MEMBER REVIEWS: Cobra SpeedZone and SpeedZone Xtreme Drivers! Read The Reviews Here!

[Dpavs]

I was hoping to get out today and put the Extreme into play but a combination of being a bit run down and the 94 degree heat index (50+% humidity) kept me inside today. There is no such thing as a dry heat up these parts...lol. So instead I will share a couple more pics of the profile of each driver, showing off a bit more of the carbon weave and the sole of the Xtreme which I find to be absolutely stunning looking as I have a preference for Red, Black and White color combinations. I honestly think the SPEEDZONES in the Matte Black and White are some of the best looking drivers out there.

Still hoping to do get out later this week weather and time permitting!

[getair23]

Enjoying the reviews, thanks guys. Speed Zone fairway woods are pretty amazing. I highly recommend giving them a try.

[CAT GOLFER]

Crisis averted, lined up two rounds of golf while on vacation [now I need the weather to cooperate]. Those updates should come Monday and Thursday.

I plan to play the Cobra Speedzone, with the 14g(forward) and 6g (back) weights installed and the GD AD-IZ shaft. I also plan to use the +1* setting.

[doublepar93]

Quick review this evening. Played a quick nine just now before the course closed. Took the Extreme out with the Fujikura shaft. Hit it very well, and hit most fairways with the misses being just off. Fujikura shaft feels great, but is definitely more flexible than the GD.Distance was a little shorter than with the GD but accuracy was very good. I’m thinking spin was just a bit higher with the Fujikura. Still a very playable setup with one plus being that I didn’t feel like I had to go after the Fujikura as hard to get good results. Going to play my next 18 with this set up as well to further test it, because I really like the feel of the shaft.

[bjmdo]

So jealous! Both of these drivers look so good. I look forward to following along.

[brew4eagle]

Went to the range yesterday and focused on fine tuning the SZ. I have tried the SZX and SZ side-by-side a good amount now and don't see much difference between them. I'm interested in fine tuning the SZ since it has more ability to manipulate spin with the dual weights, and it just looks slightly better to me at address as I'm used to a more traditional shape.

I cemented yesterday that the heavier weight up front works better for me to just get what looks like a little more penetrating flight, but it still lands in the same vicinity, so assuming I'll get more roll and more total distance. I also found the Ventus seems to have me finding the middle of the face more reliably vs. the Rogue, but that could just be me buying into Fuji's marketing if I'm being completely transparent. Finally, just based on what I'm seeing with ballflight, it appears that the 10.5* SZ set at +1* (not +1*Draw) is optimal for me while also choking down about 1/2". I'm going to take it to the course today in those settings and see what the results are vs. my last round at the same course where I was hitting my i20 as good as I ever have. If I'm not seeing any additional distance, then I think I'm done experimenting with the Cobras unless someone has some specific questions I can try to assist with.

Will report back this evening on the round's results.

[brew4eagle]

Nothing stellar to report for today's SZ round. Hit it all over the face again, while I typically keep my i20 around the middle of the face most of the time. Not sure what is so different about the SZ drivers that I can't somewhat reliably find the sweetspot. I guess all I can report is that it's remarkably forgiving all across the face.

[kobes31]

Wow I can't believe I missed this one! Kicking myself right now but will keep up here! I think I'm going to pick one of these up just not sure which one I need to go hit both. I killed a buddy's F9 but really like the look of the SZ much more!

 

Keep em coming guys!

[Dpavs]

At the range again today and I was swinging the sticks better than I had at my last session. I am definitely favoring the 9 degree SZ with a 14g weight set back and a 6g weight forward combined with the AD-IZ shaft at +1. From my testing the performance from center out a bit to the toe side and from top to bottom (excepting the very extremes of course) is very consistent both spin and distance wise. I cannot however say the same thing for the extreme which runs contrary to what I would have expected.

The Extreme is very forgiving on most hits with an exception that struck me odd. What I have noticed is that on a few toe-ward shots I was getting complete very low spinning knuckle balls which simply fell from the sky like lead. During a previous session as noted in a prior post I had originally thought this had to do with my letting my swing speed drop too low but this was now obviously not what was happening. When it first happened today, I thought it was just a fluke because I was swinging well, but after hitting about 3 or 4 which did the same thing I have to conclude that there is something odd going on spin wise with toe-ward shots. From what I could tell all the shots which acted this way were just a bit above center from top to bottom and about a half to three-quarter of an inch towards the toe. When this happened I was losing a good 20-25 yards of distance or more. On the plus side these drives were straight down the middle, so they would all have found the fairway.

More than ever really wish that they had been able to provide the Ventus Red I had requested as I believe it would have provided more spin which might have made things different. As it stands, I'm just not certain I want to live with that kind of distance loss on shots that were actually not struck that bad at all.

The same type shots with the SZ flew nearly as straight and there was very little perceived distance loss. Weighing all the various factors of my test results I would have to say that the SZ definitely fits me better than the Extreme which I am guessing under certain circumstances is imparting lower spin than the SZ by a fair amount.

Comparing it again to my current gamer (G410+) the SZ was getting the edge distance wise and the G410+ the edge forgiveness wise. Either way there was not much in it as both were very close overall.

 

[CAT GOLFER]

Just a quick update after my round yesterday.

Observations:

-Speedzone rewards well struck balls

-Speedzone does not offer much in the way of protecting toe leaning contact

-Speedzone is probably not the best option for those fighting the Lefts(for right handers, Rights for Left handers) either because of path or extreme toe contact.

i don’t have the data, on vacation, but will follow up later. I have one more round this week, hopefully I got enough swings in to get more comfortable.

