Cobra F8 and F8+ Driver

[yungkory]

Aaaand....?

 

Haha -- I didn't have time to stick around and the rep had a few guys lined up to demo/fit. Looks great at address though, I'm probably going to look into that U-try stuff from GG.

[mdumble21]

I tried out the F8+ driver last Friday, and I loved the feel and looks with the black head. It's certainly a driver I'll be considering to get in the coming months to replace my 915. 

 

The other main contender is the Mizuno ST-180, which I was pretty accurate with on the range and I love the blue head.

[Miboy62]

The ST-180 is a rocket launcher for sure.

[Fezzler]

Sam,

I am working out this winter and plan to increase my swing speed in the next 2 or 3 months, so I don't want to get fit too soon.  How do you like the even flow shaft as compared to past shafts?  I have loved my past Cobra gear and will definitely try it out later in the spring. The Ping and Mizuno and Rogue are also on my short list.

[mdumble21]

Sam,

I am working out this winter and plan to increase my swing speed in the next 2 or 3 months, so I don't want to get fit too soon.  How do you like the even flow shaft as compared to past shafts?  I have loved my past Cobra gear and will definitely try it out later in the spring. The Ping and Mizuno and Rogue are also on my short list.

 

I'm in the same boat, minus the workout because there isn't a winter season here. We just play golf all year round! 

 

If you want to increase your clubhead speed in a cold start (e.g. 6am tee time with no warm-up), I tend to loosen my shoulders a lot before swinging a club. If you can get the muscles to temperature, then the big guns will fire. Try copying what cricket bowlers/baseball pitchers do prior to a game.

[chisag]

Sam,

I am working out this winter and plan to increase my swing speed in the next 2 or 3 months, so I don't want to get fit too soon.  How do you like the even flow shaft as compared to past shafts?  I have loved my past Cobra gear and will definitely try it out later in the spring. The Ping and Mizuno and Rogue are also on my short list.

 

... The stock shafts are just so good from Cobra in 2018 and really have just about everyone but maybe the strongest players covered. I have found the a mid launch mid spin shaft works best for my swing. I have been playing a Rogue Black 110 Tour in several different drivers and planned on playing it in my F8+ too. But I have never so instantly fell in love with a shaft like the Even Flow Blue. The marketing from any OEM can often be just that... marketing. But the Project X description of the shaft building momentum and releasing like an open wave is exactly how it feels to me. I will have to play it on the course for a few rounds before replacing my RB Tour but the feel and the kick of the EFB is just so sweet if it fits your swing. I have a smooth 100+ mph swing with a natural pause at the top of my backswing and the Even Flow Blue just feels like a perfect fit for me. Jlukes found the Even Flow Blue kicks too much for his swing so the stouter profile of the HZRDUS Yellow was a better fit.   

[MDGolfHacker]

Looks like the F8 series will be on my short list to try as replacements for my driver and woods this year...

 

MDGolfHacker

[null]

... The stock shafts are just so good from Cobra in 2018 and really have just about everyone but maybe the strongest players covered. I have found the a mid launch mid spin shaft works best for my swing. I have been playing a Rogue Black 110 Tour in several different drivers and planned on playing it in my F8+ too. But I have never so instantly fell in love with a shaft like the Even Flow Blue. The marketing from any OEM can often be just that... marketing. But the Project X description of the shaft building momentum and releasing like an open wave is exactly how it feels to me. I will have to play it on the course for a few rounds before replacing my RB Tour but the feel and the kick of the EFB is just so sweet if it fits your swing. I have a smooth 100+ mph swing with a natural pause at the top of my backswing and the Even Flow Blue just feels like a perfect fit for me. Jlukes found the Even Flow Blue kicks too much for his swing so the stouter profile of the HZRDUS Yellow was a better fit.

Bingo. I have yet to find evenflow black to try in anything. Though the hzrdus yellow seems to be such a good fit for me so I won't be switching any time soon. It just leaves me curious as to where the evenflow black falls between the hzrdus yellow and the evenflow blue

[chisag]

Bingo. I have yet to find evenflow black to try in anything. Though the hzrdus yellow seems to be such a good fit for me so I won't be switching any time soon. It just leaves me curious as to where the evenflow black falls between the hzrdus yellow and the evenflow blue

 

 

... I am sure you know this, but when fitting better players and especially those on tour, 2 swings and 3 max are all that is needed to discard a shaft. The more consistent you are with a driver the more you will change your swing to get your desired results. Those results can be trajectory or feel related. If a shaft is launching higher or lower than what a player is used to, they will consciously or subconsciously alter their swing to see their desired results. If it feels too stiff or too soft a player will also change their swing to achieve their desired feel. 

