#COBRACONNECT Challenge 4

[xOldBenKenobiX 3,797]

On 6/6/2020 at 1:17 PM, GB13 said:

Official CCC4 Intro

First and foremost, I feel it’s necessary to express my sincere gratitude to MyGolfSpy and Cobra for giving me the opportunity to be part of the most prestigious event MGS has to offer. I’m thrilled to be here and, I plan not only to win, but, I will also make 110% sure that every single forum member has more fun than they thought possible during this challenge. Now, 

I’ll keep the personal details pretty brief because, let’s be honest, you’re here to see super sexy golf club pics. My name is Grayson, I’m 17 years old, and I currently reside in Minnesota. I was introduced to golf by my Mom about 12 years ago, and I’ve been playing (addicted) ever since. 

 

Everyone who has been following along so far, knows that I’m the undisputed trash talk champion. Combining my trash talk prowess with the fact that this challenge is generously sponsored by COBRA, our official team hashtag is... 

 

#TEAMVENOMSPITTER 

 

 Do you have a venomous comeback to any verbal joust? Are you a fan of wonderful wordplay? Do you just want to be on the winning team? 

 

If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, then you’re a #VENOMSPITTER! 

 

MY GAME

 

Currently my pre-Cobra setup includes a Wilson Staff C300 Driver (TrueGolfFit), Callaway Rogue 3 wood (not fitted), Mizuno Fli-Hi 2 iron (not fitted), Ping I200s (“self“ fitted), and Ping Glide 52° and 58° (not fitted). As you can tell, I’m playing with a very unfit, mixed bag. I’m definitely not “married” to any of my current clubs, although I might be “engaged” to my 2 iron.  

 

So far, I’ve really enjoyed the in depth stats Arccos provides, and it’s been very accurate in picking up my shots. I do recall that there have been complaints in other threads about it missing putts, but as long as you monitor it throughout your round, it shouldn’t be a big deal. 

 

My swing has a fairly smooth tempo (in my own mind), and averages about 108 mph with my “fairway finder” swing. It usually produces medium height shots  and a pretty ugly two-way miss. (Disclaimer: My spine may or may not be made of rubber. And even if it is, it’s *probably* not cheating!)

 

  MY BASELINE

 

As some of you may remember, I had posed the question of perception VS reality in relation to our golf game. (Full Post here)

As far as my driving goes, I’m apparently a much better driver than I give myself credit for. It’s been a bit wet here recently, so I haven’t gotten a ton of roll on the fairways. Most of these balls are all carry. 

 

Okay, so my approach game is where it gets really interesting. According to Arccos, I suck at any iron shot and long pitches. I’m pretty shocked by this, but my theory is, while I do hit enough greens, my proximity is poor enough that I don’t have enough make-able birdie putts, which really kills my ability to score low.

 

Chipping and Putting were both pretty much what I expected, there isn’t a whole lot to go over here, so I won’t bore you anymore. 

 

 

THE CHALLENGERS

Once again this year, Cobra is selling with speed. Hell, it’s the second year in a row that “speed” is in the name of most of their lineup. If their marketing is legit, I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t have multiple condors before the challenge is over. Okay, maybe not, but I still am expecting some BOMBS! (Spoiler Alert: There already have been some bombs!)

 

Now, Cobra doesn’t just promise speed, they also promise precise and forgiving irons and wedges. They market the Forged Tec as delivering playable distance, and precision with forgiveness. Seeing the state of my approach game, I have REALLY high expectations for these irons. Not to mention they’re beautiful! 

(If you want to read about my fitting and setup in more detail, I posted a full write-up here!)

 

Personally, I think this is the best looking driver on the market, especially in the matte white color. I could keep telling you how beautiful it is... or I could just show you! It’s finally time for some pictures!!! 

 

Aesthetically, the fairway wood and hybrid are some of the best out there, although, the hybrid sets up a little closed to me, so we’ll keep an eye on that.

 

It’s tough to find anything bad to say about these irons. I have such high hopes for these, I really need the extra forgiveness.

 

These are very beautiful wedges, from the slick chrome finish, to the precise milling. 

 

We’ve already discussed in detail, how great the Cobra/Vessel bag is, but I feel I need to reiterate just how lovely it is. It is the nicest, most well thought out, highest quality stand bag that I’ve ever seen. Everything from the embroidery, to the extremely comfortable backpack straps has been perfectly executed. 

 

If you’re still here after all those beautiful club pics, give yourself a pat on the back. To wrap up, I have 3 main goals for the Cobras. 