Oh and adding loft was not a good idea for me, I had to loft down mid round which provided a much more penetrating flight.

[brew4eagle]

Got to thinking about face depths since my i20 looks more forgiving to me at address. Below are some pics of the i20, SZ Xtreme, and SZ faces. I think I might need to adjust my tee height a bit with the SZs. I use Zero Friction tees with the graduated height markings. I didn't think to change from my normal routine with the SZs, might lower the tee height a 1/4" or so. Regardless, the i20 has more face area and a cleaner look at address, I think that's what is making the transition hard for me...

i20

SZ Xtreme (ruler started at the flat parts of the infinity faces)

SZ

[Dpavs]

Round 2 -I was able to get a second round in yesterday. I had originally intended on putting the SZ Extreme into play but opted to give the SZ another shot, this time with the modified weight structure (14g rear, 6g forward). The feel was much better but honestly, I do not think that translated into any improved results. The SZ is a very competent driver no doubt, but like brew4eagle I am struggling to find the center a bit. Still overall I was not being penalized which is a tribute to how forgiving the driver really is. That said I cannot help but feeling that I am leaving something out there by not hit it more squarely. Would a proper fitting have changed that? I am thinking it might well have. I really feel like the shafts I am using just do not fit me well at all. I would note that I did have one particularly poorly struck shot which was very high on the face and very toe sided. Despite being well off the mark the result was a towering shot about 200 yards out and pretty darn straight down the fairway. I was impressed as I really thought that shot was going to a very unfriendly place. Again, a tribute to how forgiving the SZ can be. Not much more to report at this point as most of the round was unremarkable otherwise.

My next steps will be to accumulate a bit more time with the Extreme on the course and range and then try to gather some semi-final thoughts together. From my range testing I do have some fears of hitting some nasty knuckleballs with this one but time will tell!

[CAT GOLFER]

Another quick recap after my round today:

-on the range, SZ was definitely turning heads. I was cracking some impressive drives, in close quarters, [think range set in between two rows of trees].

-As a follow up to a previous comment about sound, it is definitely louder when you have something to keep the sound “contained”

-SZ with 14g front and 6g back just doesn’t seem to suit me at all, lofted up or down.

-SZ lofted down looks open at address, to me, uncomfortably open

Overall the performance is there, but as others have noted, I’m having to Really work to find it. I don’t like to chase on the course. This should be expected, it’s not a like for like replacement to what I came from last [Ping G400 Max—>Ping G410+]. The Extreme is a much easier driver to transition into and be comfortable.

I want to try flipping the weights next, 14g back and 6g forward. As it stands now I am leaning towards the Extreme in terms of preference, but impressions can change.

[Dpavs]

"I want to try flipping the weights next, 14g back and 6g forward"

That is how I have them set in the SZ. From my testing the only advantage to having the 14g forward was to achieve a very small change in the height of the drive and to get a bit more run out. The trade off was more erratic results, so for me it was a no go to have the larger weight forward.

[CAT GOLFER]

Most of my strikes were middle to lower on the face, and the flight was indicative (piercing and flat). When I caught any drives higher up the face, the ball appeared to knuckle and hover.

I’m hoping the big weight back will add some stability and maybe bring that flat piercing drive a little higher.

[Dpavs]

I would think it would bring it up just a bit and am interested to hear your results!

How did you like the feel swing wt. wise with the heavier weight installed?

[CAT GOLFER]

I think I needed the extra weight in the head. It either consciously or subconsciously helps me stay down on my drives.

[Dpavs]

I just could not get a feel for the driver at all without the extra weight... but that is more a preference thing I guess as I have never gotten on with light feeling drivers.

[doublepar93]

After two rounds with the extreme, my focus is turning toward the regular SpeedZone. Will review it with both shafts once I get it on the range sometime this weekend.

[kobes31]

I'm curious if any of you have found comparable forgiveness with the SZ extreme and SZ with heavy weight back as several other online testers have noted.

 

Come find me when one of you choose a head and are looking to move the other along!

[brew4eagle]

I've found the SZ with weight back to give similar results to SZX

[Dpavs]

In this configuration they are very similar other than appearance. A slight edge in distance for the SZ and a very slight edge in forgiveness with the Xtreme. That said there was not much in it difference wise regardless of which shaft I was using.

[TreyMac]

Did any of you find that the SZ at 9 degrees was more fade bias?

[CAT GOLFER]

Not for me, both seem to turn over easy for me....too easy. This compared to say a Ping at standard or in a flat setting.

[TreyMac]

Is your miss usually a over draw?

[CAT GOLFER]

Typical shot=block right(no curve) or mini baby draw

Typical miss= bad block right or smother hook

with the SZ

typical shot= straight to left of center with a tiny bit of curve

typical miss= Pull Hook and smother hook

basically mostly left all the time with the SZ.

[brew4eagle]

I find 9 degrees to be slight fade biased, can definitely see the face is opened. Well, maybe I'd call it 'less draw biased' instead of fade biased as I'm a drawer and the lower loft doesn't turn over as much, but doesn't fade for me. The face seems more open on the SZ vs SZX when lofted down, maybe because of head shape/appearance.

[TreyMac]

Which option do you guys think would work best if my miss is a slice because I tend to leave the face open

[CAT GOLFER]

Speedzone, neutral or lofted up. I wish I could help out with insight on the Draw settings, but I will likely never visit those settings.

[TreyMac]

Thanks Cat!