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Tech Talk: Cobra BiO Cell + Driver

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Magnesium, aluminum, zinc, copper and zirconium.

Those are the five materials that were used to make the “Venollum” crown on Cobra’s new BiO Cell Plus driver, which is 4.1 grams lighter than the 6-4 titanium crown used on the company’s BiO Cell driver.

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The lighter crown gives the BiO Cell Plus a 28 percent lower center of gravity than the BiO Cell, causing it to launch 0.8-degrees higher with more than 200 rpms less spin than BiO Cell on average. That will help golfers, particularly those who have trouble with excess spin, create the high-launch, low-spin conditions necessary for longer-flying drives.

The BiO Cell Plus drivers measure 440-cubic centimeters (20 cc’s smaller than the Bio Cell), and are available in five different colors that highlight the use of their Venollum crowns. The crown inserts are painted either blue, orange, silver, black or red, while the surrounding areas of the driver head are painted white. That gives the drivers a perpendicular line near the front of the crown that may help some golfers with their alignment. But it’s a major change to Cobra’s driver aesthetics that will surely elicit polarizing responses from golfers.

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Like the BiO Cell drivers, the BiO Cell Plus drivers have Cobra’s new MyFly8 adjustable hosels, but the loft range is 1-degree lower. That’s more in line with the lofts played better golfers, the target audience for the Bio Cell Plus driver.

The MyFly8 hosel adjusts to loft 8, 8.5, 9.5, 10.5 and 11 degrees, and have three draw settings that make the driver more upright: 8.5D, 9.5D and 10.5D. Last year’s AMP Cell Pro driver also measured 440 cubic centimeters, but it had two fade settings, which gave the driver a flatter lie angle to help right-handed golfers move the ball from left to right. According to Jose Miraflor, director of product marketing for Cobra-Puma, Cobra decided to scrap the fade setting after a study showed that only 7 percent of AMP Cell Pro driver users preferred it, and none of the them were Cobra-Puma’s PGA Tour players.

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What’s in the Bio Cell name? Like the Bio Cell drivers, the Bio Cell Plus drivers use light, strong patterns found in nature like this spider web-looking structure to move weight on a cellular level from higher, more frontward parts of the driver head to lower, more rearward areas. 

The Bio Cell Plus driver has Cobra’s Smart Pad, a 1.5-centimeter strip on the sole of the driver that helps keep the face angle neutral when the loft is adjusted. In its lowest loft of 8 degrees, the driver will rest about 1 degree open, while in its highest loft, 11 degrees, the driver is designed to rest exactly square.

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The driver comes stock with an aftermarket version of Matrix’s Red Tie 6Q3 (painted white), and will hit stores Jan.15 with a price tag of $399.

Click here to see what GolfWRX Members are saying about the BiO Cell Plus drivers, as well as the rest of Cobra’s 2014 product line.

Click here to see what GolfWRX Members are saying about the BiO Cell Plus drivers, as well as the rest of Cobra’s 2014 product line.

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25 Comments

25 Comments

  1. dave

    Jan 9, 2015 at 1:51 pm

    it broke on the first ball i hit

  2. Marcus

    Nov 20, 2013 at 6:08 am

    I had a hit with one today, so sweet 🙂

    Bio Cell Driver $380 AUS

  3. Toms1090

    Nov 16, 2013 at 8:19 pm

    I must be weared because I like the looke of these. Maybe I’m just “different”.

  4. Brand Me Silly

    Nov 14, 2013 at 12:02 pm

    Of all the drivers the Bio + is the only that has my interest. Not that I’m lusting to buy one, but I do want to hit one. As far as TM and Cally’s new stuff I don’t care if I ever even see one.

  5. joro

    Nov 14, 2013 at 10:09 am

    You mean my Amp Cell Pro Driver, FW, hy, and Pro Tour irons are no good now. Even my extra set of Amp Cell irons? WOW, what a bummer. How about me Orange Staff Bag, that still okay?

  6. Unbelievable!

    Nov 13, 2013 at 11:55 pm

    If it performs it’s worth a trip to Continental.

    Problem solved.

  7. snowman0157

    Nov 13, 2013 at 10:36 pm

    I just surprised myself…. I think I like the white/color crown. I must be mellowing in my old age; I plan to start drinking heavily now.

