- 3 weeks ago
Joe Ferguson from Golf Monthly tests and reviews the new DS-ADAPT driver family from Cobra
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00:00One of Golf's most innovative brands, Cobra,
00:02has just dropped an entirely new family.
00:04We've got DS Adapt, and in this video,
00:07we're going to take a look at the four,
00:08yes, four new drivers and one big twist.
00:15Right, so what are these four models?
00:18Well, first of all, we've got the LS model.
00:20Now, this is the more compact, low-spinning model.
00:23It's got these three adjustable weights on the sole,
00:25so you can really fine-tune your spin.
00:27Next up, we've got the DS Adapt X.
00:30Now, this is probably going to have the broadest appeal
00:32up across the range.
00:33It's kind of a mid-spin, mid-launch profile,
00:36and once again, we've got these two interchangeable weights
00:38to help you really dial in your requirements.
00:40Next up, we've got the DS Adapt Max D,
00:42and as the name would suggest, this is about maximum draw,
00:45so everything's set up here, lie angle, head weighting,
00:48this fixed weight in the heel is designed to help you
00:51get that kind of anti-slice feel.
00:53And finally, this intriguing new model, the Max K.
00:57Now, I think this one's come out in response
00:59to the success of drivers like the TaylorMade QI10 Max
01:02and the Ping G430 Max 10K,
01:05and this one is all about MOI and forgiveness.
01:08So what's new in terms of the tech story?
01:10Well, Cobra are telling us we've got some really improved
01:12aerodynamics and a much more advanced hot phase.
01:20And here comes the twist.
01:21So Cobra has introduced what it's calling FutureFit 33,
01:25which essentially is a new loft sleeve adapter,
01:28whatever you want to call that.
01:29And for the first time with a Cobra adapter,
01:31it offers you the ability to decouple loft and lie.
01:35And as the name would suggest,
01:36it's got a whopping 33 settings.
01:39So to put that into context,
01:40Titleist have 16 available settings,
01:43TaylorMade have 12, and Callaway only have eight.
01:45Now, when I first heard about this sleeve, I was intrigued,
01:48but I was immediately a little bit concerned as to whether
01:51the average consumer might find it simply too confusing
01:54or too much to want to wrap their head around.
01:56But clearly Cobra thought that too.
01:58So they've produced a really simple and easy to follow chart.
02:01If you are looking to fit yourself into this product
02:04that they're referring to as the mandala.
02:06Now this chart or mandala is available
02:08in a sort of card printed form,
02:10but what is very Cobra is that on each of these heads,
02:14there's a QR code laser etched into the head,
02:16which if you scan that will take you to a really simple
02:19to follow and intuitive app that will guide you
02:21through the various loft settings and lie settings
02:24that are available.
02:25And that to me is very, very Cobra,
02:27always pushing the boundaries and looking for something new.
02:30So basically, if you're trying to fit yourself
02:31using this new loft sleeve, what Cobra are saying is,
02:35you need to find out on that chart or mandala
02:37where your ball flight sits,
02:40and then go over to the opposite side
02:42and find the corresponding setting.
02:43And that will provide you with the optimal flight correction
02:46from there.
02:47So that's how they're helping you fit yourself.
02:48But a lot of you looking to purchase new drivers out here
02:51will probably go down the custom fit route.
02:53So you don't even have to think about that.
02:55So think of it as a bonus that your fitter now
02:57has so many more options to get you dialed in correctly.
03:00As I mentioned earlier, the FutureFit 33 sleeve
03:03allows you to decouple loft and lie.
03:05But what do I mean by that?
03:06Well, on a lot of manufacturers sleeves,
03:09when you start to move the loft around,
03:10you actually start to alter the lie angle,
03:12which can have a significant effect
03:14on the start line and curvature.
03:16But Cobra's two-cog system here
03:18allows you to do that independently of one another.
03:21So around the sleeve, another thing that Cobra have done
03:24to address what you can do with the head
03:26is they've invented what they call their smart pad technology.
03:29Now, again, on a lot of other manufacturer sleeves,
03:31once you start to alter loft,
03:33not only are you altering lie,
03:35you can also alter the face angle,
03:37by which I mean how open or closed it sits at a dress.
03:40But what Cobra have done is they've introduced
03:42some really clever sole contouring
03:45that allows whatever setting you put this driver in
03:48or these drivers in
03:49to sit perfectly square at a dress still.
03:51So this is all very clever stuff
03:53and that's what Cobra is saying about their drivers.
03:55But what do I think of them?
