Equipment
Bryson testing prototype Cobra RadSpeed driver at Augusta National
The ever-testing, ever-questing Bryson DeChambeau is bringing his tireless pursuit of the perfect driver to Augusta National as he prepares for the 2021 Masters Tournament with a prototype Cobra RadSpeed driver in the bag.
With the rumblings of a new driver being put into play echoing among the Georga Pines, and a new driver head spotted on the USGA conforming list, we reached out to Cobra to get the inside information on the new driver being put into play by Bryson.
Here’s what Cobra Tour Manager Ben Schomin and VP of R&D Tom Olsavsky had to say.
GolfWRX: There is lots of talk about a new RadSpeed driver head being put into play this week by Bryson. What can you tell us about the new head that has been specifically tweaked for his high speeds?
Tom Olsavsky: The big thing here is speed and Bryson has a lot of it. To help build a driver specifically tuned for his dynamics, we removed the adjustable weights to save mass from the housings and have focused on internal changes to help him reduce miss-hit variance.
The other thing we did was increase the face thickness of his drivers to prolong durability. Bryson hits a lot of golf balls and with the amount that he hits both in standard practice and his speed training sessions, we wanted to help eliminate any durability concerns. We also suggest that he rotates the heads during sessions—and the adjustability in the hosel makes that easier to do.
Now speaking of the face, we specifically removed the Infinity Face on this new head, because it allows us to change the face radii easier and reduce the toe radius to help with his toe misses.
GolfWRX: Bryson really is unique as far as players you work with, isn’t he?
Ben Schomin: Bryson hitting a 5-degree driver at 200+ mph ball speed certainly presents some different ball/club dynamics than we typically design for, so we’ve had to rethink some of our approaches. This head is our latest iteration to find something that works best for Bryson at extremely high speeds.
Tom Olsavsky: It’s basic physics: higher speed off-center hits result in greater variability due to the greater forces involved. Much of what we are seeing as far as misses are concerned seems to be due to club/ball friction at the interface between the two surfaces, which is very close to some instabilities in the contact physics. We are doing everything we can from an engineering perspective to keep the ball online more often.
To see what others are saying about Bryson new driver, check out the GolfWRX forums to join the discussion: Bryson testing prototype driver at Augusta
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- Steve Stricker WITB accurate as of the Zurich Classic. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees, C4 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 7.2 X
3-wood: Titleist 915F (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist 816 H1 (17 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 9.2 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (3, 4), Titleist T100 (5-9)
Shafts: Project X 6.5
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 (46-10F @55), Titleist Vokey SM10 (54-10S @53), Titleist Vokey SM4 (60 @59)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 w/Sensicore
Putter: Odyssey White Hot No. 2
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Grip Rite
Check out more in-hand photos of Steve Stricker’s clubs here.
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- Alex Fitzpatrick what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 7 X
Hybrid: Ping G430 (19 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 10 TX
Irons: Ping iCrossover (2), Titleist T100 (4-PW)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 9 TX (2), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Tour 120 X (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50-12F, 56-12D, 60-08M)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Tour 120 X
Putter: Bettinardi SS16 Dass
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Alex Fitzpatrick’s clubs here.
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In our forums, our members have been discussing Mini-Drivers and accompanying shafts. WRXer ‘JamesFisher1990’ is about to purchase a BRNR Mini and is torn on what shaft weight to use, and our members have been sharing their thoughts and set ups in our forum.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- PARETO: “New BRNR at 13.5. Took it over to TXG (Club Champ but TXG will always rule) in Calgary for a fit. Took the head down to 12, stuck in a Graphite Design AD at 3 wood length and 60g. Presto- numbers that rivaled my G430Max but with waaaaay tighter dispersion. Win.”
- driveandputtmachine: “Still playing a MIni 300. The head was only 208, so I ordered a heavier weight and play it at 3 wood length. I am playing a Ventus Red 70. I play 70 grams in my fairways. I use it mainly to hit draws off the tee. When I combine me, a driver, and trying to hit a draw it does not work out well most of the time. So the MIni is for that. As an aside, I have not hit the newest BRNR, but the previous model wasn’t great off the deck. The 300 Mini is very good off the deck.”
- JAM01: “Ok, just put the BRNR in the bag along side a QI10 max and a QI10 3 wood. A load of top end redundancy. But, I have several holes at my two home courses where the flight and accuracy of the mini driver helps immensely. Mine is stock Proforce 65 at 13.5, I could see a heavier shaft, but to normal flex, as a nice alternative.”
Entire Thread: “What’s the perfect Mini-Driver/Shaft combo? – GolfWRXers discuss”
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Steve Stricker WITB accurate as of the Zurich Classic. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees, C4...
Alex Fitzpatrick WITB 2024 (April)
Alex Fitzpatrick what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic. Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura...
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Alejandro Tosti what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic. Driver: Srixon ZX5 Mk II LS (9.5 degrees...
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View this post on Instagram A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx) Driver: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (10.5 degrees)...
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dat
Apr 7, 2021 at 4:36 pm
Can’t wait for him to drive it 11000 yards!
Owgc
Apr 6, 2021 at 10:07 pm
No body noticing the acne on his face. It’s all over
Jbone
Apr 7, 2021 at 1:11 am
Spit it out.
Chuck
Apr 6, 2021 at 9:56 am
I’m starting to love Bryson. He’s clarifying the argument on why the USGA and R&A need to act on equipment regulations like never before.
“Sorry, Mr. Ross” should go down in history as the moment that golf’s ruling bodies were officially put on notice, more than a decade after they admitted that they were on notice.
Bagger
Apr 8, 2021 at 9:12 pm
I disagree…
Should the USGA outlaw nutrition and training? The only thing that has changed in the last 20 years is training, launch monitors and agronomy.
CoR/CT have been in place for nearly 20 years, ball speed has been limited too… athletes change. Should the NBA raise the hoop to 10 ft? Should the football field be lengthened?
Daniel Whitehurst
Apr 6, 2021 at 5:28 am
In short, they built a long drive head. It’s probably the same head Kyle Berkshire is hitting since he moved on over to Cobra from Callaway to join his buddy Bryson. Callaway pretty much had the same club in his hands and has mad them for years. XR ‘16 LD 5, Epic Flash LD 5, and this year an Epic Speed LD 5. They come with a special adjustable sleeve that has a special -2/-1/+1 deg loft option instead of the normal -1/+1+2 sleeve
Adrian
Apr 8, 2021 at 1:36 am
I have the XR 16 LD and noticed that it is much more durable than standard retail drivers and I have been hitting mine for 5 years now with caving in the face. I hear that the face is thicker and there may be some validity to that as any wood that I hit for that long of a period of time will fail. Cobra will definitely be putting out some quality woods if they are to stand up to the beating that Bryson and Berkshire will put on them.