 

1. More Speed, Less dispersion. Doesn’t that sound like the magic formula to lower scores? Well, seeing as this is my first set of properly fitted clubs, I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility. 

2. I want the transition from player’s irons to player’s distance irons to be smooth. Sure, I’ll take extra distance, however, what I really want is more forgiving and accurate clubs that don’t sacrifice much playability. Cobra promises that with the Forged Tec,  and I’m super excited to see if they pulled it off. 

3. I’ll say it, Cobra wedges have been overlooked for years. I want them to live up to the quality of the rest of their line of clubs. I’m talking great feel, great versatility around the greens, good spin rates, and consistency on full shots. The MIMs are beautiful, now they just need to perform beautifully.

 

Now, onwards to victory!!!! 

A lot of memes for one post, but I like, it.
I like your stile either way

Edited July 22, 2020 by xOldBenKenobiX

[Lacassem 9,008]

1 hour ago, GB13 said:

I’m pretty sure all of my fellow competitors didn’t get their hashtags quite right. I think they should be:

@B.Boston #cuethesubmarines cause he’ll be diving down this leaderboard

@daviddvm #TeamCobraFifth

@edingc #CalvesLikeChesson 

@Headhammer #headcase cause we all know he won’t be able to get out of his own head.

And obviously my #VenomSpitter was dead on...

With the analogy to boot (to save you from looking up what that is)

26 minutes ago, golfingbrock said:

There's a skills part of the competition?  What page is that on? I thought this was just a keyboard battle

Brock in off the TOP ROPE!!  and one of my favorite movies to boot, I love a badass Angelina

 

[Lacassem 9,008]

1 minute ago, xOldBenKenobiX said:

A lot of memes for one post, but I like, it.
I dont know if you can win without pretty boy Brady behind center, but you know what? I like your stile either way

@GB13 does not have brady nor does @B.Boston anymore...

[Getoffmylawn 2,306]

Just now, xOldBenKenobiX said:

A lot of memes for one post, but I like, it.
I dont know if you can win without pretty boy Brady behind center, but you know what? I like your stile either way

I wonder, if he were to play with a ball that's lower compression than everyone else would that be the same as a deflated ball?

[xOldBenKenobiX 3,797]

On 6/6/2020 at 1:15 PM, B.Boston said:

Sure, this meme was used already in this thread, and I'm not the only one who wanted to use it... But you know what...

Hello Fellow Spies and welcome to my #COBRACONNECT CHALLENGE 4 Intro!  First, I’d like to take a moment to recognize and thank our moderators for selecting me to take part in the competition this year.  So, thank you Jason, Michael, Rob, and an huge thank you to Enrique for also being our point of contact with Cobra and making sure everything runs as smoothly as possible with the COVID-19 situation being what it is.  Being a part of this competition is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am truly honored to have been selected nominated as tribute.  I won't let you down!

I’m going to keep this as short and sweet as possible because we’ve already been through over 1200 posts of trash talking, juvenile and questionable meme and gif usage, and other shenanigans.

But it’s now time to walk the walk.  So, who am I?  Well, my name is Bryan and I’m a nearly 33-year-old father of 3 who loves this game of golf for all its beauty and challenges.  There’s nothing better than a pure struck shot that goes exactly where you visualized it, and nothing worse than knowing it’s all your fault when you can’t hit a ball that isn’t moving off the ground towards your intended target.  I started playing golf as a 7-year-old and learned to play the game from my dad at a now closed 9 hole executive course.  I started taking the game more seriously towards the end of high school and in college and now its grown to be my absolute favorite sport or activity to do with my free time.

Here is an obligatory photo of myself with an awesome bag full of Cobra goodness followed by a clip of my swing:

And of course as promised long ago in this thread a picture of my kiddo's as well (I think they're pretty damn cute, not sure how that happened - God bless my wife).

 

So, where does that bring us? Oh yes! After 12 rounds on Arccos here are my baselines:

My overall going into this is a nice even 10.  Try to remember that in the event there is more math questions involved for you guys this year.  The strength of my game is putting.  I would say that my chipping feels undervalued here, as I have had many chips this year that resulted in short one-putts.  Through the baseline period I have only 2 three-putts so I’m happy that I did not need to change out my putter for this competition.  Everything else shows room for improvement.

Driving has been OK at through the baseline period.  I was using a new driver to me for the season and struggled early finding the center and while I have a lot of misses both left and right, I feel that was more a function of starting line and aiming left or right depending on the hole.  I tend to not have a lot of curvature on my shots, but a few high right slicers happened too.  I’m expecting to see that 20 yards average dispersion tighten up.