 

... I had been playing the Rogue Black 110 Tour for awhile and picked up the Rogue Silver 125 Tour to see if it would give me a little lower spin and more roll. It launched lower and felt like it was not unloading. It was of course, but just a much different and tighter feel that was about 10 yds shorter and a little lower trajectory than I normally play. I could feel myself swinging harder and it only takes a few swings before I start pushing and slicing because I am not swinging faster, just harder. And it sounds like you are the opposite with the Yellow giving you the stability and tip stiffness you are used to and the Even Flow Blue felt a little loose and not as controlled. Which is exactly why they make shafts with different characteristics as both those shafts are designed for smooth swinging players, but different in how the player swings smoothly. I will say from the few swings I took, the Even Flow Black is not a lot different than the Blue from an overall feel perspective, still crazy smooth but with a little tighter, less pronounced kick and a lower trajectory. Very similar to the difference between the Rogue Black and Silver. 

 

... Obviously this sucks for players that are not knowledgable about shafts as they hit a new driver on a demo day, say the F8 with the 2KXV Green 65gm stiff flex and think this driver sucks because it is too hard to hit, launches too low and they are missing the sweet spot when maybe the Tensei Blue 50gm stiff flex would feel very different and they would love the performance. Thankfully most stores, even the big boxes, have multiple shafts to try in any head. Something everyone should take advantage of when demoing a new driver. 

[GolfSpy_APH]

Great write up and review!

Hit one the other day at a demo and was pretty pleased. Not blown away, but also wasn't swinging all that great (it is still February and courses don't open till April if I'm lucky)

The cool thing however was the rep had a blue f8 which looked amazing. It was a special edition. I haven't been able to find pictures, but looked just incredible. He said there was another special edition colour coming out as well!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[GolfSpy_APH]

Found one!

[ole gray]

Great write up and review!

Hit one the other day at a demo and was pretty pleased. Not blown away, but also wasn't swinging all that great (it is still February and courses don't open till April if I'm lucky)

The cool thing however was the rep had a blue f8 which looked amazing. It was a special edition. I haven't been able to find pictures, but looked just incredible. He said there was another special edition colour coming out as well!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Blue F8? . My F6 is Blue and I have had tons of compliments.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[GolfSpy_APH]

Blue F8? . My F6 is Blue and I have had tons of compliments.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

My fly z+ is blue and I love it.

Apparently it's a special addition so won't be a ton available. And yes the one I hit was left handed!

[DPattGolf]

I tried out the F8+ driver last Friday, and I loved the feel and looks with the black head. It's certainly a driver I'll be considering to get in the coming months to replace my 915. 

 

The other main contender is the Mizuno ST-180, which I was pretty accurate with on the range and I love the blue head.

I just switched to the F8+ from the Titleist 915D3. You will love putting the F8+ in the bag. Thing feels amazing and looks incredible at address. Can't go wrong with Mizuno either. 

[PAgolfer2017]

Looks like the F8 series will be on my short list to try as replacements for my driver and woods this year...

 

MDGolfHacker

Ooh! New toys!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[Miboy62]

Had blue in the FlyZ+ liked it.

Maybe the blue will pop up on the Bay.

[Fezzler]

... I am sure you know this, but when fitting better players and especially those on tour, 2 swings and 3 max are all that is needed to discard a shaft. The more consistent you are with a driver the more you will change your swing to get your desired results. Those results can be trajectory or feel related. If a shaft is launching higher or lower than what a player is used to, they will consciously or subconsciously alter their swing to see their desired results. If it feels too stiff or too soft a player will also change their swing to achieve their desired feel. 

