The Cobra DS-ADAPT LS Titanium fairway wood is here and straight out of the box it looks like something from a pure ball-strikers dream. The squashed compact head will have elite players licking their lips and honestly, less confident players a little terrified. This LS head is designed to be used by the lower handicapper who has speed to burn, wants to knock off some spin and lower their ball flight.
While aesthetically pleasing, it must be said, it doesn’t look drastically different from the Darkspeed LS fairway wood. In fact, they’re very similar. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though. The matte and gloss black head with carbon crown boasts some serious shelf appeal. While it’s all well and good a product looks spectacular, it’s not going to gain a place in your bag if it doesn’t perform. I took the DS-ADAPT LS Titanium fairway wood out to the golf course to see how it holds up.
I tested the LS directly after the X model and it was clear straight away how much smaller this head appears at address. The LS has been designed with a deeper face than the X in order to reduce spin and after just a few swipes I could attest to the face it does exactly that. The combination of this deeper face and the two 13g removable weights situated towards the front of the club really brings the center of gravity forward and instantly produced a much lower launch than the X model. The LS model also comes set at 14.5° compared to a standard 15° 3-wood loft. While I think both can straight away be considered some of the best fairway woods available, it's clear they each target different golfers.
While I found the low launch and spin a little difficult to manage initially, I eventually warmed up to the club and managed to find the center more often and even started working the ball around. The shape reminded me of the old TaylorMade R9 fairway wood, a small, more triangular shape that was accomplished at hitting roping hooks and sliding fades at will.
While the R9 was tech heavy for its time, it’s safe to say that the DS-ADAPT LS Titanium is in another league entirely. The titanium body and carbon fiber crown is what saved enough weight in the head to be able to add the two 13g removable weights as well as 34g of internal redistributed tungsten for ideal CG placement.
There is a larger and thinner titanium face used than on previous models and combined with Cobra's tried and tested H.O.T. Face Technology, the LS fairway wood creates the fastest ball speeds out of all of the DS-ADAPT fairway wood models - something that was particularly evident during my testing. I saw ball speeds pushing the 160mph mark, which was a couple mph quicker than the other models. With the extra tech in the LS model comes a little extra on the price - $$429/£349 compared to the $329/£289 of the X and Max models - but it does offer extra performance to justify it somewhat.
The new FutureFit33 hosel is just another new and welcomed addition to the DS-ADAPT lineup. This hosel allows for 33 custom settings on the golf club and thanks to the clever sole design and dual cog system, the face angle remains the same regardless of the setting you choose. By scanning the QR code on the neck of the club you will gain access to the hosel configuration chart and can identify which setting will work for you. During my session on the range with the LS fairway wood, I tried the club in opposite settings on the chart and saw drastically different ball flights - some not always playable, mind you.
Overall the Cobra DS-ADAPT LS Titanium fairway wood is one I would definitely recommend to those who have fast swing speeds, don't miss the middle too much and want to lower their ball flight or like to work the ball around a lot. It produced faster ball speeds than the other more forgiving fairway woods in the DS-ADAPT range at the cost of a little accuracy but it’s a trade-off most low-handicap golfers are willing to make.
