Equipment

Cobra launches new King F9 Speedback drivers and fairways

Published

5 years ago

Oct 30, 2018

Every driver company boasts a couple technological advances with their new driver launches; maybe a new crown to save weight, an aerodynamic crown for more club head speed, a different sole design, a way to shift CG to dial in trajectory, higher MOI, or a different face technology. Cobra, on the other hand, has thrown the kitchen sink at its new King F9 Speedback drivers, checking off all of those boxes — even though aerodynamic designs are often detrimental to lowering CG.

At a recent media event at the Floridian, Cobra presented information on the new technologies and designs.

Compared to popular technologies in today’s current driver market, according to Cobra, the new King F9 Speedback drivers are the only ones to check off all the boxes.

In general, Cobra’s King F9 Speedback drivers are designed to help achieve more club head speed with a more aerodynamic crown, coupled with a lower center of gravity (CG) to make the driver fly farther. How did Cobra accomplish that exactly?

Below, we’ll dive into some of the key technologies in its drivers that are listed above. Then, we will get into Cobra’s new King F9 Speedback and Speedback Tour fairway woods, as well.

All King F9 products are available on January 18, 2019. Click here for more in-hand photos.

Cobra King F9 Speedback drivers

What does Speedback mean? Speedback is the combination of Aerodynamic, or “Aeroficient” crown designs, and a sole structure designed to lower CG. PWR Ridges on the top of the driver crown work to reduce drag as the club head flies through the air in your downswing, thus increasing club head speed. Cobra also raised the “perimeter skirt, tail and crown” and rounded off the edges to further reduce drag. To lower CG in the club head after raising it to achieve those aerodynamic qualities, Cobra built a visible structure on the rear sole of the club head.

Cobra’s King F9 Speedback drivers, with bodies and faces made from 8-1-1 Titanium, also have carbon fiber crowns that “wrap around” the bodies in order to save 10 grams of additional weight to be distributed lower in the club head. Here’s a look at that wrap-around design via Cobra graphics.

Cobra is once again CNC-milling its King F9 faces, as it did with the previous King Cobra F8 drivers, in order to help deliver more precise faces that allow the company to design them thinner and hotter due to tighter tolerances. Cobra says the new faces are 3 percent thinner and 10 percent lighter.

Additionally, due to improved bulge-and-roll, the drivers have different loft measurements across the face in order to help your golf ball curve back to the center line no matter where you hit the ball.

With new “E9 Speed Tuned technology,” Cobra also says it’s optimized the bottom and top roll curvatures of the face — the goal is to minimize the negatives of gear effect (slices and hooks), according to Cobra. In theory, that means strikes off the toe and heel would both curve back to the center line, instead of hooking or slicing too much.

To help golfers dial in launch, spin and draw/fade bias, the King F9 Speedback drivers have MyFly8 hosels (8 loft settings, with 3 draw settings) with the familiar Smart Pad to keep the driver sitting flat, and two weight ports on the sole that house either 14- or 2-gram weights to move weight forward or back. Here’s a look at the specs:

In the end, Cobra says its new F9 driver (9 degrees, back setting) produces 1 mph more ball speed than the F8+ driver, 450 rpm lower spin and 8.8 yards more distance.

Cobra’s new drivers (available in yellow and “avalanche” colorways) will sell for $449 with Cobra’s Lamkin Crossline grips, equipped with Cobra Connect powered by Arccos. Aftermarket shaft options include UST Mamiya Helium 50, Fujikura Atmos Tour Spec Blue, Fujikura Atmos Tour Spec Black 7 or the Project X HZRDUS Smoke 60.

Cobra King F9 Speedback and Speedback Tour fairways

Like the F9 drivers, the F9 fairway woods are designed to have lower CGs to help increase launch and ball speed. To achieve this, Cobra added a fixed, 15-gram Tungsten weight in the rear sole of the woods.

For better turf interaction, Cobra shallowed out the Baffler Rail heights in the lower-lofted woods (which require more of a sweeping motion) and taller rails on the higher-lofted woods (which typically require steeper/more varied angles of attack).

As with the drivers, the fairway woods also have aerodynamic crowns that have PWR Ridges for more clubhead speed, and carbon fiber crowns to save weight. For the first time on a Cobra fairway wood are also CNC-milled faces, which, according to Cobra, increases ball speeds by up to 2.5 mph compared to polished faces.

Each of the King F9 fairway woods ($269 apiece) also come with MyFly8 hosels to help dial in loft and trajectory biases. As you may expect, the King F9 Speedback Tour model has a more compact shape and has a forward CG for a more penetrating ball flight. Here are the specs for each below

King F9 Speedback Specs via Cobra

Colors: Black/Yellow or Satin Black/Avalanche
Grip: Lamkin Crossline (58+) Connect – Black
Shaft Options: UST Mamiya Helium 60 or Fujikura Atmos Blue 7
Available in RH (LH available in custom)

King F9 Speedback Tour Specs

Colors: Satin Black
Grip: Lamkin Crossline (58+) Connect – Black
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke 70
3-4 wood available in RH (LH available in custom); 4-5 wood available in RH only.

Bonus: Rickie Fowler and Bryson DeChambeau talk about the new driver (and in-hand pics of their clubs)

Click here to watch the full “What’s in the Bag?” video

Fowler’s new Cobra King F9 Speedback

See more photos and join the discussion about Rickie’s new driver

Bryson’s new Cobra King F9 Speedback driver

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31 Comments

CJ

Nov 13, 2018 at 1:09 pm

Excited to give these a try when they finally get to my local golf stores

Reply Report comment
ogo

Oct 31, 2018 at 11:44 pm

WOW!!!! Look at the Cobra picture for bulge and roll face mapping.
The driver head DROOPS 7º at Impact!!! That means that F9 head must start 7º up and the shaft lie 7º down… go figure!!!