Approach shots show a lot (39%) of my shots coming up short of the green.  Needless to say, I’ll be doing my best to change that.  Although there are a few holes where I play that going long is death and almost 100% of the time results in a three putt or worse.

Chipping had its ups and downs to begin the season while I shook of some rust.  I will occasionally chunk a shot or thin one long.  Pay no attention to the little red dot below.

Sand shots vary from bunker to bunker, but I don’t have a lot of shots to start the year.  I can usually get myself onto the green to try to save the hole.  Hopefully that trend continues!

I’ve been hovering around an 8 handicap for the past few years and hope that with these new sticks and the motivation of knowing you all will be seeing my stats of the summer will help me get down lower into the single digits. 

Speaking of new sticks…

Here are the high-tech surgical tools I’ll be using to dismantle my competition this summer.

Driver:  Speedzone 10.5 - Tensei Pro White 60TX - Set to +1* Draw

Fairway:  Speedzone 5-wood - Ventus Blue 8S - Set to -1.5*

Hybrid:  Speedzone 4-Hybrid - KBS Proto 85S

Irons:  KING Forged Tec 5-GW - PX LZ 6.5

Wedges:  KING MIM Black 52.12 Classic, 56.10 Versatile, 60.04 Widelow - KBS 610 Wedge

 

So now comes the fun part.  If you’d like to vote for me and join Team B.Boston, please use my team hashtag #cuetheduckboats! 

Why #cuetheduckboats? Well, here in Boston we expect greatness out of our sports teams and revel in the opportunity to #cuetheduckboats for a parade after each of our team’s championships.  This year our normal sports are being delayed, condensed, modified, or outright cancelled but I’m going to do my best to bring another championship parade to Beantowne!

 

Be sure to follow along with on these social media accounts:

Twitter: @BryanPluta

Instagram: @pluta.bryan

Facebook: I'm guessing you can figure out how to find me there by name at this point, but the Instagram posts probably have you covered.

While the trash talk was fun, its now over.  Time to get to work!

 

No pretty boy Brady to help, you got to win this one all on your lonesome.

[xOldBenKenobiX 3,797]

1 minute ago, Getoffmylawn said:

I wonder, if he were to play with a ball that's lower compression than everyone else would that be the same as a deflated ball?

I update the comment, the Brady's note was meant for @B.Boston, that is what I get for trying to multitask.

[B.Boston 9,247]

2 minutes ago, xOldBenKenobiX said:

No pretty boy Brady to help, you got to win this one all on your lonesome.

I'm not really sure I want Brady on my team when it comes to golfing....  I think I actually have a decent shot at beating him.

And yes, if anyone wants to make THAT match happen.... I'm down.

wait is that Brady or @GB13?  I think he's at summer camp right now.

 

 

 

[golfingbrock 577]

6 minutes ago, Getoffmylawn said:

I wonder, if he were to play with a ball that's lower compression than everyone else would that be the same as a deflated ball?

Deflated balls may keep his pants from ripping too

 

[xOldBenKenobiX 3,797]

On 6/6/2020 at 1:18 PM, Headhammer said:

I’m Dave Hains, my friends call me “Hammer” and you know me here as HeadHammer or as I have recently been monikered - The Quiet Assassin. I’ve always been a fan of everything COBRA. As a young boy I was an honorary member of the COBRA Kai -Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy!

 

My favorite TV show in the 80’s was COBRA, starring the very underrated actor Michael Dudikoff. 

 

 

My favorite movie role has always been Stallone’s portrayal of Lt. Marion “COBRA” Cobretti, who could ever forget the classic line “You’re da disease and I am da cure!”

 

 

And, unlike the other posers in this competition, I have always been a fan of COBRA Golf, having owned & exclusively used their King Cobra irons for the last 24 years! So, when I entered this contest on a whim, I was ecstatic to be selected to participate in the 2020 Cobra Connect Challenge!

I’ve been golfing on and off for the last 30 years, playing a lot in my younger years, not as much in my older years, in fact I’ve played over 250 different golf courses around the world. Unfortunately, as I’ve gotten older, my distance off the tee has suffered, and while I’ve moved up from the Blues to the Whites, I’m not quite ready to move to the old guy tees. The loss of distance has been the predominant factor in my elevated handicap. Which is why I’m counting on the improved technology of the COBRA SpeedZone woods & irons to improve my distance, FIR, GIR and my scores.

