(Cobra) Driver Rant.

[fishstix94]

I'm in the market for a new driver and over the past few days I've been hitting many different types of drivers. To be honest I really haven't fallen in love with anything yet. There have been a few that feel pretty solid but nothing that is getting me too excited. I remember back in the day when I loved pulling out the driver and swinging for the fences. Now I have been considering dropping my driver all together.

 

After a few hours at golf galaxy the other day I walked out of the building with a feeling of emptiness... I must have hit 10-15 different drivers, new and old, and nothing felt amazing. So as I was eating my lunch I thought to myself, "What do these drivers lack that the drivers I grew to love had." And after some time I realized what I have been missing for the past 5 years or so. A cobra driver. And no I'm not talking about the bright orange drivers that they sell in the stores today (don't get me wrong, cobra still puts out a great driver.) I'm talking about the fugly looking drivers they put out back in the day, with two giant dimples on the crown of the driver. I'm talking about the loudest driver I ever played! I would hit that thing and people knew right away that I was hitting my cobra. What happened to those clubs? They were my favorite, I felt like I couldn't miss the ball with them. Man do I miss the days of seeing David Feherty sitting back in that yellow chair while Camilo Villegas and JB Holmes ripped monster drives in the cobra commercials.

 

After that trip down memory lane I decided that I am going back to the drivers that have been out of my life for years...The cobra l4v, l5v, Hs9, ZL, S9-1 Pro, and the speed drivers. No more dropping 100s of dollars on the latest and greatest...It's time to go back to my roots...

 

Anyway rant over. On a more serious note does anyone else miss the cobra golf of old or am I alone? I mean they still put out a great product and their clubs are great. Their stuff still looks a little fan-boyish to me, but that's a different story. Long story short, I am excited to pickup a few old cobra drivers and throw some new shafts in them and see how they work out!

 

Thanks for listening,

 

Fish

[hdgolf44]

My buddy and I both purchased one of those drivers back in the day when we were both working at our club. He got the X-Speed Pro D, and I the X-Speed Pro S. We both still talk about the days of yore hitting those drivers; even today we still agree that it is definitely somewhere near the top of our list of drivers played.

Although the X-Speeds were not as ear-piercingly loud as the other models you listed, you definitely knew when someone was hitting them. I once borrowed an F Speed (regular flex) for a tournament as a last resort (crappy driving after moving on from the X-speed) and it was hilarious. "Half empty soda-can" sounding 270 yard pop-flys down the middle of the fairway each time. The old Cobra was driving my playing competitors crazy, what with the loud sounds and the bisected fairways.

Another one of my friends still bags an old long drive Cobra SZ with the reinforced face, mainly because he hasn't caved it in, which had been a common occurence before the Cobra.

[Armypilot84]

If you wan't an unbearably loud bomber pick up an old Nike SQ. That think sounded like you were hitting an old school aluminum baseball bat. I remember when I took it to the range the first time everybody was staring at me like I had two heads. Man that thing was long though. If you want a Cobra driver that is legit though pick up a Bio Cell Pro. While it is the opposite of loud, it is scary long and scary forgiving. I think that Cobra probably put out the best driver and fairway wood line-up this season. You just didn't hear much about it because Taylormade and Callaway bombard us with their marketing hype.

[ShutSteepStuck]

What a great thread!

Unfortunately I steered clear of Cobra driver until the last few seasons. I do, however, own a hideously loud RBZ tour which would cause tinnitus until after the approach shot. I imagine those old school Cobras sounded similar.

[LONG&STR8]

I was there. L4v (BONG! at contact that sent little kids crying for their moms but was long and straight). Pro D which was awesome. Low spin, beautiful and sounded great. Best of both worlds for me has been an Amp Cell pro (Silver not orange) which I shoved an old Ernie Els PX 6A9 in and put it in the 8.5 F setting. Not quite as beautiful as the Pro D but not as ugly as the L4v. Sound and feel is amazing and it's low spin like the Pro D and forgiving like the L4V. Paid 80 bucks for mine in mint condition.

[Paulw007]

You had to be careful playing golf within a few miles of a grave yard if you played the Cleveland Hibore Xl. That thing was so loud it could wake the dead!

[Nuggets]

I never tried the Hibore but for a brief spell I had a Nike square driver it was loud!!!

Stupidly easy to hit and straight with a Motore F1 but........you looked like a complete tool using it, sold it off and bought myself an original SQ tour which was lovely

[johnnythunders]

[color=#222222]I have tinnitus, too many years playing in bands, so my drivers need to be quiet. Cobra Encore ZL is very quiet. Love it. [/color]

[PreppySlapCut]

Hate anything loud. Play a ZLE.

