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Driver Thoughts - Callaway Epic Flash vs. Cobra F9


leftycabe

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Forgot to mention that the F9 44.5” Tour Length option driver comes with the standard 14g weight in the rear. But, instead of the standard 2g weight in the front, it comes with a 6g weight in the front to help with the swingweight. This was a big plus to me compared to most other OEMs.

 

The tour length should come with 18/6g weights...

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I hit both at a recent demo day. Both are excellent but I preferred the 3-5 yd fade the Epic Flash SZ was giving me. That stated, both are fantastic.

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Forgot to mention that the F9 44.5” Tour Length option driver comes with the standard 14g weight in the rear. But, instead of the standard 2g weight in the front, it comes with a 6g weight in the front to help with the swingweight. This was a big plus to me compared to most other OEMs.

 

The tour length should come with 18/6g weights...

]

 

I appreciate the input. It appears you may be right. I just saw the 18/6g weight numbers on the Cobra F9 Tour Length web order page. I’ll find out tomorrow which is correct, the club I ordered and just received or the current version of the webpage. Also, the actual length with a normal mid size grip is 44.25 which is perfect with me.

 

On the other hand, the actual swing weight of my club as ordered with a Golf Pride Multi Compound Mid Size Grip is D5. So, an 18/6g weight combo would probably put the swing weight up to maybe D7 or D8? So I’m guessing that they put in the 14/6g weight combo for that reason. Anyway, I will check tomorrow. Thanks again.

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The only concern you should have about buying a Cobra is that you may never buy a driver from anyone else again. I've pretty much owned everything out there from 2013 forward, and I have to say that everyone except for Cobra has put out some duds in that time. They just keep on cranking out quality offering after quality offering, and for less money. For some reason, since Rickie Fowler and Bryson DeChambeau play them and they make them in colors sometimes, some people don't take them seriously.

 

I agree. Probably my favourite driver of all time is the Cobra S9-1 Pro S.

 

Cobra went through a bit of an identity crisis but have now transitioned to being a high quality, classy brand.

 

For a long time Cobra was the club of choice for grandads and old duffers with artificial hips who could barely hit it beyond the ladies' tees. They tried so hard (too hard) to shake that image and appeal to a younger crowd that they massively overcompensated by releasing drivers in various garish colours with "cool" sounding names i.e. all the MyFly nonsense which was bobbins. This was back when Poulter was a brand ambassador.

 

Now they've thankfully settled down and are a lot more sure of themselves as a brand and are offering some of the best stuff on the market.

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I did. I ultimately went with the standard Flash over the SZ due to dispersion as I was getting very playable spin numbers with the standard. SZ lost out to the standard in the sound department as well. I hit the F9 during my fitting but in a config that just didn't suit me (10.5 head, heavy weight back).

 

I ordered the F9 on a whim in 9* just as an experiment honestly, since it had glowing reviews, sounded great, and was (relatively) dirt cheap.

 

Ultimately went with the F9 over the flash since it had same/better dispersion, greater ball speed, and better sound/feel. Whole club was only a bit more than I sold the Flash head only, so that definitely helps

 

CC didn't have the M5/M6 head so I didn't get a chance at it. Went to a demo day and the M6 behaved much my the F9 so I will give it a whirl, but the F9 is firmly in the bag.

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Hey Guys,

 

I am torn between the Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero and the Cobra F9 drivers for this year. I played the G400 LST in 2018 and never fell in love with it. I'm wondering if anyone has had a chance to hit these side by side. Before I get the standard response of, "you have to hit both and get fit..." please understand I am looking for other people's experiences and I am hoping to get the opportunity to hit both at some point. Ideally, I'd like to buy in the next 1-2 weeks.

 

Please let me know what your thoughts are. My game - playing off a 6 handicap. Used to play a lot, now about once a week in the summer. Hoping to play a lot more this year. Hit an average drive about 285-290 with mid trajectory. Usually hit a slight fade as I used to be terrified of the hook in my competitive days.

