THE FASTEST DRIVER OF 2024 – Cobra DarkSpeed review

Cobra DarkSpeed Driver review

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PGA golf professional Rick Shiels reviews three brand-new Cobra drivers in 2024: The 2024 Cobra Darkspeed X, Cobra Darkspeed MAX, and Cobra Darkspeed LS Driver are the latest driver releases from Cobra and are set to be used by some of the biggest names in golf, including Rickie Fowler, Lexi Thompson, and Kyle Berkshire. In this review, Rick Shiels provides his insights on each of the new driver’s designs, new technology, and performance.

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Hi I’m Rick Shiels, welcome to my channel! This YouTube channel is designed to help you play better golf, also to help you enjoy your golf more!

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If you’re looking for more distance from your driver well this review might be right up your street everyone else is talking out forgiveness Cobra is going from more Distance so here we have it the Cobra dark speed because apparently the only thing faster than light is dark that’s what they’re going for anyway I think this is an important year for Cobra drivers obviously they don’t sponsor players like Bryson the Shambo anymore who is one of the longest drivers of the

Golf ball and really speed has been in their kind of DNA for the last few years in one of these drivers lineups this year they’re promising more Club head speed than ever before more ball speed more distance however they’re not neglecting forgiveness as well there’s three models in the lineup and the first

Thing to mention is the looks I mean this is a very bold look from Cobra this year completely blacked out everything orbe even from the head cover you’ve got this shiny dark speed down the front but apart from that underneath the head covers you’ve got three drivers you’ve

Got the max which is the most forgiveness you’ve got the X which is kind of middle of the road and you’ve got the ls low spin but also the fastest head shaped model and underneath all the drivers are and have that very similar look they’re all pretty much blacked out

From the face to the crown to the sole on the max version you got these little flickers of red but nothing much on the X version you’ve got a few little flicks of blue and on the actual LS version there’s nothing it’s just blacked out everything and the price for each model is

£429 now the three models how they are slightly different you got two weights in the dark speed one at the back one here in the heel so you can put the weight all the way back for the most forgiveness or the highest weight in the heel to give it most draw biased you’ve

Then got the X which has two weights in it you’ve got a 12 G weight and a three G weight again you can swap those round if you want it to go higher spin setting or lower spin model again that really is more for your average goal for the kind

Of X model this year and then you’ve got the ls it’s interesting with this LS model this year this is their kind of better player driver if you re rewind back 12 months ago I said this in last year’s Cobra review these two are so similar why did they not just take the

Arrow jet which has already got a weight at the back and put two similar sized weights in the front the same size weights sorry in the front then you’ve got the option to put the weights at the front if you want low spin if you want more forgiveness put the heavy weight at

The back if you want it to be a little bit more draw draw biased stick that weight in the heel or fade bias stick it in the toe and with this idea of mine there’s three main advantages for you the golfer what can I say how can I say I

Predicted the future in fact we even did a mockup of what the driver would look like and it would not far off this I still feel like they only really needed one driver model we’ll see if that’s the case this year with the dark speed I’ve already taken these and done initial

Hitting already take them out on the golf course so I’m going to give you all of that information coming there next but then we’re going to hit it in the studio on GC quad with prov1 to get some real data of the performance of these clubs all right guys giveaway time I’m

Giving away a brand new Cobra dark speed driver of your choice all you have to do to enter is subscribe to this channel run a mission to hit 3 million subscribers this year be sure to like this video and leave a comment and one lucky winner will be picked at random to

Win a brand new Cobra dark speed driver okay let’s get back to the video now all three models do Share technology stories one being the extra large Powershell hot face effectively creating the fastest Club face on the market certainly on off-center hes that’s across all three models and all three models also feature

An AI power bridge this is a way of strengthening the driver so the face can become a spring as possible without breaking the limit obviously now the last big technology story this year is in this model the ls model this is the most aerodynamic head shaped cobra have

Ever made in recent drivers and therefore she’ll be the fastest Club head speeds can’t wait to test that claim later in this video because I’ve not had this on a launch monitor yet can I break some records with the Cobra dark speed LS let’s find out right that’s all the

Technology let’s talk about initial hits first so on a recent trip I took all three drivers away with me and hit all three models on a driving range to kick things off and I was really looking for looks sound and feel as I mentioned earlier I like the look of these three

