Equipment
Jason Dufner speaks on unreleased Cobra LTDx driver (and his nearly decade-old 7 wood)
When Jason Dufner showed up to the 2022 American Express for his Monday practice round session, he came with a new club in the bag: an unreleased Cobra LTDx driver.
Recently, three new Cobra “LTDx” drivers popped up on the USGA Conforming List, including a Cobra LTDx, an LTDx Max and an LTDx LS. With so many driver options hitting the list, it seems inevitable that a new family of drivers is coming soon to replace the company’s RadSpeed drivers from last year. Yet, that remains to be confirmed.
At the 2022 Sentry Tournament of Champions, Bryson DeChambeau was photographed using what appears to be the LTDx LS model, based on the sole weights. Being that GolfWRX didn’t have boots on the ground in Maui, however, we weren’t able to capture in-hand photos of the new driver design.
Thanks to Dufner’s driver of choice this week in Palm Desert, though, we’re now able to catch our first in-hand glance at an LTDx driver.
Check out more in-hand photos here.
In addition to the photos, I was also able to catch up with Dufner on Monday about his personal experience with the new driver design, even though Cobra hasn’t yet revealed any details about the technology.
“One thing I have been seeing is the strikes have been really consistent off the middle of the face,” Dufner told GolfWRX. “People don’t believe this, but sometimes the driver can droop in different ways. The last couple models I had, I felt like I had been making good swings but was catching it on the toe a little bit. So these have been really consistent off the middle. I’ve seen really good launch windows to my eye, good spin windows to my eye, but I haven’t tested it on Trackman yet.”
Based on the photos, Cobra is going with a weight-back design in the LTDx head, likely to move center of gravity (CG) rearward into a more forgiving position. That could be why Dufner is able to find the center of the face more consistently.
As Dufner explains further below, the last few driver models he used in recent years had a more weight-forward design that were intended to lower spin. The back-weighted design of the LTDx, however, has allowed Dufner to find better windows, find the center of the face more often, and have better overall control.
“They’ve got three different heads now, so it gives me more options…my particular model has the weight is back, and we put a little more weight in the back so it changes the CG a little bit for me,” Dufner said. “It makes it launch a little bit higher and spin a little more, which is kind of what I need. I want to have a certain amount of loft so I can get more ball speed. The more loft you have, the less ball speed you’ll have, because it’s not as flat a surface. So I should see some speed gains…I like it so far. It feels great. I just played 9 holes and didn’t miss a fairway.”
Even though Dufner says he hasn’t captured his performance with the LTDx yet on a launch monitor, the driver is checking all the right boxes in terms of ball flight.
“For me, with a driver, the most important thing is that when I feel like I make a good swing and hit it off the center, does it do what I want it to do? And I’ve seen that very consistently through the 4-5 days that I’ve had it,” Dufner said. “I don’t worry about the mishits as much, because the mishits are mishits. But if you can tighten dispersion a little bit with those, great. It gets a little weird for us when we make a good swing and it goes off the center and it’s left or right or whatever. So I’ve been happy with it and I plan on playing with it. We’ll see how it goes.”
Although it seems set in stone based on his comments, it’s not yet certain that Dufner will use the LTDx come competition time on Thursday. What’s absolutely guaranteed, though, is that he will have his longtime Titleist 915F 7-wood in the bag.
Dufner has used the 915F 21-degree fairway wood since 2014 when the club first launched, and it’s not leaving the bag anytime soon.
“That’s not going anywhere until it breaks,” Dufner told GolfWRX.
Even if something drastic happens in the meantime (knock on wood), Dufner has a backup.
“I have that head, which is the original, and I’ve got another head that I haven’t hit yet,” Dufner said. “So I’ve got at least six more years if this one goes.”
When I asked Dufner if he’s tested any other 7-woods recently to capitalize on newer technologies, Dufner’s answer was simple and matter-of-fact: “No.”
It’s safe to say Dufner isn’t changing out that 915F 7-wood, which is smart, because it looks like he’s missed the center of the face with it no more than two or three times in the last eight years.
To see the rest of the clubs that Dufner has in the bag for 2022, check out the forum link here.
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Whats in the Bag
Steve Stricker WITB 2024 (April)
- 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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Whats in the Bag
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 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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Equipment
What’s the perfect mini-driver/shaft combo? – GolfWRXers discuss
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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Divot Diggler
Jan 18, 2022 at 8:22 pm
I love Cobra products ……..My bag has 12/14 Cobra clubs in it …. It is going to be a hard launch for any driver manufacturer in 2022 with the new TM Stealth being recently released.
John
Jan 19, 2022 at 11:50 am
Its all total marketing hype, come on man, u believe that stuff, really?…
Siggy Biscuit
Feb 20, 2022 at 11:42 am
Idk I feel like Cobras futuristic yet classy look will sell. Especially with the new breed of Smashers. I think they stand out a little more than the Rogue at least.
Divot Diggler
Jan 18, 2022 at 8:20 pm
I love Cobra products ……..My bag has 12/14 Cobra clubs in it …. It is going to be a hard launch for any driver manufacturer in 2022 with the new TM Stealth being recently released. ?
Brandon
Jan 18, 2022 at 7:51 pm
Would it kill you to take a picture of the top of the driver? Ya know, the part you actually look at when you address a golf ball?
John
Jan 19, 2022 at 11:51 am
Instead of whining like a 2yo, try using a thing called GOOGLE.
LMFAO
joe
Jan 18, 2022 at 10:57 am
Cobra needs a LOT of help in the industrial design and marketing department. This looks like a cross between a driver you’d buy at Sam’s Club and something from the toy aisle at Walmart.
John
Jan 19, 2022 at 11:52 am
says you..