 

 

While I agree with you that the yellow one looked a little busy for me as well I can’t deny that the white one hands-down is the better looking of the two and is much more stealth and less less busier. The rear of the crown that polish carbon looks like the back of the Callaway but the front being Matte looks very very nice in my opinion for me it was between the PXG Titleist TS3 and Cobra F9 and once I hit the F9, speed swing control off-center hits and then just pure distance from F9 hands-down was the best driver for me. To each their own obviously but if you’re trying to pick between the Callaway in the cobra my vote goes for the cobra F9 but in the avalanche white version that comes with matte crown.

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I've owned both and now I just own the Epic Flash standard. For info I play off a competition handicap of 4 and driver swing speed is around 105mph.

I had the white/matt Cobra and it looked superb and the sound was awesome. It was a 10.5° with Smoke 6.5 shaft. I was more than happy with the performance and thought I'd found my driver for the season... but the ho in my was still tempted by the Flash. I bought one with credit I had in the pro shop and hit them head to head. I'd say the F9 had the long ball out of the 2 but the Flash was not far behind. I preferred the sound and feel of the F9 so at this point the Flash was looking like an expensive mistake.

I then had a week where my swing was very off. The Flash was still up in the same areas as usual with high toe strikes or low heel strikes. The F9 I'm afraid was way back on my normal areas, still in play but 20 - 30 yards back.

The following week my swing was back on and results with both drivers were very similar once again with the f9 maybe 4 yards further on average but the Flash found more fairways. At this point i had decided that the flash was the one for me. I put a Callaway tip on my Attas Punch shaft which lowered the flight a tad compared to the smoke and found that extra few yards whilst still hitting a lot of fairways. I quickly sold the F9 and I'm more than happy with my choice Epic ? is the perfect blend of distance and fairways for me.

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Epic Flash SZ sounds and feels terrible in comparison to the F9. To be fair most divers sound and feel terrible compared to the F9. Flash was not as consistent for centre strikes as the F9 for me.

Flash was tested on a range compared to my Amp Cell Pro and M5 and the F9 was on an indoor LM compared to my Amp Cell Pro.

 

Driver: still looking.....
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7 Wood: Kamui Pro TP-XF 22.5° + Fujikura Speeder Evolution VI FW80x @ 41 3/4".
Irons: Kamui Pro KP-102 5i-PW + KBS TGI 110 + 1/2".
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The F9 was the winner for me with the Epic Flash Sub Zero coming in at a somewhat close second after my fitting at Club Champion. It was the higher smash factor, slightly better average spin, and preference for the weight adjustments in the F9 that won me over.

 

The dellimma that I am now facing is which shaft to order.

 

I was fitted into the Oban Kiyoshi Black 65 X. However, this is not an option when ordering the F9. On the other hand, there are other no cost options that are supposed have identical low launch low spin characteristics as the Kiyoshi Black (according to the Titleist shaft chart), but these were not available to hit during my fitting. I plan to order one of the free options then go back in for a head to head to see if the upgrade still makes sense.

 

Shaft / Weight / Torque

1) EvenFlow T1100 White 65 6.5 / 68 / 3.0

2) EvenFlow T1100 White 75 6.5 / 76 / 3.0

3) Atmos TS Black 7 X / 76 / 3.0

4) Atmos TS Black 6 X / 69 / 3.4

Vs.

Oban Kiyoshi Black 65 X / 72 / 3.3

 

~114 swing speed, aggressive transition, slight upward angle of attack. I struggle with keeping spin down but higher launch couldn't hurt.

 

Any suggestions?

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Callaway had to make the flash sound and feel terrible otherwise they would have monopolized the Driver market this year. That wouldn’t have been fair.

 

I'm going to have call your opinion on sound/feel.....my sub feels amazingly solid and while it has sound(not muted) it certainly not ear splitting or OBNOXIOUS...

