2023 MGS Forum: Cobra 50th Anniversary Special!

[mikeanthony]

6 hours ago, Josh Ross said:

I have always wanted a full black set of irons and now I'm convinced that I'll do it. Those look so good @sirchunksalot! Luckily they make my shaft in a blackout version so I just need to have my irons refinished to black one day and I'll be set!

+1 there!

I’m just so ocd about the off center scuff marks on the face of the club.

[GolfSpy_KFT]

2 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:

I can say I love the look of the black irons and black shaft combo. I tried rolling the dice to get the wedge shafts in black, but they only had stiff flex available. I think @Jnoble89 is getting that combo and I can't wait to see them. 

 

Yes, this is true. I’ve got black snakebites coming with the black PVD Hi-Rev 2.0 shaft and I am EXCITED to get my hands on them lol

[GolfSpy_APH]

3 minutes ago, Jnoble89 said:

Yes, this is true. I’ve got black snakebites coming with the black PVD Hi-Rev 2.0 shaft and I am EXCITED to get my hands on them lol

I have those shafts in my Mizuno wedges and have been extremely impressed!

[ole gray]

On 4/27/2023 at 7:23 PM, sirchunksalot said:

Today was fitting day, so Mrs.Chunks and I headed north to pay a visit to Fairways and Greens Golf Center in Knoxville to see what the day had in store for us.

I walked in and was greeted by my fitter, David Sumilas who immediately perked up and asked if I was the forum member getting fitted for a full bag of Cobra clubs. I had mentioned in the fitting notes I was getting fitted for one brand and was looking at no upcharge shafts. We immediately hit it off and I spent some time talking about the forum and what an amazing opportunity this was. 

David had me start off warming up in a net and after I got a few shots in took me into the fitting room to pick out options. He opened up the Cobra drawer and I took the opportunity to look at all the head options that are available. All I can say is that Cobra makes some good looking irons. We discussed the pros and cons of the two heads I was chosen for and he made the decision to go with the Forged Tec X. 

He picked out some shafts and we headed to the outside range to hit some balls on the Trackman. I was ecstatic to see the rain that was forecast held off and that I got to hit off grass.

We started out hitting 7 iron with the KBS Tour Lite Steel in regular flex. I hit a few shots and he recommend we go with graphite. The first shaft he chose was the UST 460 EST. I hit it fairly good, gaining a little bit of ball speed and a better peak height. In all honesty, the shaft felt good but not great.

We moved on to the KBS TGI 75 and that's where the magic happened. I got the peak height, decent angle, and distance he was looking for. Done.

Hybrids were next and he set me up in the KBS PGI 75 regular and once he guided me to a better ball position, we were done. He suggested a 4 hybrid in the King Tec and a 5 in the Aerojet. He did set up the hybrid in the one length setup and let me hit a few. It was weird, but once I got the ball position right I hit a couple of decent shots. 

Fairway woods were more of the same, I needed a better ball position as the ball was too far forward in my stance. I hit some stinkers, I'm talking off the back of the hosel bad. Once he got me straightened out, we went with the Kai'li Blue 60 regular in 3 and 5 woods.

One other note as I'm sitting here looking at the fitting sheet, all the 12 gram weights are recommends in the heel. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

David had me hit my driver and immediately discarded the Aerojet LS. I hit one of the shots with my driver 210, rolling out to 235, with 1077 rpm of spin.

We tried the Aerojet with decent results, but much higher spin. I peeked at the Trackman after one shot and saw over 5300 rpm. 

I wish I would have taken some photos of the Trackman, but was focused on the task at hand of listening to my fitter and letting him make the important decisions.

We finally hit the sweet spot with the Aerojet Max with the Kai'li Blue 60 in regular flex. I was threatening the center of the face more often and the numbers looked good to him.

I can't properly describe how much fun I had today and how good of a fitter David was. He helped me find the right ball position and was extremely encouraging throughout the fitting. I appreciated his expertise and ability to make me feel comfortable throughout the whole process. I highly recommend him to anyone who can make it to Knoxville for a fitting. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Awesome job Chunk! 