[PDoN]

I miss the old cobra! I actually still play 90s cobra irons and have at different times had 12 or 13 cobra clubs in the bag. I haven't banged anything though since the rebranding. It's not that they don't perform, but I'm just not into the whole persona of late. I think as rickie fowler continues to improve and gains the reputation as a serious contender, cobra will grow with him. I would love to see them still stay young and edgy, but tone it down a notch or two on the crazy colors and such.

[buckifuss16]

I actually still use my s9-1 pro d with a blueboard. Every year I get on a trackman to compare it with the new drivers that come out and this club still gives the best numbers.

[matchavez]

Probably people got tired of being [i]that guy[/i] on the range...

[yellowlab]

I bagged an SS 350 back in the day, played with it for 6 months 'til I cracked the face. That thing sounded like an aluminum baseball bat when you hit it. The first day I played with it I hit 13 of 14 fairways. When it broke, I upgraded to a 454 Comp. Great driver

[fishstix94]

[quote name='Paulw007' timestamp='1406548176' post='9799895']You had to be careful playing golf within a few miles of a grave yard if you played the Cleveland Hibore Xl. That thing was so loud it could wake the dead![/quote]
That was another great loud driver!

[fishstix94]

[quote name='hdgolf44' timestamp='1406524770' post='9799309']My buddy and I both purchased one of those drivers back in the day when we were both working at our club. He got the X-Speed Pro D, and I the X-Speed Pro S. We both still talk about the days of yore hitting those drivers; even today we still agree that it is definitely somewhere near the top of our list of drivers played.

Although the X-Speeds were not as ear-piercingly loud as the other models you listed, you definitely knew when someone was hitting them. I once borrowed an F Speed (regular flex) for a tournament as a last resort (crappy driving after moving on from the X-speed) and it was hilarious. "Half empty soda-can" sounding 270 yard pop-flys down the middle of the fairway each time. The old Cobra was driving my playing competitors crazy, what with the loud sounds and the bisected fairways.

Another one of my friends still bags an old long drive Cobra SZ with the reinforced face, mainly because he hasn't caved it in, which had been a common occurence before the Cobra.[/quote]
Haha "half empty soda cans" is a great description! But the x speed pro was an absolute cannon!!!

[fishstix94]

[quote name='mizunopure' timestamp='1406526100' post='9799361']What a great thread!

Unfortunately I steered clear of Cobra driver until the last few seasons. I do, however, own a hideously loud RBZ tour which would cause tinnitus until after the approach shot. I imagine those old school Cobras sounded similar.[/quote]
Trust me man the rbz has nothing on an old l4v!

[fishstix94]

[quote name='matchavez' timestamp='1406555215' post='9800455']Probably people got tired of being [i]that guy[/i] on the range...[/quote]
That was another great thing with those drivers. On the range before tourneys you would take one swing with your cobra driver and heads would turn!

[Slice-a-matic]

I just retrieved my old Cobra 427 from my parents house last week to take to the range for old times sake. That thing would make people pick their head up at the range for sure....super loud!

Like you, I too have been in the market for a new driver. I'm trying to remember what it was like kill it past everyone with that thing instead of being with the group with what I have been playing with.

[Justin_Ellis]

Bio Cell Pro is incredible. I personally hated all of the aluminum bat sounding drivers from the mid 2000s.

[fishstix94]

[quote name='Justin_Ellis' timestamp='1406558108' post='9800831']Bio Cell Pro is incredible. I personally hated all of the aluminum bat sounding drivers from the mid 2000s.[/quote]
I've heard great things about it and I've hit it well. But it jut doesn't have the right sound for me haha

[VCRtapes]

The first thread I ever started on this forum back in 2009 (I think) was about how much of a freaking BOMB the L4V driver was/is. Some of the guys I played golf with would make jokes about it being my "Easton" or "TPX" driver, but boy was that thing long. I loved the Diamana stock shaft in it too. Really tempted to pick another one up on eBay and pull it out every now and then for fun.

Also, looking back at how long that driver was really reinforces the notion that all this marketing buzz behind drivers today being so much longer really is garbage. My 2008 self with an L4V would easily be as long or longer off the tee than my 2014 self with my Nike Covert 2.0 Tour (which I also love, don't get me wrong).

[Hairpie]

The "old" Cobras sounded like an aluminum bat hitting an empty metal garbage can in a basement...I'll take the new stuff...

[fishstix94]

I've been having a hard time finding one in decent shape but once I do watch out!

[driverwedge]

Miss those drivers? I've still got most of them! Love each one in their own special way.

Cobra ProD 9.5*/DVS 60x
Cobra L4V 9*/ProtoPype 80x
Cobra 427 BetaTi 9*/ProtoPype 70s
Cobra (original) X Speed 8.5*/V2 Tour Flight x
Cobra L5V 8.5* head with adapters
Cobra (original) X Speed 7.5* head

Edit: I've posted this before, but it fits here as well:

The X Speed sounded like you were smashing a glass window with a metal head filled with crushed glass and nickles. If you hit it indoors somebody's ears are going to bleed. No dogs seen for miles.

