[music] this is the driver to beat in 2019 it appears to have it all performance looks sound technology value. And it's already been validated with wins on tour however. it's not quite perfect hi guys it's rick shields pga golf professional if you are new to my youtube channel welcome hit that subscribe button. So you don't miss out on any videos if you enjoyed this video smash that like button and share this video around show it to your girlfriends via text message email whatsapp social media so you can let them know about the review of this new cobra driver. So this is the cobra king f9 speed back driver when i first saw images of this driver a couple of months ago i really wasn't impressed i thought the look of it from this side just looked a bit gimmicky i didn't particularly like the yellow i felt like it looked like bumblebee from transformers. And i was almost half expecting ronald mcdonald to come. And deliver this driver for me to test and then.
I saw this driver in the flesh for the first time i took the head cover off and like the imagery the bottom of the driver was bright the yellow around the edges just wasn't fitting my eye whatsoever it appeared from the bottom of the driver it was a very triangular shaped it's like not the biggest fan then.
I put the club down behind the golf ball i put it on the ground. And suddenly the whole driver's image flipped it didn't look gimmicky it didn't look like the bottom of the driver it looked mean it looked like a an aggressive sports car it looked fast it looked like the batmobile almost looking down on the driver it it just completely changed my mind. And that's really the sight of the driver you're going to see the most when it sat behind the ball. And i was like oh hold on i'm seeing this driving a whole new light now completely different from the bottom of the driver i was excited to test it. So with this driver the big story is is aerodynamics speed back. And bringing the centre of gravity as low as far back as possible and cobra claimed that that is that revolutionary they wanted speed back in the name of the driver that's how important they see it being there's two weights that are flippable one at the front one at the back one is at 14 grams of the heavier one. And two grams is the lightest weight as well there is adjustable loft. So you can go up. And down by one and a half degrees and there are three different drawer settings that you can produce this driver in. And it comes in three different lofts i've got this in the nine degree loft but it does come in with a more lofted. And least lofted setting as well it's got the milled face that we saw in the f8 driver a way of them getting the tolerance as tight as possible to get the face thinner and faster than they could ever produce so it's packed with some technology and what's interesting is the price. So for 2019 drivers have been going through the roof prices are going crazy well the cobra f9 driver is 349 pounds. And in us 449 so compared to the drivers that have already come out this year you tailor major callaways it's a different price point completely one that shocked me so it's like well hold on does the performance still stack up. And not only do you get all that's going on with the head cobra is still featuring the cobra connect it's a way of you've been able to track your drives out on the golf course by connecting to an app on your phone. So it's like there's a lot going on here. And then.
When i look a little bit more closely at the head it definitely looks very different on the top of the head for the cobra driver and they claim it's the most aerodynamic shape they can possibly make. So it's almost got more of a rounded shape from the face to the top crown these little kind of speed strips almost on the top of the go faster stripes on the top is helping with aerodynamics that's what they claim got a carbon top. And then.
These two ridges that go through apparently stiffen that carbon top as well so that's all well and good and it is packed with a lot of technology. But does it stack up on performance considering the priciest driver compared to some of the ones that have come out. So far this year that's where i put it to the test inside with gc quad pro v1s before taking out on the golf course to see how it did let's see how the cobra king f9 before. So i had the weight forward at first so that 14 gram weight in the front that gives me the best settings and in my ideal setting for this driver [Music] so this is my optimum performance chart of the driver shots i've hit over the last 12 months now this is the data i was getting from the cobra king f9 i was carrying the cobra king f9 291 yards. So it's decent hitting good distances for 311 total distance i was launching at 14.5 degrees. And spinning it at 2250. so pretty much what i like to see distance wise a little bit over the average but doing exactly what i needed to do distance where was that distance coming from was it coming from ball speed. Or was it coming from club head speed. So my normal club head speed with driver is around 110 130 miles per hour club head speed i was getting 113 miles per hour plus from the cobra f9 therefore. getting more ball speed than i would normally expect i was getting ball speeds of 162.5 that's some of the best i've ever seen certainly in testing the last 12 months it's also worth noting on off-centered hits they performed well i hit one low in heel it found the middle of the fairway. And i lost distance granted because it was a low strike. But i didn't lose massive amounts of distance so off centered hits i was pretty impressed with on the ones i experienced when testing i also did a test where i flipped the weight to the back just to see how much of a difference that weight actually makes. And i didn't see much of a difference to be honest i was carrying it around the same just a couple of yards under. But mainly due to a fraction of higher spin i was expecting maybe to see 3 400 rpm difference in spin i saw next.
To no difference in spin when i move those weights around. So it's something to note i also took the opportunity to test the new f9 against f8 plus from last year so the similar component similar drivers in the same shaft what was i seeing was different well. For me the carry distance i was getting with the f9 was five yards longer than f8. So therefore. i was getting slightly more total distance. But what was really interesting is the club at speed between f9. And f8 on the same day testing in the same shaft i was experiencing two miles per hour extra gain of clubhead speed from the f9 driver now you've got to be presuming that's going to be coming from that aerodynamic shape because it was the same day with the same shaft there's no reason why it should have been any different whatsoever. So i was getting more distance just dueling to the fact i was swinging it faster. So so far performance it was doing everything i needed to do then.
It was time to take out on the golf course [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music]. So [Music] [Music] [Music] so after testing the cobra f9 driver on the golf course and with the gc quad it's got to be said it's one of the best drivers that i've tested what i saw indoor in the distances. And the extra clever speed is exactly what i was experiencing out on the golf course i seem to be hitting this driver a long way it gave me the confidence that i could swing it fast it seemed to perform well on off-center hits. And it sounds incredible it's the one thing sound can really put me off a driver this driver is the best sounding driver in my opinion that's ever been made it has that kind of crunchy dead satisfying noise when you hit this driver it really does sound like nothing i've hit before must be a combination of all of the materials that go into this driver [Music] however. this driver isn't quite perfect there are a few things that i would change the first thing being this kind of yellow color around the bottom of the club it just looks horrible it's a bit garish it does come in white which i think definitely looks better i also would love to see the top of this driver as much as i really like the top of this driver it's a shiny finish that topper driver in matt would look sensational it really would. And the other big thing the negative on this is typically when kobe bring out a driver they'll bring out standard version. And a plus version and the plus version will offer a few more fade settings well this year there is only one driver. And therefore. they're not catering for golfers who draw the ball or hook the ball a little bit too much there's no fade settings whatsoever there are three draw settings which i don't know i feel like you're only catering. For for a small market not for every golfer in the world but that being said. For the price and it's refreshing to review a driver that's under the 500 pound 500 mark this is 349 pounds when it first comes to retail of 449. For the price for everything that you get for the technology for the fact this driver does what it should do in fact it's probably performing better than some of the drivers that are already out there at 500 pound. And it features a lot more i like say i've not really even tapped into that cobra connect it's not something i would possibly use only because i don't like the fact you have to have your phone in your pocket to test it and kind of puts me off but that's not for everyone i'm sure a lot of people would appreciate that as a driver goes for 2019 i would honestly put this at the top of the pile so far this is the driver to beat it does everything. And i honestly think it's the best sounding driver i've ever tested guys thanks. For watching stay tuned lots more to come that was my full in-depth review of the cobra f9 speed back driver if you're new to the channel hit subscribe enjoy the video smash that like. And leave me a comment down below do you think this is where the price of drivers should sit in 2019. thanks. For watching and we'll see you next.
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