Darkspeed family of woods, hybrids also available

Cobra Golf’s Darkspeed family of woods and hybrids are now available at retail. PGA TOUR players including Rickie Fowler, Gary Woodland and Justin Suh, are just a few names who have already put the new line in play.

With the Darkspeed Drivers, Cobra delivers clubhead speed-boosting aerodynamic shaping, a re-engineered PWR-BRIDGE and an advanced AI-designed PWRSHELL H.O.T. Face, which all work together to produce the company’s most innovative drivers yet.

“I had high expectations, and I wasn't going to switch out of something unless it was at least as good, or better, or potentially better in the long run,” said Fowler, who plays the Cobra Darkspeed LS and previously gamed the company’s Aerojet LS Driver. “So some of the initial characteristics, definitely a lot different look as far as one's matte, one's gloss. Darkspeed is just super clean.

“And then on the kind of tech side, I would say it’s lower spinning.," he continued. "I'm up a degree in loft – loft is your friend when you can still keep spin down, so I feel like I have a bit more control with the Darkspeed versus the Aerojet, but can still maintain the same speed, and so ultimately if I go down to where my loft was with an Aerojet, it would be a little bit faster, but still being able to keep the same speed, but have more loft and the same spin characteristics, that’s just giving me more control.”

While Fowler plays the Darkspeed LS, there are three Cobra Darkspeed models in the driver lineup:

• Darkspeed LS: Designed for players with the highest clubhead speeds who are looking for lower spin and workability. The most compact head in the lineup. An 8-degree model inspired by long drive champion Kyle Berkshire is also featured in the LS line, which is smaller and tuned for even better high-speed aerodynamics.
• Darkspeed X: The Darkspeed Driver is suited for the majority of golfers' needs. Cobra’s engineers sought to blend speed and forgiveness in this model, which is larger, less adjustable, and more forgiving than the LS.
• Darkspeed Max: For the player who puts forgiveness first and might be fighting a slice, Darkspeed Max is Cobra’s draw-biased model. Players can configure the head weights for either more draw bias or more forgiveness.

Justin Suh, who plays the LS model, talked about the “good problem” he’s been having since putting the club in play: “I put it in at The RSM (Classic) for the final round just because I was so comfortable with the look. Overall, the face has been hotter than before. So right now, the spin is low, so I'm just trying to find a shaft that matches a hot face, which is always a good problem.”

Drilling down further, all three driver models share the same key technology.

Each model features a unique aerodynamic shaping for reduced drag (and thus faster clubhead speed) and a unique weight configuration for what each club is designed to deliver, allowing players to adjust launch angle, spin, and forgiveness.

For the Darkspeed LS, three weight ports with two three-gram weights and one 12-gram weight. Two ports are situated in the front of the club and one in the rear for players to dial in draw/fade or preference spin versus forgiveness. In the Darkspeed X, players can adjust ball flight (spin) by adjusting front and rear weights. For Darkspeed Max, a 12-gram weight can either be positioned in the back of the club for maximum MOI (max forgiveness) or in the heel of the club (max draw bias).

Cobra Darkspeed Drivers: Additional technology

• PWR-Bridge: Designed with help from artificial intelligence, PWR-Bridge positions a suspended weight low and forward in the club for faster ball speed. The lighter crown design allowed engineers to position even more weight in the “bridge” for greater ball speed.
• PWRSHELL: The PWRSHELL face insert is 13 percent larger than its predecessor and it works in conjunction with Cobra’s AI-designed H.O.T. Face Technology for better ball speed across the entire club face.
• Lightweight carbon crown, sole plates plus multi-material chassis: A thinner, 30-percent lighter, titanium-supported carbon fiber crown gave engineers more weight to distribute throughout the clubhead for better performance. In this case, much of it was moved low and forward into the PWR-Bridge to boost ball speed.
• MyFly 8 with SmartPad technology: Cobra’s adjustability system allows golfers to quickly and easily loft up or down by one degree. SmartPad maintains a consistent face angle for all of the eight different loft sleeve settings.

A final note: The Darkspeed Max Driver is also available in a women’s edition. It has a gloss crown and sole with cool blue color accents.

Darkspeed Drivers: Lofts, shafts, pricing

Lofts

• LS: 8, 9, 19.5
• X: 9, 10.5, 12
• Max: 9, 10.5, 12
• Women’s: 10.5, 12

Stock shafts

• LS: UST Mamiya LIN-Q M40X White; Project X HZRDUS Limited Edition Matte Black Gen 4 and UST Mamiya LIN-Q M40X Blue
• X: UST Mamiya LIN-Q M40X White; Project X HZRDUS Limited Edition Matte Black Gen 4 UST Mamiya LIN-Q M40X Blue; MCA Kai’lI Blue
• Max: Project X HZRDUS CB Red, UST Mamiya LIN-Q M40X Red
• Women’s: UST Helium Nanocore

Grip: Lamkin Crossline

Price: $549