Equipment
Cobra launches new King F9 Speedback drivers and fairways
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.
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.
Related: Cobra’s King F9 Speedback irons and hybrids
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.
Related: Cobra’s King F9 Speedback irons and hybrids
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
Related
- Bryson’s Cobra King F9 Speedback driver
- See what GolfWRX members are saying about the Cobra King F9 Speedback clubs in our forums
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Equipment
Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage
Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.
It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.
When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”
“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”
View this post on Instagram
According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.
Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:
“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.
“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.
“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.
“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.
“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”
So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.
His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.
See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here
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Equipment
Spotted: TaylorMade P-UDI driving iron
It seems like the RBC Heritage is full of new gear to be spotted, and you can add TaylorMade’s P-UDI utility irons to that list.
We spotted a 17-degree P-UDI 2-iron in Nick Dunlap’s bag yesterday, and now have some photos of both the 3- and 4-irons. Nick has his P-UDI 2-iron setup with a Project X HZRDUS Black 4th Gen 105g TX shaft.
From what we can tell, this new P-UDI utility iron looks to have some of the usual TaylorMade technology as we can see the Speed Slot on the sole of the club for additional face flexibility. A toe screw is usually used to close off the hollow body design that will probably be filled with a version of TaylorMade’s Speed Foam that is present in the current iron lineup. This hollow body, foam-filled design should offer additional ball speed, soft feel, and sound, as well as an optimized CG for ball flight.
“Forged” is etched into the hosel, so we can assume that either the face, body, or both are forged for a soft and responsive feel. The club looks good from behind and at address, where we can see just a little offset and a topline that I would consider medium thickness. We don’t have the full details on what is under the hood or how many loft options will be available yet.
TaylorMade P-UDI 3-iron – 20°
TaylorMade P-UDI 4-iron – 22°
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
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Whats in the Bag
Collin Morikawa WITB 2024 (April)
- Collin Morikawa what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. More photos from the event here.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX (45 inches)
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (4), P7MC (5-6), P730 (7-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid 115 X100 (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (7-PW)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-SB09, 56-LB08), TaylorMade MG4 TW (60-TW11)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: TaylorMade TP Soto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0
Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
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CJ
Nov 13, 2018 at 1:09 pm
Excited to give these a try when they finally get to my local golf stores
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!!!
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.
geohogan
Dec 26, 2018 at 8:13 pm
A decent shaft will zero out droop, gear effect and kick.
one example : Nunchuk
ogo
Oct 31, 2018 at 11:39 pm
Copious Cobra {{{love}}} flowing on the WRX forum… the gearhead wet dream… 😛
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.
valen
Oct 31, 2018 at 12:00 am
WOW!!!!!!! Lovely clubs… soooo pretty too.
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
Dr. Freud
Nov 1, 2018 at 3:55 pm
Bright colors really turn on adolescent gearheads…. only black is macho.
Coach
Oct 30, 2018 at 11:22 pm
reminds me of Nike Vapor Flex, in terms of aero and cg.
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.
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….
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.
Tiger Noods
Oct 30, 2018 at 9:25 pm
They look nice.
But it’s Cobra. It’ll be half price next month.
allan
Oct 30, 2018 at 9:53 pm
“nice”? … “nice”?!! … they are absolutely gorgeous hot hot hot !!!!
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
eddie
Oct 30, 2018 at 5:24 pm
Gorgeous…. totally gorgeous…. and they will soon be in my WITB arsenal of weapons. Watch out!!!!
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!
Jordan
Oct 30, 2018 at 11:02 am
I am all in for the Tour Fairway….. in 2 years when its $80 on eBay.
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).
~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.
Antdog
Nov 1, 2018 at 4:58 am
Square better for you?
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.
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.
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!
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.
MB
Oct 30, 2018 at 9:35 am
In time we will see how it sells.
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.
BJ
Oct 30, 2018 at 8:59 am
Ok Cobra….Im interested