OFFICIAL #CobraCONNECT CHALLENGE 2018

[Har in the Hat]

okay,

here we go. Me as Vijay as Ricki

 

 

[Joyzee10]

That's what I tried to do yesterday. Take a screen shot at the tee box of the caddie recommendation, hit the recommended shot, take a screen shot of the approach/second shot, take a screen shot, etc. Very, very bad play really took its toll on me mentally. The caddie had issues which I'll delve into in a later post.

 

MDGolfHacker

Bummer! Nothin worse than getting frustrated on the course.. when it's not actually the way you're hitting the ball that frustrates you!

 

Don't slow down your normal routine too much but it sounds like a good idea.

 

Lets see how it goes!

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using MyGolfSpy mobile app

Try it for a few holes Joyzee. If it messes with your game too much don't worry about the screen shots.

 

Agreed. I like to stay focused on the task at hand. If it pulls be away too much, I'll wind it back.

 

Sounds like you need to work on your 30 yard shots!!

I know! 🤦🏻‍♂️ that would require practice...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[STUDque]

okay,

here we go. Me as Vijay as Ricki

 

vijay1.jpg

Yes! I can appreciate the effort this took. Here, I cropped it for you:

 

 

Is it Vijay Fowler or Rickie Singh?

[Nunfa0]

Vicki Sowler? Rijay Fingh?

[fozcycle]

Come on y'all, let's see some Rickie pics........

 

 

Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy

[HardcoreLooper]

I'm gaming the F8 King wedges that come with the set. That's right, I'm playing with set wedges. I think my WRX profile just expired. I've never played with set wedges before, and I never thought I'd play with set wedges.

First up... specs

PW - 44*

GW - 49*

SW - 54*

LW - 58*

 

What about the bounce? Well, I can't find the bounce specs on the wedges anywhere. None of them are doing anything earth-shattering when it comes to this. The LW definitely has more bounce than my ego-slaughtering 60/04 Vokey. It's actually a useable club.

 

So... let's take a look:

 

One of these things is not like the other...

 

The pitching wedge is not a wedge. It's a 10 iron. And it's a perfectly good 10 iron, but it's not a wedge. And that's fine.

 

The true wedges look phenomenal. According to those in the know, they're based on the versatile grind of the KING wedge, but with just a hint of cavity back. With longer hosels to raise the CG and real wedge grooves, these are real wedges that won't put any shame in your game.

 

 

The gap wedge really is a proper wedge, which is really nice. The gap wedge in my old Mizuno set looks like a vacuum cleaner attachment. This is a fun and versatile club to have around the green.

 

Yes, the lob wedge is only a 58*, but frankly that's all that most of us should be trying to play with. If you really need to get it higher, there's a decent amount of heel relief to make that possible. Frankly, I'm just thrilled with a lob wedge that I can hit out of the fairway from 70 yards. That's a shot I've never had before, and it comes in handy.

 

The wedge grooves definitely work on full shots. I can usually pull the ball back about a 6-12" with a full wedge, and these are no exception.

 

 

The view at address

Standing over the ball, I don't think "crappy set wedge," I just think "hit it close."

 

But there are tradeoffs with all design decisions, and the F8's are not exempt from this. As I've said before, the F8's are really three different designs. And the transitions are not quite as graceful as I'd hope (something for Cobra to work on with the F9's).

 

 

I am incredibly tempted to put my old pitching wedge in my bag to have a comfortable full swing for a 135 yard shot. But I should probably just learn to grip down on the Cobra PW.

 

Several of our First Tee college interns (all of whom play either varsity or club in college) have taken some swings with them during our classes, and they're all impressed with the feel and performance as well. Some of you may recall just how hard I fell for the Cleveland CBX. Am I still carrying a torch for them? Nope. These are quality clubs - not a compromise.

