Cobra Golf – speed thrills

Cobra Golf continues to stress the aerodynamic qualities of its driver lines, a design and marketing approach that has helped keep the company among the top sellers for many years.

At the 2024 PGA Show, I met again with Caitlin Farley, a manager for product marketing. In 2020, we discussed Cobra’s T-Rail line of easy-to-hit clubs, the 2023 editions of which remain available at cobragolf.com. Farley is a former collegiate standout for the Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo women’s golf team, and she once again demonstrated a deep familiarity with Cobra products.

This time we began with the new Darkspeed Max driver, which Farley described as an evolution from the prior models. This driver featured a noticeably raised tail section to improve slippage. The new bridge-like weight structure is hidden behind the clubface and is secured toward the toe and heel of the clubhead.

Farley explained that the bridge’s flexing capabilities help maintain speed for balls hit below the center. She also said the AI-designed face technology continued to use variable thickness locations across the face to optimize forgiveness for mishits.

According to Farley, the company’s testing of the Max model showed a significant reduction in the amount of yardage distance drop-offs from mishits, compared to past designs.

The new LS model presents a smaller look than previously offered, presenting what Farley described as a more arrow-like shape. It should appeal to golfers whose swing tendencies produce more ball spin than is optimal.

She also showed me the new Darkspeed LS fairway wood in its 3+ (13 degree) loft configuration.

I would call it a 2-wood, but then I’m old-fashioned.

The weight plugs in this model include three tungsten weights strategically placed on the light titanium clubhead structure, which also features a carbon fiber top. The 3-gram weight at the back can be switched with either one of the two 15-gram weights near the front to adjust flight characteristics. Fitters can also obtain plugs in additional weight options for even more customization.

Farley also noted that the center of gravity of the new design is 3 to 4 millimeters lower than prior designs. The lower CG should help golfers who struggle with making their fairway wood shots fly higher.

The Darkspeed hybrid features a customizable weight plug in the center of the club’s sole. It comes in five loft options.

The Darkspeed iron set Farley showed me had a dark-charcoal color that she said should hold up nicely in use. The irons are deceptively larger in size than other designs. The color is part of the reason why that is harder to notice at first glance.

The hollow-bodied clubs have foam microspheres injected into the cavity to alter the sound and feel on impact. A stock 40-iron through pitching wedge set retails for $999, with graphite shaft and hybrid combination sets also available for an additional charge.

FlightScope - fun features in the Mevo+ launch monitor

I first wrote about the Mevo personal launch monitor sold by FlightScope in 2018. The little red-and-white box that gave golfers useful but basic club and ball data had a soft opening in the market in late 2017. It soon gained a decent percentage of purchasers among golfers seeking useful information to guide their progress.

The product has gone through several iterations since then, but its overall mission remains the same – provide valuable but limited performance feedback, using the device, the user’s phone or laptop, and its ability to store the results for post-practice analysis.

At this year’s PGA Show, I met again with Alex Trujillo, who has risen among the ranks of FlightScope management since our meeting six years ago. He told me about the company’s new agreement to provide tracking services to entities such as LIV and the American Junior Golf Association. For example, FlightScope monitors in place at the practice ranges at AJGA tournaments give the golfers’ coaches a “truckload of data,” he said.

This year’s Mevo products include a new Mevo+ Limited Edition. Trujillo said the monitor can now provide data from 40 different parameters, with an updated kickstand to improve stability during sessions. The data provided include face angle and face impact locations as well as club path.

On the simulator side of the device, the Limited Edition comes with 12 new courses for playing, including famous layouts such as Pebble Beach, Harbour Town, and Bethpage Black. The simulator pack uses the E6 system, familiar to many folks with simulator experience.

We also discussed two other new items. Badger AI uses FlightScope session data and other information to give golfers insights into their skill levels, recommendations on techniques for improvement, and equipment alteration or replacement advice.

The FlightScope Tracer will be part of the company’s FS Golf App. Videos of golfers’ shots will be overlaid by 3D re-creations of the ball flight, just as now seen regularly on golf broadcasts.

The Mevo+ Limited Edition retails for $3,499 SRP. For those trying to keep it simpler and less expensive, the base Mevo model remains available for $425 SRP at flightscope.com.