[ole gray]

On 4/28/2023 at 2:38 AM, Tom the Golf Nut said:

 

Hey everyone, Tom the Golf Nut here ready to participate in the test of all tests. I am excited beyond belief to have been selected.

 I am pretty much a self-taught golfer and have been playing for over thirty years.  I am “The Nut” for a reason. I live by the theme of the movie “Field of Dreams” If you build it they will come. In my case, “If you build it my game will come around”. I build most things at home. I’m the son of a carpenter and I was a machinist in my early days.  I am on my third golf green (one at each house I lived in), simulators, Chip O boards, Down Under Board, speed training clubs and anything else possible to help my game. As you can tell I like making things as a challenge. Using all this helped me figure things out and helped me to get better. My biggest improvements in my game came from installing my simulator in conjunction with a MEVO several years ago. I got to see my swing path and ball flight info. I do get to play a decent amount of golf. Once or twice a week at my club, playing with customers, as well as golf outings for charities. I am able to play year-round in my area of the country. (Bonus!!! I’m now 40 minutes from Pinehurst)

I'm fortunate to have a very understanding family. My wife and young adult children that are still living at home put up with my obsession. 

My GHIN handicap is at 0.6 but it is two years old. I have to go and sign up again. In 2021 I was chasing scratch, in 2022 I decided to have fun and not pressure myself. Not that my game deteriorated that much. But I just didn’t post as many scores, sometimes didn’t even keep score. I didn’t sweat over a bad shot, and let the GHIN expire. But, new course, new mind set, new goals for this year. With this opportunity I will do my best to crush the other team!

 

My swing tempo is smooth with an average driver swing speed just under 100 mph.

My recent move to North Carolina is showing me how altitude and air density can make a difference in my game. Courses are generally very different here than my hilly and mountainous courses in
Northeast TN. Here it is flatter but requires more placement shots, much softer fairways and approach areas (No bounce and roll out here) Lots of dog legs, streams, and waste areas that come into play.  

My average ball flight is straight with a middle flight trajectory. I am hoping to increase my iron trajectory a little bit more.   

My strengths are driving the ball in the fairway, chipping, pitching and putting.

I have been playing Sub 70 699 Pro irons and a Titleist TSI 1 Driver. Well, until now that is!

 

So, what do I want to accomplish during this testing?  This is the first time I will be testing everything in the bag. Including the bag! Will this equipment stand up to my current bag set-up? I will probably keep the same type of configuration in my bag unless my fitter suggests something different.  

1)      Woods: Driver, 3W, 5W, 7W.  Are they as accurate? Are they longer?

2)       5 hybrid: I always had problems with hybrids until I put the Sub 70 in the bag. Will the Cobra hybrid do as well?

3)     Irons: I only carry 6 iron through the Gap wedge as set irons. This will be interesting. I’m not getting any younger and I’m seriously considering going to graphite shafts. Currently playing stiff steel based on my last iron fitting in 2020. Will these irons perform for me and will they help my approach shots to help shave a few strokes.

4)     Wedges: Who doesn’t like fresh grooves? I’m leaning to a versatile sole grind to allow me to open up the club face without raising the sole off the ground. It will be necessary due to the different lofts that I’m used to. This is to get my gapping correct. My 56* will now be a 54*. I’m still on the fence about going with a 58* or a 60*.

5)      Putter: I have played the Odyssey Marksman Fang putter since it came out in 2016. I am not one to change putters so this will be interesting. 

6)     The golf bag: I’m picky on bags it must have a 14-way top with full length dividers and plenty of pockets. Based on the choices we have I selected the cart bag as either I’m walking with the bag on the Motocaddy or on a driving cart. This bag has a 14-way top but it only has three full length dividers. Will the clubs get hung up with each other? Time will tell.   

 

Can’t wait to get this party started.

Unboxing

My first shipment arrived. I made a short video of the unboxing. Kids don't try this at home!

