Rick Shiels Cobra F9 Speedback driver review, the one to beat in 2019?

[Jason m]

I've been done with buying into the overpriced latest and greatest being longer than the previous years model. All these drivers with proper fitting are within 3 yards of each other. I am into buying previous gens latest and greatest at a substantial savings. :D $120 for 917D2 with Tour Spec Pro 74. OH YEAH!!!!

:D

Nice deal, where did you score that deal at? I have a 915 d2 and was thinking

about the 917

[dmeeksDC]

I've been done with buying into the overpriced latest and greatest being longer than the previous years model. All these drivers with proper fitting are within 3 yards of each other. I am into buying previous gens latest and greatest at a substantial savings. :D $120 for 917D2 with Tour Spec Pro 74. OH YEAH!!!!

:D

Nice deal, where did you score that deal at? I have a 915 d2 and was thinking

about the 917

 

Yeah, that is a steal.

[11forgedblades]

We all know these are all great drivers and the difference for many of us would be very small if the sample size was large enough and shaft/setup were optimized.

If I were buying today what differentiates them possibly the most is appearance.

This is just my opinion, but this opinion is the Titleist looks great behind the ball, and classy in the bag. The Cobra actually looks like it should cost considerably less and has the lowest end look of the new crop...IMO only. It's performance would have to stand out more than it does for me to bag it.

 

I think the milled face on Cobras last few offerings looks incredible. I'm a Cobra guy so my opinion is biased. Not sure about the yellow though.

[cgasucks]

I've been done with buying into the overpriced latest and greatest being longer than the previous years model. All these drivers with proper fitting are within 3 yards of each other. I am into buying previous gens latest and greatest at a substantial savings. :D $120 for 917D2 with Tour Spec Pro 74. OH YEAH!!!!

:D

 

What did you use to get him to sell you at that price? A gun or a knife? Blackmail perhaps?

[gdb99]

We all know these are all great drivers and the difference for many of us would be very small if the sample size was large enough and shaft/setup were optimized.

If I were buying today what differentiates them possibly the most is appearance.

This is just my opinion, but this opinion is the Titleist looks great behind the ball, and classy in the bag. The Cobra actually looks like it should cost considerably less and has the lowest end look of the new crop...IMO only. It's performance would have to stand out more than it does for me to bag it.

 

I think the milled face on Cobras last few offerings looks incredible. I'm a Cobra guy so my opinion is biased. Not sure about the yellow though.

 

Then check out the white one!

[Jagpilotohio]

I will never understand how people can be So bothered by the color of the BOTTOM of a driver. It’s just weird.

 

I DESPISE Orange but I still adore my LTD.

 

My hang up is the top. Looked at it again last night at GG. The top is just so busy.....and that’s what you have to look at.

 

I’m still ordering one. I’ll just have to get over the ridges and stripes all over it if it’s going to kick the LTD out of the bag.

[Z1ggy16]

My GG isn't getting Demo's in til Feb. Lammmmmeeeee

[Jagpilotohio]

My GG isn't getting Demo's in til Feb. Lammmmmeeeee

 

Look on the bright side. By the time you get to try it there will some available on BST and the Bay for $350.

 

 

[300_Straight]

My GG isn't getting Demo's in til Feb. Lammmmmeeeee

Ewwwwww. By then the F10 will be out haha.

[Z1ggy16]

My GG isn't getting Demo's in til Feb. Lammmmmeeeee

 

Look on the bright side. By the time you get to try it there will some available on BST and the Bay for $350.

My GG isn't getting Demo's in til Feb. Lammmmmeeeee

Ewwwwww. By then the F10 will be out haha.

Haha right?? Although... Going to be so tough to dethrone the legend which is LTD pro. Trackman tells me I was getting 297 total yesterday out of a about 106mph swing. 1.51 smash... doesn't get any better than that. The real question is off center ball speeds. I find the LTD does well but spin tends to jump up significantly.

 

Also got 1.51 smash out of the LTD 3w. Unicorn clubs if you ask me.

 

I thought about buying F8+ on auction for $129.... but meh. I did love the F8 3w but I'm seeing the same distances from the older LTD, and I like the spaceport because I add easily add cotton inside to fine tune swing weight.

