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Joel Tadman tests the new Cobra Radspeed drivers to discover if more golfers can now benefit from using a low-spinning driver. The Radspeed has some extreme front and back weighting claiming to offer low spin with forgiveness, but what are the sacrifices in performance if any? He also tests the Radspeed XB driver up against two older models to see how the performance has evolved.
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00:00Hello everybody, Joel Tabman here from Golf Monthly and welcome to a wintry Burley Park
00:07Golf Club here in Stamford where I'm going to be answering the question as to whether
00:11you can now get away with playing a low spin driver. Historically, low spin drivers only
00:16really been for very fast swingers or low handicap golfers that use very little of the
00:22club face, they're using the centre of the face more often than not, but is there a case
00:26now that more golfers can benefit from low spin performance without sacrificing accuracy
00:32out on the golf course? That's the question I really want to answer with the launch of
00:35this new Cobra Rad Speed driver, new for 2021, comes out at the end of January. I've been
00:41giving this a thorough test in its various different weight positions, various different models,
00:45up against the prior generation drivers as well to see how the performance has evolved with
00:50this driver, are their distance going to be had without sacrificing accuracy from the
00:54design of this new driver, let's find out.
01:01Right, so Cobra Rad Speed driver, all about pushing weight to the extremities in terms of
01:12that front and back area, getting it further away from the centre of gravity, giving you
01:17forgiveness but with low spin to maximise performance for different player types. So you'll notice
01:23with this driver you've got two new weights here right at the front of the head, two 8g weights
01:28that are designed to give you more ball speed and lower the spin, and then you come back
01:32to the rear of the head, you've got this Rad Speed weight right at the back, similar to
01:36the speed back design we saw prior from Cobra, dragging the mash low and back, increasing launch,
01:42MOI spin as well to give you forgiveness. So you combine those two together, you think it's
01:47the ideal blend of performance. You've also got two adjustable weights here in this standard
01:52model, you've got a 12 and a 2g weight, which you can interchange if you want to, to adjust
01:56those launch and spin characteristics. This is one of three models now from Cobra in the
02:01new range. You've also got the XB model, which stands for extreme back, so no adjustable
02:05weighting, more weight is back in that head to give you more forgiveness and a bit more stability. So that's really designed for power. So that's really designed for power.
02:09players that utilise more of the face and really want more forgiveness from their driver. Then you've also got a new XD model, which stands for extreme draw. So if you're struggling with a slice, you should be able to get more distance by opting for the XD model. So it's really getting about distance in different ways from this Rad Speed Reign. The big question I want to answer, of course, is can you get away with playing a low spin driver like this? Or how low spinning is this driver compared to the rest of the market? So I give you a
02:39gave these drivers a really thorough test down at Forsyte Sports HQ on the GC quad launch one or two using Titleist Pro V1X golf balls. And I'll flash the data up on your screen now because I think it is really, really interesting. And there's no question, you know, this driver, especially compared to the prior generation drivers from Cobra, so this King F9 Speedback, the King Speed Zone drivers, this driver is unquestionably lower spinning than those drivers. And you'll notice, you know, from that low spin, this driver was delivering
03:09on average, on average than those other drivers. So this is all with the same shaft tested. So I've got the new Fujikura Motore X-Diff staff, so I was able to retrofit this shaft into those other drivers. Same loft, so nine degrees of loft. And my first impression was, well, okay, it's great to get low spin, you know, but getting a spin number under that 2000 RPM mark is a little bit of a concern for me. So obviously, there are ways you can just raise the spin a little bit.
03:39So I'm moving the 12-round weight into the rear of the head. And you'll notice from the numbers how the spin really, really popped up there. So I was expecting it to go up by one or 200 RPM, but actually it went up by more like 400 to 500 RPM, around about a 2,400 mark average. And for me, that's a little bit too high, actually. You notice the distance really came down. The spin numbers were higher, but they were more consistent, and the flight was a lot more consistent as well. So while I wasn't getting as much distance in that setting, I was loving how straight the
04:09ball was going. Then I tested the Cobra Rad Speed XB driver. And typically, you know, I've found that they're extreme drivers. So the King Speed Zone extreme driver from last year, you know, that was really, really too high spinning for me. I lost about 10, 15 yards by switching into that driver because it was too high spinning. But actually, the XB driver gave me a surprisingly good middle ground in a bit of a dilemma into which model I want to choose, kind of torn between this one and the XB. They both perform very similar, but I think the differences and the decision will come down to the looks of the
04:39these drivers because they do have two very different looks. So I prefer the kind of the shorter look of this Rad Speed driver and also the matte finish on the crown. I definitely prefer that versus the stretched out look of the XB driver. This is a really, really cool looking driver. It's got loads going on on the bottom. You've got carbon fiber panels. You've got loads of weight ports. That turbo yellow color really pops through. Really, really cutting edge. I love the look of the driver. Feel and sound as well. Definitely improved with this driver. I think, you know,
05:09where the King F9 was quite a low pitched thud sound and the King Speed Zone driver was quite a loud high pitch sound. This is somewhere in the middle and I think strikes a really nice middle ground in terms of that feel and sound. Feels really, really solid out in the middle. You've obviously got that infinity face here, which I think also helps a little bit with alignment as well. That kind of contrast between the crown and that infinity face, the way it wraps over the top section of the crown just gives you a little bit more alignment assistance on offer. So yeah, definitely food for thought there. Wasn't confident as
05:39that, which model would be best for me. Yes, that low spin driver in its low spin setting gave me the best average carry, but I really wanted to find out if that was playable out in the golf course.