First impressions on the bag:

I like the looks and layout of the pockets so far. I’ll know more when the clubs are in it and it’s loaded with my other normal stuff.

I have two comments so far.

1. I wish they would put an accessory ring on both sides of the bag. I hate having my club brush on the same side as the towel.

2. I prefer 14 way top so that part is good. However they are not full length dividers for each spot. There are three full length dividers. I will see how that works out during testing with mid size grips.

Well done and enjoy the journey! 

[J7Hawkins]

13 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:

Sorry to make you guys wait so long. The clubs arrived and I had to wait to the wife to cook dinner and for my sister-in-law to clean the kitchen before working on my unboxing video (coming soon!). 

All I'm going to say is these clubs are gorgeous! I'm talking sexy! The irons and wedges in black are so appealing to my eye and with the black and red of the KBS shaft in the irons....nummy. 

Warning: Gratuitous photos are coming your way. 

One cool thing I noticed and if you look closely in the picture of the wedges is the Cobra logo in the scallop. I think it's a nice touch. 

I'm going to have to adjust the weights in the woods, the fitter wanted them in the draw setting and currently the heavy weights are in the back. I want to hit them, but it's late after getting everything done and I think it might rain tomorrow. 

I hope my fellow testers get notifications of the clubs coming soon. 

Oh my....... That is a GORGEOUS set of clubs! I love the black/black set all the way through the wedges. The SnakeBite wedges look so good in that matted black. Can't wait to see your review of their performance! I may be just as excited to hear your thoughts on the putter as I am anything else in the bag

[StrokerAce]

13 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:

Sorry to make you guys wait so long. The clubs arrived and I had to wait to the wife to cook dinner and for my sister-in-law to clean the kitchen before working on my unboxing video (coming soon!). 

All I'm going to say is these clubs are gorgeous! I'm talking sexy! The irons and wedges in black are so appealing to my eye and with the black and red of the KBS shaft in the irons....nummy. 

Warning: Gratuitous photos are coming your way. 

One cool thing I noticed and if you look closely in the picture of the wedges is the Cobra logo in the scallop. I think it's a nice touch. 

I'm going to have to adjust the weights in the woods, the fitter wanted them in the draw setting and currently the heavy weights are in the back. I want to hit them, but it's late after getting everything done and I think it might rain tomorrow. 

I hope my fellow testers get notifications of the clubs coming soon. 

wow! not sure if you should use those or frame them and hang them up on the wall.

What a gorgeous looking set!!

[chisag]

7 hours ago, mikeanthony said:

I reeeally love the shape and roundness of the scoring irons on these King Tours.

 

... I couldn't agree more. But every King Tour iron looks just about perfect to my eye as far as shape and size. Almost like I helped design them because other than the hosel grind, there is nothing I would change. 

[funkyjudge]

7 hours ago, ole gray said:

Well done and enjoy the journey! 

Nice, Tom! However, you definitely need to get rid of that NY Yankees headcover!  How in the world do you get away with representing the Yankees in Atlanta Braves country?  That's much worse than me representing the Detroit Tigers in the Philadelphia area!!!

Edited May 18, 2023 by funkyjudge

[sirchunksalot]

Ok everyone, I had my first "getting to know you" date with the new Cobra clubs after the community call this evening. I took them to the range to hit a small bucket and get the Agera on the putting green. 

I started out with some short wedge shots with the 58 and let me tell you, it was love at first strike. I was picking targets, mostly balls on the range, and hitting it pretty close. I was able to hit both standard chips and with an open face easily. 

I also found pitch shots to be easy to hit with both it and the set GW. I like to sometimes hit 50-70 yard shots with my lower lofted set wedges and they ticked the box. 

The irons are going to take some time to get used to. It's not that I was hitting bad shots, but the lighter 75 gram graphite shafts are just in a different feel category from 105 gram steel. I will say the Forged Tec X is a really forgiving club based on my limited experience with them. I was solidly out of the heel and saw some moderate gains in distance from the mis-hits. From a feel and sound standpoint, they're good but not in the league with the Mizuno's I've been playing. It's not a big issue, but I did want to point that out. If I get better performance, that's going to be what matters. 