[Les Strokes]

Yeah, these drivers are all so close to each other in performance on sweet hits that for me the most important factor is how they perform on off-centre hits, especially off the toe side. Rick Shiels is good for that because he mishits a lot. I only watch Ricks reviews now + TXG. The rest of them are just noise to me, esp. Crossfield.

[Joker91]

Yeah, these drivers are all so close to each other in performance on sweet hits that for me the most important factor is how they perform on off-centre hits, especially off the toe side. Rick Shiels is good for that because he mishits a lot. I only watch Ricks reviews now + TXG. The rest of them are just noise to me, esp. Crossfield.

 

I don't know why anyone would want to limit the amount of information they get

[Z1ggy16]

Love TXG... Went there for a full bag and they were the coolest dudes ever. I like their reviews too because I swing fairly similar to Matt (less speed though) so I can use his feed back to kind of predict how stuff might work for me. I was actually working up to his level of speeds too with SSG... but I haven't trained in like 2 months :( Went right back down to where I was before I started.

 

FWIW, Ian still bags the LTD 3w, too.

[Les Strokes]

Yeah, these drivers are all so close to each other in performance on sweet hits that for me the most important factor is how they perform on off-centre hits, especially off the toe side. Rick Shiels is good for that because he mishits a lot. I only watch Ricks reviews now + TXG. The rest of them are just noise to me, esp. Crossfield.

 

I don't know why anyone would want to limit the amount of information they get

 

Because Time is our most precious commodity. These reviews are just a guide, in the end one has to actually test them for themselves.

[Joker91]

Yeah, these drivers are all so close to each other in performance on sweet hits that for me the most important factor is how they perform on off-centre hits, especially off the toe side. Rick Shiels is good for that because he mishits a lot. I only watch Ricks reviews now + TXG. The rest of them are just noise to me, esp. Crossfield.

 

I don't know why anyone would want to limit the amount of information they get

 

Because Time is our most precious commodity. These reviews are just a guide, in the end one has to actually test them for themselves.

 

Bingo

[Les Strokes]

Haha right?? Although... Going to be so tough to dethrone the legend which is LTD pro. Trackman tells me I was getting 297 total yesterday out of a about 106mph swing. 1.51 smash... doesn't get any better than that. The real question is off center ball speeds. I find the LTD does well but spin tends to jump up significantly.

 

Also got 1.51 smash out of the LTD 3w. Unicorn clubs if you ask me.

 

I thought about buying F8+ on auction for $129.... but meh. I did love the F8 3w but I'm seeing the same distances from the older LTD, and I like the spaceport because I add easily add cotton inside to fine tune swing weight.

 

thanks for pointing this out. I saw this review just now https://www.youtube....EJ-D4v6k

Looks good

[Z1ggy16]

Yup. LTD pro is the real deal.

 

MGS says MOI on LTD pro is 4555 which is about the same as Epic SZ with the weight in the front. Even in 2018, 4500 is about middle of the pack in terms of forgiveness. Rogue SZ is about 4600 with weight back and F8+ weight forward is 4500. GMax is just a freak of nature at 5500.

 

Also, the CG placement on the XY axis of LTD pro is smack in the centerline, very low.... Just as low as Epic and Rogue. Lower than F8+ by a little bit, too.

 

My miss tends to be low on the face so the lower the CG for me, the less vertical gearing I'll see and better results. It also means if I can manage to hit a hair above center line... 100% bomb will be produced (as long as my face isn't shut, then... very bad).

[larciel]

Good to see at least one major marketing guy is not dumb to release a $550 driver.

[Big Ben]

This driver has a lot of nice tech for the paper!

[3woodvt]

Looking forward to hitting the F9. One thing seems apparent to me and that is Cobra has possibily made their best driver ever. There others the last 5 years were very good imo. Ill try it and buy it if I get 3 or 4 more mph of ball speeds and 1-2 mph SS .who would turn that down .hats off Cobra Golf!

[DFinch]

It can compete with anything out there. It's $449.

 

That said, the G400 LST is down to like $329 now, so that's probably "the driver to beat" if it's bang for the buck, which is what Rick was suggesting.

 

I got to hit a few with an F9 demo. No adjustments and only about 10 shots just to see how it felt and flew. It was nowhere close to how I would set it up (it was a 10.5 head turned down, weight back with the Smoke). It felt and sounded great. Very much in line with other carbon crown offerings. Spin was high on that setting and I had trouble turning it over. No gain in clubhead speed. Looked fine at address. If they were available in stock I would have spent more time with the possibility of walking out with one.