05:46Okay, so I've hit some shots here on the range with this Cobra King Radspeed driver in its low spin setting. I've got to say, I was surprised at how stable and consistent the ball flight was in its low spin setting. I'm a five handicap gold
06:09first side, pepping kind of around the area on the circle on the face where this infinity logo is. I say the ball flight was very, very straight, very
06:16consistent. On those kind of off centre hits, especially in the toe outside that area where you do see spin dropping off quite a lot. Yeah, there is a case to say, yes, you are getting a bit more kind of curvature to the left. It's not quite as stable in that setting on those slight off centre hits.
06:32This driver does have more fade-bys built into it than the other models, which I think definitely helps me, as a drawer of the golf ball, achieve a more stable, neutral ball flight. But switching the weights around, having that heavy weight in the back definitely gave me more consistency.
06:47But I would say, in its low spin setting, there was more forgiveness on offer than I was expecting. I think whether you opt for that setting will depend on a lot of different factors. Obviously, it depends on your own swing.
06:59Would low spin generally be helpful to you? Maybe you're quite a high spin player already and therefore knocking some RPMs off wouldn't be a bad thing. Is your attack angle down? Obviously, that will contribute to more spin and therefore something like this would really help you out.
07:15As a golfer that hits quite a lot up on the ball. I don't necessarily want lower spin to get me more distance, but that said, the numbers would show that this driver did unlock more performance for me, or the most performance, in its low spin setting.
07:29But for me, whether you opt for a low spin driver like this, I think it's actually quite course dependent. If your course is quite open and you can get away with those miss hits and those offline drives more, then maybe a low spin driver could work for you.
07:44It's the same with the longer shaft debate. If the course is quite open, you can get away with wider shots. But if your course is quite tight, for me, Pearly Park Golf Club here in Stanford, it's quite a tight course, tree-lined.
07:56It's quite short as well, so I need more control than I do distance. Therefore, a low spin setting isn't really overly beneficial. I think dragging that weight back and having a bit more spin, maybe sacrificing a few yards, but finding a few more fairways would definitely help me out more than hitting the ball a little bit further.
08:12That said, if I'm swinging the driver really well, I think there's definitely a case for swapping those weights around, having the heavy weight in the front, and benefiting from that extra distance if you're hitting the centre of the face more often.
08:25If you're swinging it well, that's a really good option to have. And that's why I think this Cobra Rad Speed Driver is quite versatile, because you can set the driver up differently depending on the course and how you're playing, and give you two quite different types of performance.
08:38We've seen from the numbers how the difference in the RPM was significant in those two weight settings, and therefore you've always got two drivers in one.
08:45You've got a low-spinning bomb driver. If you want to hit high bombs like Phil Mickelson, you can do that with this Rad Speed Driver in its low-spin setting.
08:52But then if you want a bit more control, you can switch those weights around, and you're getting something that's a bit more stable, while still looking nice and compact down behind the ball.
08:59So I think it's a really thoughtful offering from Cobra. Really, really versatile, as I mentioned. And when you consider the price tag, £369, significantly cheaper than a lot of the mainstream brands on the market.
09:10And this performance from this driver, I would say, is pretty comparable with those. I've not even been custom fitted for this driver. Definitely, if you go through a custom fitting process, I think you'll unlock potentially even more performance from this driver than I did.
09:23And when you factor all those things in, as well as the Cobra Connect shop tracking system that comes included with this driver, I think this is a mightily enticing package for the club golfer.
09:34Especially when you consider, in addition, those two other models to choose from. So the XB driver, if you want even more forgiveness, you can go for that one.
09:41If you want more slice correction, you've got the XD model as well. So really, really comprehensive package from Cobra. Looks fantastic, feels great.
09:48Nice variety in the setups that are available to you, depending on what you are looking for from your driver. But for me, if I had to choose the driver in the setting that I'd go for, it probably would be this Rad Speed driver.
10:01I'd probably opt for the weight at the back, just to give me a bit more stability initially. And then, as I kind of got used to it, might think about having that heavy weight forward to give me a bit more distance.
10:10But in answer to the question at the start of this video, can you now get away with playing a low-spin driver, I'd say that definitely the potential has increased with the launch of this Rad Speed driver.
10:20But do do it with caution, because it won't be for everyone.
10:23Guys, I hope you enjoyed this video, and it's given you a good idea as to what the performance of this Rad Speed driver is all about, how it compares with what came before, and what driver model might be best for you from the new range.
10:33I've really, really enjoyed my time testing this Rad Speed driver.
10:36Do click the like button down below if you like what you're watching, and comment on the video, tell me, are you interested in hitting high bombs with low spin, or do you want a bit more control and accuracy on your drives?
10:46But that's all for me, from Burley Park Golf Club here in Stamford. I'll see you next time.
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