Cobra KING F9 Speedback Fairway Wood

The Cobra KING F9 Speedback fairway wood combines an updated design with proven technology to make a long fairway wood suited for a wide range of players.  Cobra claims this fairway wood is their longest and most precise fairway wood ever, and following my testing, I may have to agree.

The Looks

Often times, fairway woods in the “regular person” category are on the larger side with a beefier footprint.  I would even say Cobra has been somewhat guilty of this in the past as well.  Credit where credit’s due, the KING F9 Speedback fairway wood looks great for being a member of this category.  The face has a nice medium depth and the footprint is more medium with a nice pear shape.  I may even go so far as to say the head appears somewhat compact at address.

Like the driver, the F9 fairway wood has a lot of the same characteristics cosmetically.  The goal of being aerodynamic is still a main focus with “polymer crown trips” across the topline and on the sole.  These polymer crown trips redirect airflow without impacting the CG of the head.  The F9 fairway wood also has a slick carbon fiber crown and Baffler rails on the sole.  Also like the driver, the F9 fairway wood comes in in either a glossy black crown with a bright yellow sole OR in a matte black crown with a white sole.

How Does it Feel?

This may be a super no-brainer statement, but I felt it was critical to get the right shaft in the Cobra KING F9 Speedback fairway wood.  It’s the difference between the club feeling “fine” and “deadly.”  Fortunately, Cobra offers quite a few “no charge” options.  Once your rig is dialed in, the CNC Milled face feels extremely hot and just whips the ball off the face.  The added forgiveness from the sole weight being in the rear of the club makes the club feel smooth and very well balanced.  I just keep going back to the word “whip” when I think of the feel.  Add in the E9 Face Tech and that feel holds up over most of the face.

Obviously the signature Baffler rails will play a major role in the turf interaction.  These rails aren’t as prominent in the 3 wood, but get bigger as you go up in clubs.  Regardless, the Baffler rails help promote smoother tracking and a more stable path through the turf.  I hardly felt like the rails “grooved” into the turf so I could still maneuver the ball, but it did feel more stable and clean through impact.

How Does it Sound?

I found that the sound of the Cobra KING F9 Speedback fariway wood at impact really showcased the carbon fiber crown.  The whole point of the carbon crown is to remove weight from the top of the club so Cobra can be more precise about where the weight is located in the head.  A side effect of that, however, is that the sound becomes quite a bit less metallic.  Additionally, I found that the sound seemed to be a little more “open” than years past.  That doesn’t mean it sounds hollow and isn’t solid, but it has some room to breathe.  On the tail end of the impact tone is a hint of metal in the “whip” from the hot CNC milled face.  All in all, when you catch one square, the KING F9 sounds seriously hot!

On-Course Performance

Quite a few things immediately jumped out at me within the first few swings of the Cobra KING F9 Speedback fairway wood.  First, much like the driver, the club just felt fast, and sure enough, it was.  112.5 mph is a pretty damn good club speed for me with a 3 wood these days.  Before even looking at launch monitor data, I generally felt I was hitting the ball pretty long.  Sure enough again, my data confirmed that I was.  In fact, my data set had three shots in the high 280s for total distance!  I’ll take it.  Lastly I noticed that the ball had a driver-like trajectory and it was fairly easy to do.  I typically hit 3 woods a touch on the lower side, but I was able to easily get the ball in the air and carrying with the KING F9 fairway wood.

A key trait of the KING F9 fairway wood is that the CG of the head is low and back.  This promotes a higher launch and higher spin which I feel my numbers confirm.  This also makes the club more forgiving and some would argue perhaps harder to manipulate.  I personally found the KING F9 fairway wood to be fairly easy to shape both directions as well as adjust trajectories.  A more “player’s” version would have a lower stock shot, obviously less spin, and players might prefer the feel more.  Otherwise, I think even the better players may prefer this fairway wood for its easy length and launch.  I honestly don’t feel like there’s any performance sacrifice for a lower handicap player.

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

My conclusion is that the Cobra KING F9 Speedback fairway wood is a great option for a player that likes to play a fairway wood but wouldn’t mind a little forgiveness and distance.  The easier launch is a real big deal in this club and certainly helped me with my distances.  Cobra made the KING F9 Speedback a finely tuned fairway wood that’s easier to hit and a great option regardless of skill level.

Stock Cobra KING F9 Speedback Fairway Wood Specs

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

Previous Next