Reply Report comment
- steve
  
  Nov 1, 2018 at 3:53 pm
  
  No you don’t… because when the driver head droops down it also torques closed… and that squares the face to some extent. However your driver should be toe up at address somewhat to compensate for shaft tip droop. Shaft tip torque is the real unknown factor for your swing action.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - geohogan
    
    Dec 26, 2018 at 8:13 pm
    
    A decent shaft will zero out droop, gear effect and kick.
    one example : Nunchuk
    
    Reply Report comment
ogo

Oct 31, 2018 at 11:39 pm

Copious Cobra {{{love}}} flowing on the WRX forum… the gearhead wet dream… 😛

Reply Report comment
Gee

Oct 31, 2018 at 11:53 am

If that was in Driver v Driver 2, it would have been voted off !

Awful looking thing with yet more bullsh*t technology.

Reply Report comment
valen

Oct 31, 2018 at 12:00 am

WOW!!!!!!! Lovely clubs… soooo pretty too.

Reply Report comment
- Scheiss
  
  Oct 31, 2018 at 2:08 am
  
  I like your sarcasm.
  Puma, being a German company, is going for that flag color combo that TM did one time with their R7 series when everything was black red and yellow
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Dr. Freud
    
    Nov 1, 2018 at 3:55 pm
    
    Bright colors really turn on adolescent gearheads…. only black is macho.
    
    Reply Report comment
Coach

Oct 30, 2018 at 11:22 pm

reminds me of Nike Vapor Flex, in terms of aero and cg.

Reply Report comment
- Brandon Miller
  
  Nov 13, 2018 at 12:07 pm
  
  Reminds me of the Nike Sasquatch Sumo 2 driver. Very similar color scheme and a bit boxy as well.
  
  Reply Report comment
Jack

Oct 30, 2018 at 10:00 pm

The G400 has the least amount of features but frequently considered the best current gen driver. Hm….

Reply Report comment
allan

Oct 30, 2018 at 9:51 pm

I love the colors on the sole.
I love the colors on the shaft
I love the colors on the grip.
I love the colors on my glove.
I am a golfer of many colors.

Reply Report comment
Tiger Noods

Oct 30, 2018 at 9:25 pm

They look nice.

But it’s Cobra. It’ll be half price next month.

Reply Report comment
- allan
  
  Oct 30, 2018 at 9:53 pm
  
  “nice”? … “nice”?!! … they are absolutely gorgeous hot hot hot !!!!
  
  Reply Report comment
Cognitive behavior

Oct 30, 2018 at 7:23 pm

Have 2 flyz7’s and a f8 ,cali bb,r11,r15,slider ,Nike and I only bought 2 new .so I’ll try it when the price goes down in a few years

Reply Report comment
eddie

Oct 30, 2018 at 5:24 pm

Gorgeous…. totally gorgeous…. and they will soon be in my WITB arsenal of weapons. Watch out!!!!

Reply Report comment
Tom

Oct 30, 2018 at 1:52 pm

WOW, it sounds like an investment of hundreds of dollars in these new woods will result in a massive increase in distance….like up to 6 inches more carry and roll……LOL!

Sellers be sellin!

Reply Report comment
Jordan

Oct 30, 2018 at 11:02 am

I am all in for the Tour Fairway….. in 2 years when its $80 on eBay.

Reply Report comment
Snacks

Oct 30, 2018 at 10:37 am

Love me some Cobra gear though im kinda disappointed with this. Theses marketing (sorry, golf mfg) companies are all headed in the same direction and its boring. ME ME ME “WE are the fastest, longest, most forgiving blah blah blah”. They’re all yelling the same language and story. It has just become who can yell the same A.O.I. story the loudest. Come up with a new angle to take peoples money (its there).

Reply Report comment
~j~

Oct 30, 2018 at 10:20 am

If only they’d lose the tear drop / pear shape. For whatever reason, I just can’t center these types of head designs. Just doesn’t line up in my head right.

Reply Report comment
- Antdog
  
  Nov 1, 2018 at 4:58 am
  
  Square better for you?
  
  Reply Report comment
Blue

Oct 30, 2018 at 9:42 am

Love how it says that it has movable weights but the Calloway does not, ummmm you can move the weights in it.

Reply Report comment
- Jp
  
  Oct 30, 2018 at 10:14 am
  
  The Rogue has 1 weight. Where can you move it?
  
  It may have a changeable weight, but not a moveable weight.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - SB
    
    Oct 30, 2018 at 10:47 am
    
    That driver comparison slide is misleading for Callaway. Yeah, there is Rogue but there is also Rogue Sub Zero which has 2 weights. Callaway also has Speed Step on the front of the crown.
    
    I think the F9 looks good, sleek. However, would have preferred it with some sliding weights to add some weight based draw or face trajectory. Better looking than the F8 for sure. Nice Cobra!
    
    Reply Report comment
  - Blue
    
    Oct 31, 2018 at 2:11 pm
    
    You are right, sorry, I was thinking of the Sub Zero like SB said. But still misleading.
    
    Reply Report comment
MB

Oct 30, 2018 at 9:35 am

In time we will see how it sells.

Reply Report comment
dat

Oct 30, 2018 at 9:10 am

Love the colorway. Two tone bottom with a nice looking crown. Should be a worthy contender for my LTD.

Reply Report comment
BJ

Oct 30, 2018 at 8:59 am

Ok Cobra….Im interested

Reply Report comment

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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

3 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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