Kitted out with Cobra

By Dave Tindall Last updated: 31st May 2010

Golf365 editor Dave Tindall visited the Cobra fitting centre in Brampton last month. Here's what he made of it:

The success this season of Ian Poulter and Camilo Villegas has put Cobra firmly in the spotlight.

Two of the game's most fashionable players winning big events (Poulter the WGC Accenture match Play and Villegas the Honda Classic) shows that at the very top level Cobra are serious players - but so is their reputation for producing game-improvement clubs for the likes of me.

I admit I'd yet to give Cobra a serious hit despite enjoying the look of their silver, black and yellow clubs but that was put right on a recent trip to the Cobra Fitting Centre in Brampton.

I currently play off 22 so am a natural fit for Cobra's new S2 series which promises "forgiveness and high launch for mid- to high-handicap players".

Under the expert tutelage of Paul Thomson - he's been matching players up to the right clubs for eight years - I started by hitting a six-iron. I immediately liked the way the club sat behind the ball but when Paul attached some tape to the clubface it became clear I was tending to hit the ball out of the heel.

Paul's trained eye suggested a more upright clubface could remedy the problem so after a quick bit of screwing on and screwing off, the club was returned to me and I immediately started hitting the ball more out of the middle.

A standard length club and regular flex were suited to me so it was then a case of watching my results on the computer to confirm Paul was making all the right tweaks. He was!

I used to have terrible trouble hitting driver but now I probably regard it as the strongest club in my bag.

So what of Cobra's S2 Men's Driver? Well, it certainly felt good in my hands and, again, I'm a real fan of the look. There's something about that combination of black, yellow and silver that inspires confidence and it looks just great in the new, more traditional head shape.

And, wouldn't you know, with the very first swing I absolutely nailed one, true and straight.

The only disappointment was that one of the other fitters was standing in front of the measuring equipment so I had to settle for his impressed tone rather than an actual reading!

Adjustable Flight Technology (AFT) allows for three simple face-angle settings (Open, Neutral and Closed) but, after some experimentation we decided that neutral was my best fit.

The one thing that did produce improved results in my case however was the shaft.

Paul pointed out that the Cobra Aldila Voodoo suited me best as it had some extra stability towards the top but was more flexible near the club face to give me some increased whip.

This is a club I would really enjoy playing - both in terms of looks and performance.

Like many golfers at my level I'm a fan of hybrids although, being honest, Cobra's Baffler TWS only ticked one of my boxes for looks and performance.

The good thing is that it wasn't the performance I didn't like. I hit the club well. But, looks-wise, it's not my personal preference (although since my visit Cobra have released the Baffler Rail H and on first glance I like this new club much better).

At the moment I either hit driver or hybrid off the tee but sometimes I feel I'm in between clubs (on long par threes into the wind for example).

This was where Paul's expertise came to the fore as I had presumed I needed a 3-Wood but had shied away from it as I just couldn't hit it consistently.

But after watching my ball flight, Paul decided that a 5-Wood would fill the gap I had between driver and hyrid.

Lo and behold I hit a few with the new Cobra S2 Fairways and immediately felt more comfortable and indeed got more distance due to the higher ball flight with the 5W than the 3W. A quick check of the computer and the cluster of 5W shots were positioned nicely between my drives and 4 Baffler.

After testing out a few wedges my two-hour session was complete. I'd thoroughly enjoyed my first proper hit with Cobra clubs and they would definitely be high on my list the next time I look to make a purchase.

Here are my full custom fit specs:

Irons: Model: S2 Mens, Composition: 5-PW, Length: Standard, Lie: 1° Upright, Shaft: Nippon NS Pro 1030H, Flex: Regular, Grip: S2 Tour Velvet, Size: Standard

Wedges: Model: Black Nickel Spin Milled, Composition: 56.11, Length: Standard, Lie: 1° Upright, Shaft: Nippon NS Pro 105T, Flex: Regular, Grip: Tour Velvet, Size: Standard

Driver: Model: S2 Straight Neck, Loft: 10.5°, Length: Standard, Shaft: Cobra Aldila Voodoo, Flex: Regular, Grip: S2 Tour Velvet, Size: Standard

Fairway: Model: S2 Mens, Composition: 5, Length: Standard, Shaft: Cobra Fit on Max, Flex: Regular, Grip: S2 Tour Velvet, Size: Standard

Hybrid: Model: Baffler TWS, Composition: 4R, Length: Standard, Shaft: Aldila DVS HL-65, Flex: Regular, Grip: S2 Tour Velvet, Size: Standard

Ball Fitting: ProV1x and NXT Tour

Dave Tindall