Cobra Tour Length F8 review.... disappointed.

Really like Cobra drivers. Had a bio-cell for a few years and presently have the Fly Z+ with Oban Revenge 6s shaft. Great combination and best driver I have owned. Wanted to try the Tour Length F8 to see if the 1.25" shorter shaft increased accuracy without significant loss in distance.

Pics:

Short version is the experiment failed. Ordered the Tour Length with the NV 2KXV Green 65 stiff which had the profile most similar to the Oban Revenge. The Green is supposed to be a low launch, low spin shaft.

I experienced the exact opposite! The spin and launch were both unplayably high - more height and spin than any driver I have hit in the last ten years - even after adjusting the weights to minimize both. For the first time since balata, my tee ball would balloon from spin! After two rounds with the club, I wish I could return the club.

Maybe the club is fine or perhaps the shaft or head is defective. Either way... disappointed.

Mine is crazy high as well and I have a negative angle of attack with a usual lower ball flight. It's probably the shaft!

Mine is crazy high as well and I have a negative angle of attack with a usual lower ball flight. It's probably the shaft!

Meaning the shaft may be defective?

Mine is crazy high as well and I have a negative angle of attack with a usual lower ball flight. It's probably the shaft!

 

Meaning the shaft may be defective?

No, not fit for my swing. Maybe that shaft doesn't work for your swing?

... Something sounds amiss. I have been playing the Tour Length F8 for almost a year now and it produces very similar trajectory as my Fly Z and animal style Epic with a hair less spin, which is why it is in my bag. I even have the heavier 16gm weight in the rear with a 12gm weight in the heel. Tried the F8+ and really wanted to bag it as the head just looks better at address but performance with the F8 is just more consistent for me. I hope you figure it out because it is an outstanding driver.

Put a 75 gm shaft in it and see what you think.

BT

I too ordered the tour length driver but I got the hzrdus yellow in 75 grams. The yellow is a phenomenal shaft. I feel like I had a distance drop from the f8 head, so I put the regular fly z head in the hzrdus and I am hitting bombs! Maybe the dispersion is better from the f8 head (but it's not much, if at all), but the fly z blows it away. I seriously feel like the fly z is 15 yards longer.

For those ordering the tour length F8, you are doing it all wrong.

The correct way is order the driver at standard length (45.5") with the

Shaft weight and profile that best fits your swing.

Then cut the shaft to the 44.5" or 44.25" yourself. Move the 12 gram weight to

the heel position and the 2 gram weight to the rear. Then proceed to the range

with a roll of lead tape and the shaft wrench. Adjust loft and and keep adding

lead tape near the edge of the face , to find the swing weight that best works

for your new length. For me it took 9 grams of tape , low , against the leading

edge, slightly towards the toe side of center. Also since the head will most

likely be 9 to 12 grams heavier than a stock head, a little tip trimming .5" to

.75" is recommended during the shaft shortening stage.

Remove and weigh the tape..Then hotmelt the head to the fitted weight. For the

higher spin players, adding half the weight to the crown ,half low against the

leading edge ( Ricky style ) will knock off some spin.

The F8 head is not an ultra low spin design. That is why it is so forgiving.

But by moving as much weight to the front as possible, and getting the loft

setting right, spin can be managed to fit more of the high speed swingers,

yet still retain the forgiveness that was built into the head.....

Added bonus...nothing on the market can compete with the sound and feel

of a hotmelted King F8 driver head.

For those ordering the tour length F8, you are doing it all wrong.

 

The correct way is order the driver at standard length (45.5") with the

Shaft weight and profile that best fits your swing.

 

Then cut the shaft to the 44.5" or 44.25" yourself. Move the 12 gram weight to

the heel position and the 2 gram weight to the rear. Then proceed to the range

with a roll of lead tape and the shaft wrench. Adjust loft and and keep adding

lead tape near the edge of the face , to find the swing weight that best works

for your new length. For me it took 9 grams of tape , low , against the leading

edge, slightly towards the toe side of center. Also since the head will most

likely be 9 to 12 grams heavier than a stock head, a little tip trimming .5" to

.75" is recommended during the shaft shortening stage.

 

Remove and weigh the tape..Then hotmelt the head to the fitted weight. For the

higher spin players, adding half the weight to the crown ,half low against the

leading edge ( Ricky style ) will knock off some spin.

 

The F8 head is not an ultra low spin design. That is why it is so forgiving.

But by moving as much weight to the front as possible, and getting the loft

setting right, spin can be managed to fit more of the high speed swingers,

yet still retain the forgiveness that was built into the head.....

 

Added bonus...nothing on the market can compete with the sound and feel

of a hotmelted King F8 driver head.

A good fitting would do this correct? I only have a couple choices locally and I doubt they are that thorough. I know Austad's does a 30 minute fitting hitting off a rubber tee. They offer a "tour fitting" for $100 that is a little more involved.

Who said that the Aldila NV 2KXV green shared a profile with the Oban Revenge? They are nothing alike besides the color green.

I'm old school , been self fitting for thirty + years , way before the age of

electronics. Last time I took a driver to see what the machine said it was doing,

my numbers were within .5* launch angle , and 200 rpm of being optimized for my

swing speed.

Howard Jones " DIY driver tune up " thread covers the basics of self fitting, and

covers almost verbatim exactly how I do it. Most fitters are not going to be able

mimic the shaft length , and head reweighting I described in my earlier post.

For those ordering the tour length F8, you are doing it all wrong.

 

The correct way is order the driver at standard length (45.5") with the

Shaft weight and profile that best fits your swing.

 

Then cut the shaft to the 44.5" or 44.25" yourself. Move the 12 gram weight to

the heel position and the 2 gram weight to the rear. Then proceed to the range

with a roll of lead tape and the shaft wrench. Adjust loft and and keep adding

lead tape near the edge of the face , to find the swing weight that best works

for your new length. For me it took 9 grams of tape , low , against the leading

edge, slightly towards the toe side of center. Also since the head will most

likely be 9 to 12 grams heavier than a stock head, a little tip trimming .5" to

.75" is recommended during the shaft shortening stage.

 

Remove and weigh the tape..Then hotmelt the head to the fitted weight. For the

higher spin players, adding half the weight to the crown ,half low against the

leading edge ( Ricky style ) will knock off some spin.

 

The F8 head is not an ultra low spin design. That is why it is so forgiving.

But by moving as much weight to the front as possible, and getting the loft

setting right, spin can be managed to fit more of the high speed swingers,

yet still retain the forgiveness that was built into the head.....

 

Added bonus...nothing on the market can compete with the sound and feel

of a hotmelted King F8 driver head.

I followed this same process when dialing in my F7 / Copperhead combo at 44.5" One of the best drivers I've ever played. Only difference is I used the lead tape to find out what size weight I needed to buy. I ended up with the 2gm in front, 12 gm in heel and 15 gm in back. Total head weight without adapter is 210. No hot melt added because I actually like the sound of the F7.

BT

Who said that the Aldila NV 2KXV green shared a profile with the Oban Revenge? They are nothing alike besides the color green.

Going with different shafts you were not fit with is a crap shoot. My last few fittings, I hit about 6 different shafts a Reg in one plays like a Stiff in another..even ones with the same bendpoint feel and act differently, then weight adds more complexity...Hard to get this right by looking at internet specs and opinions.

The head is probably the least important part.