03:59So visually, in truth,
04:00when I first put this whole DS Adapt range
04:03in behind the ball,
04:04I wasn't totally blown away by the aesthetic.
04:07Now, this is all purely subjective,
04:09but I tend to prefer a much more rounded,
04:11almost circular driver nowadays.
04:14And what you get with the DS Adapt range,
04:15much like you did with Dark Speed,
04:17is a more angular or even triangular head shape.
04:19Now, whilst that's not necessarily a look that I love,
04:22it is all subjective.
04:23And I know there's loads of you out there
04:25who really like that angular look,
04:26including double senior major champion Richard Bland,
04:29who I recently did a What's in the Bag with,
04:31and he absolutely loves that
04:33about his older Dark Speed driver.
04:35One other final thing
04:36that I'm going to pick up on the appearance
04:38is in the address position,
04:39these little banner strips at the front
04:41where you get these multi-material crowns,
04:43I think you've got to be careful with those.
04:44For this one, for me,
04:46it just pinches in a little bit too much on the heel.
04:49There's too much intrusion from that strip there.
04:52And all that does is just draw your eye to it.
04:53It does affect the profile.
04:55It's something small, but it's something that I noticed.
04:57However, in the bag position,
04:58or in the Pro Shop shelf position, the retail,
05:01the shelf appeal is absolutely still exceptional,
05:04as it was in the Dark Speed range.
05:06I love how clean it is.
05:08I love the use of carbon
05:09and the graphics are just perfect.
05:11I also really like the clever color coding system
05:14that Cobra used throughout their range
05:15to differentiate the models.
05:17So the more compact, low spinning LS
05:19has a little black accent color.
05:21When you go into the more core or standard X model,
05:24that's got a blue accent.
05:25The Max D, the draw model,
05:27has a red accent color.
05:28And in the new Max K, it's a silver.
05:31So it really helps to differentiate the range.
05:33Well, two things stuck out massively for me
05:35about the performance of this entire range.
05:37And the first of those is the feel and the acoustics.
05:42For some time now, driver technology,
05:44in terms of ball speed, has had limitations.
05:47So we are limiting the amount of COR,
05:49or trampoline effect we can have on faces.
05:51So manufacturers are looking for little victories
05:54in different areas.
05:55And one of the areas they are trying to do that,
05:57and have been doing so for the last couple of years,
06:00is in the feel and the acoustics.
06:01And I think that Cobra have done
06:02an absolutely brilliant job this year.
06:05Through different cycles,
06:06we tend to flip-flop about between sounds and feels.
06:08Sometimes we get these quite harsh, tinny,
06:11high-pitched products.
06:13And then on the other end of the spectrum,
06:14we can get these dull, muted,
06:16sort of carbon-y, thuddy products.
06:17Now, what we've got here,
06:19and what we had last year from Dark Speed,
06:20was a really great sounding and feeling product.
06:23But I think they've elevated it, again, some more technology,
06:25some more work on the face.
06:27This really hits all the right notes for me.
06:29It's just that beautiful kind of mid-pitch, mid-tone strike.
06:34And it's almost kind of a clicky but soft feel,
06:36not too harsh, not too lively,
06:38just exactly where I'd want it to be.
06:40They've done a great job there.
06:42Right, sorry to interrupt.
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06:49Have you tried this new range yet?
06:51What do you think?
06:52The second standout feature of this range for me
06:54is just how well each model does its specific job.
06:58Sometimes in ranges,
06:59you get models that sit a little bit too close to each other
07:02in terms of their playing characteristics,
07:04and the lines can blur a little bit.
07:05And especially with the introduction of a fourth model here,
07:08that was a concern that I had.
07:10But as it happens, it was very much unfounded.
07:13So starting with the LS,
07:14and as the name would suggest, this is the low spin model.
07:17So what you'd be looking for from this is some really harsh,
07:20penetrating, low spinning ball flights
07:22that will hold their own into any headwind.
07:25And that is exactly what I got.
07:27Much like dark speed from last year,
07:29I actually struggled to get this spinning
07:31even above 2000 revs per minute.
07:33And that really produced
07:34that very penetrating ball strike.
07:36Now, as you would expect from one of these low spin drivers
07:39that has a very, very forward CG location,
07:41miss hits can be just that little bit more volatile.
07:44But as with the dark speed from last year,
07:46it's far from unplayable.
07:48And the profile of player that's going to go
07:50into a head like this is probably likely
07:52to hit the middle enough to be able to manage that.
07:55And on a final note, as I will probably say
07:57about every model again and reiterate,
07:59the feel from this is exquisite.
08:01Now onto the X, which is essentially going to be the core
08:03or the standard model within the range.