What will I have in my bag for this challenge? A well rounded armamentarium of COBRA clubs that set me up perfectly in the predetermined competitions.

 

Why should you vote for me in this challenge? Besides the fact that the new technology COBRA has bestowed upon me with the SpeedZone has already shown improvement in distance, 10-15 yards per club, as a high handicapper I have an advantage going into a number of the competitions. If you don’t think a high handicapper can win this thing, I’d like to provide the court with Exhibit: A, the winner of the COBRA Connect 2 Challenge - @FOZCYCLE. Coincidently, Foz started around the same HCP as me (17.9) and with new COBRA equipment brought it down to a 12! 

 

 

Finally, if new technology and a high handicap are not enough to get your vote for Team Hammer, well then, you should get on board because we have the coolest damn name and logo! #TEAMHAMMER.

P

STRIKE FIRST, STRIKE HARD............NO MERCY!

That jerk

Humiliated cobra Kai.

Give them some pain Hammer

[xOldBenKenobiX 3,797]

13 minutes ago, Lacassem said:

@GB13 does not have brady nor does @B.Boston anymore...

Yep, my bad, I have been up since 2 am, after only two hours of sleep, so s*** is getting mixed up in here.

I should not forum without sleep, but screw it, it is fun to get people confused.

[xOldBenKenobiX 3,797]

7 minutes ago, golfingbrock said:

Deflated balls may keep his pants from ripping too

 

He should have worn football pants, at least they are flexible.

[xOldBenKenobiX 3,797]

11 minutes ago, B.Boston said:

I'm not really sure I want Brady on my team when it comes to golfing....  I think I actually have a decent shot at beating him.

And yes, if anyone wants to make THAT match happen.... I'm down.

wait is that Brady or @GB13?  I think he's at summer camp right now.

 

 

 

As a Cowboys fan, I hated Brady, actually hated every other quarterback in the league for that matter.

I wouldn't mind playing a round with Brady, but I rather go home team and get a round with Tony Romo, if anything aside from loosing I would be entertained the whole round.

[golfingbrock 577]

5 minutes ago, xOldBenKenobiX said:

He should have worn football pants, at least they are flexible.

Plus 4's are basically football pants

[Headhammer 1,883]

12 minutes ago, xOldBenKenobiX said:

That jerk

Humiliated cobra Kai.

Give them some pain Hammer

 

I'm the best around, none of these fools gonna keep me down, I'm the best around. 

Ps: If you don't think this is awesome, you need awesome lessons!

 

 

[mikeanthony 945]

6 minutes ago, xOldBenKenobiX said:

As a Cowboys fan, I hated Brady, actually hated every other quarterback in the league for that matter.

I wouldn't mind playing a round with Brady, but I rather go home team and get a round with Tony Romo, if anything aside from loosing I would be entertained the whole round.

Not only that, but Tony will predict every single one of your shots. Forreealz 

Edited July 22, 2020 by mikeanthony

[xOldBenKenobiX 3,797]

1 minute ago, golfingbrock said:

Plus 4's are basically football pants

I must definitely need to get me some knickers 

https://www.kingscrossknickers.com/mens-golf-knickers-s/1825.htm

[xOldBenKenobiX 3,797]

Just now, mikeanthony said:

Not only that, but Tony will predict every single shot. Forreealz 

Well mine are easy for him.

Topped or sliced

[xOldBenKenobiX 3,797]

1 minute ago, mikeanthony said:

Not only that, but Tony will predict every single shot. Forreealz 

I really enjoy his broadcasts, get that man an Offensive coordinator coach, he could call out most of the coverages to his QB from the box

[Lacassem 9,008]

12 minutes ago, xOldBenKenobiX said:

Yep, my bad, I have been up since 2 am, after only two hours of sleep, so s*** is getting mixed up in here.

I should not forum without sleep, but screw it, it is fun to get people confused.

Just busting balls (to jump on the ball waggon "deflating balls"). We dont want to be associated with Brady any longer, he deserted us. Newton coming in HOTTTTTT

[xOldBenKenobiX 3,797]

3 minutes ago, Lacassem said:

Just busting balls (to jump on the ball waggon "deflating balls"). We dont want to be associated with Brady any longer, he deserted us. Newton coming in HOTTTTTT

I was surprised that the Pats didn't make any moves on QBs earlier, but I think that Cam is a great pick up and will help to open up the offense a bit, he just got to keep healthy and use those legs.

I also had hopes and dreams that the cowboys would have made a run at Brady, and sit Dak, so he could value his team and position.

Edited July 22, 2020 by xOldBenKenobiX