Cobra F-Max Superlite Fairway Wood
The Cobra F-Max Superlite fairway wood is designed to be easy to hit, long, and seriously forgiving for players with more moderate swing speeds. This was achieved by implementing a lightweight design with strategic weight placements to gain straighter and longer shots. In short, the F-Max Superlite fairway woods help slower swing speeds get the ball in the air and greater distances with accuracy.
For testing purposes, I knew I needed to work with players that align with the design of the F-Max Superlite. When considering my network of golfers to call on, I realized I had the perfect candidate. My dad. He’s played his whole life, but he’s in his mid-60s and has seen a decrease in swing speed in recent years. Getting distance with fairway woods specifically has been difficult for him so he was the perfect candidate to test the F-Max Superlite.
The Looks
From address, the Cobra F-Max Superlite fairway wood has a fairly traditional shape. I would put the general footprint at a “medium” size. The F-Max Superlite fairway woods have a fairly shallow profile/face depth which promotes good launch from a wide range of shots. As far as color schemes, the men’s F-Max Superlite line has a nice black, red, white theme (my favorite).
There are two notable features to the F-Max Superlite though. First is the distinct offset. This is not uncommon for a fairway designed for forgiveness and to help you hit a straighter shot. Second is the alignment feature on the crown. As you can see, it runs the full length of the crown. This alignment feature makes setting up to your target much easier and frames the ball nicely. It’s important to note that the picture above makes it very apparent, but the alignment feature is somewhat subtle. It flows nicely and is not distracting.
How Does it Feel?
True to its name, the Cobra F-Max Superlite fairway wood feels SUPER light. The “lightness” is immediately noticeable and almost smacks you in the face at first. Once you adjust to this feeling, however, the F-Max Superlite feels very smooth and clean. This lighter weight promotes a smoother swing and creates a nice tempo with a moderate swing speed. Not only does this create a nicer feel at this swing speed, but it also creates cleaner strikes, which equals more distance!
The 455 stainless steel face insert has a very generous feel as well. While the center of the face is noticeably sweeter, the forgiveness expands pretty wide across the face. The response is still there to let you know where you hit the ball, but the overall feeling is very clean.
How Does it Sound?
A lighter weight golf club is only going to have so much sound control. To keep weight down, manufacturers don’t have a lot of room to use their tricks to tune acoustics. As a result, the sound of the Cobra F-Max Superlite fairway wood is a little bit more on the metallic side. Most shots resulted in a clean and mild “ping” off the face. Shots lower on the face harden up a bit, but the sound is pretty consistent across the face.
On-Course Performance
| Club Speed | Ball Speed | Launch Angle | Spin | Carry (Yds) | Total (Yds) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88.3 | 123.4 | 17.3º | 3524 | 192.4 | 209.1 |
To give you a little perspective on the impact of the Cobra F-Max Superlite fairway wood, I’ll give you some background on my dad’s tester’s current game. I’d say he used to hit his 3 wood about 215-225 yards, but has struggled for the past few years to find anywhere near that distance, and certainly lacked consistency. Frankly, most of the time he struggles to even get it off the ground. Within two shots on the driving range with the F-Max Superlite, we were clearly talking a new ballgame for him.
How the F-Max Superlite is designed is supposed to result in longer distance, more accuracy, and so forth. That said, that’s all irrelevant if you can’t even get the ball in the air. The lightweight design, shallow profile, and back/heel center of gravity (CG) make the F-Max Superlite fairway extremely easy to launch. This was immediately apparent in the shot data. 17.3º average launch was great considering this guy previously struggled to elevate his 3 wood. With the F-Max Superlite, my tester was averaging 20 yards more for carry and 30 yards more for total distance compared to his absolute best with his current 3 wood. The performance alone was extremely eye opening and motivated an immediate switch in his bag.
Final Thoughts
Admittedly, I’m not the player the Cobra F-Max Superlite was created for. So as someone that finds the concept somewhat difficult to relate to (don’t let other golf bloggers/reviewers tell you otherwise), I found myself somewhat skeptical over the past two F-Max generations. Yeah, I get the lighter clubs are easier to get speed with if you have a slower swing speed, but how much benefit can there really be in this design?
Here’s what I’ll say: if you’re a player that swings traditional weights and flexes and get great performance, maybe you’re good to go. But maybe you’re a player that “can’t quite hit it like you used to” and you’re losing a good bit of distance. You’re the perfect candidate for the F-Max clubs. The immediate improvement I saw in the testing seemed effortless and was nothing short of impressive. It’s really pretty hard to argue with what I observed. I know others have implemented similar concepts in their club lineups, but Cobra made a great performer that’s tough to beat.
Stock Cobra F-Max Superlite Fairway Wood Specs
| Club | Loft | Length | Swing Weight | Stock Flex |
RH/LH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 16º | 43″ | D0 | S, R, L | RH/LH |
| 5 | 20º | 42.5″ | D0 | S, R, L | RH/LH |
| 7 | 23º | 42″ | D0 | S, R, L | RH |
How about having him test the complete set, with driver, woods, Hybrids and irons.
We did the hybrid already with him. Hopefully irons and driver are soon. Feel free to let Cobra know you’d like to see the rest reviewed on our site!
I play the Cobra F8 irons (5 – Gap) they are on Aldala Pro 65 R shafts, I am 71 and hit the 8 iron 150 yards. they feel very very good in the swing and the shaft keeps the ball on line to the swing you make.
Looking forward to the driver review.
Make sure you let Cobra know via their website and social media. Hoping we can get that one lined up for you guys.
Nice review of both Hybrid & FW. Question Bill sounds like your Dad is about the same as me. I’m 64 and have lost 13 mph of driver swing 93-80 the last 3 yrs (surgery & stuff) Is the 3w the answer for me? Can’t hit my 3w for any distance anymore still pretty straight tho!. low-Launch and only around 165 yds (barely past my 20° hybrid 158) No local shops to demo so I’d have to order and hope. Worth looking into?
Hi Jack,
As long as we agree, this is a blind shot at addressing this based on no ability to test this, I’ll offer this input which is largely anecdotal and subjective of course.
Here’s what I’ll say, I’m sold on this. While I’m sure not everyone will have the same experience, my dad was getting extremely easy launch with a “forced” smoother tempo – which led to more strikes off the center of the face. Therefore, more distance. Once he dialed in his timing, he hit a few “bombs” that were far better than any other 3 wood I’ve seen him hit in recent years.
I’d definitely say it’s worth the try and is a quality option geared for exactly the needs you’re describing. I’m drinking the kool-aid on this one.
Let us know what your experience ends up being!
Thanks Bill sounds like it’s worth the try. BTW have enjoyed your articles on Plugged In Golf thru the years!
Thanks for taking the time to answer
Jack
Thanks a lot, Jack! I appreciate you following me over here now. We really enjoy what we’re doing now and hope it shows in our content!
Keep your eyes peeled for the F-Max Superlite iron review coming soon. Just gotta get my dad off the bench and hitting some balls with them 🙂
Bill
My F-Max 3w has arrived! Can’t wait to take it to the course tomorrow 🙂
Where do I find the other reviews on the f-max?
Just search Cobra F-Max in the search bar.
if i actually have a good swing speed, will this be a bad club to go for since my swing speed isnt slower? i’m looking for womehting easy to hit off the fairway, and have great things about this club. Just not sure if it’s only good for those with a slower swing speed.
Hard to say. Depends on your swing tempo and what your fairway wood struggle is.
Good to see your comments once again. Good information on a club I am considering. Facts and figures are very positive and the testing was ‘non-pro’ in explanation. Bingo!