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The f9 is the winner in my book the flash is imo the 4th best of 2019. Something about Cobra and their drivers and this one finally out performs the old LZ insane. I had mine built by jdsclubs and when ordering I asked him about the F9 and he mentioned that he could order me anything but the driver to have is the f9. Keep in mind some of the others were more money so if he was selling to sell he would have swayed me to the Cally etc. good for Cobra for making a product that is superior to the “big boys”, great feeling and sounding not to mention the longest. Think of the g400 max of last year with great feel and sound and actually in long.

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Callaway had to make the flash sound and feel terrible otherwise they would have monopolized the Driver market this year. That wouldn't have been fair.

 

I'm going to have call your opinion on sound/feel.....my sub feels amazingly solid and while it has sound(not muted) it certainly not ear splitting or OBNOXIOUS...

 

Strokes for folks!!

 

The sound and feel of the EFSZ was awful IMO.

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Callaway had to make the flash sound and feel terrible otherwise they would have monopolized the Driver market this year. That wouldn't have been fair.

 

I'm going to have call your opinion on sound/feel.....my sub feels amazingly solid and while it has sound(not muted) it certainly not ear splitting or OBNOXIOUS...

 

Strokes for folks!!

 

The sound and feel of the EFSZ was awful IMO.

 

Maybe I'm not hitting the middle enough (!) but my EFSZ sounds great! I've only been on the course once and the range 3 or 4 times but off centre strikes are a lot quieter, tinnier than centre strikes. Centre strikes sound a little higher pitch than thuddy (are these even words?!). The range balls are like rocks. I play Chrome Soft and on the course there was a noticeable difference between the two.

 

It's all subjective. I suffer from mild tinnitus so may not be quite so attuned to the higher pitch.

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I have to wonder if some heads are louder than others in the SZ. I am a loyal Callaway guy at top and bottom of bag, but this one just did not do it for me.

 

I am sure a lot will love it.

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I have to wonder if some heads are louder than others in the SZ. I am a loyal Callaway guy at top and bottom of bag, but this one just did not do it for me.

 

I am sure a lot will love it.

 

The 1st review I saw on YouTube was a MAJOR turnoff as were the initial feedback reports on here....I loved the shape and hearing it was easier to turn over was a big intrigue for as my M3 was impossible.....I had no intent on buying a 2019 club ....went to superstore and hit everything....ts3, 410, m5,f9 and EFSZ... came down to F9 and EFSZ.

F9 far more of a muted club which is fine but it sat closed to my eye and spins more hence 10yds shorter.....maybe it's a head to head audible variation but my model is definitely not Sumo loud/LV4 loud

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I have to wonder if some heads are louder than others in the SZ. I am a loyal Callaway guy at top and bottom of bag, but this one just did not do it for me.

 

I am sure a lot will love it.

 

The 1st review I saw on YouTube was a MAJOR turnoff as were the initial feedback reports on here....I loved the shape and hearing it was easier to turn over was a big intrigue for as my M3 was impossible.....I had no intent on buying a 2019 club ....went to superstore and hit everything....ts3, 410, m5,f9 and EFSZ... came down to F9 and EFSZ.

F9 far more of a muted club which is fine but it sat closed to my eye and spins more hence 10yds shorter.....maybe it's a head to head audible variation but my model is definitely not Sumo loud/LV4 loud

 

That's for sure. I had both and there's no way the EFSZ is that loud.

 

Someone (you ?) suggested Cally might have made a quick adjustment for production heads. The EFSZ I hit in the stores didn't sound nearly so loud but I took one out to the course for 3 days and it was definitely louder than in the store (but still not L4V/Sumo loud).

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I have hit both multiple times now. I'm deciding on a new driver as well. Both are great drivers and will perform.

 

Personally, I like the F9 better. Feel, sound and performance numbers were all better for me.

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