[GeekingGolf]

I am really interested to see the results of this week's challenge. I good short confident short game can make the difference in every round of golf and changing wedges can be a daunting task believe me I just experienced it myself. Pitching, chipping and bunker shots require precise feel and control. When I perform these shots I specifically try to get withing a 5 foot circle because my chances of making the next putt go way up. Do you guys have any specific goals when performing these shots? Do these wedges inspire confidence? Cant wait to see if the bottom ends of this Cobra line perform as well as the other clubs.

 

Sent from my SM-G960U using MyGolfSpy mobile app

[russtopherb]

 

Hi everybody. Champions Tour Older Rickie Fowler here, reporting from the future. You'll be happy to know that I've stopped wearing orange pants (finally!) but the kids still follow me around. I really like that, but I wish they'd stop asking me where Jordan is so they can go ask him for HIS autograph...

Anyways, golfing here in the future is a lot of fun. Every bag has built-in bluetooth speakers but I really wish everyone stopped playing Journey's "Any Way You Want It" EVERY SINGLE TIME they showed up on the course. USGA club manufacturing restrictions have eased up so DJ's commonly hitting over the green on pretty much every Par 4. But weekend duffers are having fun, so that's for the better. Every club not only has built-in Arccos that tracks your stats, they also have full AI now so if you hit the wrong club, you'll hear "you dummy! Why'd you hit that? I TOLD you to pull 5 iron! You're old and keep losing distance! You're not 26 anymore! And stop with the flat bill hats too, old man!"

OK everyone I have to go, this time portal that Phil got the Amazon/Musk company to create with all of his gambling money tour earnings is closing. Have fun! Play Cobra/Puma! 

[Golfspy_CG2]

Ha. Well done Russ!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[Har in the Hat]

Yes! I can appreciate the effort this took. Here, I cropped it for you:

IMG_8597.JPG

Is it Vijay Fowler or Rickie Singh?

Sickie Ring.

 

much better pic.

thanKS

 

amateurs

[Har in the Hat]

IMG_3709 (2).jpg

 

Hi everybody. Champions Tour Older Rickie Fowler here, reporting from the future. You'll be happy to know that I've stopped wearing orange pants (finally!) but the kids still follow me around. I really like that, but I wish they'd stop asking me where Jordan is so they can go ask him for HIS autograph...[/size]

 

Anyways, golfing here in the future is a lot of fun. Every bag has built-in bluetooth speakers but I really wish everyone stopped playing Journey's "Any Way You Want It" EVERY SINGLE TIME they showed up on the course. USGA club manufacturing restrictions have eased up so DJ's commonly hitting over the green on pretty much every Par 4. But weekend duffers are having fun, so that's for the better. Every club not only has built-in Arccos that tracks your stats, they also have full AI now so if you hit the wrong club, you'll hear "you dummy! Why'd you hit that? I TOLD you to pull 5 iron! You're old and keep losing distance! You're not 26 anymore! And stop with the flat bill hats too, old man!"[/size]

 

OK everyone I have to go, this time portal that Phil got the Amazon/Musk company to create with all of his gambling money tour earnings is closing. Have fun! Play Cobra/Puma! [/size]

The resemblance is. .. wow.

 

good job.

[MaxEntropy]

What happens when old-school Rickie runs in to modern Rickie on the course? He shoots a 65, of course.... (and almost hits me with a wayward drive on #10)

 

[HardcoreLooper]

Arccos takes wind and elevation into account and gives you a true distance plus a "plays like" distance. I have found this to be pretty helpful when I can't make up my mind on club selection. I have been doing my best to trust the system. Seems to be working out well so far. There are a few clubs I haven't hit very much that it doesn't like to recommend. I keep throwing them in to try and average out the data.

 

I believe that if you put Arccos into "Tournament Mode" it will only use yardage for caddie recommendations. And it's only legal for handicap rounds in Tournament Mode.

 

There's quite a few of you using

a very important word in your posts- "trust". You expect a product to deliver on the expectations that it promises. If it does,then you trust this product. It'll be interesting to see this on the Caddy feature that is being discussed.

 

And if it doesn't,will it be a deal breaker. I assume not since it is a small part of the whole package. I assume.

