Gear: Cobra Aerojet, AeroJet LS, Aerojet Max drivers
Price: $549 with Mitsubishi Kai’Li White or Blue, Project X HZRDUS Black GEN4 or UST Mamiya Helium Core shaft and Lamkin Crossline grips.
Specs: Carbon fiber crown and sole pieces with adjustable hosel, moveable weights and internal weight bar. Lofts – 9, 10.5, 12 degrees (standard, Max), 9, 10.5 degrees (LS)
Available: February 10
Who It’s For: Golfers looking for an aerodynamic driver to help create more clubhead speed.
The Skinny: By modifying the shape of the head, Cobra is helping golfers swing faster, while an updated hitting area protects ball speed on mis-hit shots more efficiently and moveable weights in the sole generate shot-shaping biases.
The Deep Dive: There was a time when Cobra drivers may have been known more for their bold cosmetics than for their performance. Remember the AMP Cell drivers from back in 2013, which were offered in orange, blue, red and silver models? But the Carlsbad, California-based company has done a lot of performance innovation as well, including milled driver faces, unique weight systems and the aggressive utilization of carbon fiber and aerodynamic shaping.
The new Cobra Aerojet, Aerojet LS and Aerojet Max drivers do not come in every color on the rainbow, but they continue Cobra’s push to help golfers swing faster, create more ball speed and develop the shot shape their desire. They are for different types of golfers but share many technologies and features.
Improved shaping
The faster you can swing your driver, the more ball speed and distance you can potentially create, so equipment makers are constantly trying to produce club heads that slice through the air on the downswing more efficiently. A significant challenge is the flat surface of a driver’s face acts like a sail, creating drag.
To maximize club head speed, Cobra has been studying how air flows over things like airplane wings and trying to translate that into club shapes. Last season’s LTDx drivers did it well, but by rounding the edges of the face, pushing the highest area of the crown back slightly and lifting the rear portion of the sole, Cobra claims the Aerojet drivers are better. These tweaks are subtle enough that most golfers won’t notice them, but turbulence behind the club is reduced, and air flows more efficiently over and under the head, which should help golfers create more speed.
PWRShell H.O.T. Face
Translating the increased club head speed into ball speed is the job of the updated variable-thickness PWRShell H.O.T. face. It is shaped like an L, so the welds that bond it to the titanium chassis on the bottom are not on the leading edge but back in the sole. According to Cobra, that helps the lower portion of the hitting area flex up to 15 percent more, which increases ball speed and reduces spin on low-hit shots.
Cobra designers have divided the central area of the face into 15 sections. It is thicker in the center and thinner around the perimeter to enlarge the sweet spot in all directions.
PWR Bridge
All Aerojet drivers have a carbon fiber crown that helps reduce weight on the top of the head, along with large carbon fiber sections in the sole. With a significant amount of weight removed from the center of the club, designers could add a large internal bar that stretches from heel to toe that Cobra refers to as a PWR Bridge. The bar pulls the center of gravity (CG) location down and forward, which should help to increase ball speed and reduce spin, but does not impede the lower portion of the face from flexing.
Standard Aerojet
The standard Aerojet comes with a 12-gram weight in the back of the sole that helps to increase the moment of inertia (MOI) and make the club more stable on off-center hits. Cobra believes this will be the most popular version, and with the help of an adjustable hosel mechanism that lets players and fitters increase the loft by up to 1.5 degrees or decrease it by up to 2 degrees, it will likely fit a large number of players.
Aerojet LS
The Aerojet LS is designed for golfers who need a driver that reduces spin. It has two weight ports in the front-central portion of the sole and comes standard with 3-gram and 12-gram weights. With the heavier weight on the toe side, the Aerojet LS has a fade bias, and with it on the toe side the club has a draw bias, but in both cases, the extra weights remain forward for spin reduction.
Aerojet Max
The Aerojet Max also has two weight ports and comes with a 3-gram weight and a 12-gram weight, but one port is in the back of the sole while the other is in the heel. With the 12-gram weight in the back, the Max has extra stability, but when it is in the heel, the club has a significant draw bias to help golfers who tend to slice off the tee.