Drivers I do you get the most confidence behind the golf ball with the max head it’s a huge footprint it does look very very forgiving and the strikes and the sound satisfying like really good solid hits and just on initial testing was definitely High on forgiveness the X

Model also really suits my eye it’s that little bit more of a of a squashed head shape compared to the max but not a lot um for me I love the Simplicity of the looks certainly behind the golf ball I’m a big fan personally of matte crowns and

Again testing out in the sunshine when I was away recently these just don’t shine up at all it’s a much better look behind the golf ball certainly in sunny conditions really likes initial hits with the extra driver and then the last one the ls definitely a different head

Shape like almost looks a bit more triangular from the front to the back the almost the back Edge kind of has a bit more of a squeeze to the back edge of it looks like a slightly smaller head shape but isn’t off centered hits I definitely didn’t get as much

Forgiveness off the other two models but it did feel fast I don’t have any evidence of that just yet might have been Placebo effects but it did feel fast out on the go of course similar results I loved hitting the X and the max for me the max is probably not one

That I would massively put in the bag um orbe it I had the weight at the back even then it just felt like it had a little bit of draw biased orbe I’ve got these three drivers in exactly the same shaft and the same Loft the max head

Definitely launched higher and went more up in the sky the X the middle of the range driver was very very good this is one that I was starting to gravitate a little bit more towards as a performance for for me and then the ls there was a

Bunker out on the golf course and with the other two models I was struggling to carry it over the bunker the ls certainly on the middle strikes carried the bunker right that’s all the initial hits done that’s all the encour testing done now it’s time here in the hit Studio to

Put these drivers to the test I’m going to start off with the most forgiving model the max then go into X and then I’m going to finish off with the ls driver is it as long and as fast as I think it might just be let’s find out

Okay so starting with the max model first now all of the drivers I’ve got in exactly the same shaft it’s linkx shaft the new shaft I’ve not used before actually uh these are in extra stiff 9° loft is what I found best suited me in these heads and I’ve got for this

Particular model the 12 G weight in the back and the Three G weight in the heel I don’t I don’t need it to be any more draw biased than what it already is and like I said I felt like it was a little bit draw biased anyway behind the golf

Balls I mentioned it is the most confidence in kind of boosting head shape um kind of very much looks like a ping g425 Max without the turbulators right let’s give this a here God thought it was a little bit draw just a little bit left of the line

But a nice hit right let’s get a bunch of uh a bunch of data with this driver First okay this is last shot with the max um there’s definitely a little bit of a of a bias to the left I’m struggling to actually hit this dead straight or even not draw it too much but again that is really what this driver is for you can even make that

Even more extreme by putting that 12 G weight in the heel which I might do in another video on the hit Channel coming soon kind of test the weights a little bit but it definitely in this setting just has that little bit of a draw pull to

It that one was pretty straight though feel like I’m was trying to fight it not going left you see that wasn’t a terrible hit right I don’t think the numbers are going to be amazing with that driver because again it’s not particularly suited for me it’s

A bit more High spinning but solid okay next driver up is the X again I’ve got it in um 9 degrees of Loft you can actually go up by 1.5° of Loft and down by 1.5 as well so this could go to 10 and 1/2 deg or or 7 and 1/2

De but sticking with nine now this time I’ve got the two weights at the bottom a 12 G weight and a 3 G weight I’ve actually got the 12 G weight at the front and the Three G weight at the back if you swap those the actual head becomes a little bit more

Forgiving but let’s see what the X model can do from a distance standpoint uh I’m going to do similar with the ls version as well that should be the absolute flying machine but this one this one really interested me the X driver really interested me indeed I love the head

Shape it’s not it’s not stupidly oversized but it’s not kind of too almost small like the ls it’s a really really beautiful head shape I’ve got always always got fond memories of the old F9 driver but it’s got that kind of head shape to it really nice right let’s

See what the uh dark speed X driver can do well tiny bit up the right but a solid hit yeah nice think I can get more out of that Though okay performance on The X has been pretty solid so far I’ve obviously got the weight forward so I’m going for that a bit more distance I think a real easy hack if I wanted to get a bit more forgiveness would be to shift the weight

In the back I might do that again in another hit video down the line um it’s a good performing driver it really is I’m excited to show the numbers I just feel like maybe with the weight forward it’s not the most forgiving model I’m hitting a few slightly more offline with this but