08:05And once again, it did exactly what it said on the tin for me.
08:09It produced a nice sort of mid-level of spin and launch
08:12and was just a touch more playable
08:14in more conditions for me than the LS model.
08:17One thing I really love about this X range
08:20is the versatility these two little adjustable weights provide.
08:23In the neutral setting with the lighter weight forward,
08:26you've got a really sort of safe fairway finder
08:28with a lot of stability with 10 grams at the back
08:30and three at the front.
08:32But flip those over and you really see
08:35a genuine change in the spin.
08:37I was experiencing about 150 to 200 RPM change,
08:40which is not insignificant.
08:42And actually then produces something that sits
08:45between the X and the LS, an LSX, if you will,
08:49something that's just got a little bit of a lower spin profile,
08:51but still keeps a little bit more MOI.
08:54And I really loved it in that setting.
08:56Once again, as I'll say without this entire range,
08:59the feel again is superb.
09:01Now onto the Max-D model.
09:03Now, once again, talk about smashing your brief.
09:06This is all about creating an anti-slice product
09:09and everything within this screams that.
09:12From the lie angle to this fixed weight in the heel,
09:15it is so difficult for me as a right-hander
09:17to get this ball moving right.
09:19Now, what I would say is that was the case
09:21with Dark Speed last year.
09:22I put that down as probably my most anti-slice driver of 2024.
09:27And this has certainly not let the side down,
09:29if not enhance that a little bit more.
09:32One downside is if you've got this driver
09:34and you've got it in the furthest left setting on the Mandala
09:37and you're still hitting a slice,
09:39well then it might be time to take up pickleball.
09:41And this highlights what I'm speaking about this range in general.
09:44There is nothing subtle about the models.
09:47Each one of these models does exactly and blatantly
09:51what it tells you it's going to do, which I love.
09:53Now the wildcard, the new driver, the Max K.
09:56Now, this has come off the back of a huge push in 2024
10:00from other manufacturers into this super high MOI
10:02or Quest for 10K moment of inertia and forgiveness.
10:06Drivers like the TaylorMade QI10 Max,
10:08the Ping G430 Max 10K.
10:11And now Cobra have joined the party.
10:13With this big fixed weight back here,
10:15they've pulled that CG right back
10:17and they've arguably created their most forgiving driver
10:19of all time and I can tell you from personal experience,
10:22it really, really works.
10:24The stability on this thing is absolutely astounding.
10:27And believe you me, I tested it.
10:28I really hit some poor shots off the toe
10:31and some poor shots off the heel.
10:32And over quite a few sessions
10:34in a number of different circumstances,
10:36my groupings were consistently really, really tight.
10:40Now, truth be told, I did find the spin number
10:42a little bit high on this for me.
10:44So products I've tested like the Ping G430 Max 10K
10:48do a similar job in terms of stability
10:49with a little bit of a lower spin number,
10:52which make that model accessible kind of across the ranges
10:55from your high handicappers who need that forgiveness
10:58to even some better players who are a bit quicker like me,
11:01still being able to play that and keep the spin down.
11:03I would say I don't think this will cross over quite as well,
11:06but realistically, what Cobra are targeting here
11:09are some slower swing speed players
11:11who need just that little bit more forgiveness.
11:13And for those type of players,
11:14I think it will do an astonishing job.
11:16And why not, let's complete the set.
11:18It feels brilliant like all of the other range.
11:20That's the real key takeaway for me here.
11:23So there you have it.
11:23There's my first impressions of the Cobra DS Adapt range.
11:27Now, first things first, Future Fit 33,
11:30you try saying that, really, really works,
11:32but it's never in doubt.
11:33To be honest, every loft sleeve in all the manufacturers
11:36works to a certain extent.
11:38What was in doubt was the complexity of it
11:40and whether the average consumer
11:42would be able to understand it.
11:44Now, Cobra have taken care of that really, really well
11:47with the Mandala in a very Cobra way
11:49with that accessible QR code app to explain it to people.
11:52And another thing I really loved
11:54was the smart pad technology.
11:55So when you are in any of those 33 settings,
11:58you can still get that club face to sit perfectly square.
12:01So overall for me, despite my personal preferences
12:03on drivers steering me into more rounded heads,
12:07the performance on offer here is really difficult to ignore.
12:10As I said, the range does exactly what it's supposed to do
12:12and blatantly between each model.
12:14Plus, it's one of the best feeling ranges of driver
12:17I've ever, ever tried.
12:20This is a great start to launch season.
12:21Well done, Cobra.
Recommended
3:00
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