 

... I had been playing the Rogue Black 110 Tour for awhile and picked up the Rogue Silver 125 Tour to see if it would give me a little lower spin and more roll. It launched lower and felt like it was not unloading. It was of course, but just a much different and tighter feel that was about 10 yds shorter and a little lower trajectory than I normally play. I could feel myself swinging harder and it only takes a few swings before I start pushing and slicing because I am not swinging faster, just harder. And it sounds like you are the opposite with the Yellow giving you the stability and tip stiffness you are used to and the Even Flow Blue felt a little loose and not as controlled. Which is exactly why they make shafts with different characteristics as both those shafts are designed for smooth swinging players, but different in how the player swings smoothly. I will say from the few swings I took, the Even Flow Black is not a lot different than the Blue from an overall feel perspective, still crazy smooth but with a little tighter, less pronounced kick and a lower trajectory. Very similar to the difference between the Rogue Black and Silver. 

 

 

I am more intrigued by the Even Flow and the tour length option.  I have a similar swing speed as you, but more of a hitter's swing than your smooth swing.  I am a bit picky about the shafts, so I will be open to anything, but I like a lively kick in the shaft. 

 

One last set of questions from someone else in the Chicago area.  Did you do the Cobra fitting at a major store or did you visit a local Cobra dealer?  I prefer to do my fitting outside, but there are so few places that do this anymore.

 

[revkev]

Needed to kill some time today while I waited for my lady to finish her salon appointment. Stopped at the local shop and low and behold, it was a Cobra demo day. Is this a sign from above?!

No, it's a sign that your wife will be changing salons.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[Golfspy_CG2]

No, it's a sign that your wife will be changing salons.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

LMAO!  That's funny right there!

[chisag]

"I am more intrigued by the Even Flow and the tour length option.  I have a similar swing speed as you, but more of a hitter's swing than your smooth swing.  I am a bit picky about the shafts, so I will be open to anything, but I like a lively kick in the shaft. 

 

One last set of questions from someone else in the Chicago area.  Did you do the Cobra fitting at a major store or did you visit a local Cobra dealer?  I prefer to do my fitting outside, but there are so few places that do this anymore."

 

 

... I have been fitting myself for a long time now. Quite a few years ago I did a review for Mizuno's MP59's. I gave Mizuno my specs but they insisted I go thru a Rep and use the Swing Optimizer. At the time I was using AP2's, KBS Tour stiff shafts at 1/2" long and soft stepped once. I was really surprised when the Optimizer gave me those exact same specs right down to soft stepped once.

... All my experience with the F8's came from Demo Day at the the Cobra booth or at shaft OEM booths. I am always reluctant to give suggestions to hitters as they can have swing parameters very different than mine. Mid spin, mid launch with a mid tip stiffness like Rogue Black, Tensei CK Blue, Aldila Tour Blue, Graphite Design AD-MT and Even Flow Blue is usually not a good shaft design for hitters. A stiffer tip shaft or at least a stiffer mid section like the Aldila Phenom and HZRDUS Yellow is usually a better fit. 

[Fezzler]

Thanks.  I have learned thru life to stay open minded as much as possible.  Especially with golf stuff where weight, shafts, head have to be taken as a whole.  

[chisag]

Bingo. I have yet to find evenflow black to try in anything. Though the hzrdus yellow seems to be such a good fit for me so I won't be switching any time soon. It just leaves me curious as to where the evenflow black falls between the hzrdus yellow and the evenflow blue

 

 

... Update: Too early for any definitive conclusions but after 5 rounds I see a pattern forming. The F8+ is a little longer than the F8 but not as accurate. The F8 is almost as long and for me at least, consistently longer because it is almost always in the fairway. I also have the F8 set at 10.5* and the F8+ at 12* to get a similar launch. I have mostly been playing one for 9 and then switching on the back 9. So now I will play several rounds playing only one driver and see what my results are. 

 

... They are both just so very solid and extremely forgiving, especially the F8. On a side note the F8 fw wood is just flat out amazing. I have never had this much confidence in a fw wood. 

[null]

... Update: Too early for any definitive conclusions but after 5 rounds I see a pattern forming. The F8+ is a little longer than the F8 but not as accurate. The F8 is almost as long and for me at least, consistently longer because it is almost always in the fairway. I also have the F8 set at 10.5* and the F8+ at 12* to get a similar launch. I have mostly been playing one for 9 and then switching on the back 9. So now I will play several rounds playing only one driver and see what my results are.

 

... They are both just so very solid and extremely forgiving, especially the F8. On a side note the F8 fw wood is just flat out amazing. I have never had this much confidence in a fw wood.

I'm really hoping I can see similar success with the fairway wood

[DPattGolf]

I'm sure I'm just missing where you posted this but do you have the 12gram weight in the F8+ forward or back?