Distance is very strong yeah solid okay and then the final of the three dark speed LS the low spin aerodynamic fastest Club head speed hopefully fastest distance driver it did actually make me laugh when I first kind of caught a glance of the image of this of these drivers this one particular

With the three weights in after what I mentioned last last year’s review but I know it’s not as easy of just putting an extra weight in you’ve got to move weight here there everywhere so in this head model you get a 12 G weight and

Then two three G weights if you were to put the 12 at the back it’ the most forgiving model in this head setting if you have the 12 G in the heel and the 3 G in the in the toe and three g at the back it’s neutral setting it’s quite a

Fade bias driver this apparently and if you have the 12 G weight in the fade setting obviously it’s more fade biased um what I’m intrigued to know about with this new aerodynamic shaping effectively the tail of this driver is more elevated away from the ground there’s no kind of

Friction or anything on the top of the crown it’s super super smooth as it is underneath um if this can increase Club head speed they’re not really putting a claim on a number but let’s see from the other drivers I’ve tested so far the Max

And the X can I swing this driver faster will it make a difference I’m going to try any different I’m going to hit it as normal as I can but will it swing faster same shaft same length same Loft dark speed LS as again behind the golf ball it’s a definitely slightly

Different head shape more squashed in profile doesn’t fill me with loads of confidence for forgiveness but that’s not what it’s for it’s for distance okay first hit now not going to give too much away just yet I’m typically wanting to swing about 110 miles per hour the moment I’m probably

Just a little bit low with that mission for 2024 is to increase it as much as I can but that’s uh that first shot was encouraging very encouraging on the club head speed Let’s uh let’s a batch more and see I’m not saying Direction was brilliant but clubhead speed was very promising

Last shot in this batch I’ve been impressed that last shot was ridiculously straight um just for fun let’s see if let’s see what can happen if I really went for one let’s just see if there’s a bit of a a difference in club head speed oh that’s massive for me go oh 317

Total right let’s dive into the data okay so the numbers are in very interesting finding for the three different drivers they performed very differently to each other starting off with the max driver that I started off with again it’s not going to be the one that suits me the most but normally I

Want to be carrying a normal driver that suits me around 280 yards of carry distance near enough 160 m hour ball speed with about 2,200 spin that’s the optimum for me the max didn’t quite fit in that category but for who it’s aimed for for that golfer that wants a little

Bit more help I think it’s perfect you whack that big weight into the heel if you want a bit more extra stopping it going right as well CU this driver definitely had a potency going left 273 carry 2,300 nearly 2,400 speed in 155 mph ball speed not the perfect numbers

For me but as a driver very forgiving and one that higher handicappers guys who need a bit more help should definitely try moving into the x is the one probably I’m most kind of gravitating towards at the moment but the ls is definitely one I might look at

As well um with the X it almost hit exactly the numbers I like to see 280 yards of average carry distance 2,100 spin 157 ball speed my club head speed is a little little bit down at the moment I’m swinging that 109 mph on the

Nose so it’s a little bit slow um so if that raised up again that ball speed would get back up to 160 with the X certainly with the we forward I found it a little bit less controllable I think if I was to go out on the golf course

I’d probably shift that weight into the back just to give me a little bit more forgiveness good driver though very solid results again it reminds me so much of when Cobra maker great driver it it honestly feels like an F9 it’s just that F9 prices are no longer

Available you’ve got to pay £429 for it now and then the ls the dark speed LS with its aerodynamic shape and its different profile impressive like really impressive average carry distance this is average carry distance 285 so five yards longer than what I would normally

Want to see spin rate still in at 2,100 perfect ball speed closer to 160 and the main reason for that did the club head speed increase yes by a lot no but it did increase it went up by 0.6 miles per hour that’s all right it’s not groundbreaking don’t get me wrong but

It’s not a bad little jump in miles per hour gain in club head speed what was very interesting with the ls is how straight I hit it again I’ve got the weight forward in that neutral kind of low spin setting it came out very very straight as a lineup this year

Impressive I really like the name I love the looks feel is superb LS definitely if you need a bit more speed uh max if you need a bit more forgiveness X if you’re in the middle of the road a very strong lineup from Cobra this year and really the only brand that’s talking

About distance is their main category a lot of other brands are talking about forgiveness at the moment guys thanks for watching stay tuned lots more to come and that was my full in-depth review the brand new CBO drivers