 

Unfortunately for Cobra I had $300 in clubhouse credit at my course and they had a TS3 with Evenflow sitting there calling to me. It would have been a more difficult choice if it was between these two with a $50 difference rather than just $200 out of pocket for the Titleist (my course shop doesn't carry Cobra).

[TollBros]

I appreciate the comparisons, but they are completely irrelevant. The clubs compared differ greatly in set up (shaft, length, loft). Additionally his performance varies on a daily basis, too. All the ball speeds are within 2 miles per hour. That is not a significant change and could change easily, if retested. I am sure the Cobra is a great driver, but so are the others. The title is clickbait. Not much more.

 

Bullseye.

 

And in reference to some other posts, people are not being "negative". These days when you simply present the facts, it's viewed as "hating" if those facts don't align with some people's opinions. It's best to simply present the facts and let people do with them what they will. If you want to take multi variable hitting sessions by a single guy as gospel, nobody is stopping you.

 

Watch or don't watch. F the hate, if you don't like it don't watch. I love all the guys doing reviews. If you want perfect get off your f'n a** do it yourself post it and live with the hate. If you hate you are milktoast and weakminded. Yes you.

 

In case youve been under a rock, that's exactly what we do. We post testing results from multiple players with all variables removed. If you guys want to base your purchase decisions of random single guy videos with a host of variables, be my guest. It's like basing your world views off of watching Jimmy Kimmel but hey, to each his own. I really should know better than to try educate in a thread like this.

[3woodvt]

I appreciate the comparisons, but they are completely irrelevant. The clubs compared differ greatly in set up (shaft, length, loft). Additionally his performance varies on a daily basis, too. All the ball speeds are within 2 miles per hour. That is not a significant change and could change easily, if retested. I am sure the Cobra is a great driver, but so are the others. The title is clickbait. Not much more.

 

Bullseye.

 

And in reference to some other posts, people are not being "negative". These days when you simply present the facts, it's viewed as "hating" if those facts don't align with some people's opinions. It's best to simply present the facts and let people do with them what they will. If you want to take multi variable hitting sessions by a single guy as gospel, nobody is stopping you.

 

Watch or don't watch. F the hate, if you don't like it don't watch. I love all the guys doing reviews. If you want perfect get off your f'n a** do it yourself post it and live with the hate. If you hate you are milktoast and weakminded. Yes you.

 

In case youve been under a rock, that's exactly what we do. We post testing results from multiple players with all variables removed. If you guys want to base your purchase decisions of random single guy videos with a host of variables, be my guest. It's like basing your world views off of watching Jimmy Kimmel but hey, to each his own. I really should know better than to try educate in a thread like this.

Then compare the F9 with the M5 and M6 please. It appears F9 has won every review in regards to ball speed .its the only measure I'm interested in currently. All the TM and Cally threads are like heroin addicts and can't accept they appear to have been surpassed in Driver design. Has your team any knowledge of this new product? I'm sure you'd have no bias .

[Les Strokes]

I appreciate the comparisons, but they are completely irrelevant. The clubs compared differ greatly in set up (shaft, length, loft). Additionally his performance varies on a daily basis, too. All the ball speeds are within 2 miles per hour. That is not a significant change and could change easily, if retested. I am sure the Cobra is a great driver, but so are the others. The title is clickbait. Not much more.

 

Bullseye.

 

And in reference to some other posts, people are not being "negative". These days when you simply present the facts, it's viewed as "hating" if those facts don't align with some people's opinions. It's best to simply present the facts and let people do with them what they will. If you want to take multi variable hitting sessions by a single guy as gospel, nobody is stopping you.

 

Watch or don't watch. F the hate, if you don't like it don't watch. I love all the guys doing reviews. If you want perfect get off your f'n a** do it yourself post it and live with the hate. If you hate you are milktoast and weakminded. Yes you.

 

In case youve been under a rock, that's exactly what we do. We post testing results from multiple players with all variables removed. If you guys want to base your purchase decisions of random single guy videos with a host of variables, be my guest. It's like basing your world views off of watching Jimmy Kimmel but hey, to each his own. I really should know better than to try educate in a thread like this.