... Update: Too early for any definitive conclusions but after 5 rounds I see a pattern forming. The F8+ is a little longer than the F8 but not as accurate. The F8 is almost as long and for me at least, consistently longer because it is almost always in the fairway. I also have the F8 set at 10.5* and the F8+ at 12* to get a similar launch. I have mostly been playing one for 9 and then switching on the back 9. So now I will play several rounds playing only one driver and see what my results are. 

... They are both just so very solid and extremely forgiving, especially the F8. On a side note the F8 fw wood is just flat out amazing. I have never had this much confidence in a fw wood. 

[chisag]

I'm sure I'm just missing where you posted this but do you have the 12gram weight in the F8+ forward or back?

 

 

... A little unusual but I have found the best results with a 16gm weight in the rear and a 6gm weight in the front. I am playing mine at 44.5" so I needed the extra weight. With 16gm in the rear it was just too light compare to the F8 so I experimented with the 6gm up front and so far it is working well. I have not tried it with the heavier weight up front since I have mine set at 12* of loft and could still use a hair more height but that is getting picky. 

[chisag]

I'm really hoping I can see similar success with the fairway wood

 

... Fairway woods have been my achilles heel for some time now. Probably 20 years ago I was ballooning fairway woods and went to tour heads that provided better spin but trajectory was always on the low side. Trying to gain some height I started subconsciously changing my swing and disaster followed as I lost all confidence hitting fairway woods from the fairway and went to a 19* hybrid. I kept trying 4 woods with sporadic success. Granted this was more mental than physical but the ball doesn't care why it is being hit poorly and I continued to hit my fw wood well enough one day and very poorly the next. The F8 was almost automatic on Demo Day and my hope was I might find similar success on the course but I had been down that road before grooving a fw wood at the range and not able to take that same swing to the course. Just standing over the shot I had little confidence and that s very rare for me. From my very first swing the F8 has performed so well I have cleared the mental hurdle and am now able to just swing freely. It is very nice to have those 15-20 yds back so par 5's in 2 are back in my arsenal and I took my 19* hybrid out of the bag. 

 

... I just can't image you not finding similar success with yours. It is just so solid and so easy to hit from any lie. And it is surprisingly long for a 5/6 wood, although set at 17* it is really a 4 wood. I'd wish you luck but honesty I don't think you will need it.  

[DPattGolf]

Oh so you have the reverse Rickie Fowler set up. Nice. I just recently got the 16gram weight to put the the front port and it helped a little bit more than the 12 gram was doing but the spin is still higher than I would ideally like. I have a lesson today on a trackman 4 so we will find out how much of the spin issue is just requiring a slight swing adjustment.

... A little unusual but I have found the best results with a 16gm weight in the rear and a 6gm weight in the front. I am playing mine at 44.5" so I needed the extra weight. With 16gm in the rear it was just too light compare to the F8 so I experimented with the 6gm up front and so far it is working well. I have not tried to with the heavier weight up front since I have mine set at 12* of loft and could still use a hair more height but that is getting picky. 

[GC70]

Finally got to hit these yesterday and the G400 is getting a little nervous! The feel and sound are great.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[chisag]

Oh so you have the reverse Rickie Fowler set up. Nice. I just recently got the 16gram weight to put the the front port and it helped a little bit more than the 12 gram was doing but the spin is still higher than I would ideally like. I have a lesson today on a trackman 4 so we will find out how much of the spin issue is just requiring a slight swing adjustment.

 

 

... I can use the spin as mid launch and mid spin has always produced my best drives. The Even Flow spins a little less than my Rogue Black Tour so the 16gm rear and 6 gm front seems to be my best option. I decided to play the F8+ without it having to look over it's shoulder for the F8 and the results were excellent. Nice mid high trajectory and equal dispersion to the F8 but a little longer. Anecdotal ... I am not a long hitter, although at 65 I am not short. I hit a 560 yd par 5 in two yesterday, actually left of the green but pin high. Just put a perfect swing on the driver and F8 fairway wood hitting them both dead center. I think that shows the potential of these two clubs because that distance has not been in my arsenal for quite awhile now but like an index, it shows what they can do at my very best. So I am gonna stick with the F8+ and Even Flow for awhile and the F8 fairway wood is here to stay. 

[null]

Still no driver for me. Called me shop yesterday and they haven't received any update from their rep