- 9 minutes ago
Joel Tadman tests the new Cobra Radspeed drivers to discover if more golfers can now benefit from using a low-spinning driver. The Radspeed has some extreme front and back weighting claiming to offer low spin with forgiveness, but what are the sacrifices in performance if any? He also tests the Radspeed XB driver up against two older models to see how the performance has evolved.
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00:03Hello everybody, Joel Tabman here from Golf Monthly and welcome to a wintry Burley Park
00:07Golf Club here in Stamford where I'm going to be answering the question as to whether
00:11you can now get away with playing a low spin driver. Historically, low spin drivers only
00:16really been for very fast swingers or low handicap golfers that use very little of the
00:22club face, they're using the centre of the face more often than not, but is there a case
00:26now that more golfers can benefit from low spin performance without sacrificing accuracy
00:32out on the golf course? That's the question I really want to answer with the launch of
00:35this new Cobra Rad Speed driver, new for 2021, comes out at the end of January. I've been
00:41giving this a thorough test in its various different weight positions, various different models,
00:45up against the prior generation drivers as well to see how the performance has evolved
00:50with this driver, are their distance going to be had without sacrificing accuracy from
00:54the design of this new driver, let's find out.
01:07Right, so Cobra Rad Speed driver, all about pushing weight to the extremities in terms of
01:12that front and back area, getting it further away from the centre of gravity, giving you
01:17forgiveness, but with low spin to maximise performance for different player types. So you'll notice,
01:22with this driver you've got two new weights here right at the front of the head, two eight
01:27grand weights that are designed to give you more ball speed and lower the spin, and then
01:31you come back to the rear of the head, you've got this Rad Speed weight right at the back,
01:35similar to the speed back design we saw prior from Cobra, dragging the mash low and back,
01:41increasing launch, MOI spin as well to give you forgiveness. So you combine those two together,
01:46you think it's the ideal blend of performance. You've also got two adjustable weights here in this
01:51standard model, you've got a 12 and a 2 grand weight, which you can interchange if you want
01:56to, to adjust those launch and spin characteristics. This is one of three models now from Cobra in the
02:02new range. You've also got the XB model, which stands for extreme back, so no adjustable weighting,
02:06more weight is back in that head to give you more forgiveness and a bit more stability. So that's
02:11really designed for players that utilise more of the face and really want more forgiveness from
02:15their driver. Then you've also got a new XD model, which stands for extreme draw. So if you're struggling
02:21with a slice, you should be able to get more distance by opting for the XD model. So it's really
02:25getting about distance in different ways from this Rad Speed range. The big question I want to answer,
02:31of course, is can you get away with playing a low spin driver like this, or how low spinning is
02:36this
02:36driver compared to the rest of the market? So I gave these drivers a really thorough test down at
02:41Foresight Sports HQ on the GC quad launch monitor using Titleist Pro V1X golf balls. And I'll flash
02:47the data up on your screen now because I think it is really, really interesting. And there's no
02:50question, you know, this driver, especially compared to the prior generation drivers from Cobra, so this
02:56King F9 speedback, the King Speedzone drivers, this driver is unquestionably lower spinning than those
03:03drivers. And you'll notice, you know, from that low spin, this driver was delivering me more distance
03:09on average than those other drivers. So this is all with the same shaft tested. So I've got the new
03:15Fujikura Motore X-Stiff staff, so I was able to retrofit this shaft into those other drivers,
03:20same loft, so nine degrees of loft. And my first impression was, well, okay, it's great to get low
03:24spin, you know, but getting a spin number under that 2,000 RPM mark is a little bit of a
03:30concern for
03:30me. So obviously there are ways you can just raise the spin a little bit. Certainly I thought I needed
03:36to
03:36try and do that to get it closer to optimum. So I started by moving the 12-round weight into
03:40the
03:40rear of the head. And you'll notice from the numbers how the spin really, really popped up
03:44there. So I was expecting it to go up by one or two hundred RPM, but actually it went up
03:48by more
03:48like four to five hundred RPM, around about a 2,400 mark average. And for me, that's a little bit
03:55too
03:55high, actually. You notice the distance really came down. The spin numbers were higher, but they were
03:59more consistent, and the flight was a lot more consistent as well. So while I wasn't getting as much
04:05distance in that setting, I was loving how straight the ball was going. Then I tested the Cobra Rad
04:12Speed XB driver. And typically, you know, I've found that they're extreme drivers. So the King Speed
04:17Zone extreme driver from last year, you know, that was really, really too high spinning for me. I lost
04:21about 10, 15 yards by switching into that driver because it was too high spinning. But actually the
04:26XB driver gave me a surprisingly good middle ground in a bit of a dilemma into which model I want
04:31to
04:31choose are kind of torn between this one and the XB. They both perform very similar, but I think the
04:35differences and the decision will come down to the looks of these drivers because, you know, they do
04:41have two very different looks. So I prefer the kind of the shorter look of this Rad Speed driver and
04:46also the matte finish on the crown. I definitely prefer that versus the stretched out look of the
04:51XB driver. This is a really, really cool looking driver. It's got loads going on on the bottom. You've got
04:58carbon fiber panels. You've got loads of wake ports. That turbo yellow color really pops through.
05:03Really, really cutting edge. I love the look of the driver. Feel and sound as well. Definitely
05:06improved with this driver. I think, you know, where the King F9 was quite a low pitched thud sound
05:14and the King Speed Zone driver was quite a loud high pitch sound. This is somewhere in the middle.