I'm loving the 4 hybrid and 5 wood so far. Both feel and sound amazing and the performance is there. I only hit the 3 wood twice and that's going to take some work as I topped both shots. I think that's just a setup issue on my part.

The driver looks good down by the ball and sounds slightly tinny but nowhere near as bad as the Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero driver I'm gaming. It was a bit fade biased, I need to move the weights to the draw setting they were in during my fitting.

The putter has some work to do. My distance control was terrible. I couldn't get a lag putt within the same zip code as the hole. I don't know if it was because I have been playing on faster greens, or the steel shaft compared to the Stroke Lab I've been gaming. I will say that it looks so good at address and feels and sounds good. It is a bit more muted than I'm used to, but again, I can get used to it. I was impressed with the forgiveness and how easy it was to start out on my line. I am already contemplating changing out the grip, it's just too thin for my tastes. I did take a video of a one handed putt so y'all could hear it.

 With all that being said, I enjoyed the life out of getting to hit them for the first time and am impressed with the clubs. 

[chisag]

40 minutes ago, sirchunksalot said:

The driver looks good down by the ball and sounds slightly tinny but nowhere near as bad as the Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero driver I'm gaming. It was a bit fade biased, I need to move the weights to the draw setting they were in during my fitting.

 

... Good stuff Shanks and thanks for the quick report. But just so others aren't mislead, the Aerojet Max with the weight in the rear is not fade biased, it is straight to slightly draw biased. With the weight in the heel it becomes more draw biased. So it ain't the driver but I am not gonna say it might be your swing that is similar to what they call pizza in Brooklyn but ...  

[sirchunksalot]

19 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... Good stuff Shanks and thanks for the quick report. But just so others aren't mislead, the Aerojet Max with the weight in the rear is not fade biased, it is straight to slightly draw biased. With the weight in the heel it becomes more draw biased. So it ain't the driver but I am not gonna say it might be your swing that is similar to what they call pizza in Brooklyn but ...  

Is that Tom's headcover adorning his head? 

I'm definitely moving the weight on the head tomorrow, might just be the pill that cures my ill. 

[CFreddie]

50 minutes ago, sirchunksalot said:

Ok everyone, I had my first "getting to know you" date with the new Cobra clubs after the community call this evening. I took them to the range to hit a small bucket and get the Agera on the putting green. 

I started out with some short wedge shots with the 58 and let me tell you, it was love at first strike. I was picking targets, mostly balls on the range, and hitting it pretty close. I was able to hit both standard chips and with an open face easily. 

I also found pitch shots to be easy to hit with both it and the set GW. I like to sometimes hit 50-70 yard shots with my lower lofted set wedges and they ticked the box. 

The irons are going to take some time to get used to. It's not that I was hitting bad shots, but the lighter 75 gram graphite shafts are just in a different feel category from 105 gram steel. I will say the Forged Tec X is a really forgiving club based on my limited experience with them. I was solidly out of the heel and saw some moderate gains in distance from the mis-hits. From a feel and sound standpoint, they're good but not in the league with the Mizuno's I've been playing. It's not a big issue, but I did want to point that out. If I get better performance, that's going to be what matters. 

I'm loving the 4 hybrid and 5 wood so far. Both feel and sound amazing and the performance is there. I only hit the 3 wood twice and that's going to take some work as I topped both shots. I think that's just a setup issue on my part.

The driver looks good down by the ball and sounds slightly tinny but nowhere near as bad as the Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero driver I'm gaming. It was a bit fade biased, I need to move the weights to the draw setting they were in during my fitting.

The putter has some work to do. My distance control was terrible. I couldn't get a lag putt within the same zip code as the hole. I don't know if it was because I have been playing on faster greens, or the steel shaft compared to the Stroke Lab I've been gaming. I will say that it looks so good at address and feels and sounds good. It is a bit more muted than I'm used to, but again, I can get used to it. I was impressed with the forgiveness and how easy it was to start out on my line. I am already contemplating changing out the grip, it's just too thin for my tastes. I did take a video of a one handed putt so y'all could hear it.