[Super Tuna]

[quote name='Paulw007' timestamp='1406548176' post='9799895']
You had to be careful playing golf within a few miles of a grave yard if you played the Cleveland Hibore Xl. That thing was so loud it could wake the dead!
[/quote]

So, what you're saying is that Cleveland is responsible for the Zombie Apocalypse?

[fishstix94]

[quote name='driverwedge' timestamp='1406569689' post='9802339']Miss those drivers? I've still got most of them! Love each one in their own special way.

Cobra ProD 9.5*/DVS 60x
Cobra L4V 9*/ProtoPype 80x
Cobra 427 BetaTi 9*/ProtoPype 70s
Cobra (original) X Speed 8.5*/V2 Tour Flight x
Cobra L5V 8.5* head with adapters
Cobra (original) X Speed 7.5* head

Edit: I've posted this before, but it fits here as well:

The X Speed sounded like you were smashing a glass window with a metal head filled with crushed glass and nickles. If you hit it indoors somebody's ears are going to bleed. No dogs seen for miles.[/quote]
Wow I am jealous!!!! And the sound description is spot on!

[BigHook25]

[quote name='VCRtapes' timestamp='1406562094' post='9801331']
The first thread I ever started on this forum back in 2009 (I think) was about how much of a freaking BOMB the L4V driver was/is. Some of the guys I played golf with would make jokes about it being my "Easton" or "TPX" driver, but boy was that thing long. I loved the Diamana stock shaft in it too. Really tempted to pick another one up on eBay and pull it out every now and then for fun.

Also, looking back at how long that driver was really reinforces the notion that all this marketing buzz behind drivers today being so much longer really is garbage. My 2008 self with an L4V would easily be as long or longer off the tee than my 2014 self with my Nike Covert 2.0 Tour (which I also love, don't get me wrong).
[/quote]

There is some distance gains with newer drivers by getting the most of launch and spin. If slightly older or newer drivers are hit on the sweet spot I don't see much difference in ball speed. Biggest difference is keeping ball speeds higher and consistent across the face.

[Scratch_72]

Beside a guy at the range yesterday who had old school SS460. I turned around to see what he was hitting and he apologized for all the noise. Didn't bother me but it was loud. I just turned to see what it was.

[jdl]

I've got an HS9 and ZL hanging around, currently playing the Bio Cell Plus. Always loved Cobra drivers...

[Jasonfish_02]

[quote name='fishstix94' timestamp='1406523227' post='9799239']
I'm in the market for a new driver and over the past few days I've been hitting many different types of drivers. To be honest I really haven't fallen in love with anything yet. There have been a few that feel pretty solid but nothing that is getting me too excited. I remember back in the day when I loved pulling out the driver and swinging for the fences. Now I have been considering dropping my driver all together.

After a few hours at golf galaxy the other day I walked out of the building with a feeling of emptiness... I must have hit 10-15 different drivers, new and old, and nothing felt amazing. So as I was eating my lunch I thought to myself, "What do these drivers lack that the drivers I grew to love had." And after some time I realized what I have been missing for the past 5 years or so. A cobra driver. And no I'm not talking about the bright orange drivers that they sell in the stores today (don't get me wrong, cobra still puts out a great driver.) I'm talking about the fugly looking drivers they put out back in the day, with two giant dimples on the crown of the driver. I'm talking about the loudest driver I ever played! I would hit that thing and people knew right away that I was hitting my cobra. What happened to those clubs? They were my favorite, I felt like I couldn't miss the ball with them. Man do I miss the days of seeing David Feherty sitting back in that yellow chair while Camilo Villegas and JB Holmes ripped monster drives in the cobra commercials.

After that trip down memory lane I decided that I am going back to the drivers that have been out of my life for years...The cobra l4v, l5v, Hs9, ZL, S9-1 Pro, and the speed drivers. No more dropping 100s of dollars on the latest and greatest...It's time to go back to my roots...

Anyway rant over. On a more serious note does anyone else miss the cobra golf of old or am I alone? I mean they still put out a great product and their clubs are great. Their stuff still looks a little fan-boyish to me, but that's a different story. Long story short, I am excited to pickup a few old cobra drivers and throw some new shafts in them and see how they work out!

Thanks for listening,

Fish
[/quote]

I was at the range today hitting my XX Speed 8.5 and that had my ears hurting within a few swings. Then pulled out a speed pro d LD head and made matters worse. I love cobra heads....extremely low spin, and the sound they make when hit dead nuts in the center is awesome.

-Fish