 

Again,a great read and thanks guys for your posts.

I don't doubt the recommendations I get from the caddie, but you need to take its limitations into account. I play a course with a short par 4 where I'd love to be able to sling my big hook off the tee and get it close to the green. But there's a tree growing on the right that makes that shot impossible. Also, when I have the ball above my feet (which usually seems to happen more than once a round), I usually take more club and choke up. The caddie doesn't know about my stance.

 

When I perform these shots I specifically try to get withing a 5 foot circle because my chances of making the next putt go way up. Do you guys have any specific goals when performing these shots? Do these wedges inspire confidence? Cant wait to see if the bottom ends of this Cobra line perform as well as the other clubs.

The goal depends upon the type of shot I'm hitting. I have two main short game shots: the bump and run and the mini flop. And my preference is to get the ball on the ground and running as soon as I possibly can. I don't have the chip-and-check or the really high flop shot. Nothing against them, I just don't have the time to practice either of them.

 

I expect to hit bump and run shots to kick in range. The hot faces on the non-wedge irons have led me to take much more loft on these shots. I'm carrying these shots farther than I want, but it gets me closer to the hole. I'll start taking less loft when I start leaving them short.

 

For the mini-flop, I'm just trying to get it within 15 feet. I only hit it when I'm in trouble, so I keep my expectations low. If I'm feeling lucky and the grass around the green isn't too terrible, I might try to land it in the rough to kill it. I'll do this thinking that if I hit it too hard, I'll have that 15 foot putt. If I hit it too easy, I'll just get the next one up and down. I'm not asking a ton of the lob wedge, but I know it'll do what I ask if I put a decent swing on it. The club gets through long rough nicely. But like most wedges, it's pretty dead if you catch it off the top of the club, so you need to be careful when the ball sits up in the rough.

[fozcycle]

Week Four - The Wedges

 

I was gaming the Cobra King F6 wedges(PW/GW/SW) so I selected the Cobra King F8 wedges to review. The new F8's added an LW to the set with the lofts changing from F6 GW @ 50* to the F8 GW @ 49*. The SW went from 55* to 54* and the new LW was added @ 58*. That said, I decided to use the LW from the bunkers and the SW would be my close up chips(inside 20 yards).

 

Model King F8 Loft Lie Offset

(mm) COBRA CONNECT Length

(Graphite & Steel)

PW 44.0° 64.0° 2.9 36.25"

GW 49.0° 64.0° 1.0 36.00"

SW 54.0° 64.0° 1.0 35.75"

LW 58.0° 64.0° 1.0 35.50"

 

There is a difference between the PW and the GW/SW/LW:

 

 

 

PW CAVITY BACK IRON:

A cavity-back design in the mid to scoring irons delivers improved accuracy on approach shots. A two-piece carbon fiber insert and medallion work to deliver softer, yet more solid feel. Milled U-Grooves optimize spin for improved control and more accurate approach shots

 

GW-LW SPECIALTY WEDGE DESIGN

A specialty wedge design with a carbon fiber insert in the GW, SW and LW damps vibrations for improved feel and precision around the greens. Tighter, wedge-spaced grooves deliver increased spin for more precise shots around the green.

Variable hosel lengths strategically position the CG for optimum launch, speed and forgiveness through the set. Lower profile long irons with shorter hosels lower the CG for improved launch and forgiveness. Progressively taller hosels in the mid to scoring irons raise CG for improved control and accuracy on approach shots. The PW has a mid CG hosel while the GW/SW/LW have high CG hosels.

 

 

 

The lofts were jacked up by 1* over the F6 irons that I was gaming.

 

King F6 King F8

 

PW…..45* PW…..45*

GW…..50* GW…..49*

SW…..55* SW…..54*

LW…..N/A* LW…..58*

 

Here are my average yardages….

 

King F6 King F8

 

PW…108 PW….108

GW…83 GW….84

SW…66 SW….72

LW…N/A LW….35

 

Note: LW has only been used in Bunkers.