 

 With all that being said, I enjoyed the life out of getting to hit them for the first time and am impressed with the clubs. 

Thanks for sharing - love that you are already falling for these clubs.  Your comment on the putter is pretty funny though, I was thinking the same thing but opposite - I prefer a thinner / pistol style grip on my putter and feel the Super Stroke was a bit too thick!

[CFreddie]

2 minutes ago, sirchunksalot said:

Is that Tom's headcover adorning his head? 

I'm definitely moving the weight on the head tomorrow, might just be the pill that cures my ill. 

Def recommend playing around with the weights - I did the same thing during my fitting to straighten out my natural draw shape. 

[sirchunksalot]

16 minutes ago, CFreddie said:

Thanks for sharing - love that you are already falling for these clubs.  Your comment on the putter is pretty funny though, I was thinking the same thing but opposite - I prefer a thinner / pistol style grip on my putter and feel the Super Stroke was a bit too thick!

For some reason the putter came with the 1.0 grip and not the 2.0 listed on the website and that bad boy is as thin as the old Ping man grip I had on my B30. I like something thicker as I grip the putter with my index fingers running down the grip. I like the feeling of taking my wrists out of the Stroke. 

[CFreddie]

1 minute ago, sirchunksalot said:

For some reason the putter came with the 1.0 grip and not the 2.0 listed on the website and that bad boy is as thin as the old Ping man grip I had on my B30. I like something thicker as I grip the putter with my index fingers running down the grip. I like the feeling of taking my wrists out of the Stroke. 

Ohhh this is exciting news (at least for me haha).  Totally hear you on the grip, definitely comes down to personal preference. 

[GolfSpy_KFT]

1 hour ago, sirchunksalot said:

Ok everyone, I had my first "getting to know you" date with the new Cobra clubs after the community call this evening. I took them to the range to hit a small bucket and get the Agera on the putting green. 

I started out with some short wedge shots with the 58 and let me tell you, it was love at first strike. I was picking targets, mostly balls on the range, and hitting it pretty close. I was able to hit both standard chips and with an open face easily. 

I also found pitch shots to be easy to hit with both it and the set GW. I like to sometimes hit 50-70 yard shots with my lower lofted set wedges and they ticked the box. 

The irons are going to take some time to get used to. It's not that I was hitting bad shots, but the lighter 75 gram graphite shafts are just in a different feel category from 105 gram steel. I will say the Forged Tec X is a really forgiving club based on my limited experience with them. I was solidly out of the heel and saw some moderate gains in distance from the mis-hits. From a feel and sound standpoint, they're good but not in the league with the Mizuno's I've been playing. It's not a big issue, but I did want to point that out. If I get better performance, that's going to be what matters. 

I'm loving the 4 hybrid and 5 wood so far. Both feel and sound amazing and the performance is there. I only hit the 3 wood twice and that's going to take some work as I topped both shots. I think that's just a setup issue on my part.

The driver looks good down by the ball and sounds slightly tinny but nowhere near as bad as the Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero driver I'm gaming. It was a bit fade biased, I need to move the weights to the draw setting they were in during my fitting.

The putter has some work to do. My distance control was terrible. I couldn't get a lag putt within the same zip code as the hole. I don't know if it was because I have been playing on faster greens, or the steel shaft compared to the Stroke Lab I've been gaming. I will say that it looks so good at address and feels and sounds good. It is a bit more muted than I'm used to, but again, I can get used to it. I was impressed with the forgiveness and how easy it was to start out on my line. I am already contemplating changing out the grip, it's just too thin for my tastes. I did take a video of a one handed putt so y'all could hear it.

 

 With all that being said, I enjoyed the life out of getting to hit them for the first time and am impressed with the clubs. 

Love it, Chunks! Those wedges are an absolute dream to hit. You hit the nail on the head with workability and control. Where are my clubs again?