05:18I think Stripe's a really nice middle ground in terms of that. That feel and sound feels really,
05:22really solid out the middle. You've obviously got that infinity face here,
05:25which I think also helps a little bit with alignment as well. That kind of contrast between
05:29the crown and that infinity face, the way it wraps over the top section of the crown,
05:33just gives you a little bit more alignment assistance on offer. So yeah, definitely food for
05:37thought there. Wasn't confident as to which model would be best for me. Yes, that low spin driver
05:42in its low spin setting gave me the best average carry, but I really wanted to find out if that
05:47was
05:47playable out on the golf course. Okay, so I've hit some shots here on the range with this Cobra King
05:59Raspberry driver in its low spin setting. I've got to say, I was surprised at how stable and consistent
06:05the ball flight was in its low spin setting. I'm a five handicap golfer, so I'm peppering kind of
06:10around the area on the circle on the face where this infinity logo is. I say the ball flight was
06:15very, very straight, very consistent. On those kind of off-center hits, especially in the toe,
06:20outside that area where you do see spin dropping off quite a lot, there is a case to say, yes,
06:25you are
06:25getting a bit more curvature to the left. It's not quite as stable in that setting on those slight
06:31off-center hits. This driver does have more fade-bys built into it than the other models,
06:37which I think definitely helps me, as a drawer of the golf ball, achieve a more stable, neutral
06:41ball flight. But switching the weights around, having that heavy weight in the back definitely
06:46gave me more consistency. But I would say, in its low spin setting, there was more forgiveness on
06:52offer than I was expecting. I think whether you opt for that setting will depend on a lot of different
06:56factors. Obviously, it depends on your own swing. Would low spin generally be helpful to you?
07:03Maybe you're quite a high-spin player already and, therefore, knocking some RPMs off wouldn't be
07:07a bad thing. Is your attack angle down? Obviously, that will contribute to more spin and, therefore,
07:13something like this would really help you out. As a golfer that hits quite a lot up on the ball,
07:18I don't necessarily want lower spin to get me more distance, but that said, the numbers would show that
07:25this driver did unlock more performance for me, or the most performance, in its low spin setting.
07:30But for me, whether you opt for a low spin driver like this, I think it's actually quite course
07:34dependent. If your course is quite open and you can get away with those miss hits and those offline
07:40drives more, then maybe a low spin driver could work for you. So, same with the longer shaft debate.
07:46If the course is quite open, you can get away with wider shots. But if your course is quite tight,
07:51you know, for me, Pearly Park Golf Club here in Stamford, it's quite a tight course, tree-lined.
07:55I need, it's quite short as well, so I need more control than I do distance. So, therefore,
08:00you know, a low spin setting isn't really overly beneficial. I think dragging that weight back and
08:05having a bit more spin, maybe sacrificing a few yards, but finding a few more fairways would
08:10definitely help me out more than hitting the ball a little bit further. That said, if I'm swinging the
08:15driver really well, I think there's definitely a case for swapping those weights around, having the
08:20heavy weight in the front, and you're benefiting from that extra distance if you're hitting the
08:25centre of the face more often. If you're swinging it well, that's a really good option to have.
08:28And that's why I think this Cobra Rad Speed Driver is quite versatile, because you can set the driver
08:33up differently depending on the course and how you're playing, and give you two quite different
08:37types of performance. We've seen from the numbers how the difference in the RPM was significant in
08:41those two weight settings, and therefore you've always got two drivers in one. You've got a low
08:45spinning bomb driver. If you want to hit high bombs like Phil Mickelson, you can do that with this
08:50Rad Speed Driver in its low spin setting. But then if you want a bit more control,
08:53you can switch those weights around, and you're getting something that's a bit more stable,
08:57while still looking nice and compact down behind the ball. So I think it's a really thoughtful
09:00offering from Cobra, really, really versatile, as I mentioned. And when you consider the price tag,
09:07£369, significantly cheaper than a lot of the mainstream brands on the market, and this performance
09:12from this driver, I would say, is pretty comparable with those. I've not even been custom fitted for
09:16this driver. Definitely, if you go through a custom fitting process, I think you'll unlock
09:20potentially even more performance from this driver than I did. When you factor all those things in,
09:25as well as the Cobra Connect shot tracking system that comes included with this driver,
09:30I think this is a mightily enticing package for the club golfer, especially when you consider,
09:36in addition, those two other models to choose from. So the XB driver, if you want even more
09:40forgiveness, you can go for that one. If you want more slice correction, you've got the XD model
09:44as well. So really, really comprehensive package from Cobra, looks fantastic, feels great,
09:49nice variety in the setups that are available to you, depending on what you are looking for
09:54from your driver. But for me, if I had to choose the driver in the setting that I'd go for,
09:59it probably would be this RadSpeed driver. I'd probably opt for the weight at the back,
10:04just to give me a bit more stability initially, and then as I kind of got used to it, might
10:08think
10:08about having that heavy weight forward to give me a bit more distance. But in answer to the
10:12question at the start of this video, can you now get away with playing a low-spin driver? I'd say
10:16that definitely the potential has increased with the launch of this RadSpeed driver, but do do it
10:21with caution, because it won't be for everyone. Guys, I hope you enjoyed this video and it's given
10:25you a good idea as to what the performance of this RadSpeed driver is all about, how it compares with
10:30what came before, and what driver model might be best for you from the new range. I've really,
10:34really enjoyed my time testing this RadSpeed driver. Now, do click the like button down below
10:38if you like what you're watching, and comment on the video, tell me, are you interested in hitting
10:42high bombs with low spin, or do you want a bit more control and accuracy on your drives? But that's
10:47all
10:47for me from Burley Park Golf Club here in Stamford. I'll see you next time.
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