  8. Lawrence Williams

    Nov 13, 2013 at 9:17 pm

    Color me intrigued…….higher launch but lower spin in a smaller package? Sign me up! Was looking at sldr 430 but this has jumped to the top…..still waiting for Callaway to introduce it’s sliding option though.

    The two tone is no more distracting than the ft series seam or a multitude of graphics over the years.

  9. Mark

    Nov 13, 2013 at 8:48 pm

    Remember when the gutta-percha was replaced?….then the first metalwoods, hideous…..then cavity back irons, reprehensible…..and a cavity back putter, disgusting…..graphite shafts, repulsive…..the 2-Ball putter, horrible…..460cc drivers, frightening…..a white driver, Heavens NOOOO!!!! Whatever will the Golf Gods do now? These clubs from Cobra appear to be ahead of the times.

  10. R

    Nov 13, 2013 at 7:24 pm

    sounds like it’ll perform. thank god they decided to put an actual shaft instead of the nonsense they put in the amp cell pro.

    • markb

      Nov 14, 2013 at 4:57 pm

      Gotta agree with you on the shafts. That old Mitsu Kuro Kage was awful both on the Amp and the Nike.

  11. LorenRobertsFan

    Nov 13, 2013 at 6:43 pm

    Having a Red Tie painted white? Are they trying to confuse people??? Stupid

  12. butchhenderson

    Nov 13, 2013 at 7:49 am

    I see a huge price drop coming about a year after these hit the shelves.

    • Milton

      Nov 13, 2013 at 10:57 am

      Gianormis price drop ButchHenderson you are spot in with that call.

  13. Dolph Lundgrenade

    Nov 13, 2013 at 12:30 am

    I’d be interested in comparing the numbers versus the other big boys in the driver game… Just based on the article however I am actually interested. That’s almost 1″ of extra loft with lower spin- this is how to get distance and run-out for your drives.

    And who knows, maybe the playhouse paint scheme is distracting enough that I won’t be thinking about my swing when I take on the a par 5!

  14. Joshua

    Nov 12, 2013 at 12:54 pm

    Wow, talk about hideous. Who is the idiot that thought that looks good? Amazing how you go from a great looking club in the AMP cell pro to this. Looks like cobra might be in serious need of a common sense division.

  15. Leon

    Nov 12, 2013 at 12:48 pm

    Oh…I will probably loss a few pounds by starring these paintings everyday…

  16. Tyler

    Nov 12, 2013 at 11:33 am

    I wish they would post pics of the regular ones. These look like toys.

  17. BILL

    Nov 12, 2013 at 7:25 am

    Bio cell will be available in plain coulors, like black, and you guys might actually be able the hit them since they are bigger too!

  18. EM

    Nov 12, 2013 at 1:22 am

    Club Crown wants their business back lol

  19. Paul

    Nov 12, 2013 at 1:14 am

    dont like the crown at all. weird colors distracting.

    • Nick

      Nov 12, 2013 at 1:56 am

      The regular Bio Cell drivers look awesome imo, but the + model white/color crown is terrible.

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Equipment

Q&A: Martin Trainer on his Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers” putter, 6.5-degree driver, and “butter knife” 2-iron

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As unbiasedly as I can put it, Martin Trainer has one of the coolest club setups in professional golf. (At some point soon, I’ll put together a top-10 list of “coolest club setups on Tour,” but I know that Trainer will be in the top-10)

What a lineup. He plays a 6.5-degree Wilson prototype driver, a 13-degree Wilson prototype 3-wood, a true blade Wilson Staff Model 2-iron, and a Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers Commemorative” putter!

 

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I mean, look at this 2-iron from address…

To quote the great author R.L. Stine: “Goosebumps.”

On Wednesday at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open, I caught up with Trainer to learn more about his bag setup.

Here’s what he had to say:

You have the Internet going crazy over your bag setup, and your putter. Where’d you pick the Bobby Grace-Greg Chalmers putter up? How long have you had it?

MT: This was from when Bobby Grace came to my course in California: Cal Club. And for whatever reason, they just started having them in the shop. So then I took my buddy’s, started using it, and made, like, a million putts in a row, which is how every putter story begins, I guess.

And then, I bought a couple of my own, used it for years, got to the Tour with it, won on Tour with it (the 2019 Puerto Rico Open). Then, about a year later, started using another putter, did that for a couple years, but now it’s back in the bag.

