Equipment
Cobra King F6+ driver: The best the industry has to offer?
Is the “best” driver the one that offers the most drastic adjustability? If so, Cobra’s new King F6+ may have a case as the industry leader, according to claims from the company.
The current obsession with adjustability in driver design is a puzzle for equipment engineers. How do they lower center of gravity to make the ball launch higher with less spin and raise moment of inertia to increase forgiveness… while simultaneously adding more and more adjustable features? According to Tom Olsavsky, vice president of R&D at Cobra, the company’s new King F6+ and King F6+ Pro drivers ($399) take an industry-leading step in the right direction. The trick? Carbon fiber.
Thanks to an 18-gram sliding weight housed in a carbon-fiber track (Cobra calls it a CarbonTrac), the F6+ offers the most drastic changes in front-to-back center of gravity (CG) adjustability — 6 millimeters front to back and 600 rpm of spin — and has the lowest CG of any adjustable driver on the market, according to Cobra.
For comparison, TaylorMade claims its M1 T-track system affects spin by 300 rpm when changing CG from front-to-back.
Related: Cobra’s King LTD driver, which boasts a “zero CG.”
The F6+ driver’s predecessor, the Fly-Z+, offered “FlipZone” adjustability, which let golfers move CG forward and backward. But a front setting and a back setting were the only two options. The F6+’s sliding weight track offers nine different CG options, and most importantly, Cobra was able to significantly lower CG, thus raising moment of inertia (MOI).
By building the track’s foundation out of 100 percent carbon fiber, Cobra was able reduce the weight of the structure by 8 grams compared to an all-titanium construction. The crown of the driver is also made from carbon fiber, a structure that the company says is 12 grams lighter than its titanium equivalent.
The F6+’s body is made from Ti 811, a material that’s lighter and stronger than the titanium used in the Fly-Z+, saving 6 grams in total. A new Speed Channel helps save 1.5-2 grams on the club face and is 10 to 15 percent better on off-center hits, according to Cobra.
What the F6+ driver doesn’t do, however, is allow golfers to move CG toward the heel or toe like a few other drivers in the market. Does that matter? Well, to a player who wants to tweak their draw or fade, it could be a problem.
Cobra’s solution? The company’s MyFly hosel, also specially designed to save weight, allows golfers to adjust loft and lie angle with eight different positions including three draw-biased settings, which make the driver more upright. Cobra’s new F6+ comes in an F6+ Pro head, too, which is essentially the same driver with less loft. It also has fade-biased lie angle settings instead of draw settings.
The loft and lie options between the King F6+ and F6+ Pro drivers
Something to keep in mind: When using the sliding weight track, you can also affect side-to-side trajectory. Sliding the weight forward will tend to make the driver more fade biased, while sliding it rearward will give the driver more draw bias.
The Cobra F6+ driver will be available at retail on Jan. 15, 2016.
Shaft offerings and pricing
No-upcharge shafts
Cobra also offers a slew of premium shafts available for an upcharge, including:
- Aldila Rogue Silver and Black
- Fujikura Pro, Speeder Pro, Speeder Pro Tour Spec, Speeder Evolution
- Graphite Design Tour AD-MT, Tour AD-BB, Tour AD-DI, Tour AD-MJ, YS Reloaded
- Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana S+, D+, B-Series, W-Series, Kuro Kage Black TiNi
- Oban Isawa, Kiyoshi Gold
[wrx_retail_links productid=”53″]
Related
- See more photos and join GolfWRX member discussion in our forums.
- Cobra’s new King F6+ driver, fairway woods and hybrids
- Cobra’s new King F6 irons
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Whats in the Bag
Daniel Berger WITB 2024 (April)
- Daniel Berger what’s in the bag accurate as of the Farmers Insurance Open. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X
6-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC 2011 (4-PW)
Shafts: Project X Denali Blue 105 TX (3), Project X 6.5 (4-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (50-12F), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56-14F), Callaway Jaws Raw (60-08C)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (50), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (56, 60)
Putter: Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Mini DB
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy PistolLock 1.0
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Wrap
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Check out more in-hand photos of Daniel Berger’s clubs in the forums.
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Equipment
Heavy Artillery: A look at drivers in play at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans
What are the driver and shaft combinations of the best golfers in the world? For gearheads, it’s an endlessly interesting question — even if we can only ever aspire to play LS heads and 7 TX shafts.
At this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, GolfWRX got in-hand looks at the driver setups of a wealth of players.
Check out some of the most interesting combos below, then head to the GolfWRX forums for the rest, as well as the rest of our galleries from New Orleans.
Rory McIlroy
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @8.25)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Alex Fitzpatrick
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Daniel Berger
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees @9)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Wrap
Rasmus Hojgaard
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60 TX
Grip: Golf Pride MCC
Alejandro Tosti
Driver: Srixon ZX5 Mk II LS (9.5 degrees @10.5)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T1100 75 6.5
Grip: Golf Pride MCC Plus4
James Nicholas
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (8 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Kevin Streelman
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Sang-moon Bae
Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (9+ @8)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 X
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Russ Cochran
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke (9 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD TP 6 X
Grip: Golf pride MCC Align
MJ Daffue
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max (10.5 degrees @9.5)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green RDX 65 TX
Grip: Golf Pride ZGrip Cord Align
Check our more photos from the Zurich Classic here.
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Whats in the Bag
Rasmus Højgaard WITB 2024 (April)
- Rasmus Højgaard what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.
Driver: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Prototype (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Utility: Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw White 85 TX
Irons: Callaway Apex Pro (3), Callaway X Forged (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS $-Taper 130
Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (52-10S, 56-10S, 60-06C)
Shafts: KBS Tour 130 X
Putter: Odyssey Ai One Milled Eight T DB
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Hojgaard in the forums.