 

The 49* PW has been very stable, with the same yardage as compared to the 50* F6.

 

The 54* GW has the same yardage, even with a 1* loft increase over the 50* F8.

 

The 55* SW was previously used in Bunkers but now the F8(54*) is used for 65-80 yard approaches and 5 - 25 yard chips.

 

The LW is a new club in my bag at 58* and has been used solely in Bunkers.

 

My Chipping(12.2) handicap has improved over the Baseline Chipping(15.9).

However, the Sand(12.1) handicap is not quite up to par yet as the Baseline Sand(4.6) handicap was quite a bit lower.

 

Overall, the Look, Feel and Action of the new Cobra King F8's are a significant improvement over the F6's. I really like the extra wedge 44/49/54/58, not to mention the built in Arccos sensors that allow you to track your game.

 

 

 

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Cobra Connect Bag: Cobra F8 Driver(10.5*) 3-4W(14.5*) & 5-6W(18.5*)w/Mitsubishi Tensei ck Blue Regular; Cobra F8 3 Hybrid, 5 Hybrid & 6-PW, Gw(49*) SW(54*) LW(58*) all w/UST Mamiya Recoil 460 ES regular shafts. Lamkin Cobra Connect grips with Arccoss tracking sensors. Putter: Evnroll ER6 33”. Bag: Cobra Ultralite Cart Bag(Peacoat/Silver).

[MDGolfHacker]

F8 One Length Wedges

 

A lot of the technology used for the F8 irons are used for the wedges as well.  You can refer to my previous post on the F8 One Length Irons here:  https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/24440-official-cobraconnect-challenge-2018-week-4-of-8/?p=444844.  I also posted pictures of not only the F8 irons but also the wedges in this post:  https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/24440-official-cobraconnect-challenge-2018-week-4-of-8/?p=445458

 

Just for a quick recap, I am playing the F8 One Length Irons with Modus 120 stiff shafts.  I went with the  Pitching Wedge, Gap Wedge, Sand Wedge and Lob Wedge configuration.  According to Cobra, the wedges have the following bounce and lie configurations:

 

 

There is no option to select a different type of grind for the stock F8 One Length irons.  You can select a different loft and lie to fit your set makeup, but that's it.  You can go the traditional route and get Cobra's PUR wedges that allow you to select from two grinds depending on loft – Cobra's Versatile and Wide and Low grinds.

The wedges do not have a harsh feel and give enough feedback to let you know if you've hit the sweetspot of the face.

 

Playing the one length irons, I thought the wedges would be the most difficult to adjust to because of the length.  I found that I still choked down on the wedges during play.  Even playing the wedges without choking down, I found that they were easy to hit from the fairways and bunkers.  I actually became a lot more confident hitting shots as the wedge's general bounce better matched the conditions I tended to play.  I now realized my previous wedges had too low a bounce and tended to dig which caused me to hit a lot of chunked shots.  As a side effect, I also gained quite a few yards on the wedges.  Note that my previous set makeup consisted of a Pitching Wedge, Gap Wedge and Sand/Lob Wedge (58°). 

 

Stats from my previous wedges:

 

The F8 One Length Wedges:

 

Noticed that I picked up 2 yards on the pitching wedge, 20 yards on the gap wedge and 41 yards from my previous sand wedge! 

 

Would I recommend the wedges ?  If you are a beginner or want to try one length irons then yes!  If you have some “golf miles” under you, you may want to find wedges that offer a bit more customization on the bounce to match your playing conditions.

 

Hit me up if you have any questions!

 

MDGolfHacker

[MDGolfHacker]

WEEK 4 CHALLENGES

Competitors: Up and Down

Week 4 marks the halfway point of this year's challenge. For reference, last year's Cobra Challenge was 4 weeks in total. This week, the competitors will be looking to get up and down from everywhere. Chipping and Sand shots will be combined and weighted according to baseline HCs. In addition to the ongoing contest, the competitors will be sharing their thoughts on the Cobra wedges they're gaming.

