Cobra King F9 Speedback Driver

Before we even start here, I’m just going to turn this introduction over to Cobra Golf.  Their explanation of the Cobra King F9 Speedback Driver introduces it so perfectly, it would be a disservice to say it any other way.

Our engineers identified a common problem in today’s driver designs: to get optimal aerodynamic properties, you have to sacrifice other parts of the design. SPEEDBACK Technology is a revolutionary breakthrough in driver engineering and is the first to combine a streamlined, aerodynamic shape with a low center of gravity.

I think Cobra is dead on and they found the right combination in this new driver.  When I look at the past few years of Cobra drivers, I can see how key elements of their designs have culminated in arguably Cobra’s best driver to date.  The King F9 Speedback driver seamlessly features adjustable CG, a CNC milled face, and a ton of speed.

The Looks

A major focus of the Cobra King F9 Speedback driver was to make the head even more aerodynamic.  Cobra started by putting “polymer crown trips” across the topline.  These polymer crown trips redirect airflow without impacting the CG of the driver.  The F9 Speedback drivers also reintroduce tasteful, yet bold, color pops to the Cobra lineup.  You can get the driver in either a glossy black crown with a bright yellow sole OR in a matte black crown with a white sole.

Cobra also introduced a larger carbon fiber crown that actually wraps around the body.  This crown looks sweet but also saves weight for better control of the CG.  It also has two “PWR Ridges” across it that strengthen the crown.  These ridges add to the modern look, but also make the crown more “rigid” to prevent energy loss at impact.  This means the driver will maintain its structure at impact so more energy goes back into the ball when it leaves the face.

Also, the CNC milled face design has made a triumphant return this year.  Drivers traditionally go through a hand-polishing process that results in inconsistencies in the face thickness – but not the King F9!  The CNC process Cobra used not only has a sweet Twilight Zone look, but it also allows Cobra to push the face thickness to the legal limit and maintain “consistency in thickness” across the whole face.  This CNC process played a key role in allowing Cobra to mill curvatures in the face as well but we’ll cover that later.

How Does it Feel?

This might be the most ridiculous statement I’ve made on this site to date, but here goes…  It’s hard to explain, but the Cobra King F9 Sppeedback driver just feels fast.  When I reviewed my data following my testing session, it appeared I was right and club speed was up about 3 mph.  It was like I could actually feel it!  The King F9 Speedback is well balanced and very smooth throughout the swing.  With the heavier weight in the “back” position, faster speeds almost feel effortless.  At impact, the face feels extremely solid and there’s so much heat in the center of the face.  Cobra’s tried and true E9 face technology also makes the rest of the face pretty forgiving with its extended sweet spot.

How Does it Sound?

The Cobra King F9 Speedback driver’s sound is solid, but it’s different from the past few years.  (I still think the Cobra King LTD and King F7+ were some of the best sounding drivers ever made.)  I’m no acoustics expert, but I’m going to guess the addition of more carbon fiber and the deeper tail impacted the overall tone.  Well-struck shots sound blistered, but the sound is a bit louder and more open than previous models.  If the King LTD had a “crack” sound to it, I’d say the F9 Speedback is more of a “wh-ock.”  (Pronounce the “H” in “whock” and draw it out a little when you say it.)  You might have to use your imagination there, but you’ll see what I mean when you hit it.  One thing is for certain, you’ll really know when you rip a good shot and it’s quite satisfying.

On-Course Performance

There’s a lot of tech and design to cover here, but let’s get into my personal experience first.  Like previous models, the Cobra King F9 Speedback driver’s CG adjustability really works.  With the weight in the rear position, the driver is much more forgiving and launches higher.  However, with that comes some extra spin and less roll out.  Though I had more control, I wanted less spin, a more piercing launch, and more distance.  Moving the weight forward accomplished this and gave me some of the best numbers I’ve seen this season.  Now it’s up to me to just make sure I’m making good swings whereas the weight in the back gave me some leeway.  I’ll accept that sacrifice for more distance right now!

The F9 driver’s Speedback “tail” gave Cobra the ability to put the CG of the head lower and deeper in the head than ever before.  This lower and deeper Speedback weighting allowed Cobra to optimize spin and launch regardless of where the sole weights are placed.  Additionally, the Speedback tail also helps improve the aerodynamic shape of the club head.

Let’s talk about more of the technology in the F9 Speedback’s face design.  I can’t emphasize how much focus has been put into the face of this driver.  We’ve already spoken about the CNC milling and the E9 tech, but there’s more.  Cobra also milled the face to have specific curvatures in different areas to increase forgiveness and minimize gear effect on your misses.  These curvatures are achieved through Dual Roll Technology and specific bulge curvatures across the face for optimal performance regardless of where you make contact.

COBRA CONNECT – Powered by Arccos

Cobra continues to implement its COBRA CONNECT technology in stock grips across its club lineup.  This technology gives you seamless integration with Arccos platforms throughout the entire bag to automatically track your stats on a mobile device during a round of golf.  With this data, you’ll be able to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of your game making your practice sessions more efficient.  Not only that, the same data will help you make better decisions when it comes to equipment selection or setup.  I’ve found COBRA CONNECT to be very useful and a nice added bonus to Cobra equipment since they’ve rolled it out across the board.

If you want to learn more details about COBRA CONNECT, you can check it out here on Cobra’s website.

Final Thoughts

Cobra hit the nail on the head when they said, “to get optimal aerodynamic properties, you have to sacrifice other parts of the design.”  I think Cobra did a pretty damn good job combining all of their design features without major sacrifice.  Listen, I know the King F9 Speedback driver is a bit of a departure from older Cobra models, but Cobra fans should be able to see how all the pieces of the brand’s recent years of R&D really came together here.

Frankly, one of the best parts about this driver is that it could fit players at any skill level!  After a couple of testing sessions, I’m extremely impressed with what Cobra delivered in the F9 Speedback and I’m going to dive into it further.  I fully plan on spending more time with this driver to get fully dialed in and see if it could land the driver position in my bag for the season.  I’ll keep you guys posted.

Stock Cobra King F9 Speedback Driver Specs

*The lofts listed are the standard setting and are adjustable +/- 1.5º

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