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Stevie D.
Mar 21, 2017 at 10:28 pm
As someone who has gamed TM drivers since the 80’s, I wanted to offer my recent experience. I went to a demo day in Orlando a few months ago, and tried drivers from all the top manufacturers. As a golfer who tend to come in steep on the ball, having lots adjustability in the driver was very important. The F6+ and Mizuno JPX 900 w/speeder661, were the longest, but the consistency favored the Cobra. I bought the F6+ w/matrix black tie, at half the price of the JPX900, and have been driving the ball longer, straighter and with more consistency finding the fairway. I settled on the weight all the way forward and the loft set to 10.5° draw setting. I couldn’t be happier. Next up will be replacing my TM 3 wood and rescue with the Cobra F7 rail.
Anthony
Feb 18, 2016 at 1:49 pm
F6+ sliding weight design is horrible. The weight should be squared off so it can’t rotate while you are tightening. The screw head snapped off on mine while I was tightening it. Great head with great numbers but a horrible design on the sliding weight.
Golf93454
Sep 17, 2016 at 2:02 pm
Anthony: so true. Had to ship my driver back to Cobra (thanks Roger Dunn). Third time to move the sliding wt and it stripped? Couldn’t be tightened. And yes it moves while you are trying to tighten it. Ended up sticking with my Mizuno JPX-850
Osterhoff39
Nov 22, 2015 at 6:31 pm
I recently demoed this F6+ and I have hit the king Ltd also. I own the fly z and the m1 and the F6+ is an AMAZING driver!! First off I’m a 8 handicap right now with an average 100 mph swing speed. I like to hit a mid/high trajectory with a slight draw and my fly z gives me that with a 260 yard average drive. This F6 straight out of the bag I was hitting the ball 250 with a 14 mph head wind. I made a few adjustments and was getting over 20 yards further then with my fly z and the M1!! So I took out the king Ltd to compare and the F6+ won by only a few yards. Like I said I’m not a pro and don’t have the swing speed of one either, but these cobra drivers are just AWESOME!!
I'm Ron Burgundy??
Nov 21, 2015 at 11:30 pm
I play the Fly Z+ woods and they are legit! Really feels like the ball explodes off the face. I am interested in trying these. Not sure if they will offer any gains for me over the Fly Z+ but we will see!
retiredRichard
Nov 18, 2015 at 2:15 pm
So I wait till 11/13 to see/hit the King LTD and now I have to wait till 1/15/16 for the F6? They keep this up and I may save a lot of bucks ’cause I will just keep waiting for the next great one.
LaBraeGolfer
Nov 17, 2015 at 11:06 pm
Did I miss something usually I’m great with understanding equipment, but kinda confused on the whole F6+ vs. King LTD thing this year, I kinda feel like their is two options you could go for based on what you want in a driver since their is 4 models total. I don’t know if I’m confused the average golfer is definitely going to be.
ltd
Nov 18, 2015 at 3:09 am
They’ll also have the LTD XL, the bonded, non-adjustable, lightweight shaft with off-set hosel look version for the slow swing speed people. So that’ll be 5 different heads in one sitting
Casey
Jan 10, 2016 at 10:46 am
They really have 3 different heads this year. The LTD and LTD Pro are the same head, but the Pro has less loft and it’s lie angle is more flat. Same thing for the King F6+ and King F6+ Pro. Then they have the F6.
Mat
Nov 17, 2015 at 9:39 pm
In just about two years, Cobra has gone from trendy buy-for-color to any serious player could bag and no one questions it. Very impressive Puma.
Desmond
Nov 17, 2015 at 9:32 pm
Gosh, the Elements Chrome and + as a no upcharge … that’s worth $$$
T2C
Nov 17, 2015 at 7:32 pm
Hey Hammer, what color does Mercer wear?
other paul
Nov 17, 2015 at 7:29 pm
Sexy looking driver.
Desmond
Nov 17, 2015 at 6:32 pm
It’s another take on adjustability. For me, I like the Callaway GBB because I can slide the perimeter weighting to fade to account for my normal miss – a toe hit. Put the weight to fade, hit it towards toe and the weight expands the sweetspot towards the toe, giving me a gentle draw or straight ball flight when coupled with a “D” hosel setting.
The point is all of this tech is great. Choose the tech that works for you.
john
Nov 17, 2015 at 5:35 pm
add another $10 to the price to get rid of that antique grip lol
Poppa
Nov 17, 2015 at 2:25 pm
240 upcharge for Aldila Rogue shaft and it’s not even 125 MSI one. SHANK
WILSON!!
Nov 17, 2015 at 8:36 pm
Someone sure is picky. The rogue isn’t even a great shaft… this comment is a shank!
David Ober
Nov 17, 2015 at 10:52 pm
The Rogue may not be for everyone, but combined with the GBB Alpha DBD, it’s about as point-and-shoot perfect as any shaft/driver combo I’ve hit in the last fifteen years….
ph00ny
Nov 18, 2015 at 12:19 pm
I’m liking Rogue Silver 70x on my E8 Beta 3 wood and as soon as my M1 arrives, i’m sure i will enjoy it as well.
Bob
Nov 20, 2015 at 7:34 pm
Chrome Elements + for no upcharge, you can’t be mad about shaft choices.
Fozcycle
Nov 17, 2015 at 11:56 am
I like the look of the F6……and it comes in Blue, of course! Go Kentucky!
Hammer
Nov 17, 2015 at 12:46 pm
That’s definitely Duke blue!
KUrob77
Nov 17, 2015 at 7:15 pm
Definitely Kansas blue. More appealing at address
Chris Loskie
Nov 18, 2015 at 11:21 pm
Its duke blue until someone else is the champ!!! ????