'd both models with an unofficial fitting yesterday.  I say unofficial, as I only asked the sales guy at GG to switch out a couple shafts and move the weights on the F7 + forward for me to start with.  

 

So the F7 had a Mitsubishi Tensi shaft in R Flex

 

The  F7+ had the Fuji Pro 60 g Stiff

 

The end result was both drivers gave me very similar numbers.  Not more than 2 or 3 yards on most drives.  how they got there was vastly different, the + was launching around 17 degrees and the F7 close to around 19 or 20 on a lot of drives.

 

My swing speed hovered between an abysmally low 84 and peaked at 92, but most were in the 88/89 range.   for some reason this LM wasn't showing spin numbers on the display, had everything else, so I couldn't get a good idea of those.   But watching the ball flight, their was a noticeable difference between the two.  With the F7 flying much higher and straighter, and the + a bit lower and tending to fade a bit more.  

 

What I found most interesting was the sound difference.   When I hit the F7 it had a really loud (but not obnoxious loud) solid sound to it, it made me think, wow I bet that one went 350 yards, then I looked at the LM and saw it barely breaking 200..LOL   I had really low smash factors on both, much lower than I would normally get, I'm not perfect, but I can usually get somewhere between 144 and 148.  These were reading 133 to 135.   So that and no spin number makes me wonder if about the validity of this LM.   

 

The + seemed to be a much more muted sound, almost like a composite head would sound.   I did have the weight in the front, I don't know if that contributes to a sound difference or not.  

 

I really liked the matte finish on the Plus, I think it would look great in the Blue. 

 

So my questions to the testers, (and I know you'll surely touch on this in Stage 2, but maybe just a snippet of a preview) what did you think of the sound of the two drivers you hit.  Especially you downlow, did you find it a muted sound?

 

DD, as we are similar swing speeds, you're probably a bit higher than me now days, did you move the weights around yet all or go with the stock setup of 12g in the back.  I may have missed it in your intro thread, but what shaft came with yours, I know you said you may look at getting a senior, but just curious on which one came with it.

 

Looking forward to your guys stage 2's!!

:ping-small: G430 Max 10K 

:titelist-small: TSiR1 15.0 Aldlia Ascent 60g

:titelist-small: TSR2 18.0 PX Aldila Ascent 6og

:titelist-small: TSi1 20 Aldila Ascent Shafts R

:titelist-small: T350 5-GW SteelFiber I80 

:titelist-small: SM10 48F/54M and58K

:ping-small: S159 48S/52S/56W/60B

:scotty-cameron-1: Select 5.5 Flowback 35" 

:titelist-small: ProV1  Play number 12

 

 

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