When did it come back in the bag?

MT: December of this past year. So a few months ago.

What year would you say was the first time you threw that in the bag, or, like, when you bought it?

MT: God…Probably, 2016, maybe? 2018?

Do you remember how much you paid for it?

MT: I don’t know, actually. Maybe $100-150 bucks or something. I think that’s the only golf club I’ve bought between high school and now. Well, two, since I bought two of them.

The driver is interesting, too. What went into the prototyping process?

MT: That was a version of the current driver, but it was the prototype that they first came out with for Tour guys to try. And for whatever reason, I just never switched out to the new one.

It’s just 6.5 degrees, right?

MT: Yeah. Very low loft, yeah.

What kind of ball speed do you have with that these days?

MT: Like high 170’s.

Yeah, that’ll work. And then a 2-iron blade? We’re seeing fewer and fewer of those out here.

MT: Yeah. The butter knife.

Very cool thing to have in the bag. Have you done any testing with driving irons? 

MT: Yeah, I used to have a thicker one, but it was a little offset, and I never hit it that well. And then finally, I started messing around with the butter knife. And I remember the first time I looked down at it, I was terrified. And then I ended up getting used to it, putting it in play, and it’s been in place since. It’s a pretty good club for me.

How far do you carry that? 

MT: Like 235.

A good little wind club, I’m sure.

MTL Yeah, exactly. I can hit it very low. It’s great.

I love it. You have people shook looking at that. Thanks for the time, man. 

MT: Absolutely.

To see more photos and discussion of Trainer’s bag, click here.

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Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (3/28/24): L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft

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At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick putter with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft.

From the seller: (@hibcam): “L.A.B. GOLF Mezz.1 Max Broomstick- LA Golf Paige Spiranac Shaft- 44″/79.5. Brand new, never used brown leather cover. The head was professionally anodized from Orange to Blue (Orange looked bad with the Pink shaft so I had it changed). Only a few rounds on this combo. Please see last pic- slight ding on back corner. 8.5-10 condition. THE SHAFT COST $475/ THE PUTTER $625. $799 shipped in the US. ONLY $699 SHIPPED.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max Broomstick with LA Golf Paige Spiranac shaft

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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Spotted: Tony Finau’s driver shaft change at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open

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Tony Finau has always been known as one of the longest players on the PGA Tour, but he has recently been working on adding a little more distance. Last year, Finau averaged 118.3 mph club head speed and 178.08 mph ball speed, all while playing a Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX driver shaft. This year, he has increased his club head speed to 123.93 mph and his ball speed to 183.32 mph.

However, Finau’s overall distance has decreased by two yards in that time. From a fitting perspective, something was amiss. We asked Tony about the shaft change at the Texas Children’s Hospital Open.

“[I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin. My driver’s been a little high spin for me over the last month or so, and so I just figured it was time to probably check out the equipment,” Finau said. “And it definitely showed me that I was using a shaft that’s maybe a little too tip-stiff for me, the way I load the club now. [I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin.”

Finau switched from the Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX into the Diamana GT 70 TX. The newer Diamana GT has a slightly different profile than the D+ Limited with the stiffest handle section in the Diamana lineup. The mid sections between the two are similar stiffness but the tip is just slightly stiffer in the Diamana GT. Both shafts are within one gram of each other in the 70 TX. The torque rating on the GT is 0.1 higher than the D+Limited’s 2.7 measurement.

Mitsubishi lists the Diamana GT as a shaft between the mid-launching Diamana TB and the new low-launch Diamana WB shafts. For most players, it would be considered a mid/low launch and low-spin shaft option. Mitsubishi’s Xlink Tech Resin System makes sure the maximum carbon fiber content is there for smooth feel without reducing the strength of the shaft. MR70 carbon fiber is used for reinforcing the shaft and boron is used in the tip for its high strength and compression properties.

Finau is still using his trusty Ping G430 LST driver in 9 degrees and has the adjustable hosel set to -1 degree of loft (standard lie angle). Finau’s long-time favorite Lamkin UTX Green grip is installed. He definitely has a few extra wraps of tape under that grip as you can see the bulge down where the grip meets the shaft.

One final note: Per Ping’s PGA Tour rep Kenton Oates, Finau’s driver is also adjusted to play with an additional degree of loft to help dial in his desired launch.

We’ll see how he fares with the new setup this week in Houston!

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