 

 

Man, I seem to be blowing chunks on these challenges!  Chips, Up and Downs - Even though Arccos says I had a miserable 2/5, that stat is wrong.  It should be 1/5.  The 9th hole I hit a drive out of bounce and decided to play field hockey with the rest of the strokes up the fairway   I manually entered a penalty and took a 7 on a par 4.  I don't think Arccos should of recorded that as an up and down.  As for Sandies, 0/1.  It was probably my worse hitting round of the year.  I need to get more reps in to be a bit more competitive in these challenges...

 

 

 

MDGolfHacker

[HardcoreLooper]

Hang in there, MD. It'll turn around.

 

Sent from my SM-J727VPP using MyGolfSpy mobile app

[fozcycle]

So here's my spread for this week's Challenge......

 

 

7/29.........4/9 Up&Downs and 1/1 SandSaves

 

8/3...........5/9 Up&Downs and 0/1 SandSaves

 

8/5...........5/12 Up&Downs and 0/1 SandSaves

——————————————————————-

 

Total.........14/30 Up&Downs and 1/3 SandSaves

 

 

 

All rounds were at my home course, Pebble Creek. The Up&Downs were as follows,

 

7/29....#4, 7, 9 & 18

8/3......#6, 9, 11, 13 & 14

8/5......#4, 9, 10, 13 & 14

 

The SandSaves were...

 

7/29....#6 Par 3

 

 

I would have had a lot more Up&Downs if I could putt better!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy

Cobra Connect Bag: Cobra F8 Driver(10.5*) 3-4W(14.5*) & 5-6W(18.5*)w/Mitsubishi Tensei ck Blue Regular; Cobra F8 3 Hybrid, 5 Hybrid & 6-PW, Gw(49*) SW(54*) LW(58*) all w/UST Mamiya Recoil 460 ES regular shafts. Lamkin Cobra Connect grips with Arccoss tracking sensors. Putter: Evnroll ER6 33”. Bag: Cobra Ultralite Cart Bag(Peacoat/Silver).

[MDGolfHacker]

Hang in there, MD. It'll turn around.

 

Sent from my SM-J727VPP using MyGolfSpy mobile app

Pretty sure that's what the first mate said to captain Smith after the titanic hit that iceberg....lol 😁😂🤣

 

MDGolfHacker

[Reesedw]

Alright guys, here are this weeks numbers.. nothing great.. 

 

 

 

 

for a grand total of 12/31.. nothing on the beach... 

 

 

[HardcoreLooper]

Fighting both my swing and my short game right now.  Ugh.

 

 

Bear in mind, this is a 4600 yard course with a course rating of 62.1

 

 

 

6/15 for chipping up-and-downs.  Major edit here - I was not 6/12 as previously reported!

 

1/2 out of the sand.  I'm actually pretty proud of this, because the bunkers were nothing but mud.

 

I missed out on some golden opportunities to get a couple more down from around the greens by being too cute.  I need to constantly remember to use more loft and carry the ball well over the fringe when chipping with these new clubs, because I'm not yet at the point where I have the touch with these things to try to carry the fringe by inches.  At least twice I hit it about 6 inches too short and the fringe killed it.

[HardcoreLooper]

Hang in there, MD. It'll turn around.

 

Sent from my SM-J727VPP using MyGolfSpy mobile app

 

 

Pretty sure that's what the first mate said to captain Smith after the titanic hit that iceberg....lol

 

MDGolfHacker

[Joyzee10]

Hey guys! Sorry - hectic weekend with family in town. Wanna get some number in now and will update later

 

 

 

Only one round 4/8 up and down

 

1/3 sand - funny thing is I was only in the sand twice for the day so not sure where the error is right now - so it's 1/2 but I need to filter through and adjust

 

We were playing a really slow round thanks to my useless mate who doesn't have a clue how to keep a round flowing 🤦🏻‍♂️ so I didn't play around too much as we went

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[MDGolfHacker]

Hey guys! Sorry - hectic weekend with family in town. Wanna get some number in now and will update later

 

IMG_3163.PNG

 

IMG_3164.PNG

 

Only one round 4/8 up and down

 

1/3 sand - funny thing is I was only in the sand twice for the day so not sure where the error is right now - so it's 1/2 but I need to filter through and adjust

 

We were playing a really slow round thanks to my useless mate who doesn't have a clue how to keep a round flowing ‍♂ so I didn't play around too much as we went

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

 

So you also had errors on Arccos ?  Had the same issue for up and down's where it counted one when it clearly should of been an up and down.