[ole gray]

I'm curious as to why no one chose single-length irons.  Were they not offered or were you all not comfortable going with something so different than the variable length irons? 

[OdinSnipes414]

Is anyone doesn’t like their cobra clubs I’ll re test them hahahaha!

[sirchunksalot]

44 minutes ago, ole gray said:

I'm curious as to why no one chose single-length irons.  Were they not offered or were you all not comfortable going with something so different than the variable length irons? 

I considered it and talked to my first, but he said he's only put a very few people in a full set of single length. He has done some combo sets with the short irons being one length.

He didn't recommend it for me, so I went variable length. 

[CFreddie]

1 hour ago, sirchunksalot said:

I considered it and talked to my first, but he said he's only put a very few people in a full set of single length. He has done some combo sets with the short irons being one length.

He didn't recommend it for me, so I went variable length. 

Same - I considered it, but the concept seemed a bit too foreign for me.  Plus, I'm planning to win the competition so I'll need all the help I can get 

[GolfSpy_KFT]

2 hours ago, ole gray said:

I'm curious as to why no one chose single-length irons.  Were they not offered or were you all not comfortable going with something so different than the variable length irons? 

They were offered in the Aerojet iron line, I just really wasn't that interested in them. I also did not have a chance to hit them during my fitting and didn't want to go with an unknown. 

[chisag]

5 hours ago, ole gray said:

I'm curious as to why no one chose single-length irons.  Were they not offered or were you all not comfortable going with something so different than the variable length irons? 

 

... Back when I was with Tommy Armour and they released the EQL's (Equal Length) I was uncomfortable with longer short irons after doing a ton of work on my short game and honing in distance control for 3/4 and 1/2 swings. The longer clubs were interesting and easy to hit but I didn't hit them high enough so holding greens would have been a problem. I did like the 7 iron! 

[sirchunksalot]

Played my first round with the Cobra's today and you can read about the round in the "How'd you play" thread. Let's just say the Cobra's are off to a hot start. I did adjust the driver weights to the "ultra draw" setting and was seeing some straight shots. 

The rest of the clubs performed well, also. Let's freaking go!

[JerryB]

On 5/19/2023 at 6:03 AM, ole gray said:

I'm curious as to why no one chose single-length irons.  Were they not offered or were you all not comfortable going with something so different than the variable length irons? 

I'm hitting my irons so poorly right now that I didn't want to add another variable into a fitting session that was already pretty crammed.  

On 5/19/2023 at 6:03 AM, ole gray said:

 

 

Edited May 20, 2023 by JerryB

[ole gray]

On 4/28/2023 at 2:41 AM, Jnoble89 said:

Cobra 50th Anniversary Member Special – Official MGS Forum Review by Jnoble89

Hello all!

For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Jason, better known as Jnoble89, and I am thrilled to be participating in the #Cobra50thAnniversary challenge. I am 33 years old, and reside in the Driftless Region of Wisconsin in Reedsburg, with my wife of 8+ years and our two boys, ages 6 and 3. This area of the state is home to some beautiful golf courses, and I proudly call the Reedsburg Country Club home. I do not carry an official handicap yet (working on it), but typically score in the low 100s on 18 holes. If you’d like to follow along with me on that journey, check out my thread here!

 

I have been playing golf for about 11 years now, but until this season it was very sporadic and probably no more than 15 rounds per year max. I have already played nearly half of that total this year since our season started in April (perks of a full membership at the country club). I am currently a high handicapper, but working hard at lowering that number. My biggest strength lies in my putting and short game approach (8 iron and down), and I am most inconsistent off the tee and on longer irons/fairway wood shots.

 

But enough about me, let’s get into what you guys really want to hear about, which is what I’ll be looking for this equipment to do in this challenge and what I am hoping to gain from the test. What I am looking for out of the Aerojet lineup is:

1.      Will my dispersion and consistency with ball striking improve?

2.      What will the ball speed gains/distance gains look like (especially with the irons)?

3.      If I can get more consistent on woods and long irons, will it help bring my handicap down to be closer to what my short game is? (IMO, I outplay my current handicap on short game)

4.      Will a 5w/7w work better for me than my current 3w setup?

If these clubs accomplish those things, they will be sticking around for a long while in my bag. I have zero experience with Cobra golf clubs, so I am really excited to try a brand I’ve never hit before.

I will be doing most of my testing through range and on course play, but am also going to try to get on a simulator to do side by side numbers testing against my current bag. I don’t have a personal set up, but will be talking to our head pro to see if anyone at the club has something they’d allow me to use.

I am looking forward to competing and having you guys follow along. This one is for all my fellow lefties on the forum! #LeftyGang 

THE FITTING

I had my fitting today with Steve Olson, who is a Cobra rep in Wisconsin. Coincidentally, he is also a Lieutenant for the Fond Du Lac PD, and works with my cousin there. Small world! We met at 2pm and I got a loose with my 56° and 7i, and was striking the ball respectably well.

We jumped right in after about 15 balls and Steve handed me my first club, which was a 7i. Right away I could tell it was standard length (I play +1), so was kind of confused but went with it. Expectedly couldn’t hit it to save my life and was wondering what the heck I got myself into. After maybe 3 swings, Steve hands me another one and says “ok, now let’s go with this.” First swing was LASERED to a roughly 160 carry into the wind. Immediately after impact I let out a “WOW” of amazement, and Steve said with some gusto “welcome to COBRA!” He then told me he had me hit one that would have been “off the shelf” and one fitted to me so I could feel the difference as to why fittings are so impactful. I hit a few more but the first set up was literal money. Aerojet 6-GW, +1” and 3° UP, KBS $-taper steel lite. Irons done.

Moved to driver next and all he had in LH was the standard Aerojet & Aerojet LS. I knew I was not a candidate for the LS model, so we left that in the briefcase. Started with the Kai'li Blue 60 and I hit a great shot on the first swing, but the shaft was more active than I like (it felt really whippy, which to me feels unstable). I play a Tensei AV Raw White in my current driver, so he switched me to the Kai'Li White 60, and I much preferred that feel. Had some solid strikes but was inconsistent on impact, lost a lot on a fade to slice miss. I did hit a handful of solid shots, which most looked to carry anywhere from 240-250. He recommended Aerojet Max 10.5° D setting, Kai’Li White 60g. The last drive I hit of the day (and my last swing of the day after the fit) was a 250+ carry baby fade. If I can find that this summer, watch out. Driver locked in. 

Next we moved to fairway woods, and again I was limited to a 3W as it was the only LH option. Set up with the same Kai’Li White shaft, the first two off the tee were drilled. Penetrating ball flight, 220-230 carry. I hit some more for the fun of it, and he recommended a 7W as well for off the deck as I really struggle with a 3W off the deck. I asked for his opinion between the 3W and 5W, and his recommendation was to bag the 3 for days where the driver is just not working so I have something I can still get solid distance out of off the tee. I will be using the 3 almost exclusively on the tee box, which actually works out for my home course as the there are 3 holes for sure that I already don't pull driver on. Fairways done.

I wasn’t able to hit any hybrids as he didn’t have LH options, but got to look at the RH heads and we decided on the King Tec 3H, stock shaft. He LOVES this club and thinks I’ll be able to tune it to my swing with the moveable weights. 

We ended the fitting with the Snakebite wedges. He had a 56 and 60 on hand in LH, so I hit both and holy cow was I impressed. Wedges are my favorite clubs to hit and even though I’m a high handicap, I can work them pretty well. Distance control was EXCELLENT and I was able to throw the 60 waaaaay up in the air. Honestly might be looking forward to these clubs the most. 52/56/60 Snakebite Black, KBS Hi-Rev Stiff, +1” 3° UP. 

After we finished we just had some fun hitting shots with the clubs. The entire fit was done in 2 hours, and Steve was honestly awesome at getting me into the correct shafts almost immediately. It was such a cool experience working with someone in the Cobra family. Got to ask him lots of questions about the tech in the clubs and he was great at explaining how it’ll help my game. Two golf geeks in paradise. Data was collected on a Mevo, but I honestly never even looked at the numbers. He saw what he wanted in the numbers and I trust him completely. He also told me he vacations a lot at a tourist destination very close to where I live, so we are going to try to set up at least one round together this summer. 

This was my first real fitting, and I cannot stress enough how impactful it is no matter your skill level. If you have never done an iron fitting, DON’T HESITATE! 

Now the waiting game begins, cannot wait to get these sticks! 

#LeftyGang

Unboxing & First Impressions

 

I'll be kicking off my unboxing and first impressions segment with the Ultralight Cart bag. I went with the Antique Bronze/Black colorway, and it looks even better in person than it did online (S/O to my oldest son, who helped me pick the color!). The actual unboxing itself was exciting purely in the sense that it was the first unboxing of the challenge. I posted a short video preview of my unboxing, which you can find on Page 25 of the thread. Outside of that excitement, there were no thrills or frills to the packaging. Standard shipping box containing the cart bag. The golf bag was inside a plastic bag which I appreciated, to keep it as clean as possible during transit.

Getting into the specifics of the bag, what stood out to me immediately was the absence of a dedicated putter well. There is an oversized slot in the 14 way top for the putter, but no well. This was something I had to have when I purchased my Org 14, but I have found at times it is challenging to get the club in and out with the oversized grip. I will be curious to see the difference the Cobra bag brings. There are also three full length dividers instead of individual dividers, but again, I have had challenges at times getting clubs in and out with the individual full length dividers in the Org 14. I have a feeling it'll be smoother pulling clubs with the Ultralight.

There are also no shortage of storage options on the Ultralight, which I LOVE. One thing I really like is the centralized cooler pocket. It is GIGANTIC. We have our own personal golf cart, and it's not set up where I can get a cooler on it practically, so this pocket will come in handy for sure. There is a magnetic rangefinder pocket, lined valuables pocket, two smaller pockets I'll use for tees and ball markers, and then a large pocket at the bottom of the bag where I'll keep golf balls. Two large pockets on each side, and one of them has a mesh slot that I will plan to store extra golf gloves in, which will keep them organized instead of floating around in that large pocket. There are also two smaller pockets on each side.

I'm already quite confident this bag will be replacing my Callaway ORG 14 based on the presumed functionality, but time will tell as I get it on the course. I did put my current clubs in the bag for a photo to see how it looks loaded. Definitely ready to get it stocked with the Cobra clubs!

Great start to the unboxing process, and I will update this section again when more arrive! #LeftyGang

Buddy, you did an outstanding writeup of your fitting plus general info and covered all your bases.   You must of played basketball in high school as you're a tall rascal. You make your fitter look like a pigmy in that photo. 

[GolfSpy_KFT]

50 minutes ago, ole gray said:

Buddy, you did an outstanding writeup of your fitting plus general info and covered all your bases.   You must of played basketball in high school as you're a tall rascal. You make your fitter look like a pigmy in that photo. 

Thanks for the kind words! Definitely played basketball and my fitter was definitely much shorter than me

[GolfSpy_KFT]

Quick little update to my fitting back at the end of April. Some of the data finally got uploaded to the flight scope account that my fitter created for me and it was inconsistent at best as it was his first time using it instead of trackman. Didn’t pick up much club data, but a couple of my best 7 iron shots did get picked up. This also wasn’t my best one, as I had one with over 120 Mph ball speed
 

Club head speed: 89.6 mph

Ball Speed: 110.6 mph

Carry Distance: 171.9 YARDS

Total Distance: 174.2 YARDS

That is a good 15-20 yards longer than my current 7 iron consistently. Now I know it’s stronger lofted than my current set, but they are also easier to hit and more forgiving. 
 

I cannot WAIT to get these new sticks. 

[JerryB]

50 minutes ago, Jnoble89 said:

I cannot WAIT to get these new sticks. 

[chisag]

... I can't decide if "this guy" is an accurate representation of JNoble or CFreddie, but I guess we will find out once the completion gets under way!