{"id":236,"date":"2011-02-21T22:26:24","date_gmt":"2011-02-21T22:26:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jaystuller.com\/?p=236"},"modified":"2011-02-21T22:26:24","modified_gmt":"2011-02-21T22:26:24","slug":"snakes-on-a-range-cobra-s-new-s3-sweet-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/golf\/equipment\/236\/snakes-on-a-range-cobra-s-new-s3-sweet-spot","title":{"rendered":"Snakes on a Range: Cobra\u2019s New S3 Sweet Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

The new S3 is a game improvement driver will a new configuration of its sweet spot. <\/p><\/div>\n

Cobra Golf\u2019s<\/a> Pete Rivera stopped by the Marin Country Club<\/a> last weekend, for a demo day introduction of the company\u2019s new S3 irons and driver, both of which feature a radical and unconventional way of positioning the clubs\u2019 sweet spot.\u00a0 Called the E9 Face Technology, it expands the sweet spot on the driver by 30 percent.\u00a0 Perhaps more important, instead of designing a club with a circular sweet spot in the center of the face – – where you\u2019d figuratively want players to make contact with the ball – – the S3\u2019s is in an larger oblong pattern, tilted up and towards the toe.<\/p>\n

Instead, they created a sweet spot where players are more likely to make contact with the ball.<\/p>\n

Indeed, after testing golfers hitting more the 25,000 shots, Cobra found the 99 percent of those shots fell into an elliptical pattern that ranged from low heel to high toe, and not dead center.\u00a0 It was a simple discovery, maybe almost too obvious.\u00a0 But it explains a lot about less than robust shots launched from all too many teeing grounds.<\/p>\n

Rivera has yet to get much feedback from customers on the design, simply because this was his first stop with the new clubs that had arrived only a couple days before.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re actually the first person in this territory to hit this driver,\u201d he observed, taking the plastic wrapping off the grip.<\/p>\n

I tested an S3 with specs similar to my Ping<\/a> Rapture V2, which I recently listed on The A List<\/a> as my favorite piece of golf equipment.<\/p>\n

The new driver had 10.5 degrees of loft and a regular flex and a new lightweight Fujikura Blur shaft, which made the head of the Cobra feel a bit heavier than my Ping.\u00a0 Both clubs had mid-shaft kick points.\u00a0 \u201cLooking down at the club the top profile is similar to models from past years,\u201d explained Rivera.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a traditional pear-shape look that golfers seem to prefer over time.\u201d\u00a0 The face of the club is, however, taller.\u00a0 And the weight has been rearranged in the rear to account for the larger and oblong sweet spot.<\/p>\n

I hit at least three dozen drives with the Ping and another three dozen with the Cobra, interchanging the clubs every couple strikes.\u00a0 Rivera didn\u2019t have a launch monitor with and Marin uses limited flight balls at its range, so I wasn\u2019t able to get technical specifics.\u00a0 But I had a pretty good chance to compare shots with downrange target greens.\u00a0 My Ping gets more altitude – – and probably too much, costing me distance.\u00a0 It was clear that on flush strikes, the new Cobra granted me five to ten extra yards of distance. \u00a0There are two major reasons.<\/p>\n

One, the Cobra produces a slightly more boring trajectory.\u00a0 And two, the configuration of the sweet spot puts meat into swings that are off only a few dimples.\u00a0 If you look at the driver face my old Ping, misses are usually up and out slightly toward the toe.<\/p>\n

The S3 also has adjustable flight technology, or three simple face-changing angles.\u00a0 Most of my drives were reasonably straight or had a light fade. Had there been more time on Sunday, I\u2019d have liked to try a closed face setting to see if I\u2019d get an automatic draw.<\/p>\n

I also didn\u2019t not have time to test the irons, which feature a progressive \u201cSweet Zone.\u201d As with drivers, most iron sets have the sweet spot on the center of the face. Cobra discovered that with longer irons, golfers hit in more a horizontal elliptical pattern. In mid-irons, golfers hit in an oval pattern. In short irons, golfers hit in a circular pattern.\u00a0 To account for this, the new S3 irons use ultra high strength steel in long and mid-irons, enabling them to thin out the face and increase flex to get more ball speed and forgiveness from the elliptical sweet spot.\u00a0 Mid-irons to shorter club progress from an oval to circular.<\/p>\n

As more and more members came by the try the new snakes on the range – – as well as some of Cobra\u2019s classics like the Baffler Rail rescue club – – Peter Rivera was busy unwrapping grips.\u00a0 While there have been lots of new configurations of driver heads in the past few years, variable weighting and other wrinkles, a newly formed and shaped sweet spot clearly puts a little bite in this Cobra.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cobra Golf\u2019s Pete Rivera stopped by the Marin Country Club last weekend, for a demo day introduction of the company\u2019s… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,3],"tags":[502,5308,499,989],"class_list":["post-236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-golf","category-equipment","tag-cobra-golf","tag-marin-country-club","tag-ping","tag-the-a-list"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2011\/02\/S3_Driver.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":239,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236\/revisions\/239"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}