 

MDGolfHacker

[STUDque]

SUNDAY ANNOUNCEMENT - WEEK 5

Throughout this season, we've set up the challenges to be as even as possible. We want guys to have a chance to succeed whether they play 9 or 90 holes during the week and weight it according to baseline handicaps. Each Sunday night, we'll be announcing the results from the previous week as well as the new challenge for competitors AND forum members for the upcoming week.

_________________________________________________

 

Week 4 Results:

 

Competitors: Up and Down

HardcoreLooper is really starting to catch fire as he takes the win for the second week in a row. Joyzee10 now stands first place alone but the entire group is hot on his heels. Running season summary below:

 

 

Forum Members: Rickie Fowler Impressions

The vote was evenly spread, but we have a winner. As himself, doing Vijay Singh, doing Rickie Fowler, none other than Sickie Ringh:

Har in the Hat

Congrats! Look out for a PM from me.

_________________________________________________

 

WEEK 5 CHALLENGES

Competitors: Driving Efficiency

As we make the turn to the back nine, we enter into the math-heavy categories. Driving Efficiency is a made-up stat for this challenge but the goal is simple: Hit it long and hit the fairway. Smart Distance for all clubs will be factored into the FIR% and weighted by baseline driving handicaps. Let's drop some bombs!

 

Forum Members: Bryson DeChambeau Impression

Now that we got warmed up with the Rickie impressions, this week's winner will be the best impression of the mad professor himself. A compass may be illegal on the course, but it's fair game in this contest. Photoshop is allowable. Pencils down Sunday at 6pm EST.

[MDGolfHacker]

Congrats Joyzee10!  My plan to be in last place is working...now to make my run ha ha haha....

 

MDGolfHacker

[fozcycle]

Congrats to the winners this week.  I am struggling with swampy conditions....and this week will be even worse as the wet swampy courses will allow no roll.  It has been killing my driving stats.  The average distance seems to be dropping as the course gets wetter....LOL.  Anyway, it is a lot of fun trying.

[Har in the Hat]

Wow,wow wow.

Thank you so very much MGS for picking me. I am honoured and very grateful.

I want to give a big congradulations to Joyzee10 for another first place winner. Way to go.

And a big shout out to the others for another week with a lot of hard work done. New week,new challenge. Go get 'em, all.

Thank you again so very much MyGolfSpy

[Har in the Hat]

Hey guys! Sorry - hectic weekend with family in town. Wanna get some number in now and will update later

 

IMG_3163.PNG

 

IMG_3164.PNG

 

Only one round 4/8 up and down

 

1/3 sand - funny thing is I was only in the sand twice for the day so not sure where the error is right now - so it's 1/2 but I need to filter through and adjust

 

We were playing a really slow round thanks to my useless mate who doesn't have a clue how to keep a round flowing ‍♂ so I didn't play around too much as we went

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Interesting. How would it come about to say you were in the sand a third time. A GPS error? So now,you will need to manually correct this right? which means that another statistic was in error by 1 stroke.

[MDGolfHacker]

Wow,wow wow.

Thank you so very much MGS for picking me. I am honoured and very grateful.

I want to give a big congradulations to Joyzee10 for another first place winner. Way to go.

And a big shout out to the others for another week with a lot of hard work done. New week,new challenge. Go get 'em, all.

Thank you again so very much MyGolfSpy

 

Congrats on win this week!  Keep on participating and asking questions!

 

MDGolfHacker