 

this response strikes me as pretty hostile. Speaking only for myself, I don't live under a rock and I don't spend much time here, because I have two businesses to run plus all the other stuff. I have limited time. I clicked on your link, I do not see a bunch of club tests there. You might raise your profile if you provide more info where to find your reviews. Certainly a google search doesnt even show your enterprise. I have seen a couple of your threads on occasional visits and the data seems quite good, where are the tests to be found?

[Justsomeguy]

So basically... the TS3 is the best driver all around?

 

The epic flash SZ is the longest, but ugly and lacks MOI.

 

And the F9 didn’t have the cache of Titleist or Cally, so it got a click bait title?

 

Kidding... they are all about the same in numbers.

 

For me the TS3 looks classy. Sounds great. And smashes the ball. Loves to go in the fairway to boot.

 

But hey, all the super cool kids at school will think ur super cool with your retina burning colors and attention grabbing names.

 

Flash! Speed! Twist!

 

What is this a Batman rerun from the 70s?

 

Titleist managed to make a driver that doesn’t make you embarrassed to bag in adulthood... and it’s numbers are even with the rest.

 

Purchase validated.

I'm a dirty titleist lover, but I hit the f9 and it was awesome.

[Justsomeguy]

Yeah, these drivers are all so close to each other in performance on sweet hits that for me the most important factor is how they perform on off-centre hits, especially off the toe side. Rick Shiels is good for that because he mishits a lot. I only watch Ricks reviews now + TXG. The rest of them are just noise to me, esp. Crossfield.

I once really enjoyed crossfield. Now I cant stand the filler and fake stuff that goes into every video.

The shorter ones are still watchable.

[Jason m]

I've been done with buying into the overpriced latest and greatest being longer than the previous years model. All these drivers with proper fitting are within 3 yards of each other. I am into buying previous gens latest and greatest at a substantial savings. :D $120 for 917D2 with Tour Spec Pro 74. OH YEAH!!!!

:D

Nice deal, where did you score that deal at? I have a 915 d2 and was thinking

about the 917

 

Yeah, that is a steal.

Still waiting to see where he got that deal at lol! Sweet deal

[Gary Gutful]

Forget which talking head said what and how the tests were done and the obvious issues. Yall sound like a bunch of old ladies.

I hit it indoors on a monitor in a stock setup, and it did indeed sound fantastic, found simulated fairways, and I hit it measurably further than my 915d3.

If I was into buying new stuff, I might have bought it on the spot.

The yellow looked pretty good in person.

Agreed. Let’s just close down the forum and stop this gibber. Too much talk not enough action!

[Mahamilto]

If you have a modern, well fit driver, from this cycle or the last 2 or so, there isn’t a real justification for a swap...

 

That was the point I was trying to make... plus adding some humor.

[LPCP]

People shouldn't dig too deeply into this data because it's non-controlled. All the shafts are different... The stock length for F9 is different than M5/M6 and Flash... I'm not sure if every driver was lofted to the exact same loft either, so face angles could have varied. So really this is a test of what driver was best for Rick, in a total bare bones stock set up.

 

It's fun to look at data, but everybody should get fit. I think though what is the most note worthy is RS' praise of how good the driver felt and sounded. THAT to me, is the money maker. F9 gets 2 yard less carry than Flash?? Woopdie do. Flash sounds like poo. Speaking from experience, the F8 line felt absolutely wonderful and as a casual weekend player, I'd rather love how my driver/wood sounds & feels on each strike, than worry about if I'm absolutely maxing my ball speed.

 

Plus, Flash seems to get most of its mileage from roll due to low spin. That's just not practical for most of us. Nobody should be gaming an 1800 RPM spinning driver unless you play on bowling alley fairways and you are constantly having your face angle square to path. 1800 rpm will quickly turn from low spin bomb to 40ft high hooks that land you in hazards. Plus you need the ball speed to properly play with that low of spin. It's a sexy flight if done right, but can go wrong really quick. I'd much rather have the 2300 rpm from F9 (and my well struck ball speeds are higher than Rick's).

 

I've always been a Titleist guy, but after hitting the F8 3-4 wood I bought from you...the F9 jumped to the top of my list this year. The sound and feel off of the F8 is amazing.