Cobra Updates MyGolfSpy’s Most Wanted Driver of 2015

Written By: Tony Covey

With today’s announcement of Cobra’s KING F6 Series of metalwoods intelligent golfers may finally realize that taglines, no matter how clever, are just words. So forget about unmetal woods and leaving no yard behind. Take a moment instead to focus on the kind of real performance that comes from tangible industry-leading mass properties.

I’m talking about actual physics. There can be no argument with that…or so I’ve heard.

F6 Joins the LTD

It wasn’t that long ago that Cobra announced the KING LTD, a 100% performance driven driver with no adjustability beyond the hosel. The KING LTD just hit stores last week, and so while it would be easy to joke that Cobra has undertaken a release cycle so accelerated that it would make Callaway and TaylorMade blush, the truth is that F6 doesn’t usurp the KING LTD.

With F6 Cobra is simply rounding out the KING lineup with replacements for the FLY-Z and FLY-Z+.

We’ll get to the distinctions between F6 products below, but for those already wondering about LTD vs. F6; the former is all about performance, while the latter (F6) is about is about personalization (that includes color and weighting), versatility, and fitting a wider range of golfers.

Cobra KING F6+

One of things I most enjoy about sitting down with the team at Cobra Golf is that they have absolutely no reservations about their technology. They’ll show you where they’re strong, where certain competitors excel, they’ll show you the actual physics behind their products, and they’ll tell you exactly how they achieved their mass properties.

So with all of that in mind, let’s look at what Cobra hoped to accomplish with the F6+ driver.

Three Objectives

• Increase the performance of the head; specifically by lowering the CGNA while maintaining high inertia.
• Bring Flip Zone technology to a wider audience by increasing the adjustability range.
• Simplify color offerings while maintaining classic look at address.

That classic part is for you. Simplifying offerings – tightening up the range to focus on best-selling colors, that’s more about the economics of golf. Ultimately a little less choice is better for both Cobra and its retail partners.

For those skipping over the bullet points your takeaway is that with F6+, Cobra wasn’t looking to make a newer Fly-Z+, they wanted to make a better FLY-Z+.

So how did Cobra do it?

As the avid MGS readers among you should be able to guess, the answer lies in updates to F6+’s mass properties.

For the uninitiated, the simple answer is that to improve over FLY-Z+, Cobra needed to find ways to save and strategically reallocate mass. That’s certainly not a unique story within the golf industry, but when you consider the year over year evolution of Cobra’s product lines, it’s hard to argue that anyone in the industry is doing a better job moving mass than Cobra.

Some of the hows of the F6+ design are reasonably standard issue mass savings stuff. With its carbon fiber crown Cobra was already saving 12 grams over titanium. Another 6 grams was saved by moving to a Ti811 alloy for the face and body. As you may recall from our coverage of the KING LTD release, Ti811 is stronger and lighter than the Ti 6-4 used in the FLY-Z+. It’s your basic strength to weight ratio play.

Another one-half of one gram (as Cobra’s Mike Yagley told me last year, “we’re sub-gram fisticuffs in R&D”) came from refinements to Cobra’s Speed Channel face technology.

A little here and there is good, but the biggest chunk of new-found mass savings came from a redesign of the track system that supported last season’s FlipZone weighting.

CarbonTrac

New to the F6+ is what Cobra calls CarbonTrac, which as the name suggests is a track (trac) system built entirely from Carbon fiber. The previous FlipZone structure was built entirely of titanium. Moving to a carbon fiber design saved an additional 8 grams.

With all of that extra weight laying around, Cobra was able to increase the amount of movable weight to 18 grams (up from 15), and increase the surface area over which weight can be moved. The end result is 6mm of  potential center of gravity movement, and approximately 600 RPM of total spin change from front to back.

For the sake of comparison, last year’s FLY-Z+ offered approximately 450-500 RPM change between the front and back positions.

Five Settings…and Four More

To simplify the fitting equation, Cobra will advertise F6+ as having 5 distinct weight positions, but the CarbonTrac is designed to secure the weight in intermediate positions as well, which means F6+ actually has 9 distinct weight positions.

Why not advertise all nine? Five is manageable and the differences between positions can already be difficult to convey to the average consumer. Nine…that’s perhaps overwhelming, but they’re there if you want/need them.

Cobra believes that once everybody else’s everything is on the market, F6+ will prove to offer the lowest CGNA of any movable weight driver.

Cobra KING F6+ Pro

Following the blueprint of the KING LTD, KING F6+ will also be available in a pro model. Like KING LTD, this isn’t one of those bigger/smaller stories. There are three distinct differences between the standard F6+ and F6+ Pro:

• The nominal loft (effectively the middle of the loft range) is 2° lower with the Pro model (10.5 standard vs. 8.5 Pro°).
• The pro model offers a flatter lie angle (you might call that a fade bias).
• While the standard model offers draw settings at 9.5°, 10.5°, and 11.5, the Pro model offers fade settings at 7.5°, 8.5°, and 9.5°.

While Cobra doesn’t plan on billing itself as a bargain brand any time soon, the company believes that KING F6+ offers golfer better performance and greater front to back adjustability, for $100 less than TaylorMade’s M1.

Pricing, Colors, and Availability

Cobra F6+ and F6+ Pro drivers will be available at retail beginning 1/15 for $399. The reduced color lineup includes black, white, blue, and Turbulence/Gecko Green (shipping in March). Additional colors (orange, for example) will be available through Cobra’s custom department.

The stock shaft in the F6+ is a Matrix Black Tie, but it’s worth noting that, like many of its competitors, Cobra will offer 18 no charge upgrades ranging in weight from 42 to 75 grams.

Cobra KING F6 Driver

For KING F6, the objectives weren’t much different than they were for F6+. We can summarize by saying Cobra wanted to create a measurably better driver than what came before it.

In addition to SmartPad, MyFly, and Speed Channel (common to the entire KING family), it should be pointed out immediately that the KING F6 now includes an adjustable front to back weighting system similar to what we saw with FLY-Z+.

More on that in a just a moment.

Unlike the unmetal (carbon fiber) F6+, the standard F6 features all titanium construction. This year’s design is made from Ti 811, which saves a bit of weight over the 6-4 Ti found in FLY-Z.  Like FLY-Z, F6 is designed to be a comparatively low CGNA, high MOI driver. It’s a perfect compliment to the F6+, and will likely offer the highest MOI of any non-PING driver on the market.

It’s Shape, Not Volume

We know looks matter, which is why Cobra wants people to stop talking about volume and CCs and spend a little more time discussing shape. Mass properties and by extension performance are largely the result of shaping, not size. Shape is a large part of what enables engineers to reach their mass properties specifications.

Both F6+ and F6 are 460cc drivers, but the shapes are noticeably different. While F6+ fits the bill as traditional, the standard model has a shallower face and a deeper body.

It’s a design that allows more mass to be pushed towards the rear of the club to boost MOI. While not traditional, the F6 design is still with the realm of conventional. I doubt many will find it off-putting.

Spare Parts

A bizarre aside that those who you who will demo (and perhaps buy) the King F6…

While the F6 ships with 10 gram and 3 gram weights installed, the latter is completely unnecessary. Take it out…leave it out. Seriously.

You don’t need it. You don’t want it.

The original and intended design spec of the KING F6 features a single 10 gram weight which can be positioned in either the front for lower spin and a more penetrating trajectory, or in the back for easier squaring and greater forgiveness.

KING F6 was designed to be a one weight system.

Unfortunately for Cobra, and to the determent of F6 players, some retailers felt that an open weight port made the design look unfinished.

shaking my head vigorously

Cobra caved and gave the retailers what they wanted, but it that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing. Retailers want your money, we want you to succeed on the golf course, so here’s your truth bomb du jour:

The 2nd weight is totally unnecessary. The driver is USGA conforming without it, and while a superfluous 3 grams might make the driver look a little prettier on the shelf of your friendly neighborhood big box, it limits the amount of CG movement, and ultimately will reduce the performance of the driver.

It’s form over function. Whether testing or buying, take the translucent weight out and don’t ever put it back in.

For real.

The Co-Engineered Shaft Controversy

If there’s something to grumble about with the F6, here it is. The Matrix Red Tie that ships with the King F6 isn’t a true aftermarket equivalent. It’s what we often call made-for. I know…the made-for shaft is the bane of many of our existences (even if we’re all a bit guilty of blowing it out of proportion). While the Cobra variant features the same bend profile as a real Red Tie, the torque is a little bit higher, and there are some material differences as well. Cobra’s internal testing revealed that few players – even better players – can tell the difference.

Should we take this to mean Cobra is cutting corners? Certainly, I see that argument, but Cobra believes in the performance of its co-engineered product, and more to the point, the modest design differences compared to the aftermarket shaft save the company $10 per club; money which Cobra put into making a better head.

I understand the concerns, but after a detailed discussion, I’m inclined to believe that for the overwhelming majority of golfers, it’s much ado about absolutely nothing.

And here’s something else to consider. Regardless of what consumers are told, Cobra is far from alone. While claims sometimes suggest otherwise, there isn’t a single $349 (or under) driver on the market today that ships stock with a true aftermarket equivalent shaft. I’m told that if any manufacturer tells you differently, it’s playing fast and loose with the truth.

That said, all of Cobra’s no charge upgrade shafts are true aftermarket, real-deal shafts. If you don’t believe that Cobra’s Red Tie is right for you, order a real one (or one of 17 other no charge upgrades) through custom.

Pricing, Colors, and Availability

Cobra F6 drivers will be available at retail beginning 1/15 for $349 in your choice of black, white, blue, or Turbulence (grey) /Gecko Green (shipping in March). Additional colors will again be available through custom.

The stock shaft is a co-engineered Matrix Red Tie. 18 real-deal, no charge upgrades ranging in weight from 42 to 75 grams are also available.

KING F6 vs. KING F6+

We want to provide you with several different options for comparing not only the new drivers, but the new drivers to the previous generation of Cobra drivers. We know many of you want to see how the KING Series stacks up to the 2016 competition from a CG perspective. We’re working on updating our charts and we’ll get that info to you, but for now, I really want you to focus on Cobra.

Specifically, there are two things I’m hoping you’ll take away from these next two charts.

Firstly, not all golfers are the same, and so not all drivers are the same. There are forward CG guys and back CG guys. There are low CG guys, and even a few high CG guys. While clubs may perform similarly across a wide range of golfers, you’ll see that as we examine clubs designed for individual swing characteristics, performance differences can be substantial.

Secondly, the KING Series isn’t FLY-Z with new paint. Cobra has moved its CG positions on both new models by a fairly significant margin. Few, if any others, in the industry will show this level of year over year progress. This is no small thing.

CGNA (the Neutral Axis)

The above chart shows the center of gravity of each driver relative to the neutral axis. If you don’t know what that is, you’ll want to read this. As a reminder, as the CG moves lower, ball speed and launch angle increase and spin decreases. As the CG moves back, MOI and dynamic closure rate increase. This not only improves forgiveness, but it also results in a head that’s easier to square up at impact.

On a comparative basis, we see that both F6 models offer lower CG than comparable FLY-Z models. The end result should be higher launch, lower spin, and ultimately more distance.

Maximum (rear-most weight position) MOI has been increased slightly on the F6+ and decreased slightly on the standard model. While the chart suggests that there is some overlap insomuch as a F6+ with the weight all the way back sits very close to F6 with the weight forward, in actuality, it’s not so much overlap as it is continuation.

Conceptually, F6 forward is a bit like F6+ with the weight in the non-existent 6 position. It’s simply the next step towards more forgiveness.

Center of Gravity in Space

Here we see the center of gravity positions without regard for loft (or the neutral axis). Basically, it’s the CG locations as they exist floating within the internal space of the clubhead.

This view shows us a few interesting things. Notice how substantial the CG movement is, even with the single weight configuration of the F6. Effectively Cobra has created a lower CG, more forgiving version of the FLY-Z+.

KING F6+ is particularly intriguing as it offers the most significant CG movement of any driver on the market. This chart also illustrates how CG position is tied to shape. Note how the FG+’s CG locations trace the outline of a drivers sole at the various positions. As I said earlier, shape is important.

In Terms Everyone Can Understand

We get it, not everyone wants to dig into the minutia (important minutia) of CG location, so we’re sharing Cobra’s charts that illustrate how the various CG positions offered by the KING F6 and KING F6+ impact their actual performance characteristics.

This graphic shows F6 and F6+ trajectories.

From the top down it’s KING F6 Back to KING F6+ Forward. As you can see, as weight moves forward, ball flight transitions from high to what Cobra calls penetrating. Note the transition from F6 weight forward (dark orange) to F6+ weight back (white).

The chart above compares spin rates and trajectory height (not the same as launch angle) between F6 models.

As you would expect, the peak trajectory curve follows the CG movement front to back, with back CG configurations producing the highest peak peak trajectories. The chart suggests about 5 yards difference front to back with the F6+ and approximately 3 yards with the KING F6.

Again, the launch and spin properties of the two drivers and their various weight positions track along a predictable path. The apparent anomaly is the KING LTD, which despite offering a lower peak trajectory than the F6+, actually launches nearly as high as the F6. The reason is the extremely low CGNA which adds a substantial amount of dynamic loft leading into impact.

Hands-On – Which is Right For You?

I’ve been playing the KING LTD since the day it was announced, I’m experimenting (weather permitting) with an LTD Pro, and I had a chance to hit both the F6+ and the F6 on a recent visit with Cobra (although in the interest of not being full of shit I should tell you that my back locked up on me so it was far from a complete test).  That being said, I think I’ve got a pretty good sense of where everything in Cobra’s 2016 comes together.

KING F6+

F6+ is the easy answer for a true forward CG guy. You like SLDR, and Double Black Diamond, and JPX-850…maybe even M1, and you’re happy to give up some MOI to keep your spin down, F6+ is what you’re looking for. In the front position, it should prove to be an absolute beast.

The combination of low CG along with high MOI (position 5’s MOI is roughly equivalent to that of a Titleist D915 D2) should also appeal to guys looking for higher launch with lower spin than you’d expect from a forgiving driver. If you love PING’s G30 LS Tec for example, the F6+ with the weight in position 4 might just blow your mind.

Take just a moment to think about that…low/forward CG at one extreme, and among the highest MOI in golf at the other. That’s an extremely effective implementation of movable CG.

While the performance of the F6+ is impressive, it’s that adjustability range that should prove particularly appealing for tinkerers or anyone else who might want to move weight around to suit the conditions (or your swing). The CarbonTrac weighting system gives Cobra the flexibility to cover a wide range of golfers with a single club.

With all of that said, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the driver is a bit louder (deep loud…like PING) than I care for. I believe it’s going to be an issue for some.

KING F6

With the KING F6 (standard model), the real selling point for me is the increased playability. For higher spin guys, FLY-Z wasn’t really an option, the lower CG and forward weight option potentially puts KING F6 into play. While allowing for the fact that I was far from 100% when hitting the new models side by side, the F6 unquestionably produced the most consistent and inarguably best results. Spin numbers were a bit higher than I (or anyone else) would consider ideal, but it’s hard to argue with a repeatable high draw.

As was the case with FLY-Z, KING F6 should prove a worthy adversary for the PING G30 (or whatever comes after it), Titleist 915 D2, and Callaway’s Great Big Bertha. With the exception of the G30, the F6 will offer higher MOI, and because Cobra pushed the CG lower, that forgiveness will come with a more efficient energy transfer between club and ball, and a lesser spin penalty than the alternatives.

For those simply seeking maximum forgiveness, F6 should also be on what is admittedly a very short list.

I’m also going to mention that I find the sound more appealing than that of the F6+.

KING LTD

The KING LTD, by most reasonable measures remains an outlier. It has the lowest CGNA of any driver on the mass market, while still offering MOI above the industry average. If you don’t need G30-type forgiveness, you don’t need extremely forward CG (low launch, low spin), you don’t perpetually hit the ball extremely high on the face, and you don’t need adjustability, the LTD, I believe remains, the single most compelling driver offering in golf.

Like anything else, however; it’s not for everyone, and the $450 price tag is perhaps prohibitive. The good news is that Cobra has other options, and for many who take them into the hitting bay and give them a fair shake against what else is out there, will, more often than not, find themselves pleasantly surprised